The chamber hummed with purpose.
Not the ragged, chaotic hum of mortal industry, but something closer to harmony. At the center of it all, the Tesseract pulsed on its dais, its light filling every seam of steel and stone. To Ebony Maw, it was not a machine nor a weapon. It was scripture.
He walked between the rows of improvised equipment, his robes brushing against metal casings and dangling cables. The mortal devices mattered little on their own; they were scaffolding, tools, useful only because Reed Richards bent them into instruments of the Cube's song.
Reed stood at a console, his hands moving with a precision that no longer belonged to him. The blue fire in his eyes guided each stroke of the keys, each adjustment of the circuits. The man who had once questioned, doubted, argued—he was silent now. And silence was obedience.
"You will stabilize the lattice," Maw said softly, though he already knew the answer.
"Yes." Reed's voice was flat, almost tranquil. "Phase variance ninety-four percent corrected. Containment requires reinforcement. When complete, the conduit will channel energy sufficient to pierce the veil."
Maw inclined his head. As expected.
The deception was as vital as the work itself. To bring the Cube directly to the Great Titan would be reckless, an invitation for Odin's gaze to fall upon them before the design was ready.
No—better to disguise the theft as something smaller, something brutish. A wound opened on this world, a portal torn wide. Earth's panic and ruin would be the smokescreen behind which Thanos could move unseen.
Patience. Every step must be veiled.
On the floor below, Ben Grimm waited motionless. Granite skin and crushing fists—an ideal sentinel. His eyes no longer burned with resistance; they were as blank as stone itself. He would break whatever Maw commanded him to break, and kill whoever was named. Nothing more, nothing less.
High above on the gantry, Clint Barton stood in the shadows, bow in hand, his gaze never shifting. He did not fidget, did not sigh, did not blink more than was necessary. A predator reduced to pure instinct, stripped of hesitation, left only with aim and obedience.
Maw looked at them and felt a swell of satisfaction. "You are liberated," he murmured, letting his words carry across the chamber. "Freed of doubt, of weakness, of choice. In obedience, you have found peace. In service, you have found purpose."
Neither Grimm nor Barton reacted. Richards continued his work without pause.
As it should be.
The Cube's glow intensified, flooding the chamber with a cold, ethereal light. Machines shuddered as they drank in the energy, coils trembling under the weight of power not meant for them. Sparks fell like ceremonial incense, the air thick with ozone and heat.
Maw spread his hands, as though receiving benediction. The vibration in his bones was not discomfort—it was affirmation. The Titan's will made manifest. "Soon," he whispered. "The veil will part, and this world will know the first taste of his glory. They will kneel. Not to me, not to you. To him."
The Cube flared again, a ripple of infinite depth contained in a perfect, indifferent shape. Maw felt his lips curl into a smile.
Then, the smile turned into a frown as the surge of energy caused some of the machines to spark before letting off a thick, dark smoke.
Clearly, these mortal toys struggled to channel the power of infinity itself properly.
The smoke curled upward in ugly plumes, staining the chamber with the stench of burnt copper. One of the coils shrieked, metal warping under the impossible strain, and collapsed into a heap of molten slag.
Maw's eyes narrowed.
Reed's fingers hesitated for the first time since his enthrallment began. Sparks danced across his console, and warning glyphs scrolled across the screens. "Structural degradation detected. Energy feedback will destabilize the matrix. Containment will fail."
"Explain," Maw said, his voice calm as ever, though a thread of irritation coiled beneath the words.
Reed blinked once, the blue fire behind his eyes unshaken. "The lattice cannot hold. Mortal alloys collapse at these thresholds. An element of greater resilience is required—something to anchor the field and prevent collapse."
Maw tilted his head, listening to the words not as an engineer, but as a priest interpreting scripture. A flaw in the vessel does not invalidate the truth of the message. The flaw lies in the vessel.
"What do you require?" he asked.
Reed's hands danced across the console, pulling schematics onto the holo-display. "Iridium. Stable, heat-resistant, resistant to arc disruption. With sufficient mass, it will ground the fluctuations. Without it, the portal cannot open without tearing itself apart."
"Iridium…" Maw let the word linger, tasting it. He had to use the mindstone to dive into his mind, finding out what this Iridium was. Thankfully, he quickly realized what it was. A not uncommon element, but apparently, it was rare on this miserable world.
And that made it hard to get.
Though not impossible. He turned his eyes to another of his servants. Clint Barton, a soldier, an agent, a tool, but someone who knew where things of value could be found.
While Maw could easily do it himself, it would be all too easy; he also knew that every action he made endangered his grand plan, and more importantly, his master's plan. No, he needed these humans to be his agents.
Thankfully, while he hadn't gotten control of everyone near him when he appeared, he had gotten his hands on a few useful tools, all the same.
Maw's gaze lingered on Barton.
The archer stood poised above, bow in hand though no arrow was nocked, his eyes like glass pools reflecting nothing. An assassin without hesitation, a hound who would follow the scent wherever Maw directed.
"You know this world," Maw intoned, his words curling through the air like incense. "You know where its treasures are hidden, where its rulers keep their toys. Tell me where this iridium lies."
Barton's head tilted slightly, as though listening to a voice only he could hear. Then, in that steady soldier's cadence stripped of all humanity, he answered: "I know of a place. A secure facility. Research-grade iridium. Military contracts. But it's well protected; getting it won't be easy."
"What do you need?" Maw asked, to him, no request would be impossible.
"An eye." Barton said without hesitation.
Maw had to admit that wasn't what he had expected, but still, he could work with that.
Barton could get the Iridium itself… and Grim, he could get the eye, which meant he could stay here and protect the Tesseract. Yes, that would do nicely.
------
Steve was almost relieved when he stepped out of the small jet that had taken him out to what appeared to be an aircraft carrier. Not that he didn't like that agent Coulson, he seemed like a good man, but the way he kept glancing at him. It just bothered him.
Steve knew that this current age was far more open to same-sex relationships, but he very much still preferred women, so being looked at by a guy with such an intense gaze was rather uncomfortable.
"Agent Romanoff," Coulson greeted the red-haired woman who approached them.
Steve wished it were someone like her who had ridden with him; at least if she had kept shooting him glances, it wouldn't have been as awkward.
"Captain Rogers," Coulson introduced, making Steve snap out of his thoughts.
"Ma'am," he greeted her.
"Hi," she greeted him almost coldly, completely uninterested in him. "They need you on the bridge; they are starting a face trace." She told Coulson who was quick to walk off, leaving him alone with her.
Steve fell into step beside her as Coulson hurried off. Romanoff's stride was brisk, economical, her heels striking the deck with a rhythm that matched the ship around her.
"He's very enthusiastic," she said without looking at Steve.
Steve raised a brow. "Coulson?"
She gave the faintest smile. "He's been collecting vintage Captain America trading cards since he was a kid. Caused quite a stir when they pulled you out of the ice. To him, you're not just an assignment. You're… personal."
Steve's ears warmed, and he glanced away. "Didn't know they still made those."
"They don't," Natasha replied. "Which makes his collection even sadder."
Steve wasn't sure how to answer that, so he stayed quiet, instead focusing on what lay ahead of them. Not far off, he spotted someone who didn't look like he belonged.
Everyone moved with military precision and purpose, but this man in a fade suit looked confused and unsure of what he was doing.
Steve did, however, recognize the man, Bruce Banner. He had long since heard about him, someone who had worked on a super soldier serum and gotten it wrong. Instead, he now turned into a massive, hulking green monster when angry.
Steve was almost impressed by how wrong this guy had gotten it, because that was quite far from what it did to him.
Still, everything he had read about him said that Banner was a kind person and a brilliant scientist who just wanted to help people.
That was something Steve could understand and respect. "Dr. Banner," he greeted him, offering him his hand.
"Oh?" The man looked almost shocked at being called out, but recognition quickly shone in his eyes as he looked Steve up and down. Clearly, he realized who he spoke with. "Yeah, hi."
"They told me you would be coming." He said, almost unsure of himself.
Steve also noticed his handshake was pretty weak, as if afraid he might hurt him. "Word is you can find the cube."
Banner looked around, nervous and unsure of himself. "Is that the only word about?"
Steve recognized the look from a mile away. "Only word I care about," He answered with a confident smile.
Before Banner could say more, the deck shuddered beneath their feet. A low, rolling vibration carried through the steel, rising in pitch. Steve turned, his eyes widening as shadows passed over the water.
The carrier stretched out before them like a floating city, and then—panels along its flanks split apart. Giant turbines unfolded, their blades gleaming in the sunlight as they rose from hidden bays.
"Secure all stations. Clear the deck," a voice barked over the loudspeakers.
Engines roared to life, and the entire ship trembled. The sea frothed into towering spirals as the turbines spun faster and faster, until the massive hull began to rise, water cascading from its sides like a second storm.
Steve braced himself, gripping a railing. "This is… a flying aircraft carrier?"
Banner tilted his head back, watching the impossible take shape. "Oh, you've got to be shitting me."
Natasha didn't even blink. "Gentlemen," she said crisply. "Welcome to SHIELD."
(End of chapter)
Support me at patreon.com/unknownfate - for the opportunity to read up to 30 chapters ahead.
Or on boosty.to/unknownfate