Tony Stark's face stiffened the moment Mister Fantastic's name was mentioned. His eyes went vacant as he muttered to Natasha, "You're suggesting Reed Richards? Do you want us all blasted into orbit ahead of schedule?"
He had, of course, considered other scientific minds. Hank Pym was missing after the battle with Galactus. Bruce Banner was brilliant, but who would risk letting the Hulk work on a volatile device that could already destroy the Earth? One miscalculation or emotional trigger, and Banner might lose control.
That left only two viable names: Doctor Doom and Mister Fantastic. Doom was brilliant but untrustworthy, and worse, not even aligned with America's interests. Richards, on the other hand, was a genius whose experiments had a tendency to spiral wildly out of control. Even Stark, who often pushed the limits of reckless innovation, thought Reed made him look tame in comparison.
Natasha remembered Reed's track record and felt a weight in her chest. To let him take over such a dangerous problem could just as easily doom them all as save them. A bitter smile crept across her face, and she decided not to press the idea further.
"Actually, Mister Fantastic isn't as bad as you think," Shin said calmly, stepping in. "Yes, Richards often runs into trouble when his curiosity gets the better of him. But when he's under real pressure, when it matters most, he tends to pull through. He's solved crises before, against odds no one else could handle."
In short, Reed's problem wasn't intelligence but restraint. In day-to-day experiments, he indulged every stray thought. Yet when the stakes were catastrophic, he had a knack for cutting through distractions and focusing on the solution.
Even with Shin's reassurance, Stark and Natasha exchanged a doubtful look. Neither was willing to put their faith in Reed without hesitation.
"Alright…" Stark muttered, scratching the back of his head. "Maybe I should keep him in mind… just in case."
Shin's expression sharpened. "Have you considered simply getting rid of the Tesseract? Launching it somewhere far from Earth? S.H.I.E.L.D. has mystical contacts. Couldn't magic be used to move it?"
Stark let out a frustrated sigh. "I already thought of that. Between the spatial energy fluctuations and the cube's own interference, neither tech nor sorcery can shift it. Believe me, if I could have hurled it into Pluto's orbit, I would've."
That admission left Shin momentarily speechless. His eyes slid toward Wanda, who was listening quietly nearby. The Scarlet Witch's chaos magic wasn't bound by conventional physics. It dealt in probability, twisting reality itself. It might bypass the spatial interference.
But that idea brought its own danger. Chaos magic was too volatile, too unpredictable. If it clashed with the Space Stone's essence, the consequences might be worse than leaving the cube alone. No, Shin wouldn't gamble Wanda's safety or the fate of Earth on such an uncertain bet.
Instead, another thought took shape. "Tony, how large is the facility housing the Tesseract? It should have its own dedicated power system, right?"
Stark frowned, clearly unsure where Shin was going. "It's about the size of a helicarrier. Why? Don't tell me you plan to launch the entire complex into orbit."
Shin smiled. "That's one way to look at it."
Stark laughed bitterly, convinced Shin was joking. "Even if I had one of those alien motherships that crash-landed here, it wouldn't lift something that massive. Forget current Earth tech. It's impossible."
Shin shook his head slightly. He wasn't thinking about spaceships. Earth's industries, though advanced in theory, still lacked the infrastructure for such a feat. Given twenty or thirty years, humans could ascend to interstellar powerhouses. But time was something they didn't have.
"How long do you estimate before the cube destabilizes completely?" Shin asked.
Stark's expression grew grim. "At most six months. Maybe less. After that, the energy matrix I built will collapse. And when it does, Earth won't just lose New York. We'll lose the whole planet."
"Then leave it to me," Shin replied firmly. "If the cube can't be moved by normal means, then I'll move the entire base."
He said it with such casual confidence that both Stark and Natasha blinked. Stark raised an eyebrow. "What are you suggesting? That you've got some secret doomsday ship parked somewhere? A Death Star? A Millennium Falcon?"
"Something like that," Shin said with a grin. He wasn't about to explain his own power. The truth was simple... he could do it himself. With his strength, shifting something as large as a carrier-sized facility wasn't an impossible task. At worst, it would slow him down. And slowing down for him still meant speeds brushing against the limits of light. He could drag the entire facility into deep space, where its explosion would mean nothing to Earth.
Stark stared at him for a long moment, searching for any sign of exaggeration or mockery. But Shin's calm expression never wavered.
Finally, Stark sighed. "You're insane… but I don't have any better options. Richards is brilliant, but his experiments explode half the time. Doom is worse. And me? I'm barely keeping the cube stable as it is. If you say you can move it, then fine. I'll take it."
Shin nodded, satisfied. "Good. Then prepare the base. Keep it stable until I'm ready to act."
Stark folded his arms, still uneasy but unwilling to argue further. "As long as you make it disappear, I don't care if you throw it into hyperspace, vaporize it with some reality-warping power, or carry it on your back. Just don't leave it here. Every day I work near that thing, I feel like I'm eating, sleeping, and breathing on top of a live nuke. One slip, and humanity's gone."
Shin's gaze softened slightly. He understood Stark's pressure. For all his arrogance and wit, Stark carried the weight of the world's survival on his shoulders. The cube wasn't just a marvel of cosmic power anymore. It was a time bomb.
"Don't worry," Shin said with quiet certainty. "The Tesseract won't end Earth. Not while I'm here."
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