The sub-level lab was bathed in the low, rhythmic hum of the Restoration Protocol. Alex lay suspended in the chamber, his body aggressively rebuilding the shattered Biological Firewall. After ten grueling hours, the Nano-Tech integrity had crawled back to a stable, but still fragile, 45%.
Anya, exhausted but resolute, monitored the readings. Her focus was broken by the activation of the secure comms line, reserved only for the highest SHIELD priority. Natasha Romanoff's voice was clipped, carrying the tension of a major strategic shift.
"Status update, Doctor. And I need to speak to the asset," Romanoff commanded.
Anya activated the chamber comms. "Integrity is at 45%. He is conscious, but functional status is marginal. He is listening."
"The immediate crisis is contained," Romanoff reported, her tone betraying a grim victory. "Loki is secured. Barton (Hawkeye) has been recovered. They are en route to the Helicarrier for deep-level questioning."
Alex's voice, strained but clear, cut through the connection. "What about the Tesseract?"
Romanoff hesitated, confirming Alex's immediate fear. "That's the issue. Loki allowed himself to be contained, but the Tesseract was not on his person, nor was it with Barton or the initial recovery team. It was secured by Loki's unidentified agents during the initial chaos and is now in an unknown location."
The Strategic Analysis
Alex absorbed the intelligence with cold certainty. "It was never about winning the fight," he concluded. "Loki's entire performance—the structural attack, the distraction with Iron Man—it was a calculated delay. He needed to buy his agents time to move the power source and deploy it for its true purpose."
He activated the tactical display on his internal monitor, cross-referencing the residual energy signatures from the attack with his RUNE Protocol knowledge. "The scepter's blast pattern wasn't random. Loki used the Tesseract to create a stable dimensional anchor during the initial chaos. He didn't want the cube; he wanted the door it creates."
Anya, recognizing the terrifying logic, quickly integrated Alex's findings onto the main console. "His goal isn't to hold the world ransom, Director. It's to open the world."
Romanoff confirmed their fears. "We believe the Tesseract is being positioned to open a large-scale portal. But our immediate priority is recovering the asset and neutralizing the energy risk. We are tracking a heavy energy footprint leading out of Manhattan."
The Scientific Warning: Do Not Move the Asset
At this crucial pivot point, Alex delivered his most critical, RUNE-based scientific warning—a plea rooted in his grandfather's apocalyptic research.
"Tell Fury: Do not engage the asset. Do not move the Tesseract." Alex commanded, his voice gaining desperate urgency despite his physical weakness.
"The Tesseract's energy is now exponentially unstable due to the forced dimensional anchoring," Alex explained. "The RUNE data confirms that any physical movement—any rough handling or high-energy transport—could trigger a catastrophic, localized energy collapse. You risk vaporizing the entire containment vessel, and potentially creating an unstoppable, planetary-wide energy fissure."
He knew the political reality: SHIELD would want the asset moved to a classified, deep-bunker location like the Pentagon or a remote facility. He was arguing against common sense with forgotten, terrifying physics.
"If the Tesseract is recovered," Alex continued, pushing his voice to its limits, "it must be stabilized in situ. It needs a controlled, localized energy shunt—a RUNE-based containment field—not high-velocity transport."
Romanoff paused, digesting the scientific horror show Alex had just described. "Fury has political constraints, Stark. The asset must be removed from the public eye and contained where it cannot be accessed by rogue elements. The order to retrieve and transport is already being finalized."
The Unbreakable Mandate
Alex fought against the chamber restraints, his anger spiking his fragile core stability. "He is choosing the political spectacle over the scientific necessity! If that asset destabilizes during transport, Fury is inviting the global energy fissure my grandfather prepared for!"
Romanoff remained cold and professional. "Your warning has been noted, Stark. But the political mandate is unbreakable. The Tesseract will be moved. Focus on your recovery. Your unique insight will be needed for the next phase."
The comms clicked off, leaving Anya and Alex in the tense silence. Anya rushed to administer another injection to counter the stress spike, her expression tight with fear.
"They're going to move it," Anya stated, accepting the inevitable political error. "And if your RUNE calculations are correct, they are walking into a catastrophic failure."
Alex sank back into the stabilizing gel, his strength utterly depleted. He had delivered the warning, fulfilling his duty as the Ghost in the Initiative, but his advice had been ignored. He realized his strategic role was limited: he was the defensive science, but Fury and Tony were the offensive politics.
The crisis had not ended with Loki's capture; it had merely been moved to a different, more dangerous phase. The stage was set for the final, ultimate catastrophe.