Thank You,
Knight Teir: "Makoa"
For Becoming A Member On My Pa'treon. The Emperor Protect.
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[ Thor took a step forward, his towering frame radiating tension, signaling that Dr. Banner's defense of Loki had crossed a line. Thor's stormy gaze fixed on Banner as he said in a low, warning tone, "Be careful when you speak." ]
[ "Loki may be unreasonable," Thor continued, his voice calm yet heavy with authority, "but he is still of Asgard, and he is my brother." ]
[ At that, Black Widow rested her elbows on the table, her face an unreadable mask as she said flatly, "He killed eighty people in two days." ]
[ Thor froze for a moment, his expression shifting. Turning sharply, he replied with deliberate nonchalance, "Fine. He was adopted." ]
The room fell into stunned silence.
"???"
"Whoa, did he just change his tune that fast?!"
"Incredible! He disowned him in seconds!"
"That's divine politics for you! 'He's adopted,' just like that, boom!"
"Thor flipped faster than a Peking Opera master changing masks mid-performance!"
"Hahaha! Adopted, huh? That's cold!"
"Thor, god of thunder, but apparently also god of distancing himself!"
"This relationship fell apart faster than lightning!"
[ Dr. Banner, unbothered by the chaos, spoke up: "This is about tech. Iridium. Why would they need iridium?" ]
[ From the doorway, Tony strolled in casually, his hands in his pockets, replying, "It's a stabilizer." ]
[ "So, you're saying the portal won't collapse on its own, like it almost did at SHIELD last time?" ]
[ Tony smirked and turned to Thor. "No offense, Point Break. You've got anger issues and a hammer that smacks like a freight train." ]
[ He gave Thor's arm a friendly pat and added, "But iridium? It'll let Loki open the portal as wide and as long as he wants." ]
[ Tony moved through the room as if it were his living room, approaching the control console. "Alright, raise the mizzen, turn the topsail," he said playfully to the tech crew, who exchanged confused looks. ]
[ After theatrically pressing a few buttons, Tony continued, "The rest of the ingredients are easy to get. Patton or one of his workers would gather them in no time. What Loki really needs is a big-ticket item: a high-energy-density power source." ]
[ "That's what'll juice up the Cube," he concluded. ]
[ Hill frowned, incredulous. "When did you become a thermonuclear astrophysicist?" ]
[ Tony shot her a cheeky grin. "Last night." ]
[ He spread his hands. "What? Am I the only one here who does his homework?" ]
[ Rogers chimed in: "Does Loki need any specific kind of energy?" ]
[ Banner paced slowly, hands behind his back. "To get the Cube to work, you'd need to heat it to 1.2 billion degrees. Only then could you punch through the Coulomb barrier." ]
[ Tony leaned on the console, voice calm. "Unless Dr. Eric has figured out how to stabilize quantum tunneling." ]
[ Banner nodded grimly. "If he has, he could trigger a heavy-ion detonation from any reactor on the planet." ]
Their rapid-fire exchange left the audience in stunned silence.
"…What?" someone finally whispered.
"Wow. Just… wow."
"I have no idea what any of that means."
"Tony looks so smug, though… and it's weirdly attractive."
"He's not even trying to be humble. Stark's practically glowing."
"Doesn't matter what they're saying, Tony Stark is clearly a genius."
"Does anyone here actually study physics? Care to explain?"
"Uh… I studied physics. But I feel like I went to the wrong school."
Meanwhile, in the expert group, several scientists were in an uproar. The terms that Banner and Tony used were tossed around so casually that the experts went pale-faced and wide-eyed.
Johan, the historian, scribbled notes furiously, only to stop midway, muttering, "I don't… I don't even know how to write this down."
Most of the others just sat, slack-jawed, but a handful of physicists leaned forward, their minds racing.
"Quantum tunneling… in layman's terms, it's like phasing through a wall."
"Sure, but that's only the macro idea. Microscopically, we already use it; look at scanning tunneling microscopes. But their approach… their method is way beyond anything we've done."
"If they're right, they've achieved controlled tunneling on a human scale."
"And they're talking about stabilizing it. Iridium's clearly a key factor here."
"Scanning tunneling microscopes overcome the limitations of optical aberrations by scanning surfaces with electrons, allowing us to see objects smaller than the wavelength of light. But applying that to living beings? That's an entirely different magnitude of complexity."
The discussion spiraled, their awe growing with every second. The quantum field was already one of the hardest sciences. On the Terra Federation, only quantum computing had made tangible progress; everything else lagged far behind. Yet here was Stark, tossing around advanced theories like casual trivia.
The realization hit hard: this was not knowledge you could pick up in a day or two. For the average person, even glimpsing these concepts could cause mental overload. And Tony had absorbed it all in one night. It was nothing short of miraculous.
Johan finally broke the silence. "Tony's intellect… It's his greatest treasure."
"His suits, his weapons, all of it… They're only possible because of his brilliance," another expert murmured.
Nods of agreement rippled through the group.
Tonio chuckled. "He's arrogant, sure. But with that kind of brainpower? He's earned it."
"If I had Stark's level of genius, I'd be even more insufferable," someone else quipped.
Then, a sudden realization struck several scientists at once.
"If Dr. Eric has truly stabilized quantum tunneling…" one whispered, "…then the portal could already be open on his end."
The entire group stiffened.
"That's it. That has to be it."
"Loki let himself get caught. The passage doesn't rely on him being free. He's buying time."
"Worse… he probably has a way out of that cell."
A chill swept over the experts. If that was true, Loki's mind was even more dangerous than they imagined, calculating, methodical, several moves ahead. Tony and the others might already be a step behind.
"But who else can fight him?" one of them muttered. "Loki's from Asgard. These aren't mortals we're dealing with."
The room fell into grim silence.
[ Breaking the tension, Tony clapped his hands and strode toward Banner, extending his own. "Finally! Someone who speaks my language. Pleasure to meet you, Dr. Banner. That paper of yours on anti-electron collisions? Brilliant. And hey, I once wrecked a mini and became a giant green rage monster. So… we've both had rough days." ]
[ Banner pressed his lips into a tight smile. "Thanks… I think." ]
[ Fury approached, her presence calm but firm. "Dr. Banner is here to track the Cube. I hope you two can work together." ]
Gasps erupted from the onlookers.
"Wait, did he just say Hulk?! Dr. Banner is the Hulk?!"
"No way! He's a physicist, not a… whatever that thing is!"
"Tony's trolling, right? He's gotta be trolling."
"That mouth of his… I swear, he could probably talk a Chitauri to death."
"Dr. Banner might be scary, but he's definitely legit."