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Loki frowned slightly.
"Even if he brings out that big robot of his, he can't defeat what is coming," Loki said calmly. "He is alone."
Natasha raised an eyebrow.
"Huh? Do you really think that?" she asked with a small smile.
Loki didn't reply.
Natasha continued.
"Ethan is classified as a Level 10 threat in S.H.I.E.L.D.," she said. "Which means he alone could destroy the world if he wanted to."
She stepped a little closer to the glass.
"Do you really think we would hand your scepter to someone weak?" she added.
Loki's expression changed slightly.
Natasha crossed her arms.
"For comparison," she said, "even you are barely Level 6 at most."
A brief silence followed.
For the first time—
Loki didn't smile.
Outside the room, Tony blinked.
"…Okay, that was new information."
Fury didn't deny it.
Inside the cell, Loki slowly exhaled.
"You place too much faith in one man," he said.
Natasha shook her head.
"No," she said. "We just know what he's capable of."
Loki's eyes narrowed.
"And yet," he said, "he is not here."
Natasha smiled slightly.
"He doesn't need to be."
That answer made Loki pause again.
Natasha turned slightly, as if ready to leave.
"But thanks," she said.
Loki frowned.
"For what?" he asked.
Natasha looked back at him.
"For confirming you needed the scepter more than anything," she said.
Loki's expression hardened.
Outside—
Tony immediately spoke.
"…Yeah, he definitely needed that."
Clint nodded.
"And now he doesn't have it."
Fury crossed his arms.
"Which means he'll try something else."
Inside the cell—
Loki slowly leaned back.
His expression returned to calm.
But his eyes—
Were colder now.
"…Then let us see," he said quietly.
"Which side breaks first."
"You are once again overestimating yourself," Natasha said, shaking her head.
"Let me tell you something," she continued. "It was from the day Ethan brought Arasaka into the spotlight. For the first time, many big families tried to take it from him—to tame him, to make it work for them."
"But Ethan never agreed. So they resorted to underhanded means—to kidnap him, torture him, and things like that," Natasha said.
"And Ethan was just a 19-year-old kid at that time. What do you think happened?" she asked.
Loki remained silent.
"All of them were killed brutally," Natasha said. "Anyone who even tried to come near Ethan was killed by the Hound of Arasaka—Storm Shadow."
"He is the killing machine of Arasaka, and a loyal weapon of Ethan."
"And unlike Sharon, who might spare you with just broken bones, if you dare to harm Ethan in front of him, your neck would already be separated from your body."
She looked straight at Loki.
"So take this as a little warning. You may try to mess with anyone else… but if you go after Ethan and fail, it will be your death."
Loki listened quietly.
For a moment, he didn't interrupt.
Then—
He smiled.
Not the mocking smile from before.
This one was calmer. Colder.
"You speak of him like a king," Loki said.
Natasha didn't react.
"But even kings fall," Loki continued. "And when they do… everything beneath them collapses."
Natasha held his gaze.
"You're not the one who will make him fall," she said.
Loki tilted his head slightly.
"No," he admitted. "Not alone."
"So, you really need the Tesseract cube to open the portal and bring your army. Thank you for the information," Natasha said with a smile as Loki pursed his lips.
'This woman…' he thought, looking at her with narrowed eyes.
"My to-do list is now: don't mess with Natasha after Sharon," Tony added, seeing how easily Natasha was making Loki give up information.
"There's a reason I chose her for this job," Fury said. "Anyways, we got what we needed."
Natasha nodded.
"See you, God of Tricksters… who got tricked," Natasha said as she turned to leave.
Loki just looked at her as she walked away.
Then he muttered under his breath,
"Smile all you want. Later, I will rip out your heart and tongue myself."
Natasha only smiled slightly and left the room.
Natasha walked back into the meeting room.
Everyone looked at her.
"At least now we are sure," Natasha said, "that Loki is planning to bring an army here through the Tesseract. But we still don't know where the portal will open."
The others nodded.
"We are working on it, but there's no trace of the Tesseract on our radars," Bruce said.
Fury stepped forward.
"Continue the search," he said. "We have to find it before it's too late. We don't know what kind of army Loki might bring."
Everyone nodded again.
"Is Frank arriving at the Cliff Mansion?" Fury asked.
Sharon nodded.
"I just spoke to him. Frank has reached the Cliff Mansion. The scepter is now in Ethan's hands," she said.
Fury gave a small nod.
"Good. Tell him to keep it secure until we take it back," he said.
Sharon nodded again.
"Also, Frank is bringing the weapons Ethan prepared for the Avengers," she added.
Fury raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Toys made by Arasaka? Now I'm looking forward to it," Natasha said with a slight smile.
"According to Frank, there's even a weapon for Hulk," Sharon said as she glanced at Bruce.
Bruce looked surprised.
"A weapon for Hulk? I think he's powerful enough on his own," he said.
Sharon shrugged "When it comes to Ethan."
"It's not about being enough," She added. "It's about being overprepared."
Fury nodded.
"Exactly. We don't take chances."
Clint leaned back.
"Yeah… especially not against aliens with unknown military might."
The room went quiet for a moment.
Tony tapped lightly on the table.
"So… weapons for all of us?" he asked. "Now I'm curious."
Sharon nodded.
"Frank said Ethan designed them specifically based on each of your fighting styles," she said.
Clint raised an eyebrow.
"Wait, he made something for me too?"
"Yeah," Sharon replied. "Something about improving range, precision… and mobility."
Clint leaned back with a small grin.
"Okay, now I'm definitely interested."
Natasha crossed her arms.
"And mine?"
Sharon glanced at her.
"Close combat focused. Faster reaction, better lethality, and something that makes you invisible."
"So, a total spy set" Natasha said as Sharon nodded.