He walked to the rear hatch and keyed it open. Wind howled through the cabin as heavy rain began to fall .
"Let's give Thor a proper welcome," he said, watching the lightning converge in the distance.
And somewhere beyond the clouds, the god of thunder was watching.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
James had made his decision long before the Helicarrier ever launched.
He'd replayed the scenario countless times in his head — 'what to change, what to preserve, and what not to lose.' Phil Coulson's death wasn't an acceptable cost, not even if the timeline had written it that way.
If he could intervene, he would.
His plan was simple in theory: prevent Hawkeye from reaching the Helicarrier, detain Loki before he could escape, seize the scepter, and deliver it personally to Stark Tower to shut down the portal. And if that failed — he'd do what no one else could stomach. Allow the launch of a nuclear strike on the invading fleet.
Still, one question gnawed at him. 'Why had one nuclear warhead destroyed an entire Chitauri armada in the original chain of events?'
The scenario had never made sense. The invasion force was vast; the motherships should've been shielded against primitive Earth weapons. Yet one nuke had ended them all.
'Was Loki really tasked with leading that army?' James thought, watching the storm clouds rolling over the Atlantic. 'Why give him such a pathetic force? Did they really think we are that weak?'
It was an enigma he couldn't solve — and maybe didn't need to.
His plan was full proof, but it carried a blind spot: his faith in the original timeline.
He'd forgotten that even the smallest deviation — one sentence, one delay — could ripple through the universe like a blade through still water. The butterfly effect, Cortana had called it. Like the late arrival of Loki, but Canon is still happening. He is torn whether to fully believe in the fate of the universe or not.
But his existence here had already reshaped the course of history.
Athena's integration into the Helicarrier's systems alone had rewritten how S.H.I.E.L.D. operated. That single upgrade made infiltration nearly impossible. And because of that, the hypnotized Clint Barton can't slip aboard undetected.
James hadn't planned for that variable — nor the one that came next.
Neither he nor Cortana had anticipated Hydra's move.
Washington, D.C.
The lights in the upper conference wing of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters glowed faintly against the night.
Inside, Alexander Pierce leaned back in his chair, eyes cold and serious as John Garrett stood before him.
Garrett looked uneasy. "Minister Pierce, you called me in personally. What's the emergency?"
Pierce studied him for a long moment. "You've been busy with your… condition, I hear. But don't forget, Garrett — Hydra gave you that second chance. Every breath you take is bought and paid for."
Garrett forced a bitter smile. "I can't serve Hydra if I'm dead, sir. Staying alive is part of the job."
Pierce's gaze sharpened. "And you're alive now, aren't you?"
The question carried a chill. Garrett straightened instinctively, his old instincts whispering 'don't push further'. He knew Hydra's reach — both inside and outside S.H.I.E.L.D. he might have a few loyal men, but Pierce commanded an army.
Garrett relented. "What do you need from me?"
Pierce folded his hands. "Hawkeye. He's been mind controlled by an unknown party. The agency is chasing shadows, but Hydra has… better eyes. You'll find him and provide discreet assistance."
Garrett blinked. "Help him? He's under mind control."
Pierce's smirk was slight. "Precisely. Follow him without revealing yourself. Don't let him know who's helping him. We have assets among the people he's looking for — they'll give you the location."
"And why the secrecy?"
Pierce rose, walking toward the window. The city lights glinted off his eyes. "Because I intend to use this chaos. Let the controlled agent spill blood for us. If a few Avengers fall in the process…" He shrugged. "Call it collateral correction."
Garrett frowned. "You're trying to kill them through proxy."
Pierce turned. "The Avengers are a destabilizing factor. I don't need all of them gone — just enough."
Garrett nodded slowly. "Understood. Hydra will profit either way."
"Good." Pierce's voice softened, almost cordial. "Make it clean, John. And remember — Hydra never dies."
Hydra's movements were always in the shadows, but this one was different.
Pierce wasn't reacting to Loki or S.H.I.E.L.D.'s movements. He was reacting to James.
The "ghost operative" who had erased the entire Hydra New York Division still haunted their operations. No records, no body count — just silence and wreckage left behind. Pierce saw him as a future threat to Hydra's future plans, perhaps even its destruction.
If the Avengers were meant to be Earth's shield, then James Gibson — Nocturne — was a dagger waiting to slice their necks.
So Pierce decided to turn the war inward.
Garrett left headquarters that night with instructions and a new mission.
Most of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s senior staff had already relocated to the Helicarrier — including several embedded Hydra agents. Fury couldn't expel them all without outing himself politically, so the infection stayed dormant.
Garrett smirked as he exited into the cold night air. "This should be simple enough," he muttered. "Let chaos take care of the rest."
He never saw the irony — that his small maneuver would create the very chain reaction James had failed to account for.
Aboard the Quinjet
Back over the clouds, the Quinjet sliced through the storm.
Thor struck like lightning itself, a blur of lightning and thunder as he crashed through the open hatch. Sparks erupted as his hammer hit the deck.
James stepped forward immediately, helmet retracting. "Thor — Welcome, glad to see you again."
The god turned at the familiar voice, his anger easing slightly. "James Gibson," he said with surprise, clasping his friend's armored shoulder. "I did not expect to find you here! Have you captured Loki?"
"Yes," James said, motioning to the bound Asgardian. "To be precise, we did. This is Captain Steve Rogers — you'll know more about him soon enough."
Rogers gave a respectful nod. "A pleasure to meet you."
"Sit, all of you," James said, sealing the hatch. "We've got much to discuss."
As the jet streaked toward the Helicarrier, James recounted the events — Loki's theft of the Tesseract, the casualties, the destruction.
Thor's frustration with his brother grew as he looked at the restrained Loki. "My brother has spilled innocent blood. For that, he will answer to Asgard."
Loki smirked faintly from his restraints. "What, dear brother? Feeling remorse for the mortals you swore to protect? The Earth you 'swore' to defend? It doesn't matter what you feel."
Thor's eyes flashed with storm light. "Enough!"
"Enough indeed," Loki echoed mockingly. "You think they're worthy of your pity, but soon they'll kneel to me, and I will be its ruler."