Both Tony and I scoured through the information that agent Coulson had given him. Everything was explained in explicit detail and cross-referenced between multiple different videos, files and reports that were available to us. It was definitely Loki and he had just stolen the Tesseract.
"God damn 12% I don't know where I got that damn number from... She's going to make me pay for that comment." I laughed at the playboy's words whilst I flicked a video down and away, choosing to look at the intense readout of the Tesseract's energy signature in stead.
"Heh, she'll just tease you about it endlessly." My words seemed to add little comfort to the man as he simply shrugged them off and bitch slapped some errant Hulk videos out of the way.
"Yeah, sure pal... Peppers not like that." I snorted immediately as he finished his stupid statement.
"Uh-huh and I'm not an emotional wreck over my last life. Please, be honest with yourself, at least for once." Silence followed my statement as he simply continued observing the data.
We'd been at this for the last half an hour and we had almost completely consumed the information Shield had for us. Pepper had left soon after I arrived, Phil right alongside her, much to Tony's chagrin. The man was sensitive to his girl being familiar with another man but that was fine, I definitely wouldn't blame him... Not after what my fiancé did to me.
"Supposedly we have to be present for a briefing tomorrow? They say they'll pick us up." Tony turned and walked over to my side, his chest glowing bright blue as he looked down on the small letter-like post-it-note.
"Damn, we're getting free food and a free ride, this must be what it feels like to be hot chicks getting picked up by yours truly...!" I rolled my eyes and closed down the hologram.
Both of us walked over to the bar, Tony going behind to serve some drinks whilst I scooted myself up on one of the bar-stools. He filled two glasses with ice and quickly filled them with a mix of bourbon and Whiskey. Sliding them across the counter he leaned on the counter and began stirring his drink whilst I slowed down the movement of the electrons inside the liquid to make it cool faster.
"So, what were you all excited about before Shield fucked our nights?" I smiled and then narrowed my eyes, splitting atoms before taking all of the energy from that method to create Naquadah.
"I found a new element for you to prod at." I shuffled the small pebbles of Naquadah towards him whilst rolling my fingers back and forth across the counter-top. "That one is a power source that can supposedly be used as a fuel source for fusion; according to the scientist that I spoke to on the other side."
Tony smirked and grabbed the mineral off the bar, his eyes scanning each facet of the rock as he rolled it between his fingers. Naturally, Jarvis was scanning the mineral as well, his various sensors poking at the rock with alacrity.
"Sir, this material has similar properties to Badassium... However, it has superior molecular cohesion and magnetic qualities whilst also being a super conductor. My sensors are also detecting trace quantities of electrical current present within the material." Jarvis's voice echoed around the penthouse in a mildly enthusiastic tone, enough to give the veneer of normal human behaviour to an immensely powerful AI.
"I also found an ore called Trinium. From what I could tell of its make-up it was the perfect metal for taking a lot of heat. I suggested to Sam that the material could be used for spaceships but I am certain that it could be leveraged for use in your suits as well." Tony looked like he's been brought from the depths of hell right back to the heights of heaven.
"Ha-hahaha, you sure know how to cheer a guy up Elsa!" He skulled his drink in one-shot and quickly rounded the bar, grabbing the material from the bar before running away to his elevator. No doubt he would be perusing Banner's papers and Nuclear physics whilst trying to get the new shiny materials to work for him.
I sipped at my drink before groaning and slumping onto the bar. The universe loved and hated me in equal measure.
~~~
The Next Day, Middle of Somewhere, On a Quin-Jet
"Did you really have to wear the suit inside the plane?" A few of the agents who were flying the jet chuckled as Tony moved his head side to side inside his suit. There was no answer to my question until he stretched out his hands as well.
"What, we're here for a mission right? Why shouldn't I wear my armour?" I put my head in my hands and simply sighed as the man finally sat down opposite me.
"Because you finally got that suitcase suit to work for you properly?" He just scoffed and slid his mask up again. It was like I was speaking to a child, a man-child. The Shield Agents that had previously chuckled were holding in their laughter whilst communicating with the Heli-carrier that we were coming up on.
Both of us were silent for a time, Tony scouring the internet for details on exotic materials and hypothetical alloys that I could potentially create. The reason I knew this? I was snooping via my Technopathy, my ability to infiltrate electronic systems making me subconsciously surf upon his connection.
He had hundreds of tabs open and many were on fundamental aspects of electronics, nuclear physics and applied quantum mechanics. Each was actually very interesting, the information being filed away in my mind as I quickly just clicked over pages on them. That was when I stopped and suddenly began questioning myself... Specifically, how I could be so stupid.
'Really!? I could have just begun snooping through the internet for information and automatically storing it for later digestion!?' I scowled down at the ground, my face hidden by my leant posture and steepled hands.
In moments my mind connected to the internet fully. My brain began interacting with search engines and AI learning models, scoping out full papers and explanations of scientific concepts, physics, Electromagnetism, Chemistry, Plasma Physics, Nanotechnology, Computational Physics, Thermodynamics, Statistical Mechanics, Materials Science, Engineering, Solid-State Physics, Quantum Field Theory, Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Physics, Nuclear Physics, Astrophysics and Biology.
The human brain was essentially a condensed super computer that handled the second-to-second processes that were required for continued life. A large percentage of the brain's capability was purely wasted on the petty subconscious desires and thoughts that swam around the consciousness of a human. At this stage however, I had taken over that CPU power for usage in storing information.
My mind was a blank page and the information present across the entirety of the internet my pencil. From the essential rules of atomic bonding to the behaviour of Ionized particles inside an atomic structure I was expanding my capabilities. You see, I wasn't necessarily changing what I could do with my powers or even enhancing the powers themselves. No, I was understanding the full process I was using every time I stripped atoms to create new materials or used energy to create matter. Even my understanding of electrons was fundamentally changed as I realised that electricity and magnetism was caused by the movement of electrons on the macro scale.
Magneto was my bitch at this point, because I could change how the electrons moved within any material and simply deprive him of any control over metal. More than that, if I could control the way that electrons moved and what molecules were paired I could theoretically teleport things, or even myself... It was a risky concept and would involve a lot of experimentation but the science didn't lie... Hell, there were a couple of scientists that had already 'teleported' a singular atom across the world with complete stability. This idea would just be that scaled up a bit. It was too dangerous to practice now and would require much more research but I could probably manage it.
Another paper was consumed and I felt the knowledge flicker into place inside my mental library, the concepts of thermal exchange and the knowledge of EM waves guiding the structure of matter made me halt before that cessation of movement was further worsened by an inundated transfer of concepts from Computer Science... Nanomachines, were now a possibility... Beyond that, I could potentially make machines so small that they would be extremely close to the size of a single atom.
*BZZZHHT*
I was rocked from my research by the dull vibration that shuddered through the Quin-jet. The back door was lowering and inviting in a potent if salty breeze that whipped my hair back and fully yanked me from my learning spree.
Obviously I was upset that my newly discovered power was interrupted but that was fine. I'd already stored over a thousand papers across multiple fields of study, now I just needed a little time to fully digest it and I would then be at the level of a Bachelors in each of those fields. That thought was a touch worrying as the amount of information and understanding was changing how I saw the world around me quite a bit... But, honestly, the power wasn't as all powerful as it seemed. If someone hadn't researched, studied and uploaded that information to the internet than I never would have been capable of 'downloading' it. At this point I was no different than an AI in its capability to scan websites and the internet to internalize data and spit it back out. Only difference between me and Jarvis at this stage was that I was a living, breathing human with the experience of using my own powers to manipulate these fundamental forces with instinct and raw willpower.
"Welp, let's get this show on the road shall we? Got a popsicle to meet, a brilliant monster-scientist to go tease and some Shield agents to annoy!" He strut out of the Jet like a king attending his post marriage nuptials, his gait languid and casual and his expression rather expectant.
"Haha, they're sure gonna hate you by the time we're done..." I laughed as I followed him, my subconscious slowly working away at comprehending every single slice of information I'd just downloaded whilst I handled the social interaction.
"You wound me D'artagan! Now come let us verse these foul knaves who doth protest mine glory!" A hand upon his chest and posing, he looked every bit the lonely theatre kid who had very few friends but revelled in that fact. I shook my head and walked past him, the man-child eventually realising I wasn't going to join him in his shenanigans.
He rushed up behind me as Coulson met us on the deck of the carrier, his suit-tie flapping in the massive winds. The carrier was going airborne very soon and was beginning its first round of pre-flight checks.
"This way gentlemen, the director is gathering the Avengers on the command deck." I followed him as he walked away, his jacket fighting him for the right to blow away on the wind all the way.
Tony caught up with both of us and tried to say something cocky or sarcastic but was muted out by the loud shredding of air from the four rotors that would lift this carrier into the sky. All of the personnel, us included, rushed inside the carrier as Black Widow, Captain America and Bruce Banner watched a single rotor work.
The wind died down instantly as we stepped inside the ship, Coulson staying at the entrance for the other three to come in. Me and Tony looked at one another a shrugged. Right at this moment I knew he was invading Shield's databases... And whilst he was doing that I was scanning the entire aircraft carrier from top to bottom with my senses. I don't know If I'll ever need to make one of these, but it was better to be safe than sorry!
#All Personnel to action stations, prepare for imminent cloaking!#
A speaker inside the long compartmentalised halls blared loud as several Shield squads, equipped with the best firearms money could buy, quickly jogged to their stations.
"Hey Agent," Coulson turned to address Stark, "take me to your leader! I wish to parley..."
I facepalmed as Coulson sweat-dropped at the man's antics.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have a Patreon where you can get exclusive Discord roles, vote on Fan fiction decisions, and even suggest Extra Chapters for me to write. Join here: patreon.com/user?u=111976696.
If you'd like to further support my work, here's my PayPal: paypal.me/RBSMFF.
Feel free to join my Discord community here: https://discord.gg/wVZXpPpUQn.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------