"Ah—!!"
Barton let out a sharp cry and shot upright from the bed, instantly regaining consciousness. The residual energy of the Mind Scepter lingering in his body was erased in an instant by Chaos Magic.
He glanced around and quickly realized he was no longer in the previous base. Standing beside him were Lucas, Natasha, and Wanda—not Nick Fury or Erik Selvig.
"You're finally awake," Natasha said. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"
Barton, now calm but visibly shaken, sat slumped on the bed as Natasha handed him a cup of coffee.
He shook his head. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember anything. The last thing he recalled was encountering Loki at the base.
"That was days ago," Natasha said briefly. "You were under Loki's control this entire time—and you even led an attack on the Helicarrier."
"If Lucas hadn't foreseen it in advance," she added, "the Helicarrier might already be destroyed."
Barton said nothing, but his gaze slowly hardened.
"I'll make Loki pay for this."
---
The Helicarrier continued its steady flight through the sky as everyone gathered once more.
Inside the conference room, silence hung heavy. No one spoke—not even Lucas, who sat quietly to one side, an unusual sight in itself.
"You've all seen it," Nick Fury finally said, breaking the silence. "Loki used nothing more than a simple scheme to tear us apart. The Helicarrier nearly went down because of it."
"The truth is," Fury continued, "I did research the Tesseract to develop weapons. But I always had reservations about that path. So I prepared another option instead—something Lucas and Tony both know about."
He paused, then said clearly:
"The Avengers Initiative."
Fury folded his arms and looked around the room. His voice was no longer as forceful as before—now it was calm, almost reflective.
"The original purpose of this initiative was to bring extraordinary individuals together. To see if they could become something greater. To shoulder the responsibility of defending Earth and fight battles ordinary people could never win."
He let out a self-mocking chuckle.
"But I was wrong. You're unruly. You're driven by your own personalities. You fight alone. There's no coordination, no trust. Even now, you're still a loose collection of individuals."
Then his tone abruptly sharpened.
"But now, we don't have time anymore. There's no room left for adjustment, no room for hesitation. All we can do is fight. In the coming days, Earth will face its greatest crisis yet. Our task is to take our planet back from those alien invaders and drive those bastards off this world!"
His gaze swept across the room again, finally settling on Lucas—firm and unwavering.
"Lucas, you said I owed you an explanation. Fine. If we successfully repel the alien invasion this time, you're free to blow up S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. I won't stop you."
Earlier, Lucas had been furious over S.H.I.E.L.D.'s weapons research and had even threatened to wipe the organization out entirely. Fury had been angry—but he had no real rebuttal.
Now, however, things were different. In Fury's eyes, if Lucas could resolve this crisis, then S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters was a small price to pay.
Lucas glanced at Fury, his expression unreadable.
"You don't need to say all that," he replied calmly. "I won't stand aside in this situation. Since I gave my word, I'll see it through."
With that, Lucas stood up and left the conference room.
Gwen and the others followed without hesitation. They weren't here for S.H.I.E.L.D.—they were here for Lucas.
Tony also rose to his feet.
"You guys carry on," he said casually. "I'm going to get some rest."
Then he left as well.
Fury watched them go and let out a bitter smile.
"Maybe my way of thinking really is outdated."
In his mind, the Avengers Initiative had effectively collapsed. He never imagined that these so-called superheroes lacked even the most basic sense of teamwork—each acting entirely on their own.
What Fury didn't realize was that he was wrong.
Tony and Steve's coordination during the Helicarrier crisis, Gwen, Wanda, and Peter's seamless teamwork, Thor's battlefield control—were those not cooperation? The only difference was that none of it had been planned in advance. It was instinctive, improvised teamwork born in the heat of the moment.
---
Later that evening, Tony arrived alone at the containment area where Loki had once been imprisoned.
It was empty now.
The cage had fallen along with Thor, leaving only four grappling hooks swaying back and forth in the open air.
Lost in thought, Tony didn't notice Lucas approach until he spoke.
"What are you thinking about?"
Tony jumped slightly, snapping back to reality.
"Nothing much," he said. "Just wondering why Loki pretended to let us capture him. What did he gain from that?"
Lucas nodded.
"Probably to break us apart. To make sure we had neither the reason nor the mindset to work together. All of us together is something Loki absolutely doesn't want—our combined strength leaves him no chance. So he has to isolate us, one by one."
Tony thought about it—and realized Lucas was right.
"That makes perfect sense," Tony said slowly. "If Loki wants to win, dividing us is the best move. And not just that—he wants the whole world to see him defeat us. He needs to crush public resistance. He needs an audience. He wants everyone to witness it."
Tony's eyes suddenly widened.
"He needs a place that grabs attention. A landmark. Somewhere unforgettable. The top of the world. A—holy sh*t."
Tony froze.
He knew exactly where that place was—and it was right in front of them.
"Lucas, gather everyone immediately," Tony said urgently. "I know where that damn reindeer is headed. He actually dares to do this—then I'll beat him so badly even Thor won't recognize him!"
With that, Tony hurried off, leaving behind Lucas, who wore a knowing expression.
"Looks like he figured it out with just a little push."
Lucas immediately instructed Skye to use the Helicarrier's broadcast system to summon everyone to the conference room.
Before long, everyone assembled, looking at Lucas in confusion.
"Don't look at me," Lucas said calmly. "I'm just the messenger. The real lead here is Tony—he's already figured out Loki's next move."
He pointed toward the door just as Tony walked in.
"Everyone," Tony said, "I've figured out Loki's next step. He needs a location with massive energy output—one that satisfies his ego and allows him to announce his arrival to the entire world."
A large screen lit up in front of them.
Displayed on it was New York's newest landmark—
Stark Tower.
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