Chapter 70: Tesseract

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for participating in the main plot: "Iron Man's Official Press Conference." +2 Plot Points.] The system's voice echoed in Luke's mind like a sweet melody. Hidden quietly in a shaded corner of the press room, he watched Tony Stark stumble through the aftermath of his impulsive announcement with a deeply amused smirk. Poor Tony. He couldn't even enjoy his own spotlight for five minutes. Another alert chimed inside Luke's mind. Two more points added to his system tally. He was now sitting comfortably at 13 plot points, just 7 points shy of the next system advancement. Not bad for just standing around and watching someone else get humiliated. Feeling satisfied, Luke turned on his heel and walked toward the exit, casually taking Sharon's hand in his own as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Sharon didn't protest, she was far too preoccupied by the contact. Her fingers trembled slightly in his palm, her thoughts drifting so far from the press conference that she barely registered they were leaving. 'Does he know he's still holding my hand? Does he care? ...Do I care if he does?' By the time she remembered to breathe again, they were already halfway to the Camaro. A blush crept over her face, hot and impossible to hide. Luke turned his head and cast one last glance toward the podium. Tony's smile had completely disappeared, replaced by a complicated grimace. It was clear that he, too, had realized the truth: the world's eyes hadn't been on him last night. They were on Bumblebee. ... A Few Days Later In the high-security halls of a S.H.I.E.L.D research center, the mood was tense. Nick Fury stood on the helipad, coat whipping behind him as the helicopter he just descended from was powering down. He stepped forward, eyes narrowed behind his signature eyepatch. A young agent rushed to greet him. "Director Fury, the Tesseract, it's acting up. Selvig says it's reacting to an unknown force." Fury didn't slow his pace. "Get me down there. Now." Within minutes, he was deep within the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility's subterranean levels, striding through steel corridors toward the glowing blue cube: the Tesseract. It pulsed ominously inside its containment chamber, like a heart with a mind of its own. Dr. Erik Selvig, visibly rattled, turned toward Fury. "It's... calling to something. Or something is calling to it. I've never seen it act like this." And then, without warning... FLASH. A burst of brilliant, blinding light surged from the Tesseract. Energy cracked through the air like thunder. In the center of the room, a portal tore reality open like paper. For a heartbeat, everyone froze. Then, a figure stepped through. Cloaked in black and green, with a golden horned helmet and a sneer that could curdle blood. Loki of Asgard had arrived. He barely paused before striking. In a blur, he raised his scepter and pressed it to the chests of nearby agents. One by one, their eyes glazed over with blue light. Their wills dissolved. Clint Barton, Erik Selvig, and others followed. Loki didn't want to leave just yet, he'd prepared a whole speech, after all, but Barton whispered urgently: "Director Fury's stalling. He just activated the base's self-destruction protocol." Loki scowled, then turned. With his new recruits and the Tesseract in hand, he vanished in a crackling flash of blue. The ground shuddered. Boom~. The S.H.I.E.L.D base began collapsing on itself, debris crushing down through concrete and rebar. Dozens died, and even more were wounded. Even Agent Maria Hill barely survived, limping out of the wreckage with blood running down her temple. ... Back on the Helicarrier Nick Fury stood in the war room, staring grimly at the live feed of the smoking crater where their facility used to be. A secure line connected him to the World Security Council, each of their faces displayed on massive screens like judges handing down a sentence. One man leaned forward. "You should've escalated the second-phase weapons program. This is exactly what we prepared for." "I'm not interested in should haves," Fury growled. "The enemy is already here." "Then what do you propose?" another asked coolly. Fury's voice dropped into steel. "We assemble an emergency response team. The Avengers Initiative." Silence. And then scoffing. "That project was rejected." "You want to place the fate of the world in the hands of a bunch of... misfits? Have you even seen that roster?" Another voice chimed in with a sneer: "There's even a grocery store clerk on it. The same one who assaulted a U.S. military base. You think he's the answer to global defense?" Fury's hands clenched. "He's not just a clerk," he snapped. "Do you know how much it cost me to get him in? You don't know what he's capable of." One of the council members narrowed their eyes. "We know what his dog did." "And his car," another added dryly. "Exactly," Fury snapped. "You see freaks. I see the most powerful asset we've encountered." He cut the transmission before they could respond. Let them sit in their glass offices and argue over spreadsheets. The world was on the brink of disaster, and he wasn't going to wait for another committee vote to act. ... He stormed into the hallway. Agent Hill, waiting just outside, stood at attention. "Hill," Fury said, "go to Luke Yale. Tell him I need him. Now." Hill hesitated. "Shouldn't we go through Sharon? She's already embedded" Fury's scowl deepened. "Sharon's compromised. She's not his handler anymore. She's... his." He sighed slightly and said: "I am afraid she can already be regarded as Luke's person by now..." "What about Coulson and Romanoff?" Although Hill didn't quite understand what her boss meant, she didn't continue to ask about it, but asked about the other two people who had previous contact with Luke. Because, generally, this kind of task is not done by herself, so she was curious. Hill's responsibilities are mainly internal. Natasha Romanoff and Phil Coulson are the main agents that perform these kinds of tasks. But hearing her question, Fury sighed again, and said, "The last time they went... Forget it, don't ask, just follow the order and go..." He turned sharply, coat flaring behind him. "Just get him here. However you have to." ...