"This blood is extraordinary. I'm still analyzing it, Artoria, but your hunch looks right—the approach works. We'll need many more trials."
Maya summoned Artoria to the lab, cradling a vial of Kree blood. She spoke cautiously, unable to hide her excitement. The sample promised wonders; perhaps her Extremis virus could evolve again. If only there were more, she could explore so many angles.
"That result is plenty. Proceed with the experiments, Maya. I'll secure the materials."
Relieved, Artoria exhaled—her effort hadn't been wasted. She authorized Maya to begin and promised to solve the blood supply. The Kree corpse "borrowed" from S.H.I.E.L.D. was only the start.
"Understood."
Leaving the lab in Maya's hands, Artoria hurried to the underground Base housing the hyperion. The wrecked Kree vessel sat there; though most systems were ruined, some devices remained intact. Helen Cho oversaw the work, efficiently directing crews to bolt salvage onto the hyperion. Artoria didn't grasp every component, but she trusted Helen's expertise.
"Looks like everything's going smoothly."
Using her height advantage, Artoria slipped behind Helen and wrapped her in a loose hug. Asian builds really are petite, she mused. Recognizing the voice—and the softness pressing against her head—Helen relaxed.
"Smooth is… relative. This tech is alien, sometimes baffling, but not impossibly complex. We can operate it and retrofit the computers. The hyperion will handle the upgrades."
Flustered, Helen gently broke free. A public display was too much; if it were Maya she'd have spun around for a heated kiss, but Helen couldn't be that bold.
"All right, Dr. Cho the magnificent, drinks tonight?"
Glancing at the crew who were suddenly fascinated by their shoes, Artoria smiled and issued the invitation.
"N-no. I'm busy. If you've nothing urgent, kindly scram."
Memories of "that night" turned Helen crimson. She hurled her blueprints at Artoria and fled.
"Adorable."
Catching the drifting plans, Artoria set them on a table, watched Helen's retreat, then left. The Base lay far outside New York, safe from Chitauri raids; the Avengers would stop any incursion before it reached here.
"Sigh…"
Artoria was returning to New York in leisurely comfort, while Nick, on the other hand, had a splitting headache; for some reason the Avengers had started fighting among themselves. Thor had clashed with the others, and after calming the thunder-god, Tony had quarrelled with Captain, Dr. Banner had suddenly gone on a rampage, Barton had attacked, and Loki had escaped. All these things piled together could crush an ordinary person with stress.
'So we still haven't figured out what he actually wants?'
Nick looked at the absent-minded Natasha in front of him, the missing Dr. Banner, the (temporarily) traitorous Barton, Tony with a face like thunder, the dead-serious Captain, and the trouble-stirring Thor. A small team would search for Dr. Banner, and the rest of the unlucky kids would repair the damaged flight deck or whatever. Right now they needed to discuss the enemy's purpose.
'Whatever he wants, he has to be brought to justice.'
At this point Captain America, standing opposite Nick, said as much, but the remark irritated the thunder-god opposite him.
'Loki is of Asgard and my brother; he must face Asgard's punishment.'
'But he killed dozens of people here and caused huge losses.'
Natasha's off-hand remark wilted Thor; he glanced awkwardly around and, seeing everyone looking at him, could only try to laugh it off.
'He's adopted.'
'All right, no need to listen to this hot-head. What exactly did Loki steal before?'
Tony cut off Thor's excuse. Setting aside his prejudice against a certain 'Old Timer' beside him, he stared hard at Nick: at the very least let them know what had been stolen.
'A rare metallic element, "Yttrium".'
On Nick's cue, Hill stated their loss. As for the missing Kree corpse at the branch, that couldn't be revealed yet; they'd hoped to interrogate Loki slowly, but he'd escaped.
'It's a spatially stable element, extremely rare. In theory it could open a space gate, but with our tech it's impossible, so it was moth-balled.'
A MIT genius, Tony instantly grasped its use. His words made Nick's eyes light up as though he'd seized on something.
'Why can't it be done?'
Nick asked Tony, curious. He was an expert at killing, burning, and covering tracks, not this.
'Because it needs energy—pure, vast energy. On Earth right now, we can't supply that.'
Not upset by Nick's interruption, the task-focused Tony, broad-minded for the moment, answered Nick's question directly.
'So if they had such a condition and wanted to build a space gate, where would they choose?'
Suddenly catching on, Nick pressed for an answer; he now felt he understood Loki's moves—and his goal.
'The higher the better, of course, and the tallest building around here is Stark Tower.'
Without thinking, Tony named the tallest nearby structure, then froze: he seemed to have realised something.
'Ladies and gentlemen, I think we need to move out.'
With a grave expression Nick addressed everyone present.
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