Everyone aboard the Helicarrier knew one thing very clearly: when Dr. Bruce Banner lost control of his emotions, he would transform into the Hulk, a being of catastrophic destructive power.
Because of that, nearly everyone went out of their way to avoid provoking him, doing their best to keep him calm.
Everyone—except Tony Stark.
Tony actually poked Banner with an electric prod, curious to see whether it would trigger a transformation.
The behavior was reckless, borderline insane—but strangely enough, it earned Banner's goodwill. Tony was the first person who didn't treat him like a ticking time bomb, the first who didn't keep a careful, fearful distance.
"Are you insane?" Steve snapped, watching Tony deliberately test Banner's limits. "Are you always this irresponsible?"
"That depends on who I'm talking to," Tony replied casually.
"Your actions could endanger everyone on this ship—sorry, Doctor, I'm not blaming you."
"It's fine," Banner said calmly. "If I couldn't handle that much stimulation, I wouldn't have come aboard in the first place."
Tony's curiosity had always been relentless—especially when Nick Fury was clearly hiding something from him. The moment Tony set foot on the Helicarrier, he ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to begin cracking S.H.I.E.L.D.'s encrypted systems. Given a few hours, every classified secret on the carrier would be laid bare.
Steve could only feel helpless frustration. When it came to verbal sparring, ten Captain Americas still wouldn't be a match for Tony Stark.
Yet Steve had his own doubts. If the Tesseract was truly meant only as an energy source for humanity's development, why keep it so deeply buried in secrecy?
So Steve chose his own approach.
He quietly infiltrated one of the Helicarrier's restricted storage vaults and conducted his own investigation. This entire "Avengers candidate" group was clearly giving Fury endless headaches.
…..
If the Tesseract were used to open a portal, the location would matter immensely. You couldn't just pick an empty field and call it a day.
Based on the conditions required to activate the Tesseract, S.H.I.E.L.D. analysts narrowed down possible locations where Dr. Selvig might attempt to open the gate, hoping to intercept him before catastrophe struck.
Meanwhile, Jane Foster, Thor's human girlfriend, was conducting astrophysics research in a Norwegian city. Selvig was her mentor, and Thor feared Selvig might activate the Tesseract near her, putting Jane directly in danger.
Ever meticulous, Agent Coulson handled that as well. Jane Foster was quietly relocated to a remote island under protection, brought in as an astronomical consultant—eliminating Thor's greatest worry.
"Thank you," Thor said sincerely.
Once, Thor had longed for war.
Now, he preferred peace—but Loki's unfathomable mind left him utterly exhausted.
Fury didn't understand Loki either, but he was far more experienced at reading people. He could tell—Loki wanted to stay on the Helicarrier more than anything.
With no useful intelligence forthcoming, Fury sent in his most effective interrogator.
Natasha Romanoff.
Loki was already waiting for her.
He knew she would come. Clint Barton mattered too much to her.
Over the past two days, Loki had extracted vast amounts of classified S.H.I.E.L.D. intelligence from Barton—including every detail of Natasha's dark past.
Loki delighted in dismantling his enemies piece by piece, savoring the moment their psychological defenses shattered and they broke down before him.
He targeted Natasha's guilt, her regret, her concern for Barton—hammering relentlessly at the cracks in her armor.
"I'll have Agent Barton kill you slowly," Loki sneered from behind the glass, madness flickering in his eyes.
"Gently. Carefully. I'll let him understand every moment of what he's doing. He'll scream in agony—
and then I'll crush his skull."
Natasha's fists clenched.
"You're insane."
"No," Loki replied softly. "The madness hasn't even started yet."
Loki said it casually—but Natasha understood instantly.
Her eyes widened.
"So Banner is your real target."
She turned and activated her comm.
"Alert Fury immediately. Keep Dr. Banner in the lab. Loki wants to control Banner."
With the information she needed, Natasha left without hesitation—though she didn't forget to thank Loki politely for his "cooperation."
Inside the glass cell, Loki stared blankly.
What did I say?
How did she know?
Why does she know?!
…Agents were terrifying.
…..
The sun rose, its warmth chasing away the darkness, bathing the world in golden light.
But Nick Fury's mood remained grim.
The Tesseract was still missing—and now the Helicarrier's mainframe reported a breach in classified files.
Only one person would dare do that.
Tony Stark.
When Natasha arrived at Banner's lab with Thor, they walked into a heated verbal battlefield. On the table sat a "Phase Two" prototype, dragged out of the vault by Steve himself.
Steve recognized it immediately.
It was a weapon—one Red Skull had once powered using the Tesseract.
While they risked their lives searching for the Tesseract, Fury had been using it to build weapons.
Was the world not chaotic enough already?
"Director Fury," Banner demanded, pointing at the schematics on the screen, "why is S.H.I.E.L.D. developing weapons of mass destruction using the Tesseract?"
"If it were just for me, you wouldn't need weapons on this scale," Banner continued coldly. "Are you planning to fight enemies—or erase cities?"
"Because of him," Fury replied, pointing directly at Thor.
"Me?" Thor protested. "I was just watching."
A year ago, Thor had ignited war between Asgard and Jotunheim and been cast down to Earth by Odin. His conflict with Loki had led to the complete destruction of a town in New Mexico.
Thor's arrival had expanded humanity's understanding of the universe—but it had also brought fear.
Aliens with technology, power, and weapons far beyond Earth's capabilities now existed. And if they came in force—could humanity resist?
That fear drove S.H.I.E.L.D. toward the Tesseract.
Red Skull had already proven what its weapons could do.
With limitless energy, Earth would never fear another invasion.
"It was your research that drew Loki and his army here," Steve said sharply.
"You broadcasted Earth's readiness for high-level warfare to the entire cosmos."
"They came to our doorstep," Fury shot back. "Are we not allowed to prepare?"
"By threatening nuclear annihilation?" Tony scoffed. "Sure. That'll calm everyone down."
"And you, Stark," Fury snapped, "don't pretend you built your empire on charity!"
…..
The argument escalated, voices overlapping in heated chaos.
No one noticed the faint blue glow pulsing from Loki's scepter on the table.
The light seeped into the room.
And with it, their reason slowly began to erode.
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T/N:
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