"Doctor, we found it." Outside a remote area in Germany, Hawkeye climbed into a moving semi-truck.
If Clark were here, he would know that Loki hadn't lied to them. He truly didn't know where the Tesseract was, because they had already moved all the labs into the back of this moving truck.
"We're just missing this. Hopefully, it can do what I imagined—contain the energy of the Tesseract." Receiving the box from Barton, Erik Selvig saw a small piece of iridium inside.
"By the way, Barton, can you tell me where our next destination is? After all, there aren't many places that can provide enough energy to trigger the Tesseract and open a space portal," Erik asked, now that they had all the equipment and materials, and were only missing one thing—energy.
"Of course. Your next destination is New York—Stark's new building," Barton said as he handed a tablet to Erik.
The screen displayed a commercial from Stark Industries about developing a new type of clean energy, with the energy source being delivered across New York from the newly built Stark Tower.
"And for us, what could be a better way to cut off S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reach than destroying their new headquarters?" Hawkeye smiled confidently as he stroked his collapsible bow.
Meanwhile, unaware that his newly completed tower had become a target, Tony and Banner rushed into the lab prepared for them by S.H.I.E.L.D. They had discovered that the energy fluctuations from Loki's scepter were very similar to those of the Tesseract. They instinctively assumed the scepter was made from or powered by the Tesseract.
"You just click it and it brainwashes someone?" Tony picked up the scepter and tapped the flag emblem with it.
"Hey! Tony, can you not joke around like that? If you really summon him, we'll be in big trouble," Banner was startled by Tony's move.
"Clark didn't use it that way, okay? Let's just get to work." A moment later, Tony put the scepter back.
Tony knew that just holding the scepter wouldn't trigger it. There had to be special methods or conditions to activate it.
Banner rolled his eyes and picked up a device to measure gamma radiation. He scanned the scepter.
"Looks like this scepter really is related to the Tesseract. The gamma readings match exactly with the data Erik recorded on the Tesseract."
After finishing the scan, Banner compared the new data with Selvig's old data and confirmed the conclusion.
"Banner, to be honest, you really should come stay with me. You've been out there alone and... well, your living conditions don't look too great. You should visit my new tower sometime. The upper floors are full of labs—every kind you can imagine. You'd love it."
After upgrading his Iron Man suit, Tony felt confident that even if Banner lost control, he could still restrain him.
"Forget it. I'm worried I might lose control someday and destroy your new building. Besides, New York is too big, too crowded."
Tony understood what Banner meant, but he was also afraid that if the Hulk went wild, he could cause massive destruction in the city.
"Banner, you know, I've got shrapnel lodged in my body. Tiny fragments that are always trying to reach my heart—but this thing stops them." Tony tapped the arc reactor in his chest.
"Now, it's not just the energy source for my suit—it's the only thing keeping me alive. Honestly, its power is terrifying—it could kill me at any moment."
"But you can control it."
"That's when I thought of a way to control it. I was almost killed by it once." Tony recalled the time he was poisoned by palladium.
"And you, Banner. Have you ever thought—if it wasn't for him, for the Hulk—you might've died the moment you were exposed to that level of gamma radiation?"
"But even though he saved me, he also ruined my life." Banner thought of Betty and sighed unconsciously.
"Banner, why don't you come live with me? As long as I'm there, you won't have to worry about the Hulk getting out. You could even try communicating with him. Who knows, maybe someday you two could coexist peacefully."
As Banner and Tony were chatting, Clark and Diana walked in.
"Uh... forget it, I'm fine now." Banner had initially been moved by Clark's offer, but after seeing Diana, he felt that staying at Clark's place might disturb the two of them.
So after thinking it over, he declined Clark's invitation. As for the idea of communicating with the Hulk, Banner didn't see much hope. He'd already tried—and all he ever got in return was destruction.
"Alright. If you ever change your mind, you're always welcome."
"And you're welcome at my place too," Tony added.
"Any progress?" At that moment, Captain America, Steve Rogers, entered the lab.
"Banner found that Loki's scepter has the same gamma signature as the Tesseract. As for me, my decryption program is almost done cracking all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s encrypted files. Then we'll finally know what secrets Nick Fury's been hiding from us," Tony updated the group on their progress.
"What did you say? Decryption program?" Steve questioned, thinking he may have misheard.
"Yeah, Cap. Don't you find it odd? Why was Fury in such a rush to recover the Tesseract the moment Loki stole it? Before that, he had dozens of Tesseracts in his possession. Don't you think, if he hadn't figured anything out, he wouldn't be so desperate? Up till now, Fury hasn't told us anything about the threats from the Tesseract. All the information we have—we found it ourselves."
"So, Captain, aren't you the least bit curious?"
After speaking with Steve, Tony turned to Clark: "And you, Clark?"
"Me? I don't really care. After all, they're not going to find anything that could threaten me. Besides, I do know a bit about the Tesseract..." As Clark spoke, he brought up the Infinity Stones and... they continued chatting for a while.
"So I really don't care what Nick Fury manages to research. Because to truly activate the Tesseract, you need a special artifact. And I doubt anyone on Earth today could manage that. That artifact is right here."
Though he said that, Clark unintentionally glanced at the scepter.
"But now... there is one here."
"Alright, I get it. To you, even a nuke is just a toy." Tony was briefly speechless at Clark's response. After all, he was used to being the one who left others speechless. He didn't expect to be the one overwhelmed by Clark for once.
"And you, Doctor?" Tony asked, turning a hopeful look toward Banner. He figured Banner might be the only one who still understood him.
"Honestly, all I want right now is to finish this work and leave."
"Doctor, if you have something to say, just say it." Steve immediately saw through Banner's hesitation.
"Alright, Steve, don't you think it's odd? From what I've seen from Tony, Hydra only had the Tesseract for a short time, and they were able to develop such powerful weapons. But S.H.I.E.L.D. has had the Tesseract for decades..."
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