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*****
"I'd like a new element Arc Reactor."
Fini didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point. He had thought it through; even if Tony refused, it wouldn't be a huge deal—he had other backup plans.
Tony was momentarily stunned, then asked curiously, "What do you need that for?"
"I've got a pet, and he's lacking energy-based food."
Fini didn't bother hiding it from Tony. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon was bound to be revealed eventually; he couldn't keep it hidden forever, especially since he hoped for a chance to grind both experience and evolution in the future.
"A pet!? Eating Arc Reactors as food!?"
Tony was dumbfounded. If he didn't already know Fini was extraordinary in so many ways, he would have thought the boy was pulling his leg. Even so, he double-checked: "Are you sure it's for a pet?"
"What are you raising?"
"Nothing much, just a little guy."
Fini didn't want to reveal too many details yet; after all, it's always good to keep a few trump cards.
Seeing this, Tony stopped prying. He pulled a case from a drawer, opened it, and took out a glowing miniature Arc Reactor, speaking solemnly: "I don't know what kind of thing you're feeding, but be extremely careful."
Fini was surprised by how easily Tony handed it over. He couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you worried I'm lying to you?"
"If you just wanted to get your hands on one, you wouldn't need to use a reason like that," Tony replied, patting Fini on the shoulder with an air of indifference. "So, I trust you!"
Fini was somewhat moved. He hadn't realized that Tony had unknowingly placed such immense trust in him. "Thanks. I'll bring you something good when I get the chance."
After leaving with the miniature reactor, Fini headed straight to the snowy mountains and summoned the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. With an expectant gaze, he fed the reactor to the dragon.
To Fini's surprise, less than three seconds after swallowing it, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon spat it right back out.
"He really can't even digest an Arc Reactor!?"
Fini frowned. If that was the case, the chances of the dragon absorbing the Space Stone were even slimmer. But Fini didn't give up; he had to try before knowing for sure, and even if it couldn't be absorbed now, there was always the future.
Besides, the miniature Arc Reactor was Tony's masterpiece—its energy containment was incredibly tight, unlike the Tesseract which might have energy leaks. Failing to absorb the reactor didn't necessarily mean it couldn't absorb energy from the Space Stone.
Still, Fini was disappointed. He had hoped the reactor would at least accelerate the dragon's evolution, but it seemed he couldn't handle it at this stage. Considering the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was only at one star, a weak digestive capacity was somewhat excusable.
Fini helplessly comforted the dragon with some Violet-Marked Fried Chicken Rolls, hoping things would improve after evolution. If all else failed, he still had his final trump card.
---
Only three days later, Fini received a call from Nick Fury.
"Is there any way to stop them from taking the Tesseract?"
Fury didn't immediately ask Fini to come help. Instead, he asked if there were other solutions. Deep down, he still held a degree of skepticism toward Fini's information.
"Just don't give it to them!" Fini replied crossly. "The thing is in your hands. If you don't want them to take it, just say so. As long as you have the power to keep it, they can't take it."
Fury understood the logic, but he preferred a more peaceful approach. "Can't we negotiate or trade?"
"Don't ask me!" Fini replied in a helpless tone. "I don't know anyone from Asgard. How would I know what they're thinking?"
Fury didn't know if Fini was telling the truth, but he understood that keeping the Tesseract ultimately came down to power.
"I need your help."
Finally, Fury uttered the words. Though he suspected Fini's goal in sharing this news was simply to burn through one of the favors owed to him, it was a "transparent ploy" Fury was forced to walk into.
Hearing this, Fini wore a satisfied smile on his end of the phone, but his voice remained neutral. "I can't guarantee a successful defense. You should be prepared for that."
"Understood," Fury grunted. He wasn't too worried; if Fini and S.H.I.E.L.D. combined couldn't stop it, he would just have to accept the loss for now.
"So, when are you going to send the Cube over?" Fini asked tentatively. If Fury actually handed the Tesseract to him, it wouldn't be a bad thing—at the very least, if it was in his hands, the chances of Loki successfully stealing it were near zero.
"The Cube cannot be handed to you directly. I need you to come to the base to guard it."
Fury obviously wouldn't give it to Fini. The whole point of keeping it was to study its power; if he gave it to Fini, how was that different from giving it back to Asgard?
Fini curled his lip but didn't push too hard. Instead, he said, "In that case, it's going to cost extra!"
"Extra?" Fury was taken aback, then asked with the confidence of a man with a massive budget: "How much?"
"One million a day!?" Fini thought for a moment and threw out a random number.
"Deal!"
Fury's hesitation-free answer made Fini's heart ache instantly. The quote was clearly too low; he should have billed by the hour. Unfortunately, he was too embarrassed to backtrack. He simply asked with a stiff face, "When do we start?"
"As soon as possible," Fury replied.
"Then tomorrow. I'll go to school and ask for a week's leave first."
Fini decided that if he was going to act, he had to do it properly. If he stayed in school while claiming a crisis was imminent, Fury would definitely get suspicious. As for what happened after a week if Asgard didn't show up—Fini didn't care. He had never promised they would arrive on a specific day; that had been Fury's own assumption.
Besides, Fini suspected Fury actually hoped Asgard wouldn't come to reclaim it at all.
With the call ended, Fini had successfully initiated his plan to get close to the Tesseract. As for finding an opportunity to let the Blue-Eyes White Dragon swallow the stone, he planned to wait until he arrived at the base tomorrow to assess the situation.
A week should be more than enough time to find a window.
The next day, Fini took leave from school and gave Skye a brief explanation. To be safe, he didn't mention S.H.I.E.L.D. specifically. He even notified Mordo at Kamar-Taj that he wouldn't be coming by for a while.
To earn Fury's trust, Fini was truly putting in the effort.
(End of Chapter)