Marvel : Strongest Siblings

Hearing Max, Fury nodded and pointed to the screen. "Now we have our culprit. Let's talk about him," he said as Captain America turned his attention to the monitor, nodding as Fury pulled up Loki's profile.

"What do we know about him?" Captain asked.

Thor stepped forward. "My brother knows Asgardian magic. Illusions and trickery are his specialties," he said.

Captain furrowed his brow. "But why is he here, on Earth?"

"I don't know for certain," Thor replied. "But Loki now commands his own army—the Chitauri. He plans to send them to Earth. Perhaps this is his way of dominating your world. If he can't rule Asgard, he might seek to crown himself as king of Earth."

"And the Tesseract—" Fury interjected, "or the Space Stone—fits into this plan. With its power over space, he could open portals, bringing his army here in an instant."

Thor nodded grimly. "Yes, that's exactly the case."

"But Loki can't control the Tesseract cube himself," Fury continued. "And to stabilize a portal large enough for his army to descend, he needs Earth's technology. That's why he kidnapped Dr. Selvig and took iridium from Germany."

"Iridium can stabilize most energies," Bruce Banner added. "And for a portal of that magnitude, it would boost the energy output significantly. So he needed a stabilizer."

The room fell silent as everyone absorbed the gravity of the situation.

"So, we either get the Cube back," Captain said, breaking the tension, "or we prepare to fight an entire alien army—with just the few of us here."

Fury turned to Max. "Use your magic. We need to find the Cube."

Max nodded and stood, his expression calm as he raised his hands. Though he could have easily located the Tesseract without theatrics, he decided to play along. Chanting in a strange, ancient language, Max began to draw glowing runes in the air. The words reverberated softly, and everyone watched in awe as he continued to weave the spell.

It was his Rune magic, he obtained long ago and has been using it in many places. Now, he is once again using it.

Suddenly, the runes coalesced, forming a glowing, circular map in midair. Two tendrils of light shot out from the circle, pointing in opposite directions.

Max pointed at the blue tendril. "This one leads to the Space Stone." Then, gesturing at the green tendril, he added, "And this one points to the Time Stone."

Everyone stared at the display, amazed by the spectacle. Fury, still stunned, muttered, "Two Infinity Stones... on Earth."

Max simply crossed his arms, waiting for their next move.

"I thought this Ancient One would be in some hidden, mystical place, not just on Earth," Fury said, folding his arms.

Max shrugged nonchalantly. "She is on Earth, and she even runs a school where she teaches magic. If you're interested, you could go there and learn it yourselves."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.

Max casually scribbled something on a piece of paper, sliding it across the table. "Here's the address," he said, leaning back in his chair.

Natasha picked up the note, glancing at it with skepticism. "It's just... right there? In the open?"

"Yup," Max replied. "She's got plenty of students, too. Her Magic's not as secretive as you might think."

"I'd love to see it, but we've got more pressing matters," Fury said, shaking his head. The others nodded in agreement.

Fury turned his attention back to Max. "So, are you going to retrieve the Tesseract for us?"

Max nodded but tilted his head slightly as if listening to something far away. "But I think we should deal with our 'guests' first," he said, his voice calm but laced with warning.

Everyone froze. "Guests?" Steve repeated, leaning forward.

Max gestured toward the large screen where Fury pulled up a live feed of several intruders—Black agents scouts moving stealthily through a nearby compound. Among them, Clint Barton, under Loki's control, was easily recognizable.

"They are aiming for Loki," Fury muttered, his face grim. He glanced at Natasha, who immediately stood up.

"I'll take care of Clint," she said firmly and headed toward the exit.

Tony, looking at the screen, clapped his hands together. "Suit up, everyone! Things just got real." He was halfway out the door to prep his Iron Man suit when he turned back to Bruce. "Except you, big guy. Don't suit up just yet. We might need you calm for now."

Bruce simply shrugged, keeping his expression neutral, though the tension in the room was palpable. The rest of the team moved into action, each with a sense of purpose. Thor, gripping his hammer tightly, announced, "I am going to confront Loki," before storming out of the room.

Max, however, remained seated, a calm smirk on his face. "I'll stay here with the big guy," he said, nodding toward Bruce.

Bruce raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "I'm not 'big' yet," he replied dryly, clearly aware of what Max was implying.

Fury, already halfway out the door, glanced back and nodded. "Alright. Keep things under control," he said before leaving, his attention focused on coordinating the rest of the mission.

Now, only Max and Bruce remained in the room. There was a brief silence, punctuated only by the distant sounds of preparation and movement elsewhere in the facility.

Bruce finally broke the quiet. "So, you're sticking around to babysit me, huh? Or is there another reason?"

Max leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. "Babysitting? Hardly. I'm here because I know when things go sideways—and they will—you're going to be the game-changer." He smirked. "Besides, it's not every day I get to see the Hulk up close and personal."

Bruce exhaled deeply, his gaze shifting to the monitors displaying the unfolding chaos outside. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

Max's smirk widened. "Hope all you want, Doc. But from where I'm sitting, things are just heating up."

"and they will surely try to heat you up" Max added as Bruce looked at him.

***

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