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A strained silence settled over the Helicarrier command center. Fury, Hill, and Natasha felt a flush of professional embarrassment. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most guarded secret, a research project spanning decades, was a mystery even to its own leaders. Meanwhile, Hermione, an "outsider," was reciting its true, cosmic nature with the detached certainty of a Wikipedia entry. The entire wizarding world, they realized, commanded a level of knowledge and power that dwarfed their own.
"So, these Stones… they have to find a host?" Tony asked, his voice tight with a scientific curiosity that bordered on obsession. He was already running calculations in his head, trying to design a containment unit.
Hermione nodded, allowing a faint illusion of the six swirling, colored spheres to remain hovering over the console. "They are too powerful for most beings to simply wield. The raw energy would destroy the host. They require a carrier, a vessel, to control their power and make it accessible."
She began her inventory, listing the known carriers. "The Reality Stone uses Aether particles, currently associated with the Dark Elves. The Time Stone, as I mentioned, is contained within the Eye of Agamotto, kept here on Earth by the Ancient Sorcerer Supreme." She paused, a glint of possessiveness in her eyes as she looked at the scepter in her hand. "You have both seen the Cosmic Cube—the Space Stone—and this scepter—the carrier of the Mind Stone."
Fury looked at the scepter, the elegant golden staff, with a fresh wave of despair. He finally understood why Hermione had demanded it. It wasn't just a trophy; it was a cosmic artifact, an anchor point of reality itself. He could only watch as it fell into the hands of a twelve-year-old witch.
Natasha stepped forward, her professional distance melting away, replaced by the raw concern of a devoted friend. She grabbed Hermione's arm, her voice low and urgent. "Clint. Barton. Can you help him? Can you get that thing out of his head?"
"Don't worry, Sister Natasha," Hermione said, giving her hand a reassuring pat. "Loki's control is just a basic mind charm. With the right counter-curse and the Scepter itself, it's a simple extraction. A piece of cake."
Natasha let out a long, shuddering breath, her shoulders sagging with relief.
Steve Rogers watched the exchange, his brow deeply furrowed. He was officially the loneliest person in the room. He was the hero, yet he was the most ignorant. He didn't know the girl, he didn't know the threat, and he certainly didn't know the complexity of their relationships.
"Captain Rogers," Banner said, trying to be helpful, "I think our most immediate concern is finding the Space Stone before Loki does any more damage."
"Watch your words, Doctor," Thor interjected, his voice stern, protective of his fallen sibling. "He is still an Asgardian. He is still my brother."
"He is a lunatic who killed eighty people in two days," Hill snapped, her own patience gone.
Thor choked. "He was adopted!" he managed to sputter, the weakness of the defense palpable.
Hermione rolled her eyes, deciding to let the family drama continue without her input.
Tony, having absorbed the technical data, finally jumped back into the conversation, his eyes gleaming. "Loki needs a high-density energy source to activate that portal again. He needs the Cube, and he needs to be somewhere he can safely generate that power." He turned to Banner. "Doctor, if you let me borrow that Scepter, I might be able to reverse-engineer its radiation signature. We could use that to find the Cube."
"I'll do it," Banner agreed immediately.
Hermione readily handed over the Mind Scepter. "Be careful with it. It's not yours to keep."
Later that evening, Hermione walked down the high-security corridor of the Helicarrier's brig, where Loki was being held. The atmosphere was cold, silent, and imposing. Armed guards stood at attention outside the reinforced glass cell.
She gave a small, silent Apparition. With a soft pop and a faint, shimmering distortion of the air, she appeared inside the cell.
Loki, who was sitting on the bench, looking utterly bored, didn't even flinch. He looked up, a wry, cynical smile playing on his lips.
"Well, well," he drawled, his voice echoing slightly in the small space. "The little witch comes to visit her favorite enemy. I assume you acquired the scepter?"
Hermione waved her hand, and an invisible barrier materialized around them, muffling the sound and obscuring the view of the guards outside. The conversation was now completely private.
"Did you get it?" she asked, her voice low and serious.
Loki's smile widened, arrogant and triumphant. "Naturally."