If anyone truly wanted to locate the Tesseract, the most logical person to consult would have been Dr. Bruce Banner. His understanding of radiation and exotic energy signatures made him uniquely qualified to track something like the Cosmic Cube. However, Ethan Voss had no intention of going through that trouble.
Instead of searching for the Cube, he simply waited for it to come to him.
For the moment, the massive flying carrier had settled into an uneasy calm. The earlier chaos had subsided, and the Avengers had temporarily returned to their assigned stations.
Inside his private command office, Ethan quietly opened a portal leading into his divine kingdom.
In his hand rested the Mind Scepter.
Originally, Ethan had assumed that analyzing the scepter would require a long and complicated process. Artifacts connected to the Infinity Stones were not things that could normally be understood quickly.
Unexpectedly, the process was far simpler than he had anticipated.
It did not take long before he reached a startling realization.
At last, he understood what the Infinity Stones truly were.
His divine kingdom had an origin point, a fundamental source that served as the foundation of its entire existence. Without that origin, the realm itself could not exist.
The Marvel universe worked in the same way.
Every universe possessed its own foundational origin. That origin served as the structural framework upon which the entire cosmos was built.
The six Infinity Stones were directly connected to the six fundamental forces that governed the Marvel universe.
Each gem represented one of those primal forces.
When someone gathered all six Infinity Stones together, they could simultaneously manipulate all six fundamental forces at once. Those forces would merge and condense into the most fundamental power of existence.
The ultimate origin of the universe itself.
That was why the complete set of six Infinity Stones possessed the terrifying ability to reshape reality and rewrite the universe at will.
However, using only one stone—or even two, three, or four—did not unlock that overwhelming level of power.
The stones themselves were merely connectors.
They acted as conduits that allowed the user to activate the underlying elements of the universe. The stones did not contain an enormous amount of energy on their own.
They simply opened the gateway to those deeper forces.
There was another crucial limitation.
Once an Infinity Stone entered Ethan's divine kingdom, it lost its ability to draw power from the origin of the Marvel universe. Inside his realm, the stone could no longer connect to its original cosmic source.
Only after returning to the outside world could the gem replenish its energy.
Ethan frowned as he considered the implications.
Such a priceless artifact, yet for him it was almost useless.
The realization left him deeply disappointed.
Still, the situation was not entirely hopeless.
Even without direct access to the universe's origin, the stones themselves still contained a certain amount of stored energy. If that energy could be extracted, the stone would naturally recharge once it returned to the outside world.
In theory, that meant the stone could be used repeatedly.
All he needed was a machine capable of cycling the gem in and out of the divine kingdom over and over again.
A system that could extract energy, release the stone back into the universe to recharge, and then retrieve it again.
Ethan crossed his arms thoughtfully.
"I wonder how efficient that would actually be."
After returning to the flying carrier, Ethan resumed his duties and simply waited for Clint Barton—Hawkeye—to make his move.
With nothing urgent demanding his attention, he decided to pay Loki a visit.
Inside the containment chamber, Loki stood calmly behind the transparent barrier. His sharp green eyes fixed on Ethan the moment he entered.
"I'm surprised," Loki said slowly, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You're the one in charge here?"
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
"I'm also surprised," he replied calmly, "that you walked straight into my trap."
Loki's expression filled with disdain.
"You believe this glass cage can hold me?" he said coldly. "Perhaps it is you outsiders who are truly trapped."
Ethan rolled his eyes in exaggerated annoyance.
"Oh please," he said. "All that mysterious talk just makes you sound like you're trying too hard to look clever."
He crossed his arms and leaned slightly forward.
"Aren't tricks and schemes the only things you're good at?"
Ethan smirked.
"And you want to be a king? You'd have better luck becoming a turtle."
Loki's eyes darkened instantly.
The memory of the brutal torture he had endured earlier flashed through his mind, and anger surged through him.
"Hmph," Loki said coldly. "When my army descends from the sky, I wonder if you'll still be so confident."
Ethan tilted his head.
"Descends from the sky?" he repeated. "Which sky exactly?"
Loki grinned.
"You think I'd tell you?" he said. "Midgard is a big place. Feel free to guess."
Ethan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Alright then," he said. "Let's try guessing."
He began pacing slowly across the room, appearing to think carefully. Loki watched him with mild curiosity.
"Midgard is huge," Ethan murmured. "You wouldn't happen to be setting up in… the United States, would you?"
Loki's expression didn't change.
"The United States is a very large country," Loki replied calmly.
Ethan nodded thoughtfully.
"True," he said. "It's a big country."
He paused.
"So you probably wouldn't choose… New York, right?"
For the first time, Loki's brow twitched slightly.
"And why," Loki asked carefully, "would you think I would choose New York?"
Ethan shrugged.
"Even within New York, the city itself is enormous," Loki added calmly.
Ethan stopped pacing and stood directly in front of the glass barrier.
"New York is big," he agreed. "But there aren't many places you'd actually want to visit."
He leaned slightly closer to the glass.
"If I had to guess," Ethan said casually, "it would probably be my Typhoon Tower."
Loki said nothing.
His face remained completely expressionless.
But inside, his mind exploded with alarm.
Damn it.
He guessed correctly.
The plan had already been arranged long ago.
According to the schedule, Erik Selvig should have already arrived in Manhattan with the Tesseract and the iridium core by now. Once there, he would assemble the device on the rooftop of Typhoon Tower.
At the correct moment, the portal would be opened.
And the Chitauri army would descend upon Earth.
But now Loki was trapped here inside a prison cell. There was nothing he could do to interfere with the plan.
Clint Barton should be arriving soon to rescue him, but if Ethan decided to interfere with Selvig before the portal opened, everything could collapse.
Before the Chitauri army arrived, their forces were not strong enough to challenge Earth's defenders.
Although Loki appeared calm on the outside, his mind was racing with anxiety.
Ethan stared at him quietly for a long moment.
Then he suddenly burst out laughing.
"I'm just guessing," Ethan said casually. "The chances of getting it right are probably tiny."
He shook his head dramatically.
"This is giving me a headache," he muttered. "Where could you have hidden the Cosmic Cube?"
With that, he turned around and walked away.
Loki watched him leave, unease growing in his chest.
Was this man truly that intelligent?
Or had he simply stumbled onto the truth by accident?
Could his brilliant plan really collapse before it even began?
Of course, Ethan had no intention of letting Loki's plan collapse prematurely.
Whether New York descended into chaos or not was entirely up to him.
If New York fell into chaos, Ethan would rise along with it.
And if chaos was coming, he would make sure it was absolute.
What could create more chaos than an alien invasion?
This was also the perfect opportunity for his Justice League to become famous across the entire world.
The President's support in appointing Ethan as the operation's overall commander had not come without expectations.
In two years, when the President ran for re-election, the Justice League would become a powerful propaganda tool supporting his campaign.
Mutual cooperation led to mutual victory.
The moment Ethan returned to the bridge, the entire carrier suddenly trembled violently.
The massive ship tilted sharply to one side.
He immediately understood what had happened.
Clint Barton had arrived.
Agent Coulson rushed toward him, panic written all over his face.
"Sir, we have a problem!" Coulson reported urgently. "Engine Three has been destroyed. What should we do?"
Maria Hill added quickly, "Should we call Director Fury back? He has experience handling situations like this."
Ethan rolled his eyes.
You two idiots.
He gave orders immediately.
"Steve. Tony," he said. "You two go repair Engine Three. The safety of this entire carrier depends on you."
Surprisingly, Stark did not complain.
Steve even added a reminder.
"Put on your armor."
Then Ethan turned toward Wolverine.
"Logan," he said. "Follow the plan."
"Got it," Logan replied.
"Professor," Ethan continued.
Charles Xavier turned toward him.
"Proceed with the plan," Ethan said calmly. "Release Loki."
"Understood," Xavier replied.
Colossus carefully pushed the professor's wheelchair away as they left.
Everyone else on the bridge looked completely confused.
Natasha finally stepped forward.
"Boss… Commander," she said cautiously. "What exactly is this plan you're talking about?"
Ethan smiled confidently.
"Even though we captured Loki," he explained, "we still haven't found the Tesseract."
He crossed his arms.
"So the easiest solution is simple."
"We let Loki lead us to it."
At that moment, the usually quiet Cain Marko finally spoke.
"Now that we already have him," Juggernaut said bluntly, "why not just torture him until he tells us where the Cube is?"
Ethan chuckled.
"That's a fair question," he admitted.
Then he shrugged.
"If your father were a god-king, Nick Fury definitely wouldn't dare torture you either."
Juggernaut rolled his eyes and cursed loudly.
"Damn it," he muttered. "Even a villain like me still has to worry about someone's family background."
Thor, standing nearby, instantly blushed.
He gripped Mjolnir tightly, loosening and tightening his hold repeatedly in awkward silence.
They did not have to wait long before Steve Rogers and Tony Stark returned, looking exhausted.
Shortly afterward, an unauthorized aircraft launched from the carrier's outer deck.
A short time later, Professor Xavier and Logan returned together.
Ethan gave Coulson a meaningful look before turning to Wolverine.
"You let them escape?" he asked.
Logan grinned.
He raised his hand, and three sharp adamantium claws extended from his knuckles.
"Heh," Logan said.
"I gave him a good stab!"
.....
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