At the same time — S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier
Director Fury stood with his hands behind his back, staring at a monitor.
And on that monitor?
Luke.
Sitting in a New York restaurant.
Devouring pizza like a starving caveman.
Fury narrowed his one eye. "This guy finally shows up… and the first thing he does is eat pizza?"
Hill, standing beside him, didn't comment.
Fury exhaled slowly. "At least his timing's good."
Because the situation was bad — very bad.
Loki of Asgard had stolen the Tesseract from their secure facility. They'd lost agents, lost the cube, and lost control of the entire situation. Now they had a hostile alien loose on Earth with a cosmic artifact that could open a portal to God-knows-where.
And according to what little data they had… Loki wasn't exactly a polite tourist.
They needed special people for this mission.
Not field agents. Not scientists.
People who could handle an alien god with a cosmic weapon.
Fury tapped his finger against the table, thinking through S.H.I.E.L.D's current assets.
Right now, Natasha was on assignment tracking down Dr. Bruce Banner — the only man who could locate the gamma signature of the Tesseract. A necessary mission… but also a risky one. Banner was unpredictable, and the Hulk was even worse.
One wrong move and they'd have two problems: Loki and a green rage monster tearing through a city.
Fury preferred options that didn't involve mass destruction.
His eye drifted back to the surveillance feed: Luke, sitting peacefully in a New York restaurant, eating pizza like someone who didn't just disappear for a year.
"Yeah…" Fury muttered. "This guy might be a better choice."
Luke was powerful — far more than S.H.I.E.L.D. officially knew. But unlike Banner, he didn't turn into a walking catastrophe when stressed. He stayed calm, reasonable, easy to talk to… as long as nobody pushed his buttons.
And once someone did push them?
Well, Hydra no longer existed to give testimony.
He turned away from the screen and straightened up.
"Pull Natasha off the Banner assignment. She's gonna talk to Luke instead."
Hill blinked. "And Banner?"
Fury didn't hesitate. "You'll go get him, Hill."
Hill exhaled slowly — not quite a groan, but definitely not enthusiasm. Still, she nodded. "Understood, sir."
Refusing wasn't an option. Banner was dangerous… but orders were orders.
***
On Natasha's side
High above the clouds, the Quinjet hummed quietly as it cut through the sky. Natasha Romanoff sat in the cockpit, watching coordinates for India pop up on the HUD.
She was mentally preparing for the worst — after all, approaching a man who turns into a giant green rage monster wasn't exactly a casual task.
Then her encrypted line buzzed.
Incoming Call — Director Fury
Natasha frowned slightly and answered.
"Romanoff."
"Agent Romanoff," Fury's voice came through, steady and businesslike, "your mission is changing."
Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Changing? I'm minutes from reaching Banner's last known location."
"Forget Banner for now," Fury said. "Something more urgent came up."
Natasha leaned back in her seat. "Alright. What's the new target?"
"Luke," Fury said simply. "He's resurfaced. I need you to go talk to him."
Natasha blinked once.
Twice.
"Luke? The guy who vanished off the grid for a year?"
"Yes," Fury confirmed. "He's in New York."
Natasha leaned back in the cockpit seat. "What is he doing, exactly?"
She wasn't asking out of casual curiosity. Luke was easily one of the most unpredictable individuals she had ever met — calm one moment, terrifying the next, and capable of things S.H.I.E.L.D. still didn't fully understand.
In some ways, more dangerous than the Hulk.
At least the Hulk only destroyed things when he got angry.
Luke? If something annoyed him — even slightly — he could turn the problem into a crater.
And then there was his personality.
Flirty.
Playful.
Shameless.
She still remembered the times he tried to "shoot his shot" with her back then. If she had a dollar for every smooth line or stupid grin he threw at her, she could've bought her own Quin jet.
"He is eating pizza," Fury said flatly.
Natasha stared at her screen for a second.
"…Seriously?"
"Seriously," Fury replied. "Just sitting at a restaurant, minding his business, eating pizza."
Natasha rubbed her forehead. Yep.
Definitely the same Luke she remembered.
One of the most powerful and mysterious people on Earth…
And what was he doing after vanishing for a full year?
Eating pizza like a bored tourist.
Natasha sighed. "Sending me to deal with him again… wonderful."
Fury's tone didn't change. "You're the only one who can handle him without causing an incident."
*****
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