Originally, Atreus should have been on the same side as Tony.
Atreus's brilliance lies in the fact that whenever he does anything heroic, he never shows his true face. This completely separates his identity from that of a "superhuman being who isn't controlled by the government and might pose a threat to national security."
As long as he has no shame, he can claim, "I'm just an ordinary person," and disguise himself as the head of a conglomerate influencing Congress, rather than as a superhero.
Since Atreus wasn't willing to join, Tony naturally wouldn't force him. So, while studying information about Loki, Tony went to report to the Avengers.
On the other hand, recruiting the Hulk and Captain America went smoothly. The biggest divergence in this world was that on that same night, Nick Fury went to Gotham City. He climbed to a building next to the Gotham City Police Department and lit up the Bat-Signal.
When the spotlight with the bat symbol hit the thick clouds, revealing the sign that was once taboo in Gotham, the whole city stirred.
Batman had returned to take care of Bane, putting to rest the rumors of his retirement. Yet, Gotham's officials still couldn't bring themselves to acknowledge Batman's existence again.
After all, the upper echelons of Gotham had previously allowed the media to portray Batman as an outlaw, forcing Commissioner Gordon to publicly smash the Bat-Signal.
Now, with Nick lighting the Bat-Signal next to Gotham PD, Bruce Wayne was left in a dilemma.
Should he go? Or not?
Eventually, Nick Fury met with… a 3D projection of Batman.
A small electronic projector attached to a Batarang displayed Batman's image. But Bruce himself was still in his underground base.
"Nice to meet you, Batman. I'm Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.," he said, showing his credentials and introducing the two people with him. "This is Captain America, and this is Black Widow."
Batman didn't recognize Black Widow but was quite interested in Captain America. He nodded at Black Widow as a greeting but said to Captain America, "My parents liked you when they were alive. I didn't expect you to still be around."
Captain America nodded. "I've been asleep for 70 years."
After a brief and unremarkable exchange, Nick brought up Loki's situation and stated his purpose: "America, and the entire world, is in great danger. I'm here to ask if you'd join the Avengers."
From Captain America's perspective, convincing Batman should have been a sure thing.
He had read Batman's file: unlike most superheroes, Batman demonstrated a high moral standard and a clear tendency to obey the law. The villains he defeated were all handed over to the police and sent to prison or an asylum.
But unexpectedly, Batman asked a question: "If I join, do I have to take off my mask?"
Nick was momentarily stunned. "I'm afraid so. The Avengers will work very closely with the military."
In a low voice, Batman replied, "Then I refuse."
At that moment, countless thoughts raced through Nick's mind. He guessed that Batman must have a massive industrial team behind him. Otherwise, how could he create high-tech gear like the Batwing and the Batmobile?
In Nick's mind, the mysterious Batman was already linked to some of the nation's major conglomerates, if not a more secretive foreign power.
(India: Yes, it's me!)
(Nick: Ugh!)
Nick's thousands of thoughts turned into a sigh. "That's a shame… If we really do face an alien invasion."
"I will act!"
"Great, thank you for your honesty. One last question—do you know Kratos, or do you have a way to contact him?"
Batman's eyes narrowed sharply, and his strong reaction didn't escape Nick's notice. He sensed they had hit something.
But…
"I refuse to provide information on him, and I advise you not to provoke him."
"Why?" Captain America was curious.
Behind his mask, Bruce used it to hide the veins popping on his forehead. Was he supposed to tell them that his young protégé had absurd strength and a flexible moral compass?
If it were anyone else, Batman would've ratted them out by now.
But Atreus was too smart, tying himself entirely to Wayne Enterprises. If something happened to him, Batman's financial resources would be cut off too. Though Atreus's methods were less than noble, he still operated within Batman's moral boundaries.
As a result, Batman had no choice but to protect his troublesome protégé.
Faced with Captain America's curiosity, Batman chose silence.
This made things even more intriguing.
Nick stepped in to ease the tension. "It's fine. S.H.I.E.L.D. welcomes any friends willing to fight against alien invaders."
Batman said no more, nodded, and then his 3D projection vanished.
Not only that, but the projector on the Batarang self-destructed, leaving all its electronic components melted.
Nick's attempts to recruit other superheroes also didn't go smoothly.
He tried to get the media to subtly leak information about Kratos. He also attempted to track down Kratos and Spider-Man through the city's limited surveillance cameras, but neither effort was successful.
Black Widow frowned. "Someone preemptively hacked almost all the cameras, erasing nearly all traces of the superheroes."
In the past, this would have been considered anti-government behavior.
But Nick couldn't worry about that now, not with Loki wreaking havoc.
With the Tesseract (the Space Stone) in his possession, Loki needed a rare element, iridium, as a stabilizer to open a space portal. To obtain this rare metal, Loki went to a scientist's banquet in Germany, where he used a device to extract the scientist's eye. Hawkeye, under mind control, used the sensor to simulate the scientist's eye and successfully unlocked a vault containing the iridium.
Now, they could use the Tesseract to open the portal and summon the Chitauri army.
After securing the iridium with a diversion tactic, Loki's ego got the best of him.
He followed the panicked crowd out of the banquet hall, blew up a police car with his staff to show off his power, and used his illusion to trap everyone. Then he yelled:
"Kneel before me!"
His voice was loud, authoritative, and cruel, laced with divine power.
To ordinary civilians, this was a typical case of being overwhelmed by a higher power.
Everyone knelt, except for one stubborn old man.
Loki was about to make an example of him, but Captain America and Iron Man arrived, and Loki ended up being the one kneeling.
Faced with Iron Man's heavy firepower, Loki gave a salute more appropriate for a neighboring country of Germany—France.
Interestingly, this scene was broadcast live on TV.
The banquet had been a big event, and at least the local TV station was covering it live. Atreus, having switched channels ahead of time, saw the whole thing unfold.
Atreus was curious: "Don't you all think Loki has the 'flexible moral compass' here? One second he's calling himself the king of everyone, the next he's acting like a subordinate."
The moment he said that, the women around him burst out laughing.