"Erik? Which Erik?"
Thor asked at once. Surely it wasn't that Erik he knew… right?
"A physicist," Tony replied.
The moment Thor heard that, his expression changed.
So it really was the Erik he knew.
"That's right," Natasha added. "Loki used some unknown method to control him—along with one of our own agents."
"But why would Loki surrender so easily?" Tony suddenly asked, a thought occurring to him. "He can't command any army from here."
"I think Loki's just insane," Bruce finally spoke up from the side. "No one knows what goes on in his head."
"Watch your tone, boy," Thor immediately snapped, turning on Bruce. "Loki is not insane. He is my brother—the prince of Asgard."
"The brother you're talking about killed over eighty people," Natasha said calmly.
"…Alright," Thor replied without hesitation, "he's adopted."
He instantly distanced himself from Loki.
"What I really want to know," Bruce continued, "is what they need iridium for."
Tony's eyes lit up as realization struck him.
"Iridium? That's a stabilizer. It ensures the portal won't collapse."
Bruce immediately understood. Among everyone present, only the two scientists were following the conversation; the rest looked completely lost.
"And not only that," Tony went on, "iridium allows the portal to be opened wide enough—and kept open for as long as Loki wants. As for the other components, Barton can get those easily."
Tony began pacing around the conference room.
"On top of that, they need a power source. The best option is something that can provide a continuous supply of extremely dense electrical energy—enough to activate the energy inside the Tesseract and sustain it at high output."
As he spoke, Tony wandered around, casually touching walls and inspecting corners.
Although he was subtle, Lucas could clearly tell what Tony was really doing—planting listening devices. The gadgets were unmistakably Skye's handiwork. They weren't just for surveillance; at critical moments, they could even hack the system and take control of the entire Helicarrier.
When Skye first proposed the idea, Tony had immediately taken an interest. Together, they had actually developed the device. Lucas hadn't expected Tony to bring it along this time.
Among everyone present, only Lucas knew exactly what those little devices were for. It was clear Tony hadn't wasted his time "touring" the Helicarrier earlier.
After finishing the installation, Tony even shot Lucas a wink. The two exchanged a knowing smile.
"When did you become a thermonuclear astrophysicist, Tony?" Natasha asked curiously. She hadn't understood a single word he'd said. To be fair, aside from Bruce, no one else had either.
"Oh, last night," Tony replied casually.
"Didn't you people read Dr. Erik's mission package? It had his research notes and paper summaries. Don't tell me I'm the only one who did the homework. Seriously?"
Tony looked at everyone as if they were idiots. He couldn't believe S.H.I.E.L.D. had gathered a group of people who were completely lost in this discussion.
"So according to you," Fury asked, "what kind of special energy does Loki need to power the Tesseract?"
"He has to heat it to over a billion degrees Celsius to break its constraints and open the portal," Bruce said suddenly. This was squarely within his area of expertise.
Tony nodded and gave Bruce a thumbs-up.
"Exactly. Unless Dr. Erik finds a stable power supply to initiate the portal, any nuclear reactor on Earth could theoretically be reconfigured into a fusion reactor once the method is established."
"By the way," Tony added, grinning, "it's great to finally meet you, Dr. Banner. You're the only one here who actually gets it. And your paper on particle collision experiments helped me more than you know."
Tony wasn't flattering him. Aside from his father's legacy, Bruce's particle collision research had been crucial in helping Tony discover a new element to upgrade his arc reactor.
"Thank you, Mr. Stark," Bruce replied with a nod.
"Ever thought about joining Stark Industries?" Tony asked immediately. "I can offer you a Chief Scientist position."
Talent like this was rare anywhere.
Before Bruce could answer, Nick Fury walked in.
"Dr. Banner is here to help us track the Tesseract," Fury said coolly. "If you want to poach him, wait until this is over."
"By the way," Fury continued, "how's the research on Loki's scepter going? I saw with my own eyes how he used it to control my agents."
"Whoa—something that interesting?" Tony clapped his hands. "I definitely want a look at that."
With that, Tony and Bruce left together to study Loki's scepter.
The group gradually dispersed. Lucas returned to his quarters at an unhurried pace, planning to enjoy a nice long nap.
Just then, Skye burst into his room, holding her laptop excitedly.
"Lucas, look at this! S.H.I.E.L.D.'s computers are insane—this kind of hardware doesn't even exist on the market. Do you think they'd notice if I… you know… took one home?"
She held it up like a priceless treasure. Her own computer could no longer keep up with her intense workload, and after seeing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hardware, she'd immediately wanted to claim one for herself.
It wasn't exactly honorable—but after spending so much time with Lucas, she'd picked up his habit of shamelessly exploiting S.H.I.E.L.D. whenever possible.
"If you like it, keep it," Lucas said lazily. "It's just a computer. They won't notice. And even if they do, they can't really complain. For all you know, it was meant for you—probably with a few listening devices installed."
Based on Lucas's understanding of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury never gave anything away for free. If he did, it either came with strings attached—or hidden traps.
"Huh?" Skye frowned and examined the laptop from every angle. "I'll need to give it a thorough check once I get home."
At the same time, Tony and Bruce had already begun running tests on Loki's scepter.
"Gamma readings show that the energy emitted by the scepter is identical to that of the Tesseract," Bruce said, scanning it back and forth. "I think we can use it to locate the Tesseract."
"Ohhh, that's going to be a long comparison process," Tony muttered while adjusting another instrument. "Good thing I didn't bring spare clothes."
Then he glanced at Bruce again.
"So—have you thought about it? Come to Stark Industries. We've got ten full floors dedicated to research. You'll love it."
Bruce smiled wryly.
"The last time I came to New York, I demolished half of Harlem's Chinatown. I'd rather not destroy your life's work too."
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