"Okay, let's not help Loki stall for more time," Steve said, knocking on the table firmly, cutting Tony off before he could spiral into another off-topic rant.
"Focus, people. We can't afford to let this turn into the Rich Guy Banter Hour."
He turned to Thor. "Do you know what Loki's plan is?"
Thor crossed his arms, his brows furrowed. "Not entirely. I only know he's allied with an army called the Chitauri. He plans to bring them to Earth, likely using the Tesseract to open a gateway."
"That explains why he's manipulating Dr. Selvig and Hawkeye," Banner chimed in, adjusting his glasses. "He needs their help to construct the portal."
"Then why surrender himself?" Steve asked, his face tense. "What's he really trying to pull?"
"I think we're focusing on the wrong person," Banner said. "The real danger is the Tesseract, not Loki. That guy's unstable, sure, but the Tesseract is what he's really after."
"Hey, watch it," Thor cut in sharply. "Whatever else he's done, Loki is still Asgardian. And he's still my brother."
"He murdered eighty innocent people in two days," Natasha said suddenly, her voice cold and sharp as steel.
Thor blinked.
"He was adopted," he muttered after a beat, not missing a step.
Tony clapped his hands and stood.
"Right, well, while you guys continue bonding over family issues, I think I'll go make myself useful. Coulson, Banner, let's hit the lab. Time to find the Tesseract."
"Hold up, Coulson—come with me first."
Ethan, leaning casually against the wall, stood up and motioned to the agent.
Coulson raised an eyebrow but followed him to a quiet corner.
"What's this about?" Coulson asked.
"Relax, I've got something cool to show you," Ethan replied.
He reached into a compartment of his belt and pulled out a slender, golden crystal, about the size of a finger.
He placed it gently into Coulson's hand.
"What is this?" Coulson began, but before he could finish, the crystal shattered with a soft crack.
A wisp of golden smoke drifted up and slipped into his nostrils before he could react.
"You okay?" Ethan asked.
"I think so... Actually, I feel kind of great," Coulson said, taking another breath.
His exhaustion from the past few days seemed to fade, like he'd just had a full night's sleep and a triple espresso.
"It'll take some time to settle in," Ethan said with a grin.
"You still haven't told me what it is."
Ethan turned, already walking away. "Let's just say it's an... anti-luck mist. Once inhaled, your SSR pull rate officially drops to zero forever. Congrats, you're a certified unlucky legend now."
Coulson blinked, holding his hand up as if the golden mist might still be there.
He shook his head, chuckling.
No way Ethan was serious.
Probably just a joke.
He didn't even consider the smoke could be dangerous—he trusted Ethan too much for that. They'd been through thick and thin. It was just another of Ethan's strange little pranks.
"Unlucky legend, my ass," Coulson muttered to himself with a smirk. "When this mission's over, I'm getting that Captain America autograph. That'll be my real SSR upgrade."
The aerospace carrier was running at full capacity.
Everyone was rushing around, focused on their assignments, when a shadow slipped into the chamber where Loki was being held.
"You showed up earlier than I expected," Loki said, turning to face Black Widow with a smirk playing on his lips.
"You knew I'd come?" she asked, locking eyes with him.
"Of course. I figured Fury would try a few of his charming interrogation tactics first. Maybe rattle the cage a bit before sending you in to play the 'good cop'—all soothing voice and concerned eyes, digging for whatever you need."
Truthfully, Fury had considered it. As Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., he wasn't shy about using underhanded methods to get information.
But with Thor on board, things got complicated.
The last thing anyone needed was Loki pulling a dramatic "Brother, forgive me!" and Thor spiraling into an emotional mess, flipping the entire ship upside down in a thunder-fueled tantrum.
If Thor hadn't been there, Loki would probably already be dissected under the pretense of science.
But since Loki was technically Asgardian royalty, Earth laws didn't quite apply—and the optics were bad.
"I'm here to ask about Barton," Natasha said, brushing past the manipulation with professional ease.
That threw Loki for a loop.
He expected flirtation, subtle emotional fishing—not this directness.
She wasn't playing his game. She was here for her partner.
"I simply expanded his worldview," Loki said vaguely.
"And if your little plan succeeds—what happens to his mind then?"
"Is that concern I hear? Love, perhaps?" Loki teased.
"Love is for children. I owe him a debt."
She sat down across from him, her voice steady. Then she told him the story: how she used to be someone else.
Dangerous. Unforgivable.
Barton had been sent to kill her—but instead, he gave her a second chance.
He brought her into S.H.I.E.L.D. That kind of grace didn't come for free.
"So yeah," she said. "I owe him. I pay my debts."
Loki's smile faded. "You think you can erase the blood on your ledger just by saving someone like you? You call that redemption? That's pathetic. You're begging for forgiveness like some scared child."
His voice had grown sharp, edged with something deeper. Her words had struck something in him.
He remembered the moment—Thor offering his hand.
"Come home, brother."
If he had taken it, maybe the mistakes would've faded with time.
He could've been the second prince again. Not the villain. Not the betrayer.
But Loki wasn't built to bow.
Not to fate. Not to forgiveness. He had made his choices.
"You lied for a liar. Killed for a killer. And now you dress it all up like it's noble—some righteous mission to make things right. But that stain on your soul? It's permanent."
His eyes darkened, voice rising as the anger spilled out.
"I'll make sure Barton kills you. Not just kill—tear you apart the way he knows you fear most. I'll wake him up, let him see what he's done. Let him break down in horror—then I'll split him open. And you two? You'll be trapped in that torment together, your souls chained, screaming in agony. That's the price someone's going to pay."
Loki's laugh echoed through the chamber, wild and bitter as he clutched his face, lost in his own madness.
"Hehehe... Hahahaha~!"
At the same time, Thor was in his room, just about to drift off to sleep when he jolted upright. A strange shiver ran down his spine. He was the God of Thunder, yet something deep inside told him danger was coming—like a shadowy figure in the dark holding a hatchet and aiming right for his kidneys.
"You monster." Black Widow snapped, her voice sharp after Loki's disturbing laughter echoed through the cell.
"Oh no," Loki grinned, eyes glinting with mischief. "You brought the monster."
He let out a satisfied breath. Finally—someone was actually listening to him for once since he'd arrived on Earth.
"So... Banner. That's your plan," Black Widow muttered as if to herself, but her tone was clear.
Loki's smirk faltered. "What?"
"Call Fury," Natasha said quickly, rising to her feet. "Loki's real plan is to unleash the Hulk. He wants him to transform here—on the carrier. Don't let him leave the lab. And notify Ethan—tell him to move, now!"
Moments later, Fury burst into the lab.
He looked around and frowned when he saw Banner and Tony tossing a paper airplane back and forth.
"You two do know this is a crisis situation, right?"
"We've already run the simulations. We'll get the results any second," Banner said, calmly.
"But in the meantime," Tony chimed in, "we wanted to talk about something else. What exactly is this 'Phase Two'?"
Before Fury could respond, Steve entered the room, holding a weapon. "They're using the Tesseract to build weapons."
Fury's jaw tightened. "You broke into the armory?"
"We had to know," Steve said. "If we're going to work together, we need to trust each other."
"So while the world's falling apart, you're investigating me?" Fury's tone was sharp.
"It matters," Steve insisted.
Thor stepped into the room just then. "Loki and his army came because of the Tesseract. That's not a coincidence."
"This all started with you," Fury said, pointing at Thor. "Ever since your people showed up, we've had to think bigger. Intergalactic. I did what I had to do to keep this planet safe."
But Fury's reasoning didn't settle the tension. Voices rose. Accusations flew. The entire room turned into a storm of doubt and suspicion.
Meanwhile, Ethan walked in behind Thor, his jet-black hair falling over his eyes as he scanned the tense group.
He didn't speak at first, just watched. Something about this scene felt wrong—too chaotic for such a brief disagreement.
Then he noticed it.
Loki's scepter.
It was lying on the table, faint energy pulsing from its tip.
It was subtle, but he could feel it worming its way into everyone's minds, twisting emotions, fanning conflict.
Ethan stepped toward it.
His hand hovered just above the shaft.
Then he pulled back.
"Not yet," he muttered under his breath. "I've waited too long. What's a little longer?"
Before he could say more, a violent shockwave tore through the carrier, shaking the entire structure.
Alarms blared. The lights flickered.
Just like that, the arguments stopped.
Tony and Steve bolted toward the blast site. Fury and Natasha raced for the bridge.
Thor took off to find his brother.
The room emptied, leaving only Ethan and Banner—who was already beginning to change.
His breathing grew ragged. His muscles bulged.
Ethan watched calmly, pulling out a wrinkled old booklet titled "36 Tips for beating the Hulk to a Pulp," handwritten by Banner himself.
"Looks like they really did leave you with me," Ethan sighed. "Let's see if any of these actually work."
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Word count: 1671
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