{Chapter: 282 I am William}
William's jokes failed to ease the tension in the room. The atmosphere remained heavy and intense, as if a gathering of world leaders were convened to discuss the fate of humanity. Every face was grim, eyes sharpened by concern, distrust, or sheer confusion.
"I was wrong, Director. The world hasn't changed a bit."
Banner turned his head slightly and looked at Natasha. His tone was calm, but the weight behind his words was clear. "Did you know about this?"
Without hesitation, Natasha replied firmly, "You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?"
Banner raised an eyebrow and smirked bitterly. "I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed"
"Loki is manipulating you"
"And you've been doing what exactly?"
"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you."
"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy. I'd like to know why S.H.I.E.L.D. is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."
Before Natasha could answer, Fury stepped forward and pointed directly at Thor. "Because of him."
Thor's brows furrowed, confused and mildly offended. "Me?"
Fury's voice was steady, but his expression was unreadable. "Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously outgunned."
Thor responded without hesitation. "My people want nothing but peace with your planet."
"But you're not the only people out there, are you?" Fury countered, pacing the room slowly like a general strategizing in a war room. "And you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched. They can't be controlled."
Steve crossed his arms, his gaze focused and calm. "Like you controlled the cube?"
Thor's voice rose with frustration. "Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is a signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war."
"A higher form?!" Fury snapped. "You forced our hand. We had to come up with some…"
"A nuclear deterrent." Tony asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Because that always calms everything right down?"
Fury turned his attention to Tony, narrowing his eyes. "Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?"
Steve added, "I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep—"
Tony cut him off sharply. "Wait, wait, hold on. How is this now about me?"
"I'm sorry, isn't everything?," Steve replied.
"I thought humans were more evolved than this," Thor muttered, turning to Fury.
Fury shot back without missing a beat. "Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up? Or was that someone else?"
Those words hit Thor like a hammer to the heart. His face darkened. Asgard had indeed fallen—his home, his people, scattered. "Watch your tongue," Thor warned coldly.
"He was really that naive? S.H.I.E.L.D. monitors potential threats." Natasha interjected, raising her voice.
Banner scoffed. "Captain America is on the threat line?"
"We all are."
"You're on that list?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Above or below?"
"Stark's a funny guy."
"I feel threatened. I feel threatened."
"You should show some respect."
"Respect? What?"
What had started as a tense discussion had now erupted into a full-blown shouting match. Everyone was talking over each other, voices clashing like swords. It wasn't just a disagreement—it was a war of ideologies, of mistrust and wounded pride.
William, meanwhile, found a chair near the corner and sat down leisurely. He rested his elbow on the armrest, his fingers brushing lightly over his lips as he watched the escalating chaos with amused detachment. His eyes flicked toward the table, where the scepter sat.
A faint, eerie glow pulsed from the Mind Stone embedded within it. It was subtle, but unmistakable—it was sending a signal.
William's lips curved slightly. "Looks like our dear Hawkeye is about to arrive," he muttered under his breath.
Thor, now visibly agitated, spoke again. "You speak of control, yet you caught chaos.."
Banner, voice thick with sarcasm, added, "This is M.O., isn't it? I mean, what are we, a team? No, no, no. We're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're... We're a time bomb."
And with those words, the fragile illusion of alliance cracked further.
Fury turned and fixed his gaze on Banner, his voice calm but stern. "Doctor, You need to step away."
Tony leaned casually against a nearby console and placed one hand on Steve's shoulder, smirking. "Why shouldn't a guy let off a little steam?"
Steve immediately brushed Tony's hand off, his eyes narrowing. "You know damn well why. Back off."
Tony's demeanor shifted, his tone losing all humor. "Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me.."
"Yeah. Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off. What are you?" Steve snapped back.
Without missing a beat, Tony tilted his head defiantly. "Genius. Billionaire. Playboy. Philanthropist."
Steve's face hardened. "I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you.."
"I think I would just cut the wire." Tony stepped closer, voice low and biting.
Captain looked into the eyes of Ironman and said. "Always a way out. You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."
"A hero? Like you? You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle."
The two stood face-to-face now, neither backing down. Tension crackled in the air like static before a storm.
"Put on your suit," Steve growled. "Let's go a few rounds."
"I'm not scared of a senior citizen with a shiny shield," Tony replied coldly.
Suddenly, loud laughter cut through the room tension. Thor leaned back, arms crossed, his booming voice filled with sarcasm. "You people are so petty and tiny."
"Yeah, this is a team."
Fury's eyes narrowed. "Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his room?"
Natasha nodded, stepping toward Banner.
"Where?" Banner said, voice rising. "You rented my room."
"The cell was just in—" Fury began.
"In case you needed to kill me?" Banner barked. "but you can't. I know. I tried. I got low. I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guys spit it out."
"So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk."
There was a heavy pause. Everyone froze. No one dared speak.
The room grew heavy with silence. Banner's eyes were sharp, filled with a quiet fury. "You want to know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You want to know how I stay calm?"
He reached out and grabbed the scepter on the table, his grip firm. Instantly, Natasha's and Fury's hands hovered near their sidearms. They didn't draw—but they were ready.
"Dr. Banner. Put down the scepter." Steve said, his voice measured.
The tension thickened as he held the scepter a moment longer.
Suddenly, the computer let out a sharp "beep." Everyone turned toward it.
"Got it."
Banner blinked, then slowly put the scepter down. "Sorry, kids, you don't get to see my party trick after all." As he walked towards the screen, he displayed the location.
Thor straightened, his expression serious. "Located the Tesseract."
"I could get there faster."
"Tesseract belongs on Asgard. No human is a match for it."
"You're not going alone.," Steve said, grabbing Tony's arm as the billionaire started walking.
"You gonna stop me?" Tony said, yanking his arm free.
"Put on the suit. Let's find out.."
Tony shot back with a sneer. "I'm not afraid to hit an old man."
As the two squared off again, William finally stood from his chair, looking at them with visible disappointment. He clapped slowly, mockingly.
"You know, this is getting boring," he said. "All bark, no bite. You people talk about a big game, but nobody's thrown a punch yet."
The others turned toward him, confused.
"Tom, what are you talking about?" Fury asked, frowning.
A grin crept across William's face—an expression none of them had seen before.
"Hahaha, haha..." William covered his stomach and laughed. He chuckled darkly, then burst into a full laugh, holding his stomach as if it hurt. "You all really think I'm Tom, don't you?"
Everyone's eyes widened in sudden realization.
Fury's voice was cold. "Then who are you?"
The laughter stopped. William—no, the man pretending to be him—straightened his back and looked them all in the eye.
"I'm not Tom," he said clearly. "Never was. I'm William."
The room fell silent. Even Thor looked stunned.
"You..." Steve began, but his voice trailed off.
"Yes. And you just handed me everything I needed." William's voice turned razor-sharp.
*****
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