"The Cosmic Cube?" Felicia leaned forward, her silver hair falling across one eye as she studied the holographic projection. "Wait, you mean the Space Stone? How does that work exactly?"
She understood the Space Stone possessed virtually unlimited power over spatial dimensions. But transforming Steve Rogers's fundamental nature into something that served Hydra? That required capabilities she didn't know the Stone possessed.
"It's not the same," a new voice corrected from the shadows. "There's a difference."
Everyone turned as a semi-transparent blue hologram walked toward them, the projection flickering slightly as it moved. Tony Stark, or rather his digital consciousness, approached with his characteristic swagger somehow intact despite his incorporeal state.
"Does anyone have refrigerant?" The hologram gestured dramatically. "Because if we don't fix that damned air conditioning unit soon, we're all going to cook down here. It's already ninety-eight degrees in the server room. My body might be a vegetable, but my processors still generate heat."
His translucent finger swept across the room, finally pointing directly at Ben's face. "And who the hell is this guy?"
Tony's holographic features twisted into a scowl. "I don't know why, but the second I saw him, I felt this overwhelming urge to punch him directly in his smug face."
Ben shrugged, completely unbothered. "That's a classic symptom of acute insecurity. Specifically, the inability to accept that someone might be smarter than you."
"What?!" Tony's projection flared brighter with indignation. "Oh, you want to throw down? Fine! You fix the air conditioner then!"
T'Challa stepped between them, though positioning himself between a hologram and a physical person created a somewhat absurd tableau. "I never imagined the great Tony Stark would be defeated by something as mundane as air conditioning repair."
His tone carried genuine sympathy. He'd worked alongside Tony from his own universe during the grim business of destroying five alternate Earths. Seeing any version reduced to this felt wrong.
"Tony, these are Ben Parker and Princess Looma." Natasha performed quick introductions, her voice carrying the efficient tone of someone who'd made far too many battlefield introductions. "They're from an Earth in another universe."
Tony's hologram swiveled, taking in the massive four-armed figure of Looma, then settling back on Steve Rogers. "Him too?"
The projection pointed accusingly. "Please tell me I can kick his ass. I've been waiting for that opportunity for three years."
"Only if you can manage to stand up first," Natasha replied, the ghost of dark humor in her voice. Then, for the visitors' benefit: "This is Tony's AI consciousness. His physical body isn't... available for field work."
"What happened to the real Tony?" T'Challa asked carefully.
"He's lying in what we affectionately call his 'coffin.'" Natasha's expression went flat. "Carol Danvers beat him into a semi-paralyzed vegetative state before she got trapped outside the shield. Now only his brain still functions, and we've got it wired into our computer systems."
T'Challa winced. "I genuinely can't decide who has it worse. You, or the Tony from our universe."
"Can we focus?" Ben's tone shifted, cutting through the banter. "Now you know why your Steve Rogers serves Hydra. The Cosmic Cube literally rewrote his identity. So what's your plan? I can help, but we're running out of time. Even if we eliminate Hydra's leadership, it's useless if there's no time left to evacuate the civilian population before the collision."
Tony's hologram dimmed slightly, running calculations. "Perhaps the evacuation order was genuine. Steve is actually gathering people into central locations. If we eliminate Hydra's command structure, we could commandeer their transport ships and complete the evacuation ourselves." He paused. "Or we simply hijack the ships now and leave Hydra to their fate."
The informant they'd rescued, who'd been standing quietly in the corner, suddenly exploded with rage. "Leave them?! Rick Jones risked everything to get us this information! We finally have a chance to win, to actually defeat Hydra, and you want to just... give up?!"
Tony's projection didn't rise to the anger. His response came measured and cold. "No one can prove the information on that drive is genuine. It could be disinformation designed to lure us into a trap and eliminate our leadership in one stroke."
He moved closer to the informant, his translucent face impassive. "Listen carefully, kid. We once believed Steve Rogers had been replaced by a Skrull impostor. We launched an operation to expose him. Eighty-nine people died, and the answer we got? He was Steve Rogers, one hundred percent genuine."
The hologram's voice dropped lower, each word heavy. "Later, we theorized he'd been brainwashed through psychological conditioning. More than a hundred people died in that operation. The answer? No brainwashing. He genuinely believed in Hydra's cause."
Tony spread his translucent hands. "We've sacrificed so many people chasing different theories. We've gotten nothing but corpses for our trouble."
The informant's face reddened. "You really think Rick Jones would lie? You think he'd betray everything he believed in?"
"He was Steve Rogers's personal assistant," Tony said flatly. "Maybe he's been Hydra all along. Maybe this is how they finally finish us."
The informant opened his mouth, then slowly closed it. How much did he really know about Rick Jones? They'd met three times. Exchanged coded messages. That was it.
"No matter what." Steve Rogers spoke suddenly, breaking his characteristic silence. His voice carried unexpected fervor, eyes almost gleaming with intensity. "We have to try. This could be real. This could be the answer."
The Highbreed wearing Steve's face felt excitement building in his borrowed chest. He'd personally experienced the Cosmic Cube's power, or at least a failed prototype. That experiment had transformed his entire species, elevating them beyond their previous limitations.
What could a genuine, complete Cosmic Cube do? What if it could push them past their current evolutionary dead end entirely?
The possibilities made his mandibles itch inside Steve's false face.
"How about we divide our forces?" Ben suggested. "According to Rick Jones's intel, fragments of the dismantled Tesseract are scattered across four locations: Wakanda, Atlantis, the mutant nation, and Ultron's territory. Collecting them sequentially would take too long. We need simultaneous operations."
"Exactly!" Steve nodded with almost suspicious eagerness, his usual taciturn nature evaporating. "We split into four teams, maximize efficiency."
His mind raced through logistics. "Wakanda has always been T'Challa's domain. Send him to negotiate with this world's Black Panther. Ben, you should infiltrate Ultron's territory. Those robots will be helpless against your Upgrade abilities."
His gaze swept the room, landing on Looma's distinctive four-armed frame. "Princess Looma takes the mutant nation. Felicia can accompany her, or remain here to help commandeer Hydra's evacuation ships or disable the planetary shield."
He smiled, the expression too eager on Steve's normally serious face. "I'll handle Atlantis personally."
The Highbreed's internal planning continued beneath the surface. Atlantis is closest to Wakanda, but relatively far from the other locations. Once I secure the Atlantean fragment, I'll ambush T'Challa, steal his fragment, then systematically acquire the others.
The plan felt perfect. Clean. Elegant.
However.
"Your proposal has merit," Ben said slowly, "but I think we should make some minor adjustments."
He smiled. It was not a particularly friendly expression.
Whatever the enemy wants, deny them. Basic strategic doctrine.
The Highbreed wants access to Cosmic Cube fragments? Then assign him a mission with no Cube access at all.
"The infiltration mission into Hydra's command structure goes to you," Ben said, pointing at Steve. "You'll have the best chance of getting close to their leadership with that face."
The Highbreed's borrowed heart rate spiked. "But what about Atlantis?"
"We'll send someone else." Hawkeye stepped forward, his tactical instincts apparently aligning with Ben's modifications. "Your face is too valuable an asset. Using Steve Rogers's appearance to infiltrate Hydra's inner circle makes far more strategic sense than sending you to collect artifacts."
He crossed his arms. "We can't have you doing all the heavy lifting anyway."
The Highbreed went silent, jaw clenched. This wasn't the time to abandon the disguise. Even enhanced by the Cosmic Cube experiments, he didn't believe he could defeat Ben Parker in direct combat.
It's fine, he told himself. My disguise is perfect. They'll never know. I'll just wait until they've collected all the fragments, then take them at once.
The fantasy sustained him.
"Alright, that settles it." Ben's voice carried finality. "But we need to move immediately. The collision timeline won't wait for us to debate strategy."
He turned to Tony's hologram. "Now, take me to your laboratory."
The AI projection flickered with immediate suspicion. "Why? What are you planning to do?"
"Obviously, I'm going to fix the air conditioning that the great Tony Stark apparently can't handle." Ben's smile widened. "And while I'm there, I'll check on that vegetable. Maybe give him some water."
He paused dramatically. "Or would something more nutritious be appropriate? I hear certain bodily fluids have excellent nitrogen content for plant growth."