Steve hesitated. "I'm best with shields. You don't have one of those, do you?"
"A shield?! Perfect!" Gemini's eyes lit up. "Draco found one in his family vault when he learned I'd signed the knight contract. Never needed it before, so it's been at the bottom. Wait, let me find it."
Tony swallowed his words. He'd been about to mention his father made Steve a shield, but—could his dad's gift compete with Gemini's?
Gemini fumbled around before touching the shield's edge. She strained, face turning red, but couldn't budge it.
"Can't lift it. Steve, you get it!" Gemini gave up, beckoning him over. "Feel it?" She guided his hand into the trunk, placing it on the shield's edge.
"Got it. Pull it out now?" Steve asked.
Gemini stepped back. "Go ahead!"
Steve gripped the edges with both hands. One pull—the shield shot out weightlessly. The trunk erupted with crashing sounds. Steve stumbled back two steps.
Tony and Banner stared at the trunk in horror. "How much stuff is in there?"
Hearing the crashes, Gemini's heart bled. All her things!
Steve ignored everything else, studying the shield. Nearly half his height, rectangular, deep blue with blue runes. A fist-sized yellow gem embedded in the center. The shield pulsed with flowing light.
"Eternal Bulwark. Forged by an ancient dragon. Provides strength and endurance bonuses. The runes improve accuracy and parrying. Only one in the world!" Gemini raised her head proudly.
Tony and Banner stared at the pulsing shield. This would turn heads!
Tony's eyes gleamed. "Ahem, Gemini, I need special equipment too. Just something better-looking than his shield!"
Gemini sneered. "Dream on! You've got the Piccoli family and still want to mooch? Have some shame!"
Tony indicated shame was optional.
After the fuss, Gemini still refused. Tony could only stare sadly at Steve's shield. He wanted one too!
When it came to Banner, Gemini looked troubled. What suited Hulk? A giant's club? No—too ugly, and she didn't collect those.
Banner looked at her kindly. "Hulk prefers his own fists. My clothes have protective ability. Not much in the world can hurt me now. Don't trouble yourself."
Gemini's eyes lit up. She dove into the trunk, rummaging until she found two rings.
"Try these." She tossed them to Banner. "One on each hand."
Banner put them on obediently.
"Like this—touch your fists together!" Gemini demonstrated.
Banner complied. The rings touched and rapidly transformed, covering his knuckles. Several vicious silver spikes stood up. Banner tried the table—no resistance. The spikes punched straight through.
Gemini was speechless. Why sacrifice a table too?!
She waved dismissively. "Made by a Black family elder who liked hand-to-hand combat. Too savage—nobody liked him. They adapt to size changes. You and Hulk can use them. Oh, and the table cost comes out of your wages!" Everyone laughed.
Banner scratched his head sheepishly. "How do I turn them off?"
Gemini pressed her palms together. "Like this."
Banner copied her, retracting the spikes. For a moment, he looked like a monk.
Closing the trunk, Gemini looked wistfully at them. "Go on. You've cleaned me out! If there's trouble, tell me immediately. At least we've known each other—if there's danger, warn me to run."
Tony rolled his eyes. "Don't worry. I'll leave you time to reach the fireplace!"
After banter, the three left. Gemini stood on the second floor, frowning at crystal shards on the floor. She was genuinely worried. Wizards' intuition was sharp, her Divination grades good. When they left, she'd pulled out her crystal ball, but the divination seemed interfered with—the ball exploded.
This wouldn't be resolved with minor skirmishes. Hopefully dangerous but safe. Gemini steadied herself, deciding to handle logistics. The potion cabinet couldn't be empty. She'd remind the Parkers to excuse Peter—better to stay in the shop.
When the three left, Fury knew immediately. He sent Natasha. He didn't have many people—over the past year, he'd purged S.H.I.E.L.D. internally. But clearing one batch led to another being added. Problems in their training schools. After interrogating someone, Fury became more careful—HYDRA!
Getting in the car caused problems. Steve's shield was large, taking a whole seat. They put it in the trunk.
The car reached a secluded clearing. Natasha operated her wrist device. An aircraft appeared. "Let's go. Time for base."
Tony squinted at it. "Quinjet? Vertical takeoff? Your tech's not bad."
Natasha smiled. "Far behind yours. Shall we?" She led them into the hatch.
Steve retrieved his shield, strapping it to his arm. Better than carrying it on his back.
The aircraft took off smoothly, cloaking with little noise.
After half an hour, they landed on a deck. It was dark—Tony and the others didn't notice where. Following Natasha, they entered a small room where Fury waited.
"You're here." Fury said coolly, back turned.
"Stop posturing. We need specific information and tasks. We'll selectively accept missions. You pay us—we're not your subordinate team." The three exchanged glances. Tony handled negotiations.
Fury spun around. "I have to pay?!"
"Otherwise you want free service?!" Tony sounded genuinely surprised.
"This concerns Earth's safety! Can't you just—" Fury was cut off.
"Earth isn't mine alone. Since this concerns Earth's safety, why not go to the UN?" Tony said bluntly. "We're helping out of goodwill. If it's Earth's life or death, we'll be on the front lines. But we're not your people following your orders."
Fury's expression looked like he'd swallowed a fly. He knew it! He knew it would be like this!
Fury sighed. "Fine. Let's look at the situation. How do you charge?"
Tony looked smugly at Steve and Banner, who gave subtle thumbs up.
"Our fees aren't expensive—it's for humanity. Daily rates. Big guy's $100k a day, green guy's $150k. Me! Richest man in New York! Iron Man! Charging more is fine, right? One million a day!" Tony shamelessly inflated his price, standing proudly.
Fury's expression worsened. "Collateral damage? Public opinion?"
"Stark Industries handles battle losses and public opinion support, including post-war reconstruction and relief." Tony became more righteous. They'd discussed this at Gemini's. Later they'd recruit talent, plus wizarding methods. Collateral damage? A joke!
Fury finally understood—he wouldn't get anything from these people. More determined to establish his own team, he displayed his gathered information.
Plenty of smart people here. Banner and Tony studied briefly and figured out Loki's next move. They needed iridium—global storage was limited. The largest portion was with German scientist Dr. Schafer, who rarely appeared but would attend a banquet tomorrow night.
To save trouble, they had to reach Germany before Loki and wait.
Tony wanted to use Magic Mark V's energy for Apparition, but Steve stopped him. Save this method—it was life-saving. How could they display it to Fury?
S.H.I.E.L.D. had fast aircraft. Their actions were already faster than Loki expected—one step faster wouldn't cause problems.
Fury didn't show off his Helicarrier. He arranged a Quinjet with Natasha piloting.
The Quinjet landed silently near Dr. Schafer's home. Following Natasha's suggestion, she'd infiltrate first, inform Dr. Schafer of the danger, then everyone would lurk at his reception, ready to act.
Using excellent skills, Natasha appeared before Dr. Schafer without alerting anyone. After explaining and physical persuasion, Dr. Schafer believed them when he saw Tony.
Originally, for concealment, the iridium should stay in place, but Tony's magic gave another option.
"Geminio." Tony avoided bodyguards, tapped the metal with his wand, and whispered.
The iridium became two portions. Tony put the duplicate in the safe, stuffed the real one in his Extension Charm bag.
"Will this work? My magic on this charm lasts until the day after tomorrow!" Tony quietly asked Steve.
"Should be fine. As long as the real one isn't taken, no big problems. Who but an expert could tell it's fake?" Steve lowered his voice.
Tony looked at Steve strangely. "You've learned bad habits from Gemini! Never thought you were this kind of captain!"
Steve coughed awkwardly. "Don't talk nonsense. I haven't changed!"
Closing the safe, they returned to Dr. Schafer's study. After discussion, Tony and Banner would blend as ordinary guests, Natasha would stay by Dr. Schafer in disguise to protect him, Steve would play reception security.
Soon evening arrived. Dr. Schafer entered the music hall with Natasha, surrounded by bodyguards. After this concert came his reception. According to their guess, Loki should make his move during the reception.
Nobody expected that halfway through the concert, Loki appeared directly, killing front-row audience members. The hall erupted in chaos.
Tony and Banner were swept with the crowd, getting farther from Dr. Schafer. Banner nearly transformed, but Natasha, though no match for Loki, held out briefly. Steve arrived at full speed.
Steve's original shield was round—this rectangular one felt awkward at first. After adapting, with the accuracy bonus, one strike landed hard on Loki's face. Loki staggered back, showed a sinister smile, dissolved into illusion, and vanished. Behind Steve came Natasha's scream: "Dr. Schafer!"
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