Regarding the requests from several Council directors, Fury couldn't continue refusing outright.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s development required support from these nations. If he kept declining, he risked truly angering the directors.
"I'll speak with him," Fury conceded, "but I can't guarantee he'll be willing to trade."
After placating the directors, Fury turned to Agent Hill behind him.
"Prepare a wedding gift. We need to attend today's ceremony."
...
After the massive crystal structure landed on the ground with a slight tremor, everyone watched Marcus descend from the battleship, accompanied by a few dazed Chitauri prisoners.
"Your services are no longer required," Marcus said coldly.
With a wave of his hand, the Mind Scepter unleashed several energy beams, instantly obliterating the Chitauri.
Having finished this task, he looked up at the portal device atop Stark Tower. Now that he had what he wanted, the portal could be closed.
Energy swirled around him as he flew toward the device on Stark Tower's roof.
Tony wasn't particularly surprised by Marcus's flight ability. After all, the power Marcus had demonstrated earlier was clearly beyond ordinary human capacity.
Compared to Marcus's other abilities, mere flight wasn't enough to leave Tony speechless.
What he truly wanted to know was the source of Marcus's extraordinary powers.
Following Marcus to the rooftop, they found the transmission device still running continuously. Dr. Selvig, who had been stunned earlier, was gradually regaining consciousness.
"All done. Now we can shut this thing down," Marcus announced.
"Use Loki's scepter," Dr. Selvig advised, still disoriented. "I built in a safeguard when constructing this device. His scepter can penetrate the energy barrier."
But Marcus didn't follow Selvig's suggestion. Under the shocked gazes of both Selvig and Tony, Marcus simply reached out and grabbed the Tesseract, extracting it directly from the transmission device.
"How did you...?"
The two scientists were stunned, especially Tony, who understood the implications of the energy barrier.
That barrier shouldn't have been so easily bypassed. According to Jarvis's calculations, even using the Mind Scepter to close the transmission device would require significant force.
Yet Marcus had encountered no resistance at all, removing the Cosmic Tesseract—the core energy source of the transmission device—with his bare hands.
"Well, this thing isn't as difficult as you might think," Marcus said with a casual smile.
A misty portal appeared behind him.
"Let's head down. Bucky's grand wedding is about to begin!"
Marcus led Dr. Selvig through the portal back to ground level.
Everyone was examining the enormous Chitauri crystal. They could clearly see how it resembled amber, preserving all the Chitauri warriors in suspended animation.
"So, are you planning to stay here until the wedding is over?" Marcus asked the group.
"Of course not," Bucky replied, shaking his head.
As the wedding's central figure, he was naturally anxious about his ceremony.
But given today's extraordinary events, could his and Christy's wedding really proceed as planned?
Seeing Bucky's hesitation, Steve stepped forward and clasped his friend's metal shoulder.
"Don't worry. Your wedding will continue as scheduled."
"Absolutely," Tony agreed as he retracted his nano suit. "Pepper has already brought Christy back, and I'll broadcast your wedding live to the world shortly."
Seeing that everyone still intended to attend his wedding, Bucky smiled gratefully.
Soon after, everyone had changed into appropriate attire and proceeded toward the church where Bucky's wedding would take place.
Above their heads, six warships floated in the air.
These battleships were being piloted by Iron Man suits under Jarvis's control, moving majestically toward the church.
They finally arrived at the venue. The church had escaped damage during the Chitauri invasion and remained solemn and dignified.
The priest officiating the wedding, having seen reports that the alien invaders had been completely defeated, had been making the sign of the cross repeatedly.
He kept thanking the Lord for their deliverance.
But when he saw today's wedding party and their distinguished guests, he couldn't contain his excitement.
He recognized these people immediately. He'd witnessed the alien invasion on the news and seen everything unfold.
The groom, Bucky, was the fierce warrior shown crushing alien invaders with his metal arm.
And beside him stood the famous billionaire Tony Stark—New York City's very own Iron Man.
The wedding proceeded normally. The priest regarded the couple before him: a battle-hardened hero and his beautiful bride, a perfect match.
The best man and bridesmaids behind them were, if anything, even more eye-catching.
Tony Stark, Chairman of Stark Industries, and CEO Pepper Potts were among them. Countless media representatives frantically took photos, speculating about their relationship.
While Bucky and Christy had been relatively unknown before, their wedding was now a sensation—not only were Tony and Pepper in attendance, but they were participating as best man and bridesmaid.
This behavior seemed out of character for Tony. For a wedding like this, merely attending would have been generous enough, let alone serving as best man.
Amid constant media speculation, the priest conducted the ceremony, which concluded with the couple's kiss. Then came the time for wedding gifts.
Steve had prepared his in advance. Upon learning Bucky was getting married, he'd immediately begun planning.
His gift was a pair of custom-made watches, their faces displaying pictures of Bucky and Christy—the best present he could offer.
Others had made their own preparations: pianos, jewelry, and various luxuries overwhelmed the couple.
Finally, it was Tony's turn. His gift: two special bracelets.
These were no ordinary accessories. Tony had crafted them himself, incorporating nanotechnology to protect the wearers' lives.
Bucky was surprised by Tony's thoughtful gift but deeply grateful.
They couldn't know what the future held. With these bracelets, Christy's safety would be significantly enhanced.
After Bucky placed the bracelet on Christy's wrist, Marcus approached with a smile.
"As I mentioned earlier, you can choose any of those battleships outside, except for the largest one."
His words caused a commotion in the church. Everyone looked outside at the warships floating in the air.
So those vessels belonged to Marcus. Even without explanation, everyone understood these warships were spoils captured from the aliens who had attempted to invade Earth.
Many reporters rushed out of the church, frantically filming the warships hovering in the sky.
Bucky took Christy's hand and walked outside. Since Marcus had made such a generous offer, he wouldn't be shy about accepting.
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