Chapter 4
As Natasha and Tony landed in front P.E.G.A.S.U.S., a familiar flash of light appeared. The unmistakable sound of thunder that accompanied it vibrated throughout the secret SHIELD base. After the light faded out, the familiar faces of Thor and Loki took its place. Natasha and Tony gave each other confused glances before simultaneously saying, "what the hell are you two doing here?"
Thor instantly put his hands up in surrender before introducing himself and his brother. "We mean Earth no harm. I am Thor, king of Asgard and God of Thunder, and this is my brother Loki, prince of Asgard and God of Mischief. You may recognize us as we defeated the Frost Giants in the place called 'New Mexico' not too long ago. We are here to take the Tesseract back to Asgard. We have many more defenses there and will be able to provide better protection. Your world is currently at risk as many seek the power of the Tesseract. We only seek to protect the Tesseract and your people."
Loki glanced at Natasha and Tony in confusion. He seemed equally surprised to see them there. He continued staring at the two of them thoughtfully for a few seconds before grabbing his brother's arm and dragging him inside the building. "Come on brother, we don't have time for formalities. We need to get the Tesseract before it is stolen by another," Loki said frantically.
The four of them barged into the P.E.G.A.S.U.S. lab at once, only to find Nick Fury waiting for them. "What's this I hear about taking the Tesseract?"
"We only wish to prevent the Tesseract from falling into the wrong hands," Loki replied in a poor attempt to diffuse the situation.
"That sounds like a threat," Fury stated, glowering at Loki menacingly. Fury crossed his arms, turning toward the two brothers. "What makes you think we would willingly give you the tesseract? Earth needs protection, and I don't see how giving away the energy source that could be utilized for said protection would benefit our people."
Loki began to open his mouth to respond, when suddenly, a pulse of energy shook the room. "Director Fury, these readings are becoming unstable," Erik Selvig yelled in distress.
A giant blast radiated the room, and Ebony Maw appeared, sceptre in hand. Before Loki could stop him, Thor began charging at Maw with Mjolnir. "Thor wait! Don't let him near you, the sceptre contains the mind stone. Anyone he touches, he can control!" Loki exclaimed.
Loki's words appeared lost on Thor as he continued to head Maw's way. Maw lifted the sceptre, and came within an inch of landing it on Thor's chest. Suddenly, an arrow flew out towards Maw's head, nearly hitting him before he used magic to swipe it away. Clint then revealed himself as he landed in front of Thor, having jumped down from above. It was impossible to miss the slight surge of power and the icy blue that overtook Clint's eyes as he received the hit from the sceptre meant for Thor.
"Clint!" Natasha screamed. Not again! How did we mess things up already? Unfortunately, it was too late. Chaos erupted as everyone scrambled to escape from the facility that was due to blow. Tony quickly made his way to the cube, then placed it into a case and handed the Tesseract to Fury, yelling for him to take it away. Maw used the chaos to his advantage, gaining control over Erik Selvig as well as a few other SHIELD agents.
Just as Fury was about to escape with the Tesseract, a mind controlled Clint cornered him, thrusting Fury to the other side of the room, and snatched the Tesseract from his hands. Fury groaned as he sat up, then ran out the door, recognizing defeat.
Even with the help of Thor, Loki, Tony, and Natasha, Ebony Maw managed to make a clean getaway with Clint and Selvig. The combination of the chaos, Maw's magic, and the power of the sceptre paved the way for his escape.
"Guys, we need to get out of here, this place is gonna blow," Tony yelled at the other three. "Hang on Widow!" Tony flew over to Natasha and grabbed her before taking off. Thor grabbed Loki in a similar fashion before flying out with Mjolnir.
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Peter made his way into the tower, squeezing past all the Stark Industries workers. Being small had its perks, as no one even noticed him sneak by. May and Ben had told him that Mr Stark wouldn't be able to work with him that night, but Peter couldn't shake his feeling that something was wrong. What if Mr Stark was sick? What if he had a dangerous mission? Peter only wanted to help him. As Peter arrived at the door of Tony's lab, he noticed that it was empty. "JARVIS? Where is Mr Stark?" Peter asked.
"My GPS coordinates indicate that Mr Stark has routed his suit back to the tower and should be arriving shortly with Miss Romanoff," JARVIS replied.
"Nat's coming?" Peter asked excitedly. Natasha and Peter had grown particularly close in the current timeline, as she often hung around Tony's lab during Peter's "junior internship".
"Yes, it appears that sir is currently flying with Miss Romanoff," JARVIS said. "Would you like to wait in the lab?"
"Yeah, I'll wait for him," Peter replied. So Nat and Mr Stark are off doing something. Maybe they are on a mission! Mr Stark said she was some kind of agent. They're probably working together. Mr Stark would never let me help him, he's always super overprotective. He freaks out about me using tools in the lab. But I'll show him that I can help! He just can't know that I'm here. "Hey JARVIS, can you not tell Mr Stark that I'm here?"
"Since you are not an intruder and have authorized access to all floors in the tower, my code does not require me to inform Mr Stark of your presence unless he specifically asks if you are here," JARVIS responded.
Just as Peter was about to thank JARVIS, he heard the signature sound of the Iron Man armor clanking against the floor of the lab. Peter quickly thrust himself underneath the table, praying that Mr Stark hadn't heard him.
Tony stepped out of his suit after putting Natasha down. "What exactly did we change that would make Reindeer Games show up with Point Break to take the Tesseract back to Asgard? And why is Loki not being mind controlled Thanos this time around? As far as I know, we didn't change anything relating to the events in space...unless...you said Loki was in the Soul World right? Maybe he came back in time too. That might explain why a bunch of blue ice monsters showed up in New Mexico where Thor was banished to. I had a feeling that the whole snafu there had gone down differently last time. Loki must have changed something. Damn, I should've paid more attention to that…" Tony muttered lost in thought. He was kicking himself for not noticing the difference in how the events in New Mexico went down this time around. To be fair, neither he nor Natasha had been present when Thor had fought the Destroyer the first time around. Though from the future, he and Natasha still had gaps in their foreknowledge that had caused an oversight.
Natasha stared at Tony thoughtfully. "JARVIS, pull up that SHIELD file on the events in New Mexico involving Thor," Natasha said.
"As you wish Miss Romanoff," JARVIS responded. Based on the file that JARVIS pulled up, a species called the Frost Giants had attacked New Mexico, presumably targeting Thor. According to Thor's statement, Thor had sacrificed himself while in mortal form, once again becoming "worthy of Mjolnir". Loki had then arrived and helped his brother slay the creatures.
"Okay, that definitely didn't happen last time," Natasha muttered. "We need to talk to Loki and see what he's changed. Thanos must've sent someone else to invade Earth if he never encountered Loki… We need to figure out what he knows, and if he knows who this new alien is," Natasha said.
"Oh, you mean Squidward? He's Thanos's 'son'. I ended up fighting him and blasting him off into space last time. Gotta say, I'm not a huge fan of the guy," Tony replied.
"Well we need to speak to Loki as soon as we can and see what his plan is. But first off, Coulson's tasked me with bringing in Bruce. By the way, what are we even doing back here?" Natasha asked Tony.
Tony walked over to the back of the lab and picked up a remote control. After pressing a button, the back wall opened up to reveal an updated version of a quinjet. "I've got a fully equipped Iron Legion stored on this bad boy, which I thought might come in handy. I also thought we'd fly this thing down to greet our good ol' jolly green friend together. You're not the only one who misses Brucie Bear."
As Peter listened to Natasha and Tony corroborate a plan, he realized that there was indeed a mission, and a dangerous one at that. He didn't quite understand all they were talking about, but from what he understood, there were going to be aliens attacking Earth. Peter quickly ran from under the table to the door of the quinjet, sneaking himself in while Natasha and Tony were distracted by a hologram. He must not have been quiet enough though, because Natasha turned toward the quinjet with a suspicious look on her face. "Tony, did you hear that?" she asked.
"Hear what?" Tony questioned her back. "JARVIS, there isn't an intruder in here, right?"
"No sir, there is no one in the lab without authorized access," JARVIS confirmed.
Even with JARVIS's confirmation that there were no intruders, Natasha still seemed suspicious, but let it go to focus on their main objectives. "Maw is probably going to show up in Germany because he needs the Iridium as a stabilizing agent," Natasha said. "We need to get there as soon as we pick up Bruce."
After agreeing to a plan, Natasha and Tony headed off to the quinjet, not noticing that Peter had hidden himself in the back corner.
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As Bruce Banner followed a young girl to the edge of town, a feeling of dread began to settle in his stomach. This was a setup. His suspicions were confirmed when non other than Tony Stark sat waiting for him inside the hut, along with an attractive red-haired woman. "Should've gotten paid up front Banner," Bruce muttered to himself.
"Dr Banner!" Tony exclaimed. "How are you and your green friend doing these days?"
"So you two brought me to the edge of the city, that's smart," Bruce replied, not answering the question. "I assume that the whole place is surrounded?"
"No Bruce, it's just us and you," Natasha replied carefully.
"Yeah, I don't really play well with others, at least according to her," Tony said while pointing to Natasha. "So I typically avoid working with people that aren't necessary to the cause. Since we don't consider you a threat to us, there's no reason for us to surround the place. Contrary to what you think, you're not a monster. I read the reports you know. That amount of gamma radiation should've killed you."
"So what? You're saying that the Hulk saved me?" Bruce asked skeptically.
"I'm saying that you're here for a reason, and you're resilient," Tony replied sincerely. Damn, I wish Bruce could see what he becomes in the future. He's way too hard on himself.
"I'm sorry, I know who you are because how could I not, but who are you?" Bruce questioned, facing Natasha.
"Natasha Romanoff. We're officially here on behalf of SHIELD, but we're also here to recruit you for the Avengers initiative."
"So you two aren't here to kill me? Because I'm warning you right now, that won't work out well for either of us," Bruce replied suspiciously.
"Like we already said, we're not afraid of you Bruce. The fate of the world is at stake, and we think you can help us," Natasha said. "This is the Tesseract," Natasha continued, pulling out her phone to show Bruce. "It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet."
"So what do you want me to do, swallow it?" Bruce asked sarcastically.
"We need your help to find it. It has been taken by Ebony Maw, he's from another planet," Natasha replied.
"So you aren't after the monster?" Bruce asked as he took off his glasses to look Natasha in the eye.
"Not unless it comes to that. We want your help locating the cube before any fight breaks out," Natasha said honestly.
"How do I know you aren't going to throw me in a cage?" Bruce questioned.
"Yeah...I've been held in captivity before. Not really a fan of it, and it'd be pretty hypocritical for me to throw an innocent man in a cage," Tony said.
"STOP LYING TO ME!" Bruce screamed, testing them.
To his surprise, neither Natasha nor Tony even flinched. Tony just chuckled as he slapped Bruce's shoulder. "Brucie Bear, you need to work on being more intimidating. I'm pretty sure my ten year old kid is more threatening than you."
Natasha and Tony eventually managed to sway Bruce into coming in with them. By the end of the ordeal, Bruce seemed to trust them, at least slightly.
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After Mr Stark and Natasha had left the quinjet, Peter stayed behind, unsure of what to do. Maybe this was a bad idea. I don't even know where we are. Peter got up off the spot on the floor where he'd been hiding and wandered around the quinjet, geeking out over all the technology now that he could get a good look around. "Woah!" Peter exclaimed in awe as he looked at one of the Iron Man suits. "JARVIS! How many of these does Mr Stark have?"
"Mr Stark currently has fifty equipped Iron Man suits on the vehicle. A majority of them are condensed in a case. I am afraid that the location we are in has been identified as high risk by Mr Stark. According to the Baby Protection Protocol created by Mr Stark, I am required to provide you with a layer of protection."
"A layer of protection? What do you mean JARVIS?" Peter asked.
"Engaging the Baby Protection Protocol." One of the Iron Man suits that was not in a case enclosed itself around Peter. The suit was too large for Peter, as his feet didn't quite touch the bottom of the suit.
"Oh my God! This is literally the coolest thing ever! I'm basically Iron Man. Hey JARVIS, can I fly in this thing? Can I blast something?" Peter asked excitedly.
"I'm sorry Mr Parker, but the Training Wheels Protocol prohibits you from using any combat functions in the suit unless the situation is considered 'dire'."
Peter sighed in disappointment. First the Baby Protection Protocol and now the Training Wheels Protocol? I'm not a baby!
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Tony, Natasha, Bruce and Peter (still hidden in the Iron Man suit) arrived at the scene in Stuttgart only to find that Thor and Loki had already arrived on the scene. Maw had already surrendered and the sceptre had been secured.
The events leading up to the attack had been slightly different, but also eerily similar to the first time around. The unknown variables such as the new roles that Ebony Maw and Loki were playing caused Tony and Natasha a feeling of unease. They needed to speak to Loki as soon as possible.
