Bab 62: The Avengers ( Part 4 )
Soon, the group arrived back on the Helicarrier in the Quinjet, disembarking in relative silence as Loki was shackled and escorted by S.H.I.E.L.D agents under the watchful gazes of everyone.
Thor's eyes never left his brother as Loki was escorted to his prison cell, while Maxim trailed behind the group, already having changed out of his SuperSuit as he relaxed in casual clothing, scouting the scene.
As they entered the Helicarrier's command deck, Fury was waiting, his one eye scanning the team with a mix of approval and wariness.
"Well, I see everyone's made friends," Fury said dryly, gesturing for Loki to be taken to the secure glass cell.
Soon, the group sat around and Thor told everyone what Loki's plans would be. How he planned to open a portal to unleash the Chitauri force to Earth. Maxim had already known this, so he skipped the meeting, relaxing while the others discussed the implications of Loki's plans.
*****************
~In the Room Loki was imprisoned~
"What will you do if I vow to spare him?" Loki asked as he stood in the cage, looking towards Natasha with a curious glint in his eyes.
Natasha was standing in front of the reinforced glass as she responded without letting her emotions show, "Not letting you out."
"Ah, no." Loki continued, "But I like this. Your world in the balance, and you bargain for one man?"
"Regimes fall every day. I tend not to weep over that. I'm Russian…or was." She laughed a little at her joke as she stared at Loki intently.
"What is it you want?" Loki asked Natasha, and she reluctantly answered, "It's really not that complicated. I've got red in my ledger, and I'd like to wipe it out."
"Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? Drakov's daughter? Sao Paulo? The Hospital fire?" Loki walked closer towards Natasha, his expression growing more ferocious as he spoke, "Barton told me everything. Your ledger is dripping, it's gushing red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything?"
"This is the basest sentimentality." He snarled, "This is a child at prayer. Pathetic."
"I won't touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you! Slowly. Intimately." Loki's said viciously as he leaned on the glass, his face almost touching the cold surface, "In every way, he knows you fear! And when he'll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams, I'll split his skull! This is my bargain, you mewling quim!"
"You're a monster," Natasha responded as she turned away from Loki, not daring to into his eyes.
Loki had a wide grin on his face now, admiring his work, "No, you brought the monster."
"So, Banner. That's your play," Romanoff recovered from her facade and faced Loki.
In bewilderment, he muttered, "What?"
Romanoff called into her radio and relayed, "Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab, I'm on my way. Send Thor as well. Maxim's presence would help too."
Once she finished speaking, she gave Loki one last look and chuckled as she gave him parting words, "Thank you for your cooperation." She walked quickly out of the room with her task accomplished.
*********************
Meanwhile, in the lab, Tony and Bruce had been working on understanding the Scepter as they waited for the Tesseract's location to be revealed.
As they were working, Nick Fury hurriedly walked into the room and directed towards Tony, "What are you doing, Mr. Stark?"
"Kind of been wondering the same thing about you," Tony mused while staring the man directly into his eyes, not shying away whatsoever/
"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract." There was a clear annoyance in Fury's voice. One of his subordinates told him there was a breach in their server and Fury immediately knew who it was.
"We are. The model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile." Banner spoke.
"And you'll get your cube back, no muss, no fuss. What is PHASE 2?" Tony asked.
~CLANG~
"PHASE 2 is SHIELD uses the cube to make weapons," Steve answered, the door closing behind him as he walked into the room.
He placed a Hydra weapon he found in SHIELD's storage room when he was snooping around on the table. His head turned to Stark, "Sorry, the computer was moving a little slow for me."
Fury immediately realized he was on the back foot, and tried to spin the story, "Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we're…."
"I'm sorry, Nick," Stark cut in before the director could finish. He turned the monitor around so the others could see what was clearly on display, a SHIELD missile blueprint made using energy collected from the Tesseract. Stark grinned, "What were you lying?"
"I was wrong, director. The world hasn't changed a bit." Steve said in clear disappointment.
As this was happening, Natasha and Thor entered the room, hearing the words of Steve, while Maxim spawned from the shadows without most of them noticing, safe for Natasha who was always on top of her senses.
Banner glared at Natasha, an angry expression on his face, "Did you know about this?"
"You might want to think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?" Natasha responded calmly.
"I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed," Banner's said, frustrated.
"Loki is manipulating you," She said.
"And you've been doing what exactly? I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy. I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction." Bruce had his hands firmly holding onto the table.
"Because of him," Fury said, pointing at Thor.
"Me?" Thor asked, clearly confused at the situation.
"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town.We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned."
"My people want nothing but peace with your planet," Thor added in.
"Really, because I could've sworn that robot that you fought was Asgardian technolgy. Millions in infrastructure, dusted away because of your people. And besides, you're not the only people out there, are you? And, you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled."
As Fury spoke, he looked towards Banner, and then Maxim, before his gaze returned to Tony who had folded his arms.
"Like you controlled the cube?" Steve said.
"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and Loki's allies. It is the signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war."
"A higher form?" Steve asked with worries.
"You forced our hand! We had to come up with some…." Fury turned his ire to Thor.
"Nuclear deterrent! Cause that will calm everything right down." Stark interjected with his sarcasm.
"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?" Fury said.
"I thought humans were more evolved than this." Thor scoffed as he looked around, spotting Maxim and slowly shifting away nervously, remembering the beating he took from him.
"Excuse me? Did we come to yo planet and blow stuff up?" Fury said as he turned around to face Thor.
The group devolved into a senseless argument, with Maxim remaining out of it, blocking the Mind Stone's influence from affecting him too. He was just leaning on the wall, watching the situation and silently laughing at the jokes, especially the "Genius Billionaire Playboy Philanthropist."
Time ticked by as he waited when suddenly, an almost imperceptible shift occurred, and Maxim's posture straightened, recognizing it as the attack on the helicarrier. His perception flared like a warning bell, and only Natasha realized his change.
"What's wrong?" She asked, drawing the other's attention to Maxim.
Maxim's voice cut through the silence like a blade.,"Everyone, get down!"
Before anyone could fully process his command, Maxim raised a hand, his fingertips crackling with astral energy. With a sharp motion, he summoned a translucent, shimmering barrier of cosmic energy, its surface swirling with constellations and faintly glowing glyphs.
~BOOM!~
The explosion erupted just outside the command deck. Fire and shrapnel slammed into Maxim's barrier, the force of the blast rippling through the astral shield but stopping short of harming those inside. The windows shattered into harmless fragments, but the structure of the Helicarrier held firm.
Tony stumbled but caught himself, "What the hell was that?"
Bruce Banner, who had been gripping the table in mounting frustration, froze. His breathing was heavy, but he hadn't transformed. The barrier had absorbed the shockwave, sparing him the trigger he feared most.
Natasha was already on her feet, her pistol drawn, "An attack, gotta be Loki," she muttered, her voice low and grim.
Maxim's barrier shimmered and dissipated as he turned to Thor, his expression cold and commanding. "Thor, check on Loki. Now."
Thor hesitated for a moment, still rattled by the sudden attack, but Maxim's tone left no room for argument. The Asgardian nodded and sprinted out of the room, Mjolnir in hand.
Maxim turned to the rest of the group, "Assess the damage and secure the perimeter. This isn't over."
Steve Rogers recovered quickly, his military instincts kicking in. "Natasha, with me. Stark, get eyes on the situation outside. Fury, coordinate with your agents. Banner…" Steve paused, glancing at the still-tense scientist,
"Stay here and focus on keeping yourself calm."
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