by Alex Irvine
Steve remembered the power of the cube. He’d seen it tear a hole in space and suck the Red Skull through. It wasn’t something to mess around with. “You should have left it in the ocean,” Steve said.
Then he went home, to hang the heavy bag there and try one more time to punch his nightmares away.
But he and Fury both knew he wasn’t bailing out on the mission. Steve knew all too well the destruction that could be wrought if the power of the cube fell into the wrong hands. He’d seen the destruction it caused when the Red Skull held it and used it to power new weapons. What if someone smarter and more dangerous got hold of it? No matter what Steve was struggling with, if the world needed Captain America, he would rise to meet the challenge.
CHAPTER 7
The New York City skyline glittered. The bridges sparkled like diamonds in the reflective waters of the East River. In recent years, the city had been built back up from darker days at the turn of the millennium. But even with the explosion of construction the metropolis was experiencing, one tower was sure to stand out above all the others.
Like a cannon fired from a submarine, Iron Man shot from below the surface of the river and soared into the sparkling sky over Manhattan. “Good to go on this end,” he said. “The rest is up to you.”
“You disconnected the transmission lines?” Pepper asked. “Are we off the grid?”
“Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy,” Tony said. That was what he’d been doing on the bottom of the river—routing the city electrical supply around the feeder conduits that powered the new Stark Tower.
“Well, assuming the Arc Reactor takes over and it actually works,” Pepper pointed out.
The PR campaign had been a success, the media outlets were alerted, and Stark Industries’ CEO was ready to flip the switch. Tonight was the night they lit Stark Tower—New York’s newest and most spectacular skyscraper, and its most eco-friendly: the first in not just the city, but the world to run on self-sustaining energy.
Tony rocketed low over Fifth Avenue, heading north. “I assume,” he said. “Light ’er up.”
In the penthouse apartment on top of the new Stark Tower, Pepper hit a switch. The tower began to light up, first from street level, and then hundreds of feet to the pinnacle, illuminating the New York skyline—and the sky itself.
“How does it look?” Pepper asked. He could see her grinning with excitement in the heads-up display inside the helmet of his Iron Man suit.
“Like Christmas, but with more me,” Tony said.
“We’ve got to go wider on the public awareness campaign,” she said, thinking like the CEO she was. The best decision Tony had ever made was handing the reins of Stark Industries over to her. “You need to do some press. I’m in DC tomorrow working on the zoning for the next three buildings.…”
“Pepper, you’re killing me,” Tony said as he arced past the Empire State Building. “The moment, remember? Enjoy the moment.”
“Get in here and I will,” she said.
He landed on the rooftop of Stark Tower, aiming for a landing pad and walkway specially constructed for Iron Man. As he walked toward the penthouse office and living space he shared with Pepper, machines automatically removed the Iron Man armor piece by piece. Tony didn’t even have to break stride. He sure had come a long way since the first time he’d built one of the suits in a cave in Afghanistan. Then he’d been trying to save his life. Now he could maybe save the world.
“Sir, Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. is on the line for you,” Jarvis said through the communications line in Tony’s helmet.
“I’m not in,” Tony said. A machine removed the Iron Man helmet. “I’m actually out,” he added. He knew Jarvis would make an excuse for him. That was one of the things he’d programmed into Jarvis, who was his very own artificial intelligence, technological consultant, and butler. There was no way he was going to spoil this evening by dealing with Coulson. He had something to celebrate.
“Sir,” Jarvis said via one of the speakers set into the suit disassembly systems. “I’m afraid he’s insisting.”
“Grow a spine, Jarvis,” Tony said. “I got a date.”
By the time he got inside, he was wearing ordinary clothes. Pepper stood watching a holographic display of Stark Tower and the Arc Reactor powering it. “Levels are holding steady, I think,” she said.
“Of course they are. I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question. How does it feel to be a genius?”
“Well, I really wouldn’t know, now would I?” Pepper teased him.
He poured two glasses of champagne and they toasted. “What do you mean? All this came from you.”
“No, all this came from that.” Pepper tapped the miniaturized Arc Reactor in Tony’s chest.
“Give yourself some credit, please. Stark Tower is your baby. Give yourself… twelve percent of the credit.”
“Twelve percent.”
Tony had meant it as a joke, but he could see she hadn’t taken it that way. “An argument could be made for fifteen,” he said, trying to get a laugh out of her.
It wasn’t working. “Twelve percent,” she said. “My baby.”
Now he decided to tease her a little more. “Well, I did do all the heavy lifting. Literally, I lifted the heavy things. I’m going to pay for that comment about percentages, in some subtle way later, aren’t I?”
“It’s not going to be that subtle.”
“I’ll tell you what. The next building is going to say Potts on the tower.”
“On the lease,” she corrected him.
“Sir, the telephone,” Jarvis said. “I’m afraid my protocols are being overridden.”
Coulson’s voice came out of the speaker on Tony’s dining room table, where he and Pepper had been just about to enjoy their champagne. “Mr. Stark, we need to talk.”
“You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark,” Tony said, trying to get Coulson to leave them alone. “Please leave a message.”
“This is urgent.”
“Then leave it urgently.”
The elevator door opened, revealing Coulson hanging up his phone.
“Security breach,” Tony said to Pepper. “It’s on you.”
“Mr. Stark,” Coulson began.
Before Tony could say something rude, Pepper greeted Coulson with a big smile. “Phil! Come in.”
“Phil?” Tony hadn’t even known that was his name. How did Pepper know that?
“I can’t stay,” Coulson said.
“His first name is Agent,” Tony protested.
Pepper guided Coulson into the living room, saying, “Come on in. We’re celebrating.”
“Which is why he can’t stay,” Tony said.
Coulson held a leather-bound folder out to Tony. “We need you to look this over as soon as possible.”
“I don’t like being handed things,” Tony said. He didn’t take the folder.
“That’s fine, because I love to be handed things. So let’s trade.” Pepper took the folder and gave Coulson her champagne. Then she stuck the folder in Tony’s hand, took his champagne glass, and helped herself to a sip. “Thank you.”
“Official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday,” Tony said.
“This isn’t a consultation,” Coulson said.
“Is this about the Avengers?” Pepper asked. Coulson gave her a sharp look. “Which I know nothing about,” she added. This wasn’t true. Tony had told her about the project. He told Pepper everything and didn’t care if Coulson knew that or not.
Since the topic of the Avengers had been raised, though, Tony thought he might as well see it through. “The Avengers Initiative was scrapped, I thought. And I didn’t even qualify.”
“I didn’t know that, either,” Pepper said.
“Yeah,” Tony said. “Apparently I’m volatile, self-obsessed, don’t play well with others.…”
Pepper was nodding. “That I did know.”
&n
bsp; “This isn’t about personality profiles anymore,” Coulson said. He wasn’t giving up, and that irritated Tony even more than the fact he’d showed up right when the celebration of Stark Tower was supposed to be starting.
“Whatever,” he said. “Ms. Potts, got a second?”
She excused herself as Tony opened the files Coulson had given him and started piping them to his desktop display. “You know, I thought we were having a moment,” he said.
“I was having twelve percent of a moment,” she shot back. “This seems serious. Phil’s pretty shaken.”
“How would you know if it’s serious?” Tony asked.
She ignored the question as she watched the files and images stack up on Tony’s virtual desktop. “What is all this?”
“This is…” Tony spread his fingers, and Coulson’s files spread across the air above the desktop. One of the new features of Tony’s new apartment was a holographic workstation he could spawn from any surface. There were dozens of files: text dossiers, video clips, all kinds of stuff. It was more then they could take in right then.
After a moment, Pepper said, “I’m going to take the jet to DC tonight.” She was supposed to be presenting some of Stark Industries’ new energy initiatives to a congressional committee tomorrow.
“Tomorrow,” Tony said. There was no reason for her to leave tonight. They still owed each other a celebration, whatever Agent Coulson thought.
But Pepper had other ideas. “You have homework,” she said. She looked at all the images on the display. “A lot of homework.”
“Well, what if I didn’t?” Tony asked. He gave her a little wink.
She played along. “If you didn’t? You mean when you’ve finished?”
Pepper whispered in his ear and stepped back. Blushing, Tony said, “Square deal. Fly safe.”
She kissed him and walked toward the elevator. “Any chance you’re driving by the airport?” she asked Coulson.
“I can drop you,” he said.
“Fantastic,” she said. Then they were gone, and Tony was left with the files. So much for the celebration. There was nothing to do but get to work.
CHAPTER 8
We’re about forty minutes out from home base,” the Quinjet pilot said. Coulson took off his headphones and made his way back from his station near the cockpit to the passenger compartment. Captain America was sitting there, in civilian clothes, reviewing the dossier Director Fury had given him. After dropping Pepper at the airport, Coulson had stayed up most of the night getting things arranged to have the new team meet for the first time. The logistics were still coming together. He’d picked up Captain America first thing in the morning and was now ferrying him to a meeting with Director Fury.
“So this Dr. Banner was trying to replicate the serum they used on me,” Captain America said.
“A lot of people were. You were the world’s first Super Hero.” Coulson had a bit of a difficult time keeping his normal reserved demeanor around Captain America. He’d been a huge fan for a long time, reading the stories of Captain America’s exploits during World War II. Now to see the man right in front of him in the flesh… it was a thrill, but also intimidating. Coulson needed to keep his head. There was a mission to accomplish.
“Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine’s original formula,” he added.
“That didn’t really go his way, did it?” Captain America was now reading through the part of the dossier containing the history of the Hulk.
“Not so much. When he’s not that thing, though, the guy’s like a Stephen Hawking.”
Captain America looked up at him. He didn’t know who Stephen Hawking was.
“He’s like a… smart person,” Coulson amended. Then, because he couldn’t help himself, he went on. “I have to say it’s an honor to meet you officially. I sort of met you, I mean I watched you while you were sleeping.” Captain America looked uncomfortable, and Coulson regretted his choice of phrase. Captain America got up and looked out the Quinjet’s front windows.
Coulson tried again. For some reason, being around Captain America made him nervous in a way he never was when he interacted with any of the others. “I mean, I was present while you were unconscious from the ice,” he said. “You know, it’s really just a huge honor to have you on board.”
“I hope I’m the man for the job,” Captain America said.
“Oh, you are. Absolutely. We made some modifications to the uniform.” Coulson paused, a little bashful. “I had a little design input.”
Captain America looked back at Coulson. “The uniform? Aren’t the Stars and Stripes a little… old-fashioned?”
“With everything that’s happening, and the things that are about to come to light, people might just need a little old-fashioned,” Coulson said.
Loki watched Dr. Erik Selvig work, preparing the Tesseract for the next phase of his plan. Technicians and soldiers scurried about on various errands. Loki did not know the details and did not care. They were beneath him. He had his eye solely on the greater prize. It was time to consult with the Chitauri and begin the next phase of the preparations.
The gem in the head of his scepter glowed as Loki gathered his magical powers. A moment later, his surroundings were transformed. No longer was he standing in an underground laboratory watching mortals build machines. Now he was sitting in the… other space… where the Chitauri waited.
They were the aliens who had found him after he was cast out of Asgard. He had struck a deal with them.
Deep space and a field of stars surrounded this rocky world. Pale blue lights glowed where the Chitauri had built their fortress. They gleamed in a set of stairs that climbed to the topmost tower. That was where Loki had made his bargain with the Chitauri: They would be his army and he would open a path to Earth for them. Once Earth was his, and Asgard as well, he would turn the Tesseract over to them.
At least that was what he had promised.
“The Chitauri grow restless,” their leader growled. Around him, his minions moved, seemingly part of the rocky landscape until their motion gave them away. They were armored, their faces hidden. They were humanoid in shape, with monstrous faces similar to the reptiles found on Earth. Their appearance would be useful when it was time to use them as an invading army. Striking fear into one’s opponents was a fine way to shorten a battle. Loki had also taken care with his own appearance, assuming his Asgardian armor and horned golden helmet for this conversation. It was useful to appear powerful when you spoke with those you were to lead.
“Let them gird themselves,” he said. “I will lead them in glorious battle.”
“Battle?” the Chitauri warrior snorted. “Against the meager might of Earth?”
“Glorious,” Loki repeated. “Not lengthy. If your force is as formidable as you claim.”
He had intended to anger the Chitauri, and he had succeeded. “You question us? You question him, who put the scepter in your hand? Who gave you ancient knowledge and new purpose when you were cast out, defeated?” Thousands of Chitauri warriors watched, their armor scraping on the stones of this strange world.
“I was a king!” Loki declared. “The rightful king of Asgard, betrayed.”
“Your ambition is little and born of childish need. We look beyond the Earth to greater worlds the Tesseract will unveil.”
“You don’t have the Tesseract yet.” The Chitauri leader rushed at Loki and stopped just short of him, claws raised. Loki did not move.
“I don’t threaten,” he said, though he was doing exactly that. “But until I open the doors, until your force is mine to command, you are but words.” He wanted the Chitauri to understand that if they wanted the Tesseract, they first had to give Loki what he wanted: Earth.
The Chitauri leader backed down but only a step. “You will have your war, Asgardian,” he growled. Then he too decided to make a threat. “If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he cannot
find you. You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain.”
Loki flashed back into his awareness of Earth. He took a deep breath. The Chitauri did not frighten him… but he would have been a fool if he had not possessed a healthy respect for their leader, the mad Titan known as Thanos. For it was Thanos who had given Loki the scepter, and Thanos who had rallied the Chitauri to Loki’s cause… and Thanos who wished to possess the Tesseract for his own monstrous ends. One did not bargain lightly with Thanos—and one certainly did not fail to meet the terms of such a bargain.
CHAPTER 9
The Quinjet roared in toward the aircraft carrier stationed off the East Coast of the United States. Its pilot brought it in skillfully, using the Quinjet’s vertical takeoff and landing capability to bring it down near the command superstructure.
“Stow the captain’s gear,” Coulson instructed one of the crew members as they disembarked.
A red-haired woman in civilian clothing—with a sidearm in a holster on her left thigh—was coming across the flight deck to meet them. Coulson introduced them. “Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers.”
“Ma’am.” Steve nodded.
“Hi,” she said to Steve. To Coulson she added, “They need you on the bridge. They’re starting the face trace.”
“See you there,” Coulson said.
As he left, Agent Romanoff started walking with Steve. “It was quite the buzz around here, finding you in the ice,” she said. “I thought Coulson was going to swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?”
“Trading cards?”
“They’re vintage. He’s very proud.”
Steve saw Bruce Banner looking at one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. fighter jets nearby and called out to him. “Dr. Banner.”
Bruce came over and shook his hand. “Yeah, hi. They told me you’d be coming.”
