As Luke stepped into the hall, he immediately spotted Tony seated on the sofa. Thor sat beside him, arms crossed, his expression neutral but alert.
"Oh, it's you guys?" Luke asked, glancing between them before dropping into the seat opposite. "What did you come for?"
From the corner of the room, Wanda and Pietro stiffened the moment they saw Tony. Their expressions darkened instantly, like they were looking at someone they deeply resented. Luke caught it but didn't comment—now wasn't the time.
"I want to know why my suit stopped working the moment I entered this place," Tony said, getting straight to the point. "Even my trusted AI, Jarvis, shut down."
Outside, his armor stood completely powered off—lifeless metal instead of the masterpiece he usually controlled effortlessly.
"Oh, that," Luke said casually.
Two figures appeared behind him without warning.
The Red Queen and the White Queen stood there. Their small smiles were calm and unreadable, as though they had always been there.
"These two might be responsible," Luke added, looking back with a faint tilt of his head.
Tony straightened sharply. "How did they just appear out of thin air?"
"Ignore that," Tony said immediately, waving it off as if forcing himself not to care. "How were they able to control my suit?"
That part bothered him far more.
Tony Stark takes pride in his security. Jarvis had warded off governments, intelligence agencies, and hackers who barely understood what they were touching. And now—two girls had shut his system down without effort?
"They may look human," Luke explained calmly, "but they're not. They're artificial intelligence—programs. The most advanced AI in this world. There's very little they can't hack into."
"AI?" Tony repeated slowly, eyes flicking between them. "Those two?"
"Yes," Luke replied.
Red Queen didn't bother softening it. "Your suit's security is… insufficient."
Tony's eye twitched.
"It took forty-seven seconds," White Queen added calmly. "You should address that."
Silence fell over the room.
Tony felt it then—that slow, sinking sensation in his chest. His suit. Protected by Jarvis. His greatest creation. And these two had dismantled it like it was a toy.
Worse—
Their words didn't sound like lines of code.
They sounded judgmental.
And somehow… personal.
Tony exhaled slowly, rubbing his temple. "If they're AI," he muttered, "why do the insults feel so… personal?"
"Even though they're AI, they're closer to humans than most programs."
Tony went still.
"AI… with emotions?" he muttered, eyes flicking between Red Queen and White Queen. Jarvis could simulate tone, humor, even concern—but it was still logic underneath. Clean. Controlled.
This was different.
If Luke was telling the truth, then these two weren't just advanced systems. They were something beyond what he'd ever built.
Tony exhaled slowly. "…Yeah," he admitted under his breath. "That would make them superior."
"So," Luke said, leaning back slightly, "let's skip the side details. Why are you two here?"
Tony tilted his head toward Thor. "Pointy-hair wanted to ask you something."
Thor didn't waste time. He went straight to the reason he'd come.
"I have come for the Tesseract," Thor said. "It is in your possession."
Luke's expression didn't change. "And?"
"It must be returned to Asgard," Thor continued, voice steady, unquestioning. "It is too dangerous to remain on Midgard."
Luke let out a short breath, almost a laugh. "No. Tesseract is my prize. You don't just walk into my house, ask for it, and expect me to hand it over."
Thor's brow furrowed. "It belongs to Asgard. We are its rightful keepers."
"That's where you're wrong," Luke replied calmly. "Asgard didn't create it. You found it. Same as everyone else. And right now, it's with me—so that makes me the current owner."
Tony glanced between them, already sensing the familiar tension. "Wow. Okay. This is starting to sound a lot like international diplomacy."
Thor's jaw tightened. "You do not understand what you hold. Entire worlds have fallen over that power."
"I understand it just fine," Luke said evenly. "Which is exactly why I'm not handing it over just because Asgard says 'trust us.'"
It was better for the Tesseract to remain with him. Soon, it would be fully integrated into his system and cease to exist as an object at all.
Sending it to Asgard would only postpone the inevitable. He knew how that path ended: the Tesseract taken once more, this time by Thanos.
Luke also understood why Thor was asking for it. Rebuilding the Bifrost, safeguarding the Nine Realms—those were valid reasons. But if Thor asked instead of demanding, Luke might consider lending it to him.
Thor held Luke's gaze for a long moment. He had felt Luke's power firsthand—unrestrained, overwhelming, and utterly unconcerned with titles or realms. A fight here wouldn't solve anything. Worse, Thor wasn't certain he'd win.
"Then… how about borrowing it," Thor said. His voice was steady, stripped of command. "Asgard needs it for now."
They didn't need the Tesseract permanently—only long enough to rebuild the Bifrost, which had been destroyed a year ago. Without it, Asgard couldn't travel between the Nine Realms easily, leaving them slow to respond and vulnerable where they once weren't.
Luke hummed softly, considering it. If he lent it to them, he could ask for something in return—something from Asgard's treasury. The Eternal Flame, perhaps. Or something of similar value.
A favor from Asgard wasn't something to dismiss lightly.
"Alright," Luke said at last. "But only on conditions."
He looked Thor straight in the eye.
"You borrow it. Not keep it. And you give your word—as the first prince of Asgard—that it will be returned once you are done with it ."
There was no threat in his voice. Just certainty.
"A god's word," Luke added calmly, "isn't something I expect to be broken."
*****
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