The Quinjet soars high above the clouds, heading toward the SHIELD carrier. Inside, Clark Kent is seated, looking out the window. His expression is thoughtful, distant. Natasha Romanoff sits across from him, looking over a tablet, her focus unwavering. Bruce Banner fidgets, tapping his fingers anxiously, trying to process the situation.
NATASHA
"We're almost there. You'll meet the team once we land."
CLARK
(softly)
"Looking forward to it."
Bruce doesn't respond, his eyes darting around the interior of the Quinjet. Natasha notices his discomfort but doesn't press him.
The Quinjet touches down smoothly on the SHIELD carrier's massive flight deck. Steve Rogers is already waiting, standing with Agent Coulson and Agent Hill. Steve steps forward with a nod as the Quinjet's door opens.
STEVE
"Clark Kent. I've heard a lot about you."
Clark stands up and walks toward Steve, offering a firm handshake.
CLARK
(half-smiling)
"All good, I hope?"
Steve smiles back, though his expression quickly turns serious as he notices Bruce.
STEVE
"Dr. Banner. We've got a lab set up for you."
Bruce doesn't make eye contact but gives a slight nod. Steve motions for Bruce to follow him, and Bruce hesitantly walks behind.
NATASHA
"Stay close, Bruce. You'll be fine."
As Steve leads Bruce away, Natasha and Clark are left to follow behind.
Clark watches as Steve leads Bruce down the hallway toward the lab. Agent Hill passes them in the corridor and offers a quick nod to Natasha.
NATASHA
"Dr. Banner's been through a lot. Just give him some space."
Clark nods but remains quiet, feeling the weight of the situation. As they reach a large, conference-style room, Nick Fury is already waiting with Agent Coulson. They both stand by a table with a large display screen.
FURY
(seriously)
"Let's get to it."
The room falls silent as Nick Fury gestures to the screen, which now displays an image of Loki — a dark-haired figure with an intimidating presence.
FURY
"This is our problem. Loki."
The screen switches to show the Tesseract, glowing faintly blue.
FURY
"We've tracked Loki's movements. The Tesseract isn't just an energy source. It's a doorway, a means to transport himself across vast distances. Loki's not just here to play around. He's using the Tesseract to open portals to other worlds."
A series of images flash on the screen: Clint Barton (Hawkeye) and Dr. Erik Selvig, their eyes vacant, under Loki's control.
FURY
"We've confirmed that Loki has control over these two, Barton and Dr. Selvig. He's using a device, this scepter, to control their minds."
The image shifts to a close-up of the scepter, glowing with an eerie blue light.
FURY
"Both Barton and Selvig were compromised. Barton's one of our own, a SHIELD agent. We can't get through to him until we deal with Loki. Dr. Selvig, a scientist working with us, is in the same boat. He helped Loki find the Tesseract and lead him to Earth. Both of them are puppets in Loki's game now."
CLARK
(seriously)
"Is there any chance of breaking the mind control?"
NATASHA
"We don't know. We haven't had a chance to try. And Loki's not just controlling them—he's using them to execute his plan. We need to stop him before he gains even more power."
Clark clenches his jaw, clearly troubled by the situation. He's not familiar with Clint Barton, but hearing about an agent of SHIELD being manipulated like this strikes a chord with him.
STEVE
"We don't know everything yet. But we're running out of time. Loki's already on Earth. We've tracked him to Germany. That's where he's headed next."
FURY
"We don't know what he's planning, but if he's been using the Tesseract to transport himself, we need to stop him before he opens more portals. We also need to deal with his mind-controlled agents. Barton's a strong fighter, but he's not himself. Same with Selvig. We can't risk them taking out more of our team."
Steve turns to Clark and Natasha, his expression grave.
STEVE
"Germany. That's where we'll head next."
Clark looks back at the map on the screen, a determined expression on his face.
CLARK
"Then let's go."
The team walks toward the Quinjet. Clark and Steve walk side by side, with Steve giving Clark a quick, casual glance.
STEVE
"You ready for this?"
CLARK
(nods)
"As ready as I'll ever be."
STEVE
"Good. We need to stick together on this one."
The Quinjet's ramp lowers, and the team boards. The engines roar to life, and the Quinjet lifts off from the SHIELD carrier, heading toward Germany.
The Quinjet flies low over the city of Stuttgart, its lights barely visible beneath the clouds. The screen shows a red marker indicating Loki's location.
NICK FURY
(over comms)
"We've got eyes on Loki's position. Prepare for landing. This is going to get messy."