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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Steve Rogers listened to Thor, processing every word, before turning toward the others.
"So we're about to meet an army—an alien army, right?"
"That's right," Bruce Banner said, tone steady despite the weight of it. "That's why Loki wants the portal open. That's why he took Dr. Erik Selvig. And the metal ingot he stole? He needs it for the machine he's building. But why this metal specifically… I have no idea why."
Tony Stark swung one hand in a lazy arc. "It's for the stabilizer. Without it, the new portal collapses just like S.H.I.E.L.D.'s did. Not exactly the dramatic entrance our diva god wants."
Then Tony's gaze drifted pointedly toward Nick Fury.
Fury caught the look immediately. His voice went flat.
"This is a top-secret S.H.I.E.L.D. project. And Stark—you're just a consultant. The scientists we recruit need oversight and control. I expect you to understand that."
Tony scoffed, crossing his arms. "Uh-huh. Secrets and control. But sure, fine—this mess is somehow my mess now."
His attitude was starting to set the room on fire, so James stepped in before the conversation derailed further.
"Alright. Tony's done whining," James said calmly. "Let's move on to the real issue: why Loki wants to be on the Helicarrier. Hawkeye's under his control—anything S.H.I.E.L.D. knows, Loki knows. He should be here for a reason."
Natasha Romanoff tilted her head, expression unreadable. "If Clint told him everything, then Loki knows exactly who each of us is. Let me test him. If he's prepared for me, then we'll know how much he planned."
James met her eyes for a brief, sharp moment. Romanoff's intentions were part of Loki's equation—and James could see the shape of that trap forming. Loki had many names in the old myths, most of them dark… but all agreed on his intelligence.
Still, this step was necessary. Without Romanoff confronting him, the scepter would never spike.
James nodded.
"Fine. Agent Romanoff will test him. The rest of us hold position and wait for her signal."
He rose smoothly and motioned for Stark and Banner to follow.
As the three of them walked toward the lab, James asked quietly, "Tony, is J.A.R.V.I.S. still deciphering it?"
"Yep," Tony said, unbothered. "And I've gotta hand it to Athena—she's annoyingly good. It took forever, but we're almost in. We'll know S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secrets soon."
James shook his head. "I don't think we need to know. Their secrets aren't our concern."
He meant it—he needed to keep internal stability intact. A fractured S.H.I.E.L.D. would doom them long before Loki did. And weapons research? That wasn't a sin; it was survival.
Tony stared at him. "You really think there's no problem? Bruce, help me out here."
Banner hesitated. "Me? I—uh… I heard nothing."
"Come on, Bruce," Tony nudged. "Remember what James said—you're too passive. Speak up."
"Tony," James cut in, "not what I meant."
Banner finally exhaled. "Look… Tony is the leading authority in energy physics. I can understand S.H.I.E.L.D. involving him. And the Tesseract isn't his property. They're responsible for what they research. Stark's a consultant. It's not unreasonable that—they may be developing other things."
James nodded. "They can develop their weapons for all I care. Every major power on Earth does it. What matters is the intent. You're worried they're doing something morally wrong—but is it really strange for nations to upgrade their weapons nonstop?"
They stepped into the lab without even noticing the transition from hallway lights to bright sterile lights.
Tony blinked at James. "You actually think this is how it should be?"
"I do," James said simply. "If they build stronger weapons, then next time we face aliens, I won't be standing there empty-handed. Nuclear weapons are terrible—they can erase the planet. But they also stopped world powers from tearing each other apart. A strange kind of peace—but peace nonetheless."
Tony gestured helplessly. "Your worldview is… something. I don't even know."
"Tony," James said, "Iron Man is a weapon. Nocturne is a weapon. I—am a weapon. We're good people holding tools that can stop evil. That's the entire point. But remember your partner—the one who stole your tech. He used your energy source to make monsters. We killed him. Because that was right."
He looked between them.
"Tools aren't moral or immoral. People are. Someone holding a gun can defend a family—or massacre one. The blame isn't in the trigger, but the hand pulling it."
Tony stared, genuinely thrown off balance.
"You actually believe in S.H.I.E.L.D. like that?"
James smiled faintly. "I believe there are far more good people than bad. Isn't that why we're here?"
Tony blew out a breath. "Fine. You win. But I'm keeping J.A.R.V.I.S. in the system. I want to see what our beloved organization cooks up behind closed doors."
James sighed but didn't fight it. He threw himself into the work instead. Cortana synced with Banner's readings, tightening Banner's algorithm and accelerating elimination of false positives.
Minutes later, Fury strode in.
"Mr. Stark," Fury said, arms folded, "would you like to explain why you breached a restricted system?"
James didn't need to guess—Athena had pinged the intrusion moments ago and flagged it through the command center.
Tony opened his mouth. "Obviously I wanted to see what S.H.I.E.L.D. is hiding—"
But before he could finish, James felt the scepter's pulse spike.
A sudden surge—sharp, electric—ripped through the air.
"[Energy escalation detected. Recommend immediate absorption.]"
"Absorb everything," James murmured under his breath. "Don't let a single energy leak."
He brought his hands closer to the scepter, sliding into position where he could reach it if it destabilized.
Nick Fury also received a report from Natasha Romanoff at the same time. Then he looked at Dr. Bruce Banner and was about to continue talking to Tony Stark—when the lab doors slid open.
Steve Rogers and Thor stepped inside.
"We're here to check progress," Steve said. "If we find the Cube first, we don't need to waste time worrying about Loki's next move."
Given what they knew, it was the only logical solution the two could think of.