Chapter 155

Loki got to work with his small entourage.

They loaded the device onto a van before renting a helicopter.

They quickly flew over the tower while Loki created an illusion to make them invisible.

Erik had warned him that if the tower detected them, it would quickly alert Iron Man, and he would alert everyone else.

Maintaining the illusion, Erik quickly worked with several people to connect the device to the tower's power source.

"How long will it take?" Loki asked.

"Fifteen minutes should be enough," Erik said.

Loki let out a rather macabre laugh as he heard the small increasing hums emanating from the device.

....

Tony and Bruce were working in the laboratory to locate the Tesseract.

"It will take weeks to process all the data that Dr. Selvig reported," Bruce said, looking at his screen.

"I'll give you access to my satellites, we can greatly speed up the process," Tony said from his own workstation.

"I hope this ends quickly," Bruce said, shaking his head.

"One day you should visit Stark Tower, 10 floors dedicated to research, you'll feel like a kid in a toy store," Tony said, laughing as he approached Bruce.

"That wouldn't be too bad, I think I can control myself now and not cause a disaster like a few years ago," Bruce said, nodding as he worked.

"What have you been up to all this time?" Tony asked curiously.

"Learning to control my transformation. My life was stagnant, living in fear of turning, and I got tired of being afraid. I started accepting what I am," Bruce said as he continued working on the touch screen.

"While traveling, I also dedicated myself to helping people. Those were good years, but this is also a good opportunity to return."

"I heard you have a girlfriend. Is she waiting for you?" Tony asked, smiling.

"I don't know. I hope I can see her after this," Bruce said, pausing for a moment.

"I hope you two can reunite," Tony said, passing behind Bruce before giving him a little poke.

Bruce let out a slight cry of pain before looking at Tony.

"You really can control it," Tony said, looking at Bruce with interest.

"Hey!" Steve shouted as he arrived, seeing Tony's actions.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't experiment on me," Bruce said, laughing a bit, not taking it too seriously.

"What are you doing? You're risking the safety of the entire ship... no offense," Steve said, finally looking at Bruce and apologizing.

"It's okay. If I couldn't control it, I wouldn't have come on board," Bruce said, unfazed.

"And you, focus on the problem, Mr. Stark," Steve said, looking at Tony with annoyance.

"Do you think I'm not? Fury gathered us, but I feel like he's hiding things from us. I can't solve the equation if I don't have all the variables," Tony said, looking at Steve.

"Soon my decoder will be able to access SHIELD's secret files. Jarvis started working as soon as I got on the bridge."

"We'll soon have all of SHIELD's dirty secrets," Tony said with a smug smile.

Steve and Bruce looked at Tony in disbelief. It's no wonder he's not invited to anything.

"Listen, Loki is seeking a war. If we're not careful, he'll succeed. We have orders, let's just follow them," Steve said, looking at Bruce and Tony.

"Blind obedience isn't my style," Tony said, shrugging.

"Steve, from what I know, SHIELD had the Tesseract for many years. We're not even sure if they got it. I'm not naive enough to think I'm here just to find the Cube."

"If there really is an alien invasion, I don't mind contributing by turning. But at least we deserve to know what we're getting into," Bruce said, looking at Steve.

"I don't want to retrieve the Cube only to find out it was just to create weapons. If that technology leaks, it will do more harm than an alien invasion."

''In all the information we have been given is saying that they are working to create clean and sustainable energy with the cube, I hope it is not otherwise''.

"Just find the cube," Steve said, furrowing his brow before sitting to the side.

Several minutes passed, and Fury arrived at the lab, followed by Thor and Natasha.

"What are you doing?" Fury asked upon arriving.

"In fact, we were wondering the same thing about you," Tony said with a playful smile.

"I thought you were locating the Tesseract," Fury said, frowning.

"That's what we're doing. We've combined several satellites to track the energy signature of the Tesseract. When it detects it, we'll know," Bruce said, pointing to a screen showing a progress bar.

"By the way, what is Phase 2?" Tony asked as he read the secret information that appeared on his screen.

"Oh, I see, it's about making weapons with the Tesseract," Tony said, answering his own question.

"I only gathered what's related to the Tesseract. It doesn't necessarily mean..." Fury began before being interrupted by Tony.

"I'm sorry, Fury, what were you saying?" Tony said, showing the blueprints of missiles powered by the energy of the Tesseract.

"I was wrong, Director. The world hasn't changed," Steve said, looking at Fury.

"Now, Director, could you explain to us why SHIELD wants to create weapons of mass destruction with the potential to end the world?" Bruce asked, furrowing his brow and pointing at the screen.

Fury fell silent, feeling the weight of all the gazes upon him. He can't afford to lose them at this moment.

"You ask me why? The world is full of people that no one can beat, or control," Fury said.

"Not just the world, the universe out there is full of threats," Fury said, pointing towards the window.

"Who are you referring to that can't be defeated?" Thor asked, furrowing his brow.

"I suppose you mean Damian," Tony said, changing the screen to show a large amount of data about Damian.

It was filled with records of every little thing he had done, no matter how small.

Fury saw the looks of mistrust and slight hostility from Natasha and Tony. He knew that if he didn't explain himself well, he would lose the team that hadn't truly formed yet.

"In fact, Damian is a threat to world security, just like all of you here. The difference is that the damage Damian could do to the world is infinitely greater than what any of you could cause," Fury said calmly.

"You don't understand the terror of the power that man holds," Fury said, closing his eyes and shaking his head as several scenes flashed through his mind.

"You seem a bit traumatized," Tony said with a mocking tone.

Natasha simply remained silent. She definitely disliked the idea that Fury was spying on Damian with such intensity, despite the indirect help Damian had offered Fury.

"We need the power of the Tesseract because our weapons are just toys for advanced civilizations. It's perfectly normal for us to try to produce more powerful weapons. Wasn't that how you got rich, Stark?" Fury said, looking at Tony.

"I don't understand why you treat your defenders with mistrust," Thor said, furrowing his brow.

"Damian may be many things, but a defender he is not," Fury scoffed. Damian is definitely not a hero. The most he does is help someone right in front of him, and that's only if he finds the person agreeable.

"That's curious that you say these things. If I remember correctly, it was Damian who gave you the Tesseract," Natasha said, furrowing her brow.

"The Tesseract is something that belongs to humans," Fury said as if it were normal for Damian to give it to them.

Thor frowned upon hearing Fury's words, as the Tesseract was something that Asgard had left on Midgard.

"The Tesseract has no owner. It's one of the most powerful objects in the universe and existed before the creation of this one. It could be said that the owner is the one with the ability to protect it," Natasha said with a serious expression.

"Indeed, it has always been like this. The Tesseract was something Asgard left on Earth many years ago," Thor added, furrowing his brow.

"It's normal to try to create more powerful weapons. Technological advancement is normal, but it seems like your goal is to face Damian. Moreover, creating weapons of mass destruction is something insane," Tony said, furrowing his brow. The energy of the Tesseract on a much larger scale could blow up countries or even continents.

"Technology always leaks. In the end, everyone will have those weapons and will want to overthrow the strongest, which in this case is Damian."

"I'm completely sure that they won't be able to defeat him, and a desperate opponent is the one we should truly fear," Tony said, crossing his arms.

The discussion grew louder as voices gradually raised.

At that moment, an alarm sounded from the computer, indicating that the Tesseract had been located.

Everyone fell silent before Bruce approached the computer.

Bruce's expression changed, and he unconsciously looked at Tony.

"What's happening?" Tony asked, quickly approaching and looking at the screen. His expression also changed upon seeing that the Tesseract was in his tower.

His mind quickly analyzed the possibilities as he guessed why they were there.

"The energy from my reactors is similar to the energy of the Tesseract. They probably want to use the energy from my tower to activate the Tesseract and open the portal. We need to leave now," Tony said, furrowing his brow before rushing to the hangar where his suit was.

"Jarvis, move the modules over to New York," Tony said seriously.

"I know that there are things we don't agree on, but I brought you together for this, to save the world," Fury said, looking at those remaining in the room.

"Regardless of anything else, it's what you have to do. The world needs you," Fury said, looking at everyone.

"To the Quinjet," Natasha said, leaving the room and heading towards the armory.

Steve, Bruce, and Thor ran towards the Quinjet, waiting for Natasha.

Natasha quickly gathered several weapons while carrying a bow, then ran into a room where Clint was.

She quickly explained the situation to him before dragging him out and getting him into the ship.

...

Damian was at home thinking about what should happen that day. He thought about his family before making a decision.

He quickly took out his phone and dialed the scientist.

"My lord, it's strange for you to call me," the scientist said when he answered.

"Hm, I want you to prepare 50 Spartans and send them to New York. There will be an invasion," Damian said directly.

"My king, have you finally decided to conquer the world? Don't worry, I already have several plans for it. I propose attacking the main countries of the world at the same time," the scientist said excitedly.

"... "

"My king?" the scientist asked with doubt at the sudden silence.

"There will be an alien invasion. We will help the people," Damian said without words.

"Cough... of course, I'll send the Spartans right away," the scientist said, embarrassed.

"Conquering the world is boring and troublesome. Afterward, who will take care of everything? I'll have a great responsibility without gaining anything in return. No, thank you," Damian said to the scientist before hanging up.

The scientist felt that what Damian said made some sense. It was already quite a bit of work in Madripoor; if he replicated the same on a global scale, there would be a lot of resistance, and he would die of exhaustion before completing all his plans.

"Frank, come here," the scientist said through his communicator.

Frank quickly arrived and stood in front of the scientist, waiting for his orders.

"I want 50 Spartans in New York. There will be an alien invasion, and our king intends to help a little," the scientist said, looking at Frank.

Frank's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing this. Even though he knew it was a possibility, he never truly thought an invasion would happen.

"Yes, sir," Frank said seriously before leaving to prepare everything.

"Frank, something happened?" Laura asked when she saw him arrive quickly.

"We have a mission. Everyone, get ready for war," Frank said seriously before continuing to walk and triggering the alarm.

Laura was surprised to hear this. Were they finally going to conquer other countries?

With the alarm, the available Spartans quickly formed up.

"The first 50 who arrived, put on your armor and get ready for war. We'll leave in 15 minutes," Frank said with a stern voice.

The Spartans immediately became excited and rushed to prepare themselves.

Those who arrived late could only sigh in regret for not being able to participate.

Seeing that they had all gone, Frank himself walked to his armor before the robotic arms began to put it on him.

With his armor on, Frank quickly walked to his armory. He was going to take his usual rifle before stopping. If their king sent them to fight and only sent 50, then the threat to them wasn't that big.

But an army was still an army. There must be thousands at least.

Looking at the other weapons, he realized they all looked new, and only his rifle was somewhat worn.

Since it was very likely he would fight hand-to-hand due to the large number of enemies he expected to face, he took a rifle that had a vibrating blade under the barrel.

Feeling the weapon in his hands and making small movements, he nodded slightly before heading out and looking at his men.

It seemed like everyone had similar ideas, as they all carried at least one melee weapon.

Laura looked at everyone speechless. Were they copying her?

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