To be precise, it was about half-sealed. It felt like the Stone's power was suppressed to make it easier to use.
I needed to collect the Stones anyway because of Thanos. A fully-kitted Thanos with all the Stones is basically unbeatable. At minimum, even if I left the Soul Stone out, most of the others could be found on Earth, so gathering them wouldn't be too hard. The Power Stone would require a trip into space.
The most dangerous one for me is the Time Stone, then the Space Stone.
With the Time Stone, if I got trapped in time there'd be no way out. The Space Stone was dangerous because it expanded the battlefield to an absurd degree. I could run anytime, but Earth couldn't.
I can probably just take the Mind Stone after Avengers 1 is over, but the Space Stone is the problem...
In the original, the Space Stone was used to rebuild Asgard's Bifrost, so if I didn't hand it over to Asgard and kept it instead, Thor's role would basically disappear. It's not like I could keep playing taxi for them forever.
*Should I just ask Odin... If that doesn't work, I'll have to use and steal it when the Bifrost is completed.*[Stealth]
Lost in thought, we arrived at the helicarrier before I knew it. Loki was transferred to the detention cell, and Natasha gave Nick Fury a brief rundown of what happened. The detention cell was about three pyeong, cylindrical, with glass walls on all sides for constant surveillance. Nick Fury spoke to Loki as he was being confined. We watched from the conference room monitors.
"Just in case, don't get any ideas about escaping. Touch that glass and you'll be dropped from thirty thousand feet, still trapped in there."
Fury operated the control panel in front of the cell, and a hatch opened beneath it. We were so high up that wind howled through the passage with a menacing sound. He was warning Loki that if he tried anything, the entire cell could be dropped to the ground.
"You're an ant."
He pointed at the control panel.
"This is a boot."
Nick Fury closed the hatch again and walked slowly toward the cell as he spoke.
"You tried to start a war here. And you stole something you can't control."
"I only came to give this place peace."
"The peace you're talking about means becoming your slaves. You've disappointed me with this. I'll make you regret it."
Hearing Fury's words, Loki smiled and said,
"Why did you study the Tesseract? Unlimited energy? For what? To share warm light with all of humanity?"
It sounded like Loki was talking to Fury, but it was really a hint for us. The Tesseract's power hadn't been researched for purely noble reasons.
Back in the conference room, Cap spoke up after hearing that exchange.
"He's stalling for time. Thor, do you know anything about Loki's plan?"
"Loki has allied with the Chitauri. He'll be able to mobilize an army. When he's ready, he'll invade Earth. One part of that preparation is the Tesseract."
"An army..."
Banner, listening nearby, added,
"Then he'll be trying to open a portal. That's why he took Dr. Selvig."
Thor was startled at the mention of Selvig, the doctor who'd helped him during the New Mexico incident.
"Selvig? Selvig is my friend."
Natasha explained the situation.
"Loki brainwashed him. One of our people too."
Cap was puzzled that Loki had allowed himself to be captured, so he asked everyone,
"I don't get it β why did Loki let himself be caught? What about the army?"
Banner answered Cap.
"You can't understand the minds of people who radiate crazy to begin with."
Thor couldn't stand hearing his brother badmouthed, so he warned them.
"Watch your words. He's imprisoned now, but Loki is a god of Asgard. And my brother."
Natasha hit him with the facts.
"He killed eighty people in two days."
"...He's my adopted brother."
Cap saw me quietly listening and spoke to me.
"Jin, why aren't you saying anything? Got any good ideas?"
"I do, but it's becoming awkward to say them."
"Go ahead. You're one of the smartest people here, aren't you?"
"My take is this: If he brainwashed Barton, then he knows our information. Which means he's here to either strike us preemptively or divide us, since we're the biggest threat to him."
Everyone's faces turned serious at my words. Cap asked me,
"Why do you think that?"
"Because someone that cunning showed up alone, with Barton and others available, and let himself be caught so easily. Right now Loki is probably sending out a location signal, and Barton is likely flying here with enemies to launch a raid. What do you think?"
"That seems unlikely, doesn't it? What could Barton do alone against all of us?"
"If he creates powerful support inside, he could."
I pointed at Banner. Banner looked at me like I was insane.
"I'm not saying this because I dislike Dr. Banner. I'm just laying out every possibility. Please understand."
Cap looked at me and said,
"Jin, talk like that causes more conflict."
"Right, that's why I was hesitant to bring it up."
I'm spoon-feeding them and their reaction is still lukewarm.
Tony and Phil had arrived at some point and were standing at the conference room entrance, listening to me. Phil had probably guided him and he'd left his Iron Man suit somewhere designated.
Tony clapped loudly to get everyone's attention.
"Instead of that, let's do what we can."
Tony walked into the conference room and tapped Thor's arm.
"We all know you're ripped, so stop posing."
Thor looked at Tony, dumbfounded. Tony pointed at a crew member sitting at a console.
"That guy's playing Galaga!"
I looked too and saw the crewman hurriedly close Galaga.
"Anyway, to move an army, Loki will want to open a portal big and for a long time."
Banner spoke up at that.
"To activate the Cube you need heat of a hundred million degrees. That's a theoretical figure."
"At least, unless someone like Selvig finds a way to create a stable quantum tunneling effect."
"By causing neutron fusion in any reactor on Earth."
Tony went over to Banner like he'd found a kindred spirit and shook his hand. The rest of us looked lost.
"Nice to meet someone who speaks my language besides Jin. Dr. Banner. I'm a fan. I like that you turn into that... green monster when you get angry."
"Thanks."
Banner could have taken offense, but he let it slide. Just then, Nick Fury entered the conference room and said to Tony,
"Dr. Banner is helping us find the Cube. Tony, you help the doctor."
So Banner and Tony headed to the lab, and I said I was tired and went to the room assigned to me, lying down on the bed. A little later, Natasha came into my room too.
"I'm exhausted. I need to sleep. No funny business β we don't know what might happen."
"Got it."
Definitely American β no hesitation about this stuff. I shifted over on the bed to make room, and Natasha lay down in that space, wrapping her arms around my waist and getting comfortable. I gave her one arm as a pillow, and we fell asleep together.
When I woke up the next morning, Natasha was already gone. I checked the time and saw I'd slept about five hours. I used [Life Magic] to clean myself and my clothes, made coffee, and headed to the conference room. I peeked into the lab on the way, but no one was there. Probably resting.
When I reached the conference room, Maria Hill, Natasha, and Cap were there.
"You're all up early. Find anything?"
Maria Hill answered my question.
"Not yet. I'm on shift rotation, so once the Director gets back I'm going to sleep."
"That sounds tiring. Cap, did you pull an all-nighter too?"
"Not me. I slept. Is Tony always like that?"
"Yeah, he goes overboard sometimes. But he gets things done."
"I see."
Cap didn't seem to like Tony's playful behavior.
"Cap, you were thrown into the future suddenly. Are you adjusting okay? I can't even imagine it."
"Honestly, it's still hard. The way people talk is different, so sometimes I don't understand what they're saying. Especially when it needs cultural context β jokes and stuff."
"Makes sense. A lot of time has passed."
Just then, Natasha came over smiling and took the coffee I was drinking.
"Thanks~"
"Come on... just ask me to make you one. Anyone want coffee?"
"Me!" "I'll take one too."
I made coffee for Maria Hill and Cap, then made fresh cups for myself and Natasha and brought them over. We chatted while drinking the coffee I made, and Nick Fury, having rested, came into the conference room. Maria Hill did the handover and went to sleep.
Time passed, the rest of the team gathered in the conference room, and after a simple breakfast I asked Minerva about the status of my New York house.
[Party preparations are proceeding smoothly. Staff families have arrived.]
I'd told them days ago we'd be holding a family party at the house, so the New York staff and their families should be safe. I'd stocked plenty of food, and opened the pool and tennis courts for the kids so they wouldn't be bored. I'd also liquidated any assets that would take a hit during the New York incident. Plan was to buy them back cheap once it was over.
Preparations are done.
I turned my computer back on to kill time with games, but I was too good and got reported for hacking, so my account was suspended. I contacted the company CEO and said I'd pull all my investment money, and they immediately unlocked it. After that, the game lost its fun, so I went to talk to Loki.
"Loki, was the food to your liking?"
"Yes, it was better than that weird mucus-like gruel the Chitauri gave me."
Thanos' crew ran on North Korean-style efficiency, so their meals were like that too.
"Did you know? If Earth falls to the Chitauri, you'll be eating that weird gruel every day."
Ahem... "I'll treat chefs well."
"Chefs will do a great job cooking gourmet meals out of ashes."
"At first, maybe. But once I start ruling, it'll be restored quickly."
"No, even if you win, all that'll be left is bones and ash. You'll be sitting on top of it eating that mucus gruel you mentioned."
I think if aliens invaded without the Avengers, humanity would likely go for mutual destruction with nukes. Loki doesn't know how insane humans can be.
"How about joining me? I'll give you a third of this planet."
"Didn't I refuse last time? I'm not lacking anything now."
"We'll see if you can still say that once this planet is in my hands."
"I'm a fan of yours. People with that kind of obsession and madness torment everyone around them, but if they survive, they do accomplish something. I'm rooting for you."
With that, I went back to the conference room. Natasha came up to me after I'd seen Loki and asked,
"Get anything?"
"No, I just went because I was bored."
I was bored, and there was some fanboying too. Natasha looked incredulous, then scowled and smacked my back with her palm.
Smack!
"Oof! What?"
"I can't believe you. You went to see a guy like that because you were bored."
"Wow~ I'm heartbroken to learn Natasha was this violent."
Smack!
She hit me again. Thor and Cap found the situation funny and were hanging their heads, laughing.