As Tony looked at the footage, his expression changed instantly. He turned to Coulson.
"I distinctly remember you saying this information would be kept confidential. What—have you decided to go back on your word?"
Previously, Nick Fury had classified everyone's files at the highest level, storing them under his personal authorization. No one else was supposed to have access.
"Keep watching,"
Coulson said calmly, offering no explanation.
Tony opened every folder at once. This time, new data appeared—Thor, the God of Thunder; Loki, the central figure of the incident; and the glowing blue Tesseract.
The moment Pepper saw the information, she knew Tony wouldn't have time for her tonight.
"I might as well head to Washington now," she said lightly.
"It's obvious you won't have time for anything else."
She pulled out her phone and made a call with practiced ease.
"Notify the jet. Prepare for takeoff in one hour."
After hanging up, Pepper kissed Tony, then stepped into the elevator and left.
Tony was nearly furious. A rare date—completely ruined by the ever-annoying Coulson.
Suppressing his irritation, he refocused on the projection. His attention slowly fixed on the Tesseract.
With a grasping motion, the holographic image floated into his hand. Tony examined it closely, his expression growing increasingly grave, deep in thought.
---
The next day, a Quinjet sped over the open ocean.
Inside the cabin, Steve Rogers studied the files in his hands with intense focus—dossiers detailing every individual involved in the operation. Coulson sat beside him, providing explanations as they went.
Steve's gaze stopped on Bruce Banner's profile.
"He was researching the super-soldier serum too?"
Steve asked.
Coulson nodded.
"Yes. The military never stopped that research. Dr. Banner believed gamma radiation might be the key to recreating the formula."
The footage shifted, showing Bruce transforming into the Hulk.
"Looks like he failed," Steve said quietly.
"That's one way to put it," Coulson replied.
"When he's not transformed, Dr. Banner is one of the smartest minds alive. But once the Hulk emerges, he becomes the most dangerous one among us."
Steve continued watching. The screen suddenly showed a massive tornado linking sky and earth. When it dissipated, a colossal winged creature—nearly a hundred meters tall—stood revealed.
"This… is one of ours too?"
Steve asked, stunned, as he watched the creature casually destroy buildings with wind blades.
"Yes," Coulson said.
"He's not with S.H.I.E.L.D., but he is one of your teammates for this mission."
"His power looks even more terrifying than the Hulk's," Steve said solemnly.
"Compared to him, the Hulk doesn't seem like the strongest anymore."
Coulson nodded.
"His name is Lucas Norman. The Director has tried many times to recruit him, but Lucas has always held S.H.I.E.L.D. in open contempt. If Natasha weren't his friend, he probably wouldn't be helping us this time either."
When it came to Lucas, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s feelings were complicated—especially for Fury, who both relied on him and ground his teeth over him.
---
Lucas and the others soon arrived at their destination: a heavily armed aircraft carrier. Lucas already knew this thing would be airborne soon enough.
Stepping off the Quinjet, he looked around with curiosity. The flight deck wasn't much different from a conventional carrier—just significantly larger.
"You finally made it. Smooth trip?"
Coulson approached, with Steve Rogers walking beside him in casual clothes.
"Fairly smooth. We've brought Dr. Banner,"
Natasha replied with a nod.
"Hey, Coulson," Lucas said, grinning.
"Where did Fury get this monster of a ship? Think you could get me one too?"
He was clearly eyeing the Helicarrier. If he had one of these, why would he ever mooch off Tony's yacht again? And this thing could fly. Tony's yacht certainly couldn't.
Coulson's face went dark.
Give him one of these and S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters would be rubble by tomorrow, he thought. If he got annoyed, even the White House wouldn't survive.
He wisely chose not to respond and instead made introductions.
"This is Steve Rogers—Captain America."
"Captain, this is Lucas Norman. These are Gwen, Skye, and Wanda. You've already reviewed their files."
Steve shook hands with each of them in turn, then with Lucas.
As Steve released Lucas's hand, the cloak behind Lucas suddenly extended a corner of itself, clearly demanding to be introduced as well.
"Oh—this is the Cloak,"
Lucas said casually.
"He's shaking hands with you."
Steve hesitated, then carefully shook the extended fabric.
"Nice… to meet you."
The cloak fluttered proudly, then retracted.
"Incredible," Steve said.
"Is that magic too?"
"Close enough," Lucas replied.
"He's a magical construct—with a mind of his own."
He gave the cloak a light pat, and it settled back into its usual resting form.
As they headed toward the bridge, Lucas chatted casually.
"Did Coulson almost pass out from excitement when he found you? He's a huge fan."
Steve blinked.
"Did he… ask me to sign something?"
"Little collectible cards," Lucas shrugged.
"Captain America promo cards. He treasures them."
Bruce, meanwhile, was staring intently at a nearby fighter jet, his attention fixed on the missile mounted beneath it.
"Bruce, what are you looking at?"
Lucas asked.
"Oh… does S.H.I.E.L.D. carry nuclear weapons too?"
Bruce replied uneasily.
The missile was unmistakably capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Years on the run had made Bruce painfully sensitive to things like this.
Lucas followed his gaze and thought silently: So that's probably the nuke.
"We should head inside,"
Natasha said at just the right moment.
"Breathing out here is about to get difficult."
As she spoke, alarms began to sound. The loudspeakers announced the evacuation of the flight deck.
Lucas smiled faintly.
The Helicarrier was about to take off.