Chapter 99.
"Stark, you're finally here!" Captain America said, walking over to Tony.
"Captain. I didn't mean to steal your thunder, but I just couldn't help myself," Tony replied with a grin, removing his helmet.
"Alright, Stark, stop. Let's get him back to the Helicarrier first," the Captain said, his voice laced with a familiar sense of exasperation.
"But have you really thought this through? Do we really want to expose the existence of the Justice League to S.H.I.E.L.D.?" he asked, his tone turning serious.
"Captain, it's been two years. Our alliance is stable, and the trust among the members are strong," Tony explained, putting away his cynical smile. "I don't think there's any harm in exposing it now. Besides, I have a feeling this incident is the perfect opportunity for all of us to shine."
"Okay, then, let's do it your way," the Captain conceded.
"But Nick Fury is my boss, so I hope you'll be a little more respectful when you talk to him." He could already foresee the conversation between Tony and Nick Fury being far from being civilized.
Given that Tony had secretly formed the Justice League and poached the members Nick Fury had planned to recruit, he was sure the air would be thick with tension.
"Don't worry," Tony said with an indifferent smile. "I don't have time to get acquainted with him. But that's as long as he doesn't try to cause trouble for the Justice League." He reassured the Captain with a nonchalant confidence.
The Captain sighed, a helpless smile on his face. He knew Tony's character well; he was almost never the one to back down. And Nick Fury, as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., was no pushover either. The Captain could already imagine the fireworks that would ensue when the two men finally met.
At that moment, Loki finally regained some strength. Though still in pain, he could move freely. "To hell with being bait," he thought. "I was just caught by these people. What if I end up as their prisoner? I need to leave!"
He regretted his decision to stay and wished he had fled when he had the chance. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Mind Stone scepter lying a few feet away, and a wicked smile crept across his lips.
"If I could turn this human into my own, I would be unstoppable on Earth." Loki began to secretly gather his remaining strength.
"To be a successful hunter, you must know how to hide yourself, remain still, lock your target, and be ready to move as fast as the wind..." he told himself.
"Now!"
He saw Tony and the Captain deep in conversation and, believing they had forgotten about him, exploded forward at his fastest speed toward the Mind Stone scepter. He watched his hand reach out, just a few inches from the scepter. At this distance, it was too late for the two men to stop him. A successful smile spread across his face. As long as he could get his hands on the scepter, he could either defeat them or escape.
However, just as his fingers were about to touch the scepter, it suddenly floated away from him. His smile froze. Loki, who had lunged like a hungry tiger, completely missed the scepter. The bizarre scene left him stunned, and he forgot to continue his action. He watched as the scepter, controlled by some invisible force, lifted off the ground and flew toward Tony and the Captain.
"I heard this is the –weapon you used to make others mutiny," Tony said, using his newfound powers to manipulate the scepter. He grabbed the weapon and examined it.
"It doesn't look like anything special. Let's test it out." He walked over to the stunned Loki, pointing the blue light of the scepter at him.
"You humble mortal! I will not allow you to do this!" Loki screamed, trying to get away. But the jump had used up all his strength, and he was too slow to escape.
"Surprise! Ha ha!" Tony laughed, tapping Loki's helmet with the scepter.
"I can't actually use this thing, but I wish I could. I'd love for you to experience what it feels like to be controlled by someone else." Tony laughed at Loki's horrified expression.
"Come on, reindeer, there's no running away from me. Maybe after all this, I'll mercifully hand you over to your brother Thor." He put the scepter away.
"You know Thor?" Loki thought, relieved that he hadn't been controlled but also shocked. The mention of his brother's name sparked a new, cunning idea in his mind.
From then on, there were no more incidents. Loki was escorted onto the Quinjet and flown to the Helicarrier. Thor, who was supposed to appear, never showed up, so the trip was uneventful.
"Ha ha," Tony said smugly as he handed Loki over to Nick Fury.
"Fury, I'd like to officially announce that this Loki is my captive. But I'll be generous and hand him over to you for safekeeping. How about that?" he said with a grin.
"And this weapon that can control people is the spoils of the Justice League. So don't even think about taking it from us."
The Captain, standing beside them, sighed. He knew Tony's attitude would cause trouble.
"Alright, then. Should I thank you, Stark?" Nick Fury said, his face unreadable.
"Thanks are unnecessary. Your thanks are useless to me," Tony retorted, his expression unchanged.
"Okay, I'm going to see my Justice League partners. They should have arrived already. Where are they?" Tony asked, his face bright with triumph.
"They're in the lab," Nick Fury replied calmly, unfazed by Tony's words or his mention of the Justice League. "Dr. Banner is trying to track the Tesseract. Natasha, take them there. I'll handle Loki."
"Captain, come with me," Natasha said, leading Tony and the Captain away. Nick Fury, Agent Hill, and Coulson then escorted Loki to his holding cell.
"Director, Stark secretly established the Justice League. Aren't we going to do anything about it?" Hill asked, her face filled with confusion.
"You were the one who first proposed the initiative, and you even tried to recruit Stark. Now he's created his own superhero organization and seems completely indifferent to it."
"I have my reasons for this," Nick Fury said, his expression turning grim. "Our main priority is to figure out why this Asgardian came to Earth and to find the Tesseract as soon as possible. And this is not the right time to start a fight with them. We still need their help."
"It seems that the more powerful Earthling is not on their side after all," Loki whispered to himself, a wicked grin on his face.
Tony and the Captain, led by Natasha, soon arrived at the room where Banner and the others were waiting.
"Hi, everyone! Long time no see!" the Captain said with a smile.
"Stark! Captain! You're back!" Banner said, turning away from his computer. "Did you get him?"
"Of course! You should know by now that he's no match for me," Tony boasted, a huge grin on his face. He held up the scepter for everyone to see. "I hit him so hard that he surrendered immediately. Look, this is my loot!"
"You caught him that easily?" Banner asked, surprised. "But something feels off. He's Thor's brother, he shouldn't be that easy to catch. I just can't figure out what's wrong." He then looked at the scepter in Tony's hand. "What exactly is that?"
"Who knows what it is," Tony said dismissively. "I heard Thor's brother used it to make S.H.I.E.L.D.'s elite agents turn on them. It's probably a magic wand or something. I've tried to use it, but nothing happened. It's the Justice League's loot, so I'm taking it back to our headquarters. I'm not going to let S.H.I.E.L.D. get their hands on it." He placed the scepter on the table.
"Stark, why are you so prejudiced against S.H.I.E.L.D. all of a sudden?" Natasha asked, confused by his hostility.
"You have the nerve to ask me that?" Tony retorted. "Did you forget what you did? You lied to me... anyway, I don't trust S.H.I.E.L.D., which is infiltrated by Hydra! And I don't trust your one-eyed director, looks like a pirate to me!"
Natasha was speechless–. 'Could Stark really be so petty?
"By the way, did –anyone see Thor?" Tony asked, changing the subject. "He said he was going to find his brother, and now that we've got him, Thor's gone."
"I don't know," Banner replied. "After you left, we were brought here by your aircraft. Director Nick Fury put me on the task of tracking the Tesseract. I haven't seen Thor since."
"Well, let's not worry about him," Tony said. "How about you, Bruce? Any luck with the Tesseract?"
"It's not that easy," Banner said, sighing. "Even though we know it emits abnormal gamma-ray radiation, trying to find it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. We haven't found a single thing yet."
"Wait, let's talk about that later," Tony said, suddenly closing his eyes for a moment. He then opened them in surprise. "Speaking of Thor, he just showed up! Let's go meet him."
"Stark, how do you know Thor's coming?" the Captain asked, confused. "We didn't hear anything." The others were equally puzzled. Tony had never had any kind of radar-–like ability before.
"I'm guessing it's because of the principle of magnetism and electricity, right, Stark?" Banner said, a thoughtful expression on his face. He had figured it out.
"Exactly, Bruce, you're a genius!" Tony replied. "Come on, let's go. We don't want Thor getting into a fight with S.H.I.E.L.D. again." Tony turned to leave, and the others, having heard Banner's explanation, quickly understood and followed.
"Wait, what are you guys talking about? What's the connection between magnetism and electricity?" the Captain asked, dumbfounded, as he ran to catch up. Natasha, just as confused, followed behind him.
Meanwhile, in the Helicarrier's command room, a group of armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had surrounded a man, and several other agents were lying unconscious on the floor.
"Drop your weapon now, or we will shoot!" an agent shouted at the man.
"What's wrong with you all? I told you, I'm here to find my friends," Thor said, frustrated. He couldn't believe they were still trying to subdue him after he had already explained himself. Of course, he couldn't let himself be subdued by a group of humans; that would be humiliating. So, in a few swift moves, he knocked a few more agents to the ground.
"Drop your weapon, and we'll wait for the director to arrive," the lead agent said, holding his ground but not daring to get any closer. He had just witnessed the man's power.
"Everyone, put down your guns!" a voice commanded, breaking the tense standoff.
.......
E/N : Please support me and read atleast 10 chapters ahead at my patreon for $5.
patreon.com/PrimorDious
I'll be really grateful and it would mean a lot to me. Thanks.