Marvel: Age of Hero

The Awakening of the Tesseract

Meanwhile, in the training hall of the Vitae base, Owen was practicing with his daggers. He walked forward with a calm step as he threw one of them with extreme precision, piercing several training dummies lined up in front of him.

With the other dagger, attached to steel cables, he threw it at another dummy. The blade wrapped around its target with impeccable skill, and with a firm pull, the cable tightened. The edge and the friction did the rest: the dummy was sliced into multiple sections that fell to the floor with a dull thud.

Owen tapped his wrists together, and the dagger he had thrown first came flying back to his hand. He caught it effortlessly, as if it were nothing but a routine gesture.

"You're really something like a killing machine," remarked a voice that echoed as someone stepped into the training hall.

Owen turned calmly to look at Scott, who wore his characteristic ruby-quartz visor and a black leather jacket. He leaned casually against the wall, arms crossed.

"So it's your turn this week. And who else?" Owen asked in a serene tone.

"Jean," Scott replied naturally.

"Mmm... She was assigned to come, and you decided to tag along immediately, didn't you?" Owen said, a faint teasing note in his voice.

"Ahem... no, we were both selected," Scott retorted, trying to sound firm, though a slight trace of embarrassment slipped out.

"Oh, but the Neanderthal and the ice boy were very helpful during the flood," Owen commented, maintaining his mocking smile.

"I know you're just joking. They were terrible. Bobby froze the water and almost ended up freezing the people he was trying to save. And Wolverine... well, he's hard to control," Scott admitted with a resigned sigh.

"Yes, I'm mocking them. I never tried to hide it," Owen said with absolute calm.

Scott only shook his head, both amused and exasperated. It had already been a month since the X-Men started collaborating with the Vitae team on different missions, which for now focused on humanitarian rescue.

Although there had been a lot of skepticism at first, seeing General Nathaniel constantly appearing on television, openly sharing every action of Vitae with the public, had been a breath of fresh air for many. People began to accept them quickly. Of course, there were still those who looked at them with distrust, but it was hard to criticize them when they were literally saving everyone they could.

Thanks to these efforts, when new mutants appeared—still a rare occurrence—they would rush to the military for protection or even attempt to join Vitae.

Naturally, before integrating them, they were sent to Charles's school to learn to control their abilities. In truth, it had been a brilliant plan by the professor.

They weren't heroes. But they wanted to be accepted. And if saving lives could convince the world that they wanted to coexist, then heroes they would become—even if only out of necessity.

Inevitably, several criminals also emerged, but luckily Vitae, with Stark's technological capabilities, learned to detect any use of mutant powers for criminal purposes almost immediately.

For his part, even Professor Xavier had started to trust them a little more, sharing information through Cerebro. After all, they were striving to build a clean reputation. They didn't want what had happened in their world to repeat itself.

"Thank you for the help you're giving us. I know you also ended up under public scrutiny the moment we appeared," Scott said seriously. "Even though you're... strange, it's not as if you're like us."

Owen observed him in silence for a moment.

"We're just a group of freaks. Maybe having even stranger people showing up around here isn't so bad," he replied with a faint smile. "You should really thank the old man. He may have that serious face all the time, but he cares about everyone. Sometimes, maybe too much. And even if you're not from our world, you're helping a lot with the mutants that are starting to appear."

Owen picked up one of the towels nearby and calmly wiped the sweat from his face.

Scott was about to answer when Banner approached, frowning and looking worried.

"Owen. I'm not sure if this is a minor issue or something much bigger... but I'm picking up signals from massive energy sources," he said while checking his tablet. "And they're still rising. If it keeps increasing at this rate... it could trigger an explosion on an unimaginable scale."

Owen set the towel aside and stepped closer, his expression turning serious.

...

Meanwhile, at one of SHIELD's bases, a helicopter descended amid the commotion. Soldiers rushed back and forth, carrying equipment and containers they loaded urgently onto trucks speeding away. All of them wore the same expression: worry and tension.

Fury stepped out of the helicopter, Maria Hill close behind.

Coulson approached with a grave look on his face.

"How bad is it?" Fury asked quietly.

"That's the problem, sir. We don't know," Coulson answered seriously.

The three of them walked into the base as Coulson handed Fury a report. He began explaining how Selvig had detected an energy spike in the Tesseract. A spontaneous surge, manifesting even though no one was testing or manipulating it.

"What energy level are we seeing?" Fury asked gravely.

"Rising. We couldn't stop it, so we ordered an evacuation," Coulson replied, eyes still fixed on his tablet.

"How long will the evacuation take?" Fury pressed.

"The complex will be clear in half an hour," Coulson reported.

"Make it less," Fury ordered, fixing him with his single eye.

Coulson nodded quickly and hurried off.

Fury kept walking down the hallway, Maria Hill right behind him.

"Sir... it might be pointless to tell them to evacuate," Hill said, her voice tight.

"Then you'd rather everyone stay here?" Fury shot back, turning his head to look at her.

"But sir... if the energy keeps rising, there really won't be any safe place. The blast would reach for miles," she explained, concern in her eyes.

"I want all the Phase Two prototypes moved," Fury ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Sir, don't you think our priority should be—" Hill began, but Fury cut her off.

"Agent Hill, until this world ends, everything continues as planned. I want the lower level emptied and every Phase Two component out of this place," he said in a cold, almost bureaucratic calm.

Hill stood there in silence for a moment, expression unreadable, before she finally answered:

"Yes, sir."

Without another word, she turned and left with two agents who followed to help carry out the order.

Fury kept moving until he reached a large laboratory. There, a group of scientists was frantically checking their monitors. Among them, Professor Selvig was leading the work around the Tesseract, which was glowing with an increasingly intense blue light.

"Professor Selvig," Fury called, catching his attention. "What's happening here?"

"Director Fury… the Tesseract is behaving… strangely," Selvig answered, clearly nervous.

"I should be laughing at that," Fury replied with restrained sarcasm.

"No… there's nothing funny about this," Selvig assured him. "The Tesseract isn't just active. It's as if… it's manifesting itself. We can't shut anything down. Everything we try to disable powers back on by itself. And if it reaches its maximum level…"

"We prepared for this. To harness the energy of space," Fury said, as if reminding himself there was still a plan.

"We have nothing to control it," Selvig replied tensely. "My calculations aren't complete. And the Tesseract is generating interference, radiation… gamma rays at low but constant levels."

"That's quite serious… Where's Agent Barton?" Fury asked, looking for any support in the operation.

A few seconds later, Barton arrived, his expression steady. Fury gestured for him to approach. The archer studied the scene carefully as the Tesseract pulsed like a living heart.

"Have you seen anything unusual? Anyone getting close?" Fury inquired.

Barton shook his head.

"Selvig is honest. He was just doing his job," he replied calmly.

"Then… what do you suggest?" Fury asked, sounding frustrated.

"Maybe the problem isn't on this side, sir," Barton said with a note of gravity.

Fury raised an eyebrow. "On this side?"

"Yes. From what I understand… this cube is a doorway to the other side of space, right? And every doorway has two sides," Barton explained quietly.

Fury watched him in silence. Right then, the Tesseract began to glow even brighter, lighting up the entire lab. The monitoring systems overloaded, and a light tremor rippled across the floor.

The scientists froze, exchanging alarmed glances.

Fury looked around. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath. Then, from the core of the Tesseract, a blue beam shot forward, impacting the air in front of them. The energy twisted like a vortex, growing into a portal that expanded with each second.

The portal erupted in a blinding flash. When the light finally faded, a figure stood there, motionless. Slowly, he lifted his head with an icy smile.

The agents all raised their weapons at once, aiming at the newcomer. Barton's eyes widened in shock, recognizing him instantly. That day in New Mexico…

But before he could warn anyone, Fury stepped forward and spoke firmly:

"Sir… please put the spear on the ground."

Loki only tilted his head, amused.

Barton lunged at Fury, shoving him aside. A split second later, a blast from Loki's spear struck exactly where Fury had been standing.

The soldiers opened fire, but not a single bullet pierced the invisible barrier around Loki. With fluid motion, he leaped onto the nearest agent and drove his spear through the man's chest. Then he turned with elegance and fired another blast, disarming two more men.

Barton picked up a weapon and fired several times. The bullets bounced harmlessly off Loki's barrier. Before Loki could fire again, Barton rolled to the side, dodging by inches.

Loki walked calmly between the rubble and the unmoving bodies until he stopped in front of Barton, who tried to raise his gun again. With a swift move, Loki grabbed his arm and forced it down. Their eyes locked.

"We meet again," Loki murmured, before pressing the tip of the spear against Barton's chest. A blue light enveloped him.

When Loki let go, Barton didn't fire again. Instead, he holstered his weapon with unsettling calm, his eyes empty.

While all this was happening, Fury, heart pounding, took advantage of the chaos to slip over to the pedestal where the Tesseract rested. He carefully picked it up and placed it inside a special case.

Loki, who was still touching other agents with the spear, turned and spoke with perfect serenity:

"Please, stop. I need that."

"You don't have to make this any messier," Fury replied, turning around with the case in hand.

"After everything I've done… I don't expect understanding," Loki said, his tone that of false courtesy. "My name is Loki, and in me rests a glorious purpose."

Selvig, who was kneeling beside the body of one of his colleagues, looked up in confusion.

"You're Thor's brother," Fury said, trying to reason with him. "We're not at war with your people."

"Is an ant at war with a boot?" Loki asked, tilting his head with a mocking smile.

"Then… your plan is to crush us?" Fury asked calmly.

"I bring glad tidings," Loki continued, walking toward Selvig. He pressed the spear against Selvig's chest, and the blue aura enveloped him, bending his will. "Of a world finally made free."

"Free from what?" Fury inquired.

"Free from the lie that freedom exists. The greatest falsehood of their existence… and when they accept that in their hearts, they will know peace," Loki explained, his voice low and dangerous.

"Yeah… when you say peace, I get the feeling you mean the opposite," Fury replied, trying to buy time.

Barton, now with that vacant stare, turned to Loki.

"Sir… Fury is stalling. They're going to blow this place," Barton warned in a flat tone. "He plans to bury us here."

"Just like the pharaohs," Fury added with apparent calm.

"He's right. The portal is collapsing in on itself," Selvig confirmed, checking a shattered monitor. "We have… two minutes left."

"Shoot him," Loki ordered indifferently.

Without hesitation, Barton raised his pistol and fired once into Fury's chest. Fury fell backward with a groan.

Loki crouched down to pick up the case as Barton covered their exit. They walked out with unsettling calm while alarms blared throughout the base.

Fury writhed on the ground, silently grateful for his bulletproof vest, though the impact hurt like hell. With effort, he brought his hand to his radio.

"Agent Hill…," he rasped out.

At that moment, Hill appeared in the hallway and saw Barton and Loki heading for the exit. The gunfire erupted instantly. Shots flying, men shouting orders, the sound of bullets pinging off Loki's invisible shield.

Hill tried to pursue them alongside several agents, but Loki and Barton managed to escape while, behind them, the base began to collapse in a massive explosion.

Fortunately, Coulson and the other evacuees reached an armored truck, while Fury was quickly loaded into a helicopter rising above the chaos.