All the way, the group met no obstacles. Thor, who was supposed to burst in and take Loki away, never appeared, and they easily escorted Loki back to the Helicarrier.
Locked inside the specially made cell, Loki looked at Fury with a mocking smile as the man showed off his triumph.
Earlier in the lab, Loki had taunted Fury by calling him an "ant." Now, after showing off this cage his uncle had designed, Fury finally felt some satisfaction.
But Loki was unimpressed and continued displaying his eloquence.
"Hehehe, this design isn't bad. But it wasn't made for me, was it?"
"It was meant to hold something much more dangerous than you."
"I heard." Loki smirked and looked straight into the surveillance camera. "A wild monster pretending to be an ordinary man."
In the conference room, everyone watching the footage instinctively turned toward Banner, but he was already used to such remarks and stayed calm. Tony and Steve didn't react much either—they both knew there were people who could easily restrain the green giant inside Banner. Even Steve now could stand his ground for a while.
Unaware of this, Loki kept trying to sow discord between Fury and the Avengers.
"How desperate must you be to call upon such a monster for protection?"
"How desperate am I? Heh, you threaten us with war, you stole something you can't control. You speak of peace, yet bring only death. You kill for fun. You do make me despair, but I'll make you regret it."
"Hmm~ The feeling of failure must sting, doesn't it? You were so close to harnessing the Cube's infinite energy. So what's your goal then?" Loki smiled wickedly, turning toward the camera again. This time, his words were meant for everyone on the ship. "To share warmth with all mankind? Or to control certain existences? For instance… the Sanctuary? The Saints? Or perhaps… that God?"
"Hmph. My goal will never be aimed at friends."
"Oh? And do these friends come with a condition—only if you can control them?"
"Hmph." Fury snorted coldly and left, ignoring Loki. But deep down, Loki's words had hit a nerve. Fury couldn't argue back, only choose silence.
Yet his silence spoke volumes to those watching from outside—everyone began forming their own thoughts.
When Fury returned, both Steve and Tony were already eyeing him suspiciously.
"Is what he said true?" Steve demanded.
"So you'd rather believe him than me?" Fury's expression darkened.
"I don't believe either of you completely."
"Is that so? Then my answer is no. As long as they don't harm Earth, why would I target them?"
"I hope you mean that, because if not—you, your superiors, or even all of humanity won't be able to bear the consequences." With that, Steve ignored Fury's glare and walked off.
Tony did the same, heading for the lab. He had no interest in exchanging words with Fury. From the start, he had never trusted anything about S.H.I.E.L.D.—otherwise, he wouldn't have tampered with the ship's systems the moment he boarded.
Seeing the tension, Banner shrugged and returned to the lab too. He just wanted to finish his work quickly and get back to normal life.
Only Natasha remained, staring at Fury. "Aren't there some things you should tell me?"
"What do you want to know?" Fury sighed, sitting down across from her.
"For example, the Sanctuary and the Saints. That God. And maybe… the box and armor that belong to Steve."
Natasha hated this feeling. As a spy, secrets were part of her life—but the existence of the Sanctuary and the Saints, though known to her, had never been something she could study deeply. Her clearance didn't allow it, and until now, it hadn't been relevant to her mission.
But things were different now. Those names had appeared repeatedly during this operation. They were directly linked to her mission and her life. She needed to understand what she was walking into. Even if she died, she refused to die ignorant.
Fury looked into her firm gaze and, after a long silence, sighed and stood up weakly.
"Come with me."
Natasha shrugged and followed him into a classified archive room, where Fury placed a thick file on the table.
"Read it. This is Level 11 clearance. You're absolutely forbidden to leak anything from it."
"Level 11? I thought the highest clearance was Level 10." Natasha frowned, not opening it immediately.
"That's because this is the secret of secrets. Fewer than five people know of it. And there's only one subject under this level."
"The Sanctuary… right?"
"Correct."
Upon hearing that, Natasha suddenly felt her request might have been reckless. She hesitated—she knew the rule: the more you know, the more danger you're in. Secrets this deeply buried were rarely safe to uncover. Would knowing this chain her down even more?
But women are curious creatures. Once that curiosity awakens, it's hard to restrain. So she opened the file.
What she saw completely shattered her worldview.
Gods were real—and they lived among humans. Their warriors had protected the Earth for generations, sacrificing their lives while others carried on their will. Their lineage had never been broken.
Throughout history, many so-called "natural disasters" were actually the aftermath of their battles.
Seeing the later sections, Natasha's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked up at Fury.
"This has to be a joke, right?"
"I wish it were."
"But… okay, I think this is something you should've told me earlier, sir."
Natasha flipped through several photos—Athena, Cretia, Dadi, Algethi—and especially the ones captured by satellite during the Hulk's fight with the Abomination, showing them in their Cloths, saving civilians.
"I didn't tell you because it would've distracted you from your mission. I didn't expect that after all these years, you'd make so little progress."
Natasha was speechless and glared at Fury. Was that her fault? She was supposed to approach a literal goddess—Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war. How was a human like her supposed to play games with a deity? If Fury thought it was so easy, he could do it himself!
"So Steve is one of the Saints?"
"Yes."
"Then why don't they just step in? If they helped us, we wouldn't be this passive."
"She made it clear long ago—they'll only act against divine invasions. As long as the Earth itself isn't at risk of total destruction, they won't intervene."
"But Loki calls himself a god and comes from Asgard."
"Keep reading. The answer's at the end."
Natasha sighed and continued reading. Eventually, she understood—this Loki wasn't truly a god at all. The real Loki had died hundreds of thousands of years ago. This one was just an alien from an advanced civilization.
"Then Steve's involvement…"
"Likely personal."
"Alright, I understand. But, sir, with all due respect, this team is on the verge of collapse."
"I know. I'll think of something. Just focus on your mission."
"Understood."
…
Meanwhile in the lab, Tony and Banner were busy adjusting instruments, tracing the energy signature of the Tesseract. Steve, however, was pacing restlessly nearby.
His behavior finally irritated Tony.
"Please, if you're not going to help, just go outside, okay? We're trying to work here!"
"Tony, aren't you at all worried? Fury might actually try to move against the Sanctuary."
"Why should I be worried?" Tony looked genuinely puzzled.
"You…"
"They've been drooling over my armor for years, saying it's a powerful weapon. Sure, it's powerful—after all, I made it. But you know what? The weapon they dream about is nothing more than a toy that Galen once took apart for fun. And the reactor in my chest? Asura took one look at it, understood how it worked, and even helped me create a new element." Tony put down his tools and faced Steve.
"So?"
"Oh, come on, Steve. Melin should've had you study more. You really don't get it?" Tony rubbed his face in frustration.
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying—what weapon could possibly threaten them? Even if our technology advanced fifty or a hundred more years, could it?"
"Uh… I guess not." Steve had been so anxious, so focused on Fury's possible attack, that he hadn't thought that far. But then he remembered the Tesseract—something beyond normal science. "But the Tesseract is different…"
"Please. The Tesseract was taken from HYDRA. Melin was there when it happened. Don't you think if it could actually threaten him, he'd have done something about it?"
"…Alright, maybe I was overthinking."
"You worry too much, man. I don't know how your godmother puts up with you."
"Hey! Tony, I'm your godfather."
"Don't. A godfather like you? I'll pass."
"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but you both seem pretty familiar with the Sanctuary and the Saints?" Banner interjected curiously. He'd always wondered about them—especially Mu, the medical genius who had twice stopped the Hulk and saved his life.
"Steve's a Saint. My parents and godmother—his wife—are honorary clergy. Of course we're familiar." Tony said.
"Can you tell me more? Unless it's classified, of course."
"Sure. Melin never told me to keep it secret. It's just… a long story. Not sure where to start."
"Well—"
Before Banner could finish, the alarm blared. An alert flashed across the screen—an intruder with immense power had breached the deck and was heading straight for Loki's cell.
"Guess story time's postponed. We've got company."
Tony said as he donned his armor, while Steve put on his Cloth. Together, they ran toward the same direction.