Anton never joked about things like this.
And in major events like these, everything Anton predicted had always turned out to be true.
Eddie immediately picked up his phone to notify George.
Meanwhile.
Anton used his teleportation wristband to send a voice message to the Justice League under Batman name.
The message instructed all members to be prepared and to ensure their families were safely evacuated. A major battle seemed imminent.
He also sent text messages to the "old man" and his dad just to keep them informed.
Once this was done, he made a call to John Keller.
"You already know?"
Keller opening words didn't surprise Anton in the slightest.
"Yes," Anton replied with a nod, his tone calm.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has caused another massive problem."
"The Tesseract possesses unimaginable, limitless energy," Keller said gravely.
"If someone uses it for the wrong kind of research, it could result in unprecedented devastation."
"I don't need you to explain the stakes to me, Mr. Keller," Anton interrupted.
"What is it you need from us?"
Keller voice became more direct. "I hope you can contact Batman immediately. Have him utilize his intelligence network to help us locate Victor Von Doom."
"Mr. Keller, this might be simpler than you think," Anton replied.
"Batman will act, but not yet."
"Not yet?" Keller frowned.
"When, then, is the right time?"
"When the situation has spiraled out of control, and S.H.I.E.L.D. has no way of salvaging it. That when we'll step in to turn the tide," Anton said matter-of factly.
"Given the relationship between the Justice League and S.H.I.E.L.D., asking us to set aside our differences and help them out of this mess is asking a lot. Besides, this debacle puts the military in a favorable position, doesn't it?"
"…"
Keller was silent for a moment. "You're really that confident you can resolve this? As far as I know, Victor Von Doom now wields the Tesseract.
With his powers, he can convert the Tesseract energy into unlimited electricity. His strength is now far beyond what we can imagine…"
"If your focus is solely on Victor Von Doom, then you're making a grave mistake," Anton said.
"From what we've gathered, Victor Von Doom has an accomplice. Doom himself isn't the true danger. It his accomplice you should be worried about."
"Oh?" Keller interest was piqued.
Keller squinted slightly. "It seems you've been well informed about this matter from the start."
"This is not a simple situation," Anton replied.
"Even Batman wouldn't claim to have complete control over it. But if you're hoping S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers can fix their mistakes, you'll only see them make things worse." He paused, his tone calm but sharp.
"And that exactly what we want."
"I see."
Keller, ever quick-witted, immediately understood Anton implication: this was an opportunity to use the situation to cripple both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers.
After a moment of contemplation, Keller nodded. "We have only one condition."
"Go ahead."
"When it time to clean up the mess, the military must be involved every step of the way," Keller said firmly.
"No problem."
Anton understood Keller intent perfectly. The military wanted a share of the credit, and that was entirely acceptable.
After all, the military had been a participant in Project Pegasus.
While S.H.I.E.L.D., as the leading agency, was at the heart of the fiasco, the military couldn't entirely escape responsibility as a collaborator.
However, by aligning with the Justice League actions, the military could frame its involvement as "making amends," completely sidestepping public backlash. In the end, only S.H.I.E.L.D. would bear the brunt of the blame.
For both Anton and Keller, seeing S.H.I.E.L.D. falter was an outcome they both welcomed.
"Good."
Keller voice was decisive. "Do what you need to do. But we'll continue to support some of S.H.I.E.L.D. efforts… You understand, we can't appear to be doing nothing."
"That fine. Rest assured, everything is under control," Anton reassured him.
"By the way," Keller added just as he was about to hang up,
"since you seem to know so much about this, can you tell me—who exactly is Victor Von Doom accomplice?"
Anton hesitated briefly before deciding not to withhold the information. "Loki," he said plainly.
"The trickster god Loki. Yes, the same Loki you're likely familiar with from mythology."
"What?"
Keller was stunned, questioning if he had misheard. But deep down, he knew he hadn't.
"The trickster god… Loki?"
Keller repeated in disbelief, his voice trailing off as the line went dead.
Beep beep beep!
Anton had already hung up, leaving Keller to wrestle with the barrage of questions swirling in his mind.
Time passed quickly.
As night fell and dawn broke, another day had gone by.
The fallout from Project Pegasus failure—coupled with Victor Von Doom defection and theft of the Tesseract—had placed S.H.I.E.L.D. under immense pressure.
This pressure was even greater than what they had faced during the Washington incident involving Hydra disastrous influence.
S.H.I.E.L.D. was now bearing the full brunt of both the military and the World Security Council wrath.
They were given an ultimatum: capture the perpetrators and recover the Tesseract within three days, or face the complete dissolution of the organization.
The Avengers, as S.H.I.E.L.D. subordinate team and the ones directly implicated in the debacle, were also held accountable.
But with both Coulson and Nick Fury—the two main pillars of S.H.I.E.L.D.—hospitalized from their severe injuries, the organization leadership was in disarray.
Wrapped up like mummies, neither Fury nor Coulson would be able to resume their duties for at least ten days.
This left the burden squarely on Maria Hill, now acting as Director, and the remaining Avengers.
At S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, all Avengers had assembled.
The day and night following the incident had been sleepless for them. They had mobilized a massive workforce, working tirelessly to track down Victor Von Doom whereabouts.
They were confident that Doom hadn't left the United States.
With significant resources monitoring all points of entry and exit, it was highly unlikely that Doom had escaped the country.
This meant he was most likely still hiding somewhere within the mainland.
"We've found him."
Suddenly, Tony received a notification from J.A.R.V.I.S. Activating his computer, he pulled up surveillance feeds from across various regions.
Before long, he locked onto a figure wearing a hat, with only their chin visible, standing in New York Times Square.
"He appeared!"
Tony looked around at the team, his voice steady. "In New York."
"Let move together," Captain America said, glancing at the group.
"Agreed."
"Let do it."
With a quick and unanimous decision, no one opted out. The entire team boarded a S.H.I.E.L.D. transport jet and made their way swiftly to New York.
Upon arriving, they were surprised to find that Victor Von Doom hadn't moved from the location Tony had pinpointed. He was still at Times Square, as if waiting for them.
New York, Times Square.
Known as the "Crossroads of the World," Times Square is one of Manhattan busiest districts, a hub of lights, billboards, and advertisements.
But today, it had become the stage for something far more serious.
As the S.H.I.E.L.D. transport jet descended, Captain America voice echoed from the onboard speakers:
"All civilians, clear the area immediately. Leave the square now!"
His command spread across Times Square, and panic-stricken expressions appeared on the faces of bystanders.
This wasn't their first encounter with a crisis in the past year.
Seasoned by prior emergencies, the crowd moved swiftly, retreating from the square center.
From a distance they deemed safe, they turned to watch, their eyes glued to the unfolding scene.
At about 50 or 60 meters above the ground, the jet rear hatch opened. One by one, figures leaped out and descended to the square.
They landed firmly on a cleared patch of ground.
One of the figures immediately caught the public attention, making their identities unmistakable.
The uniform, the iconic shield—it was none other than Captain America.
And with him… the Avengers.
Boom!
In full view of the gathered crowd, Captain America executed a powerful landing, his enhanced physique allowing him to slam into the ground, cracking the pavement beneath his boots.
For the others who lacked flight capabilities, Harry and Tony assisted them in landing smoothly.
One by one, clad in their battle gear, they stood tall and imposing.
The crowd, now packed tightly at the edges of the square, left plenty of space for the Avengers.
Their eyes were fixed on the team as they formed a circle around a man in a baseball cap, his chin the only visible part of his face.
"Victor, hand over the Tesseract and come with us quietly."
The Avengers had Victor Von Doom completely surrounded.
Though they couldn't quite understand why Doom had stayed in one place, seemingly waiting for them, they knew that finding him in such a short time would've been nearly impossible if he hadn't.
Even knowing it was likely a trap, they had no choice but to come.