"Banner, calm down, calm down!!!"
Even though she was sure Banner would not turn into the Hulk over ordinary anger these days, Hill was still deeply wary of an enraged Banner.
She softened her tone as much as possible to soothe him, but that gentle voice only made Banner even more irritated.
"Damn it!"
Banner snapped at the others.
"I'm not just losing my temper. This is a dispute of academics and principles. Selvig, I hope you respect our profession and stop bringing gambling-style speculation into a formal discussion!"
"But the proposal I made really is the best solution available right now!"
Selvig was still trying to persuade Hill, but his words only made Banner more dissatisfied.
Bang!
Banner slammed his hand down on the table.
"Selvig!"
He shouted at his colleague.
"Do you even know what you're doing? You want to deliberately detonate a bomb that could very likely destroy the Earth. You want to open Pandora's box with your own hands even though you know exactly what's inside. I can't believe this is your decision. Did that damned Cube burn out your brain or what?!"
The moment Banner finished speaking, Selvig's expression changed abruptly.
For an instant, he looked as though he had just woken from a dream, staring at his own hands in surprise.
But in the very next second, that surprise disappeared.
After that, completely ignoring Banner's anger, he continued explaining himself to Hill.
"Director, I trust my own judgment more. As for Dr. Banner's idea, burying the Tesseract is simply absurd.
It's the Tesseract. It's already in an active state. No matter how we suppress it, the day will come when it erupts. At best, we can delay that day, but we cannot stop the final explosion from arriving!"
"But I ran precise calculations. From activation to the critical point, it would need at least three full cycles of diffusion reaction. If we return it to a dormant state, it can remain stable for at least forty years!"
"That's only a calculation. Until it's proven, your plan is still just a guess. Mine, on the other hand, completely solves the Tesseract problem!"
"Oh, right, you want to solve it by using a method that could destroy everything!"
"But it is still a method. If the Tesseract's eruption scale increases the longer its active phase continues, then you'll regret it for the rest of your life, and you'll never be able to make up for it!"
"But if we do it my way, then at the very least we have forty years. Forty years is enough time for us to achieve a breakthrough based on the Tesseract energy research we already have!"
"But if we can push the Tesseract's active phase forward, then we may gain unlimited time to study it, and this eruption could help us enter the third stage of our research!"
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!!!"
Bang bang bang!
Banner furiously pounded on the table. Even without transforming into the Hulk, he already looked disturbingly close to it.
He turned sharply to Hill and roared at her.
"Hill, right now I am the chief executive of Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., and I'm invoking my authority. The Tesseract must be sealed away, because I know better than anyone what it costs when an experiment spirals out of control!
Think about the big guy inside me. He was created by a gamma ray experiment gone wrong, and that was only gamma radiation. But this is the Tesseract. No one knows what its activity might produce!
I don't know what the hell is wrong with Selvig. It's like the Cube has fried his brain!
I admit that in science, sometimes you do need a certain amount of unpredictability to drive technology forward.
But what we need is unpredictability, not catastrophe!
This will be a disaster!!!"
At that point, the decision fell into Hill's hands.
Looking at the two great scientists before her, Hill truly did not know how to choose.
Because from an outsider's perspective, both of them were right.
Selvig wanted to trigger the danger early in order to reduce its scale.
Bruce Banner wanted to bury the danger now and seek a future breakthrough so it could be handled perfectly.
Both approaches had merit.
But she had to choose one.
She fell silent for a moment, then finally made her decision.
Turning toward Dr. Selvig, she said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Dr. Selvig. Although I'm more inclined toward your approach, S.H.I.E.L.D. as it stands simply can't withstand any more losses or upheaval."
As she spoke, Hill shook her head helplessly.
"At present, S.H.I.E.L.D. has fully withdrawn to the Americas. We've lost the funding and manpower support of the other seven continents.
The damage Hydra caused to the world has also, for now, been pinned on us. Even though we bought the Security Council's support with countless concessions, we can't afford another scandal at this stage, especially not a scandal involving tests on a weapon of mass destruction.
So, Professor Selvig, I hope you can understand my decision."
As soon as Hill finished speaking, Banner let out a long breath.
As for Selvig across from him...
He sighed regretfully.
But beneath that regret, there was actually the faintest trace of relief, only it was deeply buried under the disappointment he showed on the surface.
Perhaps only that relieved, or rather awakened, part of his mind understood.
Banner had actually been a little right.
He really had been controlled.
By the Tesseract, by desire, or perhaps... by Thor's brother!
That's right.
As early as the time Thor shattered the Bifrost and Loki disappeared from Asgard, Loki had already come to Earth once.
And while he was there, he obtained video records concerning the Tesseract and planted his own nail in place ahead of time.
That nail was Selvig, who was originally supposed to independently lead Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S.
But at this moment, Loki could never have imagined...
...
On the Chitauri flagship, inside the command room, standing atop the transfer array.
Loki was doing his best to sense the power of the Space Stone, his mind full of confusion.
Half an hour ago, this damned thing had been exceptionally active, so how had it suddenly gone sluggish?
Of course, that activity had not vanished completely. It was only fading gradually at a stable frequency.
But fading was already a problem, because he had never successfully established communication with the Space Stone in the first place.
Even if its activity kept increasing, it was already difficult for him to manipulate it remotely.
Now it was even worse.
After all, that was an Infinity Stone. In the entire universe, probably not even a few dozen beings could directly wield one.
Most people could only use Infinity Stones indirectly through special containers, just like the Mind Scepter in Loki's hand, where the Stone was set into a tool.
Even Thanos himself could only directly use one Infinity Stone at a time.
Without the Infinity Gauntlet, he had no way of using the combined force of all six with his physical body alone.
Not to mention remote manipulation. The difficulty of controlling it from afar was obviously much higher than doing it face-to-face.
But what could Loki do?
He had no other choice. All he could do was keep trying to communicate with it here.
He had no way back anymore.
...
At the same time, at Earth's temporary Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. base.
Hill was leading Coulson in relocating everything from the facility.
Banner, meanwhile, stood carefully beside the centrifuge and gently pulled the Tesseract from its slot.
Even after it was pressed into the sealed container, the Cube's surface still carried streams of restless energy.
Fortunately, that restless movement quickly began to ease.
"It's done!"
Banner shut the box and said to Hill, "At its current frequency, as long as we store it properly, it will need at least forty years before it reaches the critical point again.
We still have enough time to come up with a plan."
"Excellent. Thank you for everything you've done for S.H.I.E.L.D., Dr. Banner," Hill said softly.
Perhaps it had been too long since anyone last thanked him, because Banner looked a little awkward. He quickly shook his head.
"There's no need. Besides, even though the Avengers Initiative ended with Nick's death, I'm still a consultant to S.H.I.E.L.D. This is what I should do."
"Yeah. Nick's death really did take too much with it. I truly feel regret and sorrow for him..."
Unlike the others who did not know the truth behind Nick's death, Hill genuinely did feel regret.
Because the Nick Fury she knew was not the man everyone else imagined, the hero who died protecting S.H.I.E.L.D. trainees.
The real Nick Fury, just like his habit of lurking in dark corners, had died inside a trap of his own making.
But there was something else she did not say.
No matter how much regret she felt, she would never pursue the person who had truly killed Nick, Heisenberg.
First, because she did not have that ability.
Second, because in some ways, she should probably be thanking Heisenberg.
After serving as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director for a full two months, she was no longer the same woman she used to be.
Now, she no longer had any wish to return to the life of a mere assistant.
...
Near Columbus Circle in central New York, inside the theater.
Heisenberg was lounging comfortably in the backyard, basking in the sun.
Beside him, young Billy was continuously reporting on recent developments.
"Boss, around thirty percent of the entire New York police force has already joined us. Maybe we can start the plan to collect protection money from the police departments now?"
"No, not enough. I want the police system completely broken by us first, and only then will I strip away the rights and money that should have belonged to the police.
We'll take their salaries and their under-the-table income, then use that money to give them massive gang subsidies.
It's just another way of using New York's tax revenue, but it'll make those blue-skinned civil servants fall in love with us."
Heisenberg said it cheerfully, leaving Billy utterly amazed.
This boss of his really thought on a whole different level.
His old boss, the American underworld emperor Kingpin, had only bribed public officials at most.
But when it came to Heisenberg...
Billy was already starting to pity New York City Hall's future.
"Go on," Heisenberg said softly when he noticed Billy pause. "What else should I be paying attention to?"
Billy jolted and hurriedly continued.
"The mayor of New York has invited you to a charity dinner this Saturday at Ehrenburg Restaurant. As for whether you want to attend...?"
"I'll go take a look then. I've been here for over two months now. It's about time I showed my face in public," Heisenberg said thoughtfully.
"Next matter. Stark Group chairman Tony Stark has sent you a letter, inviting you to attend his wedding next Friday!"
"Cough cough cough...!!!"
That one truly shocked Heisenberg. He could not help coughing twice.
Then he stared at Billy in disbelief and asked, "Next Friday!!!
A wedding!!!
You're sure it's Stark himself getting married?!!"
"Of course, Boss. Stark is an indispensable piece of New York's upper society. I've kept track of every bit of information on him. He is indeed holding a wedding next Friday, and he did indeed send you an invitation.
At the same time, I also think that if you attend his wedding banquet, it will be extremely beneficial in shaping public opinion. Everyone loves Superman, and everyone wants to become Iron Man.
So people will be excited by contact between you and Iron Man."
/-\
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