Natasha and I took the Skyracer — the car I'd given her — and headed out.
"What's with this na, Skyracer? It's so dated."
"Then co up with sothing better."
"How about Talaria?"
"Hmm... Hers' shoes. I like it. Let's call it the Talaria series."
I guess I really don't have a talent for naming things. Either way, we drove the newly christened Talaria Unit-01 to the SHIELD helicarrier. Agent Phil Coulson was already waiting for us on the flight deck. The Talaria was practically Natasha's signature ride at this point, so SHIELD knew it on sight.
"Welco, Jin, Natasha. The Director is waiting for you."
We followed Phil into the bridge. The control room was packed with agents, and there were Nick Fury and his right-hand, Maria Hill.
"Oh! Motherfucker, it's been a while."
He let out a long sigh. "Can you stop calling that?"
"Bla your mouth. It's karma."
A few agents stifled laughs until Fury shot them a glare. They all snapped back to their stations.
"The New xico incident was impressive. Why were you hiding your strength?"
"Because you people would have made my life a hassle. Like I said before, I'm a businessman."
"Says the man who smashed an alien robot from space."
"You didn't call here to fight, so let's get to the point."
At my words, Fury slid a file across the table to Natasha and . Inside was a photo of the Tesseract, along with a grainy image of Loki.
"As you can see, the Tesseract is an external energy source with imnse potential. The man in the picture brainwashed several of our agents and stole it. Clint Barton included."
"That's Loki."
"You know him?"
"Yeah. The 'bad alien' I ntioned back in New xico. That robot you were talking about? He summoned it."
Because I'd handled New xico differently than in the original tiline, SHIELD was severely lacking intel.
"This is giving a headache. Weren't we supposed to share information?"
"I did share."
"You said the bad alien lost and we didn't have to worry anymore."
"He did lose. That's why the New xico situation is over. But this is separate. This is on whoever decided to recklessly experint with the Tesseract."
I pointed a finger at Nick Fury.
"Damn it! Do you have a spy embedded with us? How do you know that?"
"See, Motherfucker? You don't share information properly, and then you expect things from ?"
He exhaled sharply. "Fine. I'll tell you everything. Too many ears out here. Let's go inside."
Fury, Natasha, and I moved to a research lab to continue the conversation.
"We were studying the Tesseract to obtain unlimited energy. It didn't go well, and that man — Loki — was summoned. So tell , who is Loki?"
I gave him a slightly edited version of what happened in Asgard from Thor 1.
"Then why did Loki co to Earth?"
"That I don't know."
"Is there anything else you're not telling ?"
"That's my question to you. Is there anything else you're not telling ?"
He looked ready to lose it. "This is insane. Fine, that's enough for now."
Right to the end, Nick Fury never ntioned that they were using the Tesseract to build weapons.
"Either way, SHIELD is taking the New xico situation very seriously. We've concluded that threats we can't handle with conventional weapons or manpower require a team of people with special abilities."
"So that's why you called us?"
"Yes. But there are still more people we need to bring in."
Fury pulled sothing like a remote from his inner pocket and clicked it. Several profiles appeared on the lab monitor: Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff, and finally, . Clint Barton wasn't listed, probably because he was already a SHIELD agent.
Why was that footage of used? I could have sworn Thor was supposed to be in the original lineup...
The video under my profile showed beating the Destroyer senseless with Mjolnir. Natasha's clip showed her in the suit I made, taking down a criminal organization with ruthless, elegant precision. Thor must have been written off as ntally unstable at the ti.
"Hey, Motherfucker, why is that the video you're using for ?"
"That's the only decent footage we had."
I cleared my throat. "Right..."
"We'll split up and each bring in one person. Since Tony Stark is your friend, Jin, you'll get him. Natasha, I need you to bring in Dr. Bruce Banner. I'll retrieve Steve Rogers."
Natasha spoke up from where she was listening.
"You want to go to India alone?"
"Want to trade? Tony's in New York right now."
"Hmm... I'll take India."
Natasha clearly didn't like Tony. Probably because of his playboy reputation.
Fury turned to her. "You'll have a Quinjet and agents with you, so you won't be inconvenienced. You've seen the file, so don't make the doctor angry."
"Got it."
"Then we'll reconvene once everyone's here."
With that, Natasha boarded the Quinjet, and I took her Talaria Unit-01 to New York. As I arrived, Stark Tower ca into view. Tony had built it after stepping away from weapons manufacturing, as part of his arc-reactor business ventures.
I flew down to the large balcony he'd designed for Iron Man landings, opened the car door, and stepped out. Tony and Pepper ca out to greet .
"Jin, it's been a while. I was going to invite you once the tower was finished, but I guess that's unnecessary now."
"Jin, it's good to see you."
"Good to see you, Tony. And it's been a while, Miss Pepper."
Tony and I shook hands, and we headed inside together.
"Isn't that Natasha's car?"
Tony pointed at the Talaria Unit-01 hovering on the balcony. He recognized it from the tis we'd worked together.
"It is. I borrowed it. She's in India right now on SHIELD's request."
"So Motherfucker roped you into sothing too."
He glanced at the laptop I was holding and imdiately pieced it together.
"Yeah. He said to look at this. Said the situation was urgent."
I handed him the laptop. Tony moved to a table full of devices to connect it to the large monitor.
"I thought the Avengers Initiative was dead. And I heard I was off the list."
"Looks like this situation isn't normal."
"It must be, if they sent the hardest man on Earth to co get ."
"Is that my image these days?"
"Yeah. You need to get out more. Go to events. Parties. What are you even building that you're stuck on that island all the ti?"
"Another ship. Plus that car you saw, and a few other things."
"You're like back in the day. No, worse. What do they call that in Japan? Hiki-sothing."
"Hikikomori."
"Right! Hikikori."
[Master, it's hikikomori.]
"Anyway."
Tony connected the laptop to the device on the table. Several screens popped up, displaying the sa information we'd seen on the helicarrier. Including, of course, the video of pumling the Destroyer.
"Whoa! Jin, when did you go to New xico?"
"About a year ago. SHIELD asked for help."
Tony watched the footage for a long mont, then broke into a cold sweat and turned to .
"I haven't done anything to piss you off, have I?"
I cleared my throat. "No."
The scene of wrecking the Destroyer like a madman seed to genuinely shock him. He scrolled through the other files for a while before finally saying,
"I don't want to do this."
Just then, Pepper leaned in and whispered sothing in Tony's ear that I couldn't hear. His eyes went wide. I was curious what she'd promised him, but I could have used Nano to listen in. Decided against it. So lines you don't cross with friends.
"You promised!"
"Have a safe trip."
The two of them kissed. Their relationship had clearly deepened.
"I should get going. It's late."
"Yeah. Next ti, stay and take a proper look around."
"Miss Pepper, I'll see you next ti."
"Yes, see you next ti."
I left Stark Tower, got into the Talaria Unit-01, and headed back to the house on the island. The team wouldn't be assembled for a while, so there was no point going to the helicarrier yet.
I was resting at ho when a raven started tapping on the window. I walked over, and it didn't fly away. When I opened the window, it boldly hopped inside. On its leg was a small tube. I opened it and pulled out a tiny note.
Loki found. Assistance required.
It was written in Asgardian, but thanks to my Yoohee Life system, I could read any language with ease.
"Ah, Odin sent you. So you're Huginn?"
The raven shook its head.
"Then you're Muninn."
This ti it nodded up and down. It was so smart I wanted one for myself. I pulled so at from my inventory, cut it into small pieces, and fed Muninn. It cawed happily and ate. After it was done, I let it perch on my arm and opened a portal to Asgard.
Thor was waiting when we arrived.
"Jin! Good to see you. Father's calling for you."
"Got it."
Thor and I went to the throne room. Muninn flew from my arm to Odin's shoulder.
"It's been a while, Odin."
"You ca. We've discovered Loki is alive on Midgard. I want you and Thor to go retrieve him. And if possible, recover the Tesseract as well."
"Understood."
As Thor and I left the hall, I was deep in thought. In the original tiline, the Bifrost was destroyed, so Odin had to expend a great deal of power to send Thor to Earth during the Avengers incident.
But with here, he didn't need to exhaust himself. That ant Odin would survive longer. Which also ant Thanos' rampage could be delayed, and Hela's release would be pushed back significantly. Still, I couldn't refuse Odin's request and risk souring relations with Asgard.
My ddling in Thor 1 really caused a butterfly effect. Everything's tangled now.
"Jin, what are you thinking so hard about?"
"How Loki survived."
"I wonder that too. But I'm just glad my brother is still alive."
"After everything he did, you still think of him as your brother. You're a good older sibling."
"He's family."
Thor and I left the palace and I opened a portal to New xico, where Jane was.
We arrived on Earth and Jane and Darcy nearly jumped out of their skin. It was late, and they looked like they were getting ready for bed.
"What are you doing here at this hour!?"
"Mr. Chairman Jin! I missed you!"
Darcy ca at with her arms wide, and I had to hold her back while Thor explained the situation with Loki to Jane.
"So you ca to capture your brother."
"Yes, Jane."
I spoke to Thor. "It's late. Let's move tomorrow."
"Agreed."
We moved to a nearby hotel. I had to explain how to use the bathroom and shower to Thor, which took so ti, but we managed to get through the night.
The next day, Thor and I had breakfast with Jane and Darcy before we prepared to leave for the helicarrier.
"Mr. Chairman Jin, if we part like this, when will I see you again..."
"Miss Darcy, I already have soone I care about."
"I don't mind. I'd be happy just being near you, Mr. Chairman Jin."
"Ahem... You're a beautiful woman, Miss Darcy. I'm sure you'll et a good man."
"If I'm beautiful, then you should be the one to take , Mr. Chairman Jin."
Darcy was impossible to reason with. Beside us, Thor and Jane were sharing a kiss.
"Jane, I should be going. I'll stop by when this is over."
"Okay. Please do."
After our goodbyes, we moved to a spot outside of town. I opened a portal to the house on the island, then took the Talaria Unit-01 to the helicarrier.
Thor asked why we were traveling in such a roundabout way, so I told him people didn't know I was a sorcerer yet, and it could cause problems if it got out.
I asked him again to keep it secret, and also explained SHIELD's situation regarding Loki and the Tesseract. He said he understood.
When we arrived at the helicarrier, Agent Phil Coulson, Natasha, and Banner were on the deck. Phil looked at Thor and said,
"Isn't this the man who's ntally unstable? Now he's even dressed strangely."
I couldn't help but laugh at Phil's misunderstanding, but I explained properly this ti.
"You've got it wrong. Rember the 'good alien' I ntioned from New xico? This is him."
"Really?"
"Look at the hamr he's holding."
Phil Coulson looked at Mjolnir in Thor's hand and finally understood.
"So it was true. Understood."
Just then, a Quinjet was landing on the runway.
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