In the S.H.I.E.L.D office, Nick had just lifted his coffee cup and was sipping when Natasha walked in with a document in her hand. As she scanned through the papers, she said, "Director, there are 26 items waiting to be confirmed today, plus we have some backlog from yesterday…"
"Alright, I'm aware, just put it there, I'll get to it as soon as possible."
Natasha was about to leave when her phone rang. She picked it up and said, "Hello? ... Oh very well, but he is busy at the moment. Alright, I'll pass on your message."
"Director, that was Stark on the phone. He wanted to know if you have time this afternoon to visit Stark Laboratory and check out some experimental results. They've collaborated with Wakanda on some material study and created a sample..."
"Schedule it for 5 p.m. today."
"Director!" Coulson walked in, waved at Natasha, and then approached Nick to say, "Professor Arkham... I mean, Professor Rodriguez just called to see if you're available for lunch. He wishes to discuss his plans over a meal..."
"Lunch? I'm afraid I won't have time for lunch. Let's schedule him in for 2 p.m.".
"Hang on." Natasha turned back around, picked up the schedule and said, "No can do, Director. Don't you remember? At 3 p.m., you are to meet with the director of SWORD. One hour wouldn't be enough to get there..."
As Nick pondered, Steve walked in saying, "The Superhero Squad plan is only one step away from completion. Oh, you all are here. Nick, can I speak to you privately?"
Just then, a portal appeared with a "zzz" sound, and Strange popped his head out from it. Peering down at a seated Nick and with a serious tone, Strange said, "Come with me quickly. Loki wants to talk to you about establishing diplomatic relations with Asgard. It's a serious matter..."
Before he could retract his head, another head came out of the portal. It was Wanda who stroked her red hair and said, "S.H.I.E.L.D Director, Professor X wanted to speak to you..."
Before she could finish speaking, Venom stuck his head out from the portal, revealing his sharp fangs as if he was going to bite Nick's head off. He impatiently said, "That Blue Spirit lady is looking for you, hurry over!"
With his hands on his forehead, Nick complained, "Why are you coming at me one after another? Why don't you all gather in one place and let's discuss everything in one go?"
At that moment, two hands were stretched out from the portal, pushing the three heads back into the portal. Shiller put out his head and said, "Good question, I was about to discuss this plan with you. Don't you think it's time we established a proper organization?"
Two hours later, in the visiting room of Arkham Sanatorium, Nick picked up a bottle of wine from the table and poured a bit into his glass. Strange was taking a short nap, leaning back on a single-seat sofa.
Stark was optimising his free time by examining a blueprint. Shiller was still working on his patient case notes, while Loki stood by the window, unbraiding a braid that Frigga had woven for her.
When Charles entered, he found everyone in this state. He said, "Sorry, I'm a bit late. You know my movement is quite limited..."
After he finished speaking, he had Quicksilver who was pushing his wheelchair to leave first. Stark saw that almost all people had arrived, so he spoke out, "To be honest, we should have solved this problem and established an organization a long time ago. Instead, we are now in a mess with such a low efficiency."
Nick shook his head and said, "It's not that simple. Look at those people sitting here. If we are to unite, I guess many people will have sleepless nights."
"Well, I can't sleep even if we don't unite." Strange looked very tired as he covered his eyes. "I'm busy enough dealing with Kamar-Taj and Holy Sanctuary matters every day. The one-way communication between us has consumed all my spare time."
"Who isn't?" Stark snorted, "I need to spend a lot of time every day on this inefficient communication network. It's just a piece of crap."
"Alright, let's assume we are forming an organization now to deal with these messy cosmic wars, interstellar diplomacy and so on. What should we call this organization?" Strange asked.
"I think it should be called Bright..." Before Stark could finish the name, Shiller immediately interrupted him: "Why not call it the Luminous Alliance?"
"But…"
"No buts, just forget that unlucky name."
Nick looked at him quite puzzled and said, "The last time I discussed with you what to name the Superhero Squad, you also rejected my proposal. You said it was very unlucky. Can you tell me why it is unlucky?"
"Just stop asking. If I could choose a power to have in this organization, it would be the naming rights. Of course, I'm very democratic. If you're not satisfied with the name Luminous Alliance, we can change it. Just don't use that name you're thinking of."
"Forget it, why is this important?" Strange said dismissively. "The name is the least important thing. The Holy Sanctuary, though it's called that, it's now a customer service centre. Kamar-Taj, though it's called that, it's now a Magic Technology Institute..."