Nick Fury initially thought that the Tesseract was operating on its own, and he even considered it a good thing.
Perhaps they could fully harness the energy of the universe through it.
However, Dr. Selvig's next words sent a chill down his spine.
"This isn't the Tesseract operating on its own. Someone has opened it from the other side. To be precise, this might actually be the true way to use the Tesseract—long-distance wormhole activation!"
A long-distance wormhole activation—a novel concept.
Nick Fury had been using it to develop a new energy weapon, while previously, the Skrulls planned to use it to create a lightspeed engine.
But what's the real method of using this thing? Or, more concerning, what might be transmitted from the other side?
Nick Fury had encountered aliens before, and since this place was remote, he wasn't too concerned about civilian casualties.
So he ordered all combat personnel at the base to be on high alert and recalled Hawkeye from his mission outside. (In the original movie, Hawkeye had been at the base, monitoring Dr. Selvig's research on the Tesseract and preventing any tampering. But here, Natasha had run off with Blake, so Hawkeye's responsibilities became heavier!)
Strangely, ever since the Tesseract's energy surge a moment ago, it had quickly settled down, as if it had only sneezed.
"Sir, the Tesseract's energy fluctuations have returned to normal levels. Should we lower the alert level?" Agent Hill suggested to Nick Fury, as nearly three hours had passed since the initial anomaly, and the Tesseract remained unresponsive.
"No, it's always strangely calm before a storm. Have everyone except for combat personnel and key project leaders leave the base. I have a feeling this is not so simple!"
Nick Fury's single eye glimmered with a trace of worry.
"Sir, in that case, why not call Agent Romanoff back to assist? I mean, Blake and Stark..."
Nick Fury raised a hand to stop Hill.
"They have nothing to do with S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore. If it's not necessary, we'll handle it ourselves."
An hour and a half later…
In the parking lot, Agent Hill watched helplessly as Loki walked away with the Tesseract, having taken control of Hawkeye, Dr. Selvig, and another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
She anxiously spoke into her headset, asking for Fury's instructions.
"Sir, I couldn't stop them. They took the Tesseract. What should we do next?"
"The base is about to explode. Evacuate immediately, then… contact Natasha and the others!"
...
Manhattan, New York.
In one of the world's most expensive commercial areas, a brand-new building had recently risen.
This expansive building was divided into two parts.
The lower levels housed various labs and Stark Industries' New York office.
Above was a massive aerial platform and a seven-story private space.
People on Wall Street joked that Tony Stark had built a small sky estate atop his company's building.
Between the two parts, on a large terrace, hung five huge letters spelling out STARK, forming Tony's surname—Stark!
As Tony connected it to an underwater cable, the building became the world's only structure with self-sufficient renewable energy.
It marked Stark Industries' leading position in renewable energy worldwide.
With Tony Stark's personality, he certainly wouldn't miss a chance to show off!
Blake, Natasha, Cap, Banner, Rhodey, and, of course, Pepper, along with dozens of widows stationed at the base—all were invited to an intimate party at Tony's sky estate.
As the letters on the terrace lit up, Tony roared in with his suit on, stepping slowly onto the terrace as mechanical arms followed his every step, disassembling his armor just as he entered.
"I bet Tony secretly practiced that whole armor-removal routine many times!" Blake whispered to the group.
"What are you all muttering about? Shouldn't you be giving me some applause? From now on, the night sky of New York will be graced by a great name. You should be proud to have a friend like me," Tony said with open arms.
But instead of the applause he expected, he was met with silence. He sat down next to Pepper, muttering under his breath, "You're all just jealous of me. Especially you, Blake!" He pointed at Blake, whose eyes showed a hint of disdain.
"You're jealous of me. You're jealous that my name lights up the Manhattan skyline, while yours is only on the wanted list at the Paris police station!"
Blake didn't bother to argue with the smug Tony; he simply returned an international gesture.
Just then, Natasha's phone rang. Blake stepped aside so she could answer it, noticing Cap sitting alone in the corner, looking downcast as he drank.
"Hey, Cap! You seem troubled. It's a party—cheer up a bit. Maybe go out and meet some new friends!" Blake raised his glass to him.
"Those letters..." Cap pointed to the partially visible, large, glowing STARK sign outside the window.
"The first time I saw the Stark name was in the newspaper, the night before Bucky went to the front line. He took me to an expo called the World of Tomorrow," Cap began.
"That's where I first saw his father, Howard Stark. He was full of energy, standing on stage, introducing the world of the future to everyone."
"I was weak and sickly back then, wanting to join the army but rejected by everyone. Who would've thought I'd one day fight alongside Howard Stark."
"It was also that night that I met Dr. Abraham Erskine, the inventor of the Super Soldier Serum. That night changed my life."
Cap's eyes were filled with memories.
"Thinking back, most of what Howard presented that night has actually come true, just as he envisioned. For the world, it was the rapid technological advancement after the war."
"But for me, it was just a plane crash. I passed out, and when I woke up, everyone was gone. Only the future world Howard described was left—a strange, unfamiliar world."
It seemed that the STARK letters brought back a lot of memories for Cap.
"Bucky, my teammates, even my enemies—all gone. Howard is gone too. His son now looks old enough to be my uncle," he continued sadly, draining his glass of whiskey.
"I…"
Tony drained his own drink as well. If it weren't for Cap looking so down, he might have just wanted to flip his glass over Cap's head.
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