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 stormlight. "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."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
James had made his choice long before this moment.
He knew what was coming — the cost, the pain, the chaos. But one thing he had sworn: he would not stand by and watch Phil Coulson die.
Resurrection or not, the man's life was not a turning point for someone else's story.
He'd already crafted his plan to set things right — intercept Barton before he ever reached the Helicarrier, prevent Thor from letting Loki escape, take the scepter, and deliver it personally to Stark Tower to shut down the soon to be opened portal. If the Chitauri came through, he'd go nuclear.
But even as the plan played in his mind, something bothered him.
'Why had one warhead destroyed an entire Chitauri mothership in the original timeline?' Their forces had been vast and technologically superior, yet somehow they were so brittle. And Loki, who'd claimed dominion over the Earth, led them like a fool commanding ghosts.
It didn't add up.
Still, James believed he had everything under control — but it was this very thought of control that gnawed at him.
The Quinjet landed on the Helicarrier with a metallic thud, turbines whining as it taxied across the deck. Loki was silent, his hands cuffed, eyes gleaming with mock pride. James carried the scepter, feeling Cortana's hum of analysis in his neural link.
[ Energy signature confirmed. Cosmic origin. Spectral frequency matches Tesseract radiation with minor distortion. Permission to probe further? ]
"Go ahead," James murmured under his breath. "Test absorption. See if we can convert this energy to our own."
He wasn't naive enough to believe he could collect all six Infinity Stones — no mortal could bear that power. But one or two? That should be doable enough.
He smirked faintly at his own thoughts. 'A small capacitor trying to store the energy of a nuclear plant. Keep that up, and you'll explode.
[ Conversion viable, ] Cortana reported after a pause. [ Energy density exceeds baseline reactor capacity. There's… another presence within the Cosmic Energy. Non-mechanical nor biological, possibly of arcane origin. ]
James slowed his steps, startled. Thor noticed his sudden change of demeanor. "What's wrong, friend?"
"Nothing. Go ahead, Thor. I'll join you shortly. Need to store the armor before the briefing — can't exactly take a seat in this thing."
Thor grinned, unbothered. "Very well! Do not take long — there's much I must tell you."
He turned and followed Natasha and Rogers toward the containment wing, his hammer swinging easily by his side.
As the hatch closed, James's voice dropped. "Cortana, define 'arcane'.'"
[ The energy radiating from the scepter contains a low-frequency energy incompatible with currently known physics. It interacts with biological neural pathways, particularly in the prefrontal cortex — likely tied to mind control. Other properties remain untested. ]
"So you're saying, it's magic," James muttered.
[ That is… a primitive but acceptable explanation. ]
"Can we store it in the Sub-space Storage?"
[ Negative. The object rejected containment. ]
"Rejected?" His eyes narrowed. "You mean it refused?"
[ Correct. It may not be sentient, but it's very resistant. Its structure exhibits adaptive feedback, like it's deciding what it will or won't accept. My code and its resonance are fundamentally incompatible. It might be tied to the elemental language we've only begun to decode. ]
James frowned. "So the Mind Stone rejects your interface. Then the Space Stone probably will too."
[ Not necessarily. The Space Stone is environmental, not cerebral. It manipulates fields, not thought. The probability of successful containment remains high. ]
"I hope that's true." He took a slow breath. "Let's focus on what we can do then."
Cortana began drawing off residual power from the scepter — faint blue arc-light dancing along the armor's internal conduits. The energy transfer was brief but potent.
[ Absorption complete. Quality exceeds reactor-grade output. Duration—short. Sufficient for two enhanced operations. ]
"That'll do."
James sealed the weapon in a containment case and stepped into the equipment room, disengaging his armor. The reactor's hum faded as he re-entered the Helicarrier's corridors, now holding the scepter loosely in one hand.
By the time he reached the command area, the rest of the team had assembled.
Loki was locked behind glass, smirking like a cat that had already eaten the bird. Fury stood outside the cell, his posture stiff and cautious.
"If you even think about moving," Fury warned, "that cell drops you nine thousand meters straight down into the sea. Let's see if your body can take it. This cage was built for something much worse than you."
James sighed under his breath. 'You're trying to threaten a trickster god, Nick. Great idea.'
Rogers crossed his arms. "You sure taunting him's a good idea?"
Fury didn't answer. He was too focused on keeping his one good eye on the supposed god.
James covered his face briefly, exhaling. The tension in the room was suffocating — and Fury's words had just made it worse.
Loki said nothing, but his smile deepened. He was waiting.
Everyone knew it — the calm before whatever storm he'd planned.
Natasha's report from the control deck confirmed what James feared: Loki had gathered intelligence from Barton and their captured agents. He knew the Helicarrier's layout, the personnel, even the psychological profiles of those onboard.
He was playing them — every one of them — like a symphony.
And the conductor was just getting started.
Later, in the control hub, Fury gathered the team. His face was all business, but the mood was strained.
"What's going on?" James asked when he stepped in. "You look like someone detonated protocol nine."
Fury's gaze shifted toward Banner, then back to him. "Just reviewing containment contingencies. No one's trying to provoke anyone."
James's tone sharpened. "You literally just told the man that the cage could drop nine thousand meters. How's that not provoking him?"
Fury sighed. "We prepare for the worst, Agent Gibson. I thought you of all people would understand that."
"I do," James shot back. "But preparation isn't humiliation. You're not dealing with a monster, you're dealing with a man who's trying not to become one. There's a difference."
The silence that followed was heavy. Banner nodded once, quietly appreciative, while Fury turned away.
"Fine," Fury said. "Let's talk about Loki."
He gestured to the screens, holographic projections of Loki's movements and earlier attacks flashing before them. "Something about this doesn't add up. He's not acting like a prisoner. Feels like he wants to be here."
He turned toward Thor. "Thoughts?"
Thor's brows knitted. "My brother's mind is a maze. His words are half-truths and riddles. But if he is here by choice, it is because he waits for something — or someone."
James crossed his arms. "He's waiting for Barton. Loki's never been the type to fight alone. If Barton's still under control, they'll make their move soon."
Thor nodded grimly. "Then we must prepare. Loki could possibly have an army working with him, as stupid as my brother is, he knows he can't just cause chaos and try to rule midgard on his own." Thor grips Mjolnir in his hands, getting ready to spread his brotherly love and show the meaning of his godhood, the god of Thunder to his dear confused brother.