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Bruce Banner was clearly intrigued by the offer, but before he could respond, Fury's commanding presence filled the doorway.
"Dr. Banner is here strictly to track the Tesseract," Fury announced, his single eye fixing on Aidan with obvious suspicion. "I'd appreciate your cooperation in that regard."
The unspoken message was clear: Stop trying to poach my assets.
"Employment with Baymax Corporation wouldn't interfere with his current assignment," Aidan replied with an innocent smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Besides, working with us would mean Dr. Banner could stop living like a fugitive." His tone sharpened slightly. "And if certain military factions continue their pursuit, we'll be happy to expose their illegal human experimentation programs to the international community."
"Is that a threat?" Fury's voice carried dangerous undertones.
"You should be grateful my research facilities aren't located on American soil," Aidan replied smoothly.
"That's the only reason they exist at all."
"Care to test that theory?" Aidan's eyes narrowed, and something predatory flickered in his gaze.
The tension in the room became almost physical. Fury stared at the young man for a long moment, clearly calculating risks and responses. Finally, he took a measured breath and turned away without another word. Deal with this later, his posture seemed to say. After the current crisis is resolved.
Bruce watched the exchange with growing confusion. "Um... I'll definitely consider your offer seriously," he said to Aidan, unsure what he'd just witnessed.
"Take your time," Aidan replied, his demeanor instantly returning to friendly warmth.
Captain America looked around the room with obvious bewilderment. "What just happened here?" Among the assembled heroes, only he, Bruce, and Thor remained unaware of Aidan's complicated history.
"Let's focus on the research," Tony interjected, eager to defuse the situation. "We have work to do."
They made their way to the Helicarrier's advanced laboratory, where Loki's distinctive curved scepter lay secured on an examination table. The Mind Stone embedded in its tip pulsed with subtle energy that seemed to whisper at the edges of perception.
Bruce carefully positioned the scepter under a gamma-ray scanner, his movements precise and methodical. Aidan studied the resulting data with intense fascination—while the AllSpark remained the most powerful energy source he'd encountered, an Infinity Stone was still an incredible opportunity for research.
"The gamma signature matches Dr. Selvig's Tesseract research almost exactly," Bruce reported, analyzing the readouts. "But processing this amount of data will take considerable time."
"We could bypass their security protocols and access the mainframe directly," Aidan suggested, his fingers already dancing across a nearby console.
"Brilliant!" Tony's eyes lit up with the prospect of obtaining classified intelligence. Both he and Aidan had their own reasons for wanting access to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s databases.
"I'm afraid I only brought a toothbrush for this mission," Bruce said quietly, clearly feeling underprepared for the technical work.
"Join Baymax Corporation, and I guarantee we'll build you a laboratory that makes this place look primitive," Aidan said, seizing the opportunity. "State-of-the-art equipment, unlimited research budget, no oversight committees..."
"That's generous, but..." Bruce's expression darkened with painful memories. "The last time I was in New York, I destroyed most of Harlem."
"That wouldn't be a concern with us," Aidan assured him confidently. "I can provide you with a completely stress-free environment, and even if you do transform, I have methods to manage the situation safely."
Time to design a Tyrant for him to safely pummel, Aidan thought to himself.
Tony, meanwhile, had been examining a small electrical device with obvious curiosity. Unable to resist, he suddenly jabbed it into Bruce's back.
"AHHHH!" Bruce yelped, spinning around in pain and surprise.
"Interesting," Tony mused, studying Bruce's reaction. "Why didn't you transform?"
Captain America chose that moment to enter the lab. "Are you completely insane?" he demanded, staring at Tony in disbelief.
"Just checking his self-control," Tony replied with casual interest. "What's your secret, Banner? How do you keep the lid on?"
"This isn't a game, Stark!" Rogers snapped. "You're endangering everyone on this aircraft!"
"Life's too short to be perpetually tense," Tony shrugged. "Besides, he handled it perfectly."
Aidan stepped into the debate. "I think you're being overly paranoid about this, Captain. Dr. Banner is a renowned scientist, not a ticking bomb. The real danger here comes from treating him like a prisoner instead of a colleague." He gestured toward the containment facility visible through the laboratory windows. "Building special cages sends a rather mixed message about trust, don't you think?"
"Those are simply precautionary measures," Captain America replied stiffly.
"If you can't trust him completely, why invite him here at all?" Aidan pressed.
"Okay, okay," Bruce interjected hastily, trying to prevent the argument from escalating. "I'm fine, really. Let's just focus on the work."
Tony pointed at Banner with approval. "See? The man's got it under control. You need to relax, Cap."
"And you need to take this seriously, Mr. Stark," Rogers shot back, clearly frustrated with Tony's irreverent attitude. He glanced at Aidan as well, but the young man's age made it difficult to know how to address him.
"Not taking it seriously?" Tony's voice carried genuine offense. "Then explain this to me: Why did Fury gather us all here? Why now, and not before? What crucial information is he withholding from us? I can't solve problems if I don't understand the full picture."
Captain America paused, considering the implications. "You believe Director Fury is hiding something from us?"
"He's a professional spy commanding an organization of spies," Tony reminded him.
"Both Stark Industries and Baymax Corporation possess cutting-edge technology," Aidan added thoughtfully. "We've both dedicated our resources to advancing human welfare. So why weren't we included in the Tesseract research program from the beginning?" He fixed Rogers with a pointed look. "Has S.H.I.E.L.D. made any meaningful contributions to sustainable energy development?"
The Captain fell silent, clearly struggling with these uncomfortable questions. "We have our mission parameters," he said finally. "We should stick to them." With that, he turned and left the laboratory.
"I'll never understand what my father saw in that man," Tony muttered, shaking his head in frustration.
The three researchers returned to their work, their infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s classified systems proceeding steadily through the night.
Just before dawn, Fury stormed into the laboratory with obvious agitation. "Stark, Parker—what exactly do you think you're doing?" he demanded without preamble.
"I was about to ask you the same question," Aidan replied coldly, not looking up from the damning evidence displayed on his screen.
"We're tracking the Tesseract, just like you asked," Tony answered. "The modeling algorithms are locked in, and we're currently scanning for energy signatures. Once we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile."
"Perfect. Then you can retrieve your precious Tesseract without any unnecessary complications," Aidan said with a bitter smile. He turned his monitor toward Fury, revealing classified footage that made the director's face go pale.
The screen showed a man with glowing red eyes strapped to an examination table, his body convulsing as he struggled against his restraints. Inhuman roars escaped his throat as the T-virus coursed through his system.
"Perhaps you can explain this for me," Aidan's voice turned ice-cold as he addressed Fury. "It appears S.H.I.E.L.D. has been conducting T-virus research. If I were to release these images to the international media, whose credibility do you think they'd question—yours or mine?"
Fury's jaw tightened, but Aidan wasn't finished.
"Oh, and let's not forget these gems," Aidan continued, cycling through additional classified documents. "Operation Encirclement—detailed plans for how to divide Baymax Corporation's assets among various government agencies. Quite thorough, really."
With each revelation, Fury's expression grew darker. The scope of their intelligence breach was becoming catastrophically clear.
Tony frowned at the weapons research displayed on his own screen, though his infiltration seemed less comprehensive than Aidan's. Even his advanced AI couldn't match the White Queen's capabilities for data extraction and analysis.