While Alex and the Avengers shared the room, up above, a plane was closing in on the Helicarrier.
Aboard it, Clint Barton raised a large black compound bow. His eyes glowed faintly blue, the Mind Stone's influence hollowing out his expression. His movements were precise and empty.
["Transport 66B, please provide confirmation code."]
["We have you on file, but no flight record. State your cargo. Over."]
The Helicarrier's control tower came through the plane's comm.
The pilot responded, "Weapons and ammunition. Over."
The tower provided a landing position.
As the plane drew alongside the Helicarrier, the cargo door rolled open. Agent Barton walked to the edge, bow in hand. He glanced outside, then raised the weapon.
Inside the Helicarrier, Alex gave the scepter an idle spin. His ear twitched. He smiled.
"Don't say I didn't warn you. Right now, the one you should be worried about isn't me. It's the trickster you've got locked in that cage."
Thor jabbed a finger at Alex, "Watch your words. Whatever Loki's done, he's an Asgardian. He's my brother."
Alex looked genuinely surprised, "Wow, the murderer is your brother?"
Thor's expression curdled. Then, "We're more like cousins."
"Is this really the time for this?", Steve spread his hands, "We're talking about bloodlines right now?"
Tony muttered to Banner, "I can't stand a washed-up old man telling everyone what to do."
Steve turned toward him, "Trying to prove how impressive you are? All you do is hide inside that armor and play hero. I've known people who run circles around you. More than ten times over."
Tony smiled, "Maybe I should remind you that your abilities came out of a little bottle. Without it, you'd still be a scrawny kid who lied his way into the army."
"Are you two out of your minds?", Black Widow's voice cut across them, "The threat is right here and you want to turn on each other?"
Banner slowly stood, "Are you talking about me being a threat? I heard you say Loki wants to use me."
"No, Dr. Banner, I didn't mean—"
The entire room lurched violently. Fire exploded from below, erupting through the floor in every direction, blowing the windows out, blasting a hole in the deck, sending the heroes flying.
The fire faded. Smoke billowed up, then was swept away by a sudden gust.
Alex blew out a calm breath to scatter the last of the smoke. He rolled one shoulder, "I told you. I'm not the one you need to worry about."
The Helicarrier had taken a catastrophic hit. Engine three had just detonated, and the ship was beginning to lose control.
Alarms screamed through the command hall.
"Attention! Attention!"
"All hands!"
"We are under attack. All combat personnel to battle stations."
Agent Hill's voice cut through the chaos, "Can the engine be repaired?"
"The turbines are mostly intact, but we can't send anyone out for external repairs while we're still airborne."
The answer came back fast.
Hill's jaw tightened, "Lose one more engine and we're done."
"Someone has to go out and fix it."
Tony Stark was hauled upright by Steve Rogers. He pushed aside whatever hostility he'd been carrying, "I need to get to my armor."
Steve nodded, "Go."
Fury's voice came through, "Stark, I need you on that engine."
"On my way," Tony was already sprinting for the suit bay.
Fury barked more orders in rapid succession.
Then he looked up at Alex, still hovering with Loki's scepter.
"He's leaving! Stop him!"
"He's not going anywhere!"
Thor roared and hurled himself forward, crashing into Alex. The two of them blew straight through the wall together and into the armory.
Alex shook his head, then exploded forward, driving himself into Thor with everything he had.
An eye for an eye.
Thor let out a curse as he went airborne, punching through wall after wall, the sound of impact rolling on and on until he finally stopped.
He pulled himself off the floor and raised one arm. The call went out. Mjolnir.
But before the hammer could reach him, Thor saw the red-caped man flash toward him, trailing wind, closing the distance in an instant.
No words. Just two beams of golden light blazing from his eyes.
Thor flung his arm up to block. The heat was unbearable, and the force behind it was colossal, trying to drive him down through the deck. Armor plating beneath his feet buckled and warped.
Then his hammer arrived.
Thor bellowed in triumph, seized it, and with a furious cry swung it straight at Alex.
Nobody else could lift Mjolnir, which meant Alex didn't fear being hit by it. Being pinned under it, though, was another story.
He sidestepped, letting the hammer swing wide, then dove in and drove a kick into Thor's chest.
The impact sent Thor tumbling backward, smashing through crate after crate before finally skidding to a halt.
The hammer came flying back at Alex from behind. He tilted his head and it passed him cleanly. He turned back to Thor and opened up with the heat vision again.
Thor caught the hammer and used the head to block both beams, but the force kept pushing him back, one grinding step at a time.
Then, from somewhere deep in the ship's hull, Black Widow's voice rose up.
"Dr. Banner, please stay calm. You're safe here. Trust me."
In a cramped space full of exposed piping and machinery, Natasha lay pinned by debris. Beside her, Banner's face was twisted with pain.
"We're going to be fine."
"Listen to me. I swear on my life, you are going to be okay."
"When we get back on the ground, you can go wherever you want. You can disappear. Far away from all of this."
"Shut up!"
Banner screamed it. He threw his head back in a ragged wail, and then his body began to change. His muscles swelled. His skin turned a deep, saturated green.
His clothes split apart. He tore them away with his hands.
Somehow, his pants survived. Shredded at the legs, but largely intact. A genuine miracle of the Marvel universe.
"Oh shit!"
Natasha's composure finally cracked. She knew what had just been let out. The monster Banner kept locked inside himself. The Hulk.
He swayed on his feet, still adjusting to the change. One massive hand pressed against a metal tank. The surface caved in beneath his palm.
In the dim space, the Hulk slowly turned his head. His eyes burned with raw, furious heat, like something that had been dragged awake and was not happy about it.
"This is bad!", Natasha wrenched her legs free from the wreckage. The Hulk was already facing her. A roar shook the air.
He charged.
Two golden beams punched through the air and hit him square. The Hulk's arms flew up on instinct. Even bullets couldn't scratch his skin, but these beams turned his forearms red and shoved him sideways several steps.
The beams cut off. The Hulk looked toward their source.
A blond man stood there, corner of his mouth curled up, beckoning with one finger.
Alex locked eyes with the green beast and grinned, "Come on then, big guy. Show me what you've got."
The Hulk roared at the provocation and charged like a tank at full throttle. He demolished everything in his path, smashing through bulkheads, tearing into the armory, barreling straight at Alex.
Alex had one hand up blocking Thor's hammer and used the scepter to bat Thor aside with the other.
Then the Hulk was on him. A bestial snarl, fingers cracking as the fists clenched, and then a punch that sent a sound like a hurricane screaming through the armory just from the displaced air alone.
Thor narrowed his eyes.
The Hulk's fist connected with the mysterious man's face.
"Yes!"
Thor cheered. The red cape snapped back in the violent gust.
Then it settled.
The man hadn't moved. Not an inch. His expression was pure wild amusement.
Alex tilted his chin up slightly, "That's all you've got?"
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