Fury put away the tablet and spoke with absolute gravity: "I know this was my failure. I'll accept whatever punishment you decree. But I am telling you now, if we do not order the annihilation of the Joker organization today, the next explosion will be ten times more powerful than the one in New York."
"Enough!" Having endured five hours of alarmist rhetoric, the council members were fed up. "This is merely your side of the story. Mind Stones, energy absorption... even if any of this is real, S.H.I.E.L.D. has studied these artifacts for decades with no results. How could the Joker organization crack the secrets of a gem in a single day?"
"Because it's entirely possible!"
CLACK!
The office door swung open, and Thor, the God of Thunder, strolled in with his hammer in hand. Fury looked at the screen and said, "I apologize, but since you won't believe me, I had to bring in an expert."
The council members were livid. Just because you have a god behind you, you think you can act? One councilor suppressed his anger and asked calmly, "Thor, on what basis do you make such a claim?"
Thor spoke bluntly. "On the basis that Jason is an enemy who fought me to a standstill."
Council members: "..."
Thor continued, "I have lived longer than all five of you combined. I have personally vanquished thousands of formidable foes, but I can tell you... Jason is the strongest enemy I have ever encountered. What worries me even more is his terrifying rate of growth."
"According to your own intelligence, Jason founded the Joker organization less than ten years ago. In just a decade, he grew from a common fugitive into a problem your government's military can't solve."
"I guarantee you, if you waste this opportunity and let him hide for a few more years, he will be able to walk across this planet unopposed. Do you know what happens then? He will kill your parents, enslave your sons, and defile your daughters, while you can only watch and spend the rest of your lives repenting for the foolish decision you made today."
The God card worked perfectly. Thor's brutal honesty left the council members in stunned silence. After a long while, one councilor spoke up.
"If we send our military forces to deal with the Joker organization... What about the Tesseract and the alien fleet?"
Thor, finding his rhythm, continued his lecture. "We have never stopped searching for the Tesseract, but that requires time and luck. Look at it this way: even if Loki's men use the Cube to summon the Chitauri, don't you still have... that thing..."
Fury: "Nuclear weapons."
Thor: "Right. Those powerful explosives. I heard the Tin Man's description of them; the lethality is considerable. As long as you use those, you have a real chance of crushing the Chitauri. Conversely, if you waste this chance, a nuclear weapon will absolutely not be enough to kill Jason later."
Thor finished speaking. The five councilors began whispering among themselves with somber faces. Fury stepped closer and whispered to Thor, "Thank you."
Thor gave a magnanimous grin. "It's nothing. I thought about it, and Jason really is more dangerous."
After a few more moments of deliberation, the Council reached a decision. Perhaps it was Thor's vivid imagery of their families being enslaved that finally triggered their survival instincts. The five members voted unanimously to approve the siege of the Joker organization.
Fury breathed a heavy sigh of relief; the weight on his chest finally lifted.
A councilor spoke: "Fury, let us be clear. This operation must eliminate the Joker organization. Otherwise..."
"I know," Fury said solemnly. "I'll accept a dismissal or a court-martial."
Councilor: "Good. We will handle the coordination with the President and the leaders of the other four nations to gather forces against the alien threat. However, since the Joker organization has a large number of fanatical soldiers, the 1st Armored Division stationed in Texas is hereby placed under your direct command."
This was an unexpected bonus. Fury's heart raced. "Thank you."
"Don't thank us. Good luck, Commander." The five councilors offered their grim congratulations and disconnected the feed.
*
Leaving the office, Fury felt refreshed; his step was noticeably lighter. He hadn't just secured approval for his plan; he'd swiped an entire armored division in the process. A double victory.
Returning to Banner's lab, Fury shared the news. But they barely reacted—they had no idea how much political capital he had just spent.
"Dr. Banner, any progress?"
Banner and Natasha were sitting on a bench, looking quite cozy while playing a small game together. Their blatant display of affection made Tony look like a third wheel.
Banner gestured lazily at the screen. "The progress bar is almost halfway."
Fury turned to see the search progress at 43%. To find the Scepter, S.H.I.E.L.D. had mobilized every gamma spectrometer in the country for a carpet-style search. It was Banner's idea; a bit brute-force, but comprehensive. No matter how deep Jason buried the Scepter, they would find it. The only downside was the equipment could only track one signature at a time—otherwise, they'd be looking for the Tesseract simultaneously.
*
Time ticked by. It was now 2:00 PM. The progress bar on the monitor finally reached 99. Everyone dropped what they were doing and crowded around the screen, eyes unblinking.
Beep!
With a soft chime, the system locked onto the Mind Scepter's signature. Banner adjusted his glasses, fingers flying across the keys to convert the code into geographic coordinates.
"The Scepter... is right here!"
The GPS zoomed in rapidly. The target was in a desolate forest region three hundred kilometers west of New York.
Fury pointed at the map. "What is this place?"
Natasha searched her tablet quickly. "It was originally a wasteland. It was bought several years ago and turned into a ranch. No criminal record or red flags on the deed."
"A ranch. Another ranch," Tony said, unable to resist a jab. "Jason's base in the Hudson Valley was a ranch too. Was this bastard a cowboy in a past life?"
Fury didn't join in the banter; he immediately issued orders. "This ranch isn't far. Stark, you're on point. Do not alert them. Just perform a long-range reconnaissance to see what we're dealing with."
"Relax. Mission accomplished," Tony said, heading for the hangar.
"Natasha, check the air traffic and ground sensors. See if there's any unusual movement. If Jason really is in trouble, then his organization members will be moving mountains of men to protect him."
Natasha sat at her console. "Is there any chance they'll just take Jason and teleport away? They have a teleporter; they could hide anywhere."
Fury smiled. "We've been fighting the Joker organization for years, Nat. Have you ever seen them run from a fight?"
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