He stared at the phone, frowning. "Of course," he muttered. Then he dialed back, and as expected, Coulson answered immediately—perhaps anticipating his persistence.
"Got any questions?" Coulson asked, a little strained.
James's voice was calm but edged. "Phil, you know I need details. How am I supposed to convince two geniuses to drop everything and board your bird with zero context?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Phil Coulson finally told him the truth — the Tesseract was gone.
James exhaled slowly, the pulse in his throat quickening despite his best effort to sound calm. What was coming would come. Whether he could touch the artifact or not would depend entirely on how he played his next moves.
"So, the Tesseract's been stolen," he said evenly. "And now we're going after it?"
"Thats right. The opposition's strong, but the Director's reopening the Avengers Initiative. He's in conference with the World Security Council right now. James… we need you at full capacity."
"Understood." James hung up and turned toward Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. "Gentlemen," he said with a faint smile, "we're going to sea."
Tony frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" Bruce looked equally puzzled.
"Something of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s got stolen. The three of us are being summoned to the Helicarrier. Bring all the gears — we're going to need it."
Banner's expression tightened. "Why me? I told you I don't want to work for the government."
James shook his head. "Not for them, Bruce — for the planet. The object that was stolen is called the Tesseract, or the Cosmic Cube. No one knows exactly when it first came to Earth, but it can absorb and release cosmic-level energy. Practically infinite amounts of it. The one who took it is named Loki — An asgardian royalty, from the realm of the gods, which means aliens. The people of his world used to be worshipped as gods here."
Tony scoffed. "Gods? You can't be serious."
"Small g and Tony, there are some things you have to admit. They are powerful beings." James said, "In the past I destroyed a construct called the Destroyer. Nine feet of armor filled with plasma fire — took a miracle and some cheap luck to end it. The Norse gods are real, Tony, and they are powerful."
Tony's grin faded. "If it bleeds, I can beat it."
"They can travel throughout dimensions and the universe."
"Interdimensional travel? Now that's a headache."
"Exactly," James replied. "And that's why we need to go. Tony, you're already a consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D., so this falls under your call sign. Bruce — you can track gamma signatures which we will need. The Tesseract radiates on that spectrum but their scientists can't isolate it; you can."
Banner rubbed the back of his neck. "If it's that serious… fine. I'll help."
He didn't add that James's uncharacteristic tension made him nervous. The man never looked rattled.
Outside, turbine thunder rolled across the coast of Malibu as a Quinjet descended onto Tony's landing pad. The three boarded, and the aircraft rose into the morning light, banking north toward New York.
Tony kept glancing at James. "You bringing your armor?"
"Always." James's smile was cryptic. The Umbra Sentinel was stored in his dimensional space, but no one knew that — not even Fury. Officially, he'd simply "flown home to retrieve it." Fury was smart enough not to ask questions he shouldn't be asking.
When the Quinjet reached Tony's New York tower, James stepped out onto the platform, disappeared briefly into the penthouse, and emerged moments later encased in black steel. The jet's pilot didn't comment and simply went on to do their job.
Meanwhile, in Washington, Fury was locked in a tense exchange with the World Security Council. After hours of bureaucratic shouting, he ended the feed, already decided on what he had to do. "The Avengers Initiative is active," he muttered. "They can argue about it later."
His next call went to Brooklyn.
Captain America's morning was quiet: an old gym, a heavy sandbag, and the ghost memory of seventy years. He'd been awake for months now, but the world still felt too loud, going too fast. He'd fought Hydra, watched his friends die, and woken up in a future where the war never truly ended.
When Fury arrived, the recruitment for the Avengers Initiative went smoothly. Steve Rogers was a soldier at heart. Orders gave him direction — something he desperately needed right now.
Far out at sea, the Helicarrier cut through rolling waves, alone and immense. Its shadow darkened the water as turbines groaned against the waves. The Quinjet carrying James, Tony, and Bruce descended toward the flight deck.
Tony stared through the viewport, impressed despite himself. "That's the mothership you were talking about? Does it actually fly?"
"It does," James said. "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been hoarding alien tech for decades. Don't underestimate what they can do. The strength of an individual is never enough.
Of course, we also have to distinguish right from wrong, if S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't made to protect the earth but only one country, I wouldn't join.
I would never join an intelligence agency like the FBI and the CIA, even if I would like to have that kind of job."
Banner gave a faint smile. "Your hobbies are… unconventional."
The Quinjet touched down, engines whining to a stop. When the ramp dropped, two figures in gleaming armor stepped into the light. The deck crew froze mid-motion, staring. Tony waved grandly, his repulsor thrusters glinting.
Another jet landed moments later. From it stepped out Phil Coulson — and beside him, a man out of time.
"Captain America," Coulson said, voice tinged with awe, "welcome to the Helicarrier."
The introductions began as the two groups met halfway down the deck.
"Captain Steve Rogers," Coulson continued proudly. "Everyone knows the story — the first superhero, defeated Hydra's Red Skull during World War II, went down with the Valkyrie, was frozen and recovered seventy years later."
Steve gave a curt nod, still taking in his surroundings. His eyes lingered on James's dark armor.
"The one in black is James Gibson," Coulson said. "S.H.I.E.L.D. Level Six agent. Operates under the call-sign 'Nocturne.' You've crossed paths before."
Steve's voice was flat. "Yeah. Last time, I'd just woken up. Didn't exactly appreciate being questioned like a criminal."
James's visor retracted, revealing a faint smirk. "You broke through half of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s security team just to get a breath of fresh air. I'd say we're even."
Coulson cleared his throat loudly. "And this," he said, gesturing to the man in red and gold, "is Tony Stark — and Dr. Bruce Banner."
Steve extended a polite handshake. "Mr. Stark. Doctor."
Tony returned it with a grin. "Big fan, Cap. My dad used to talk about you alot."
Bruce gave a small nod. "Nice to finally meet you."
The team had assembled, though none of them yet realized what the coming hours would demand of them. Around them, the wind turbines of the Helicarrier roared to life, lifting the ship skyward — and the age of heroes is about to begin.