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"Liam, do you recognize him?" Triss couldn't help but ask since Liam spaced out for a minute. It was enough to explain that there was something going on. 

"He shouldn't be here. Since he is here, then we might have a problem." Liam said. This made everyone stiffen as they didn't expect someone that could be easily termed as a superhero would be judged so harshly. 

"What are you talking about?" Steve asked. Liam just shook his head and said. 

"We need not care about him at this point. He will approach us when he is ready and Fury don't go around snooping. He is young and might just lash out." Liam warned Fury. 

"I don't put people in prison camps," Fury replied. 

"And that is the problem. You put people in more dangerous situations. Just stay away from him, will you? We have more problems to face right now." Liam said. He knew who this young man was, but that didn't mean Liam needed to tend to him. 

Since none of the enemies of his world had shown up, it could be ignored. This wasn't a race and this man wasn't a threat. Fury, on the other hand, had other thoughts in his mind. Since Liam had said that this man was dangerous and didn't elaborate further, it just made his hunger for knowledge more potent. 

He needed to know this man. But of course, discreetly. 

-----

With the unsettling discovery left hanging in the air, the team quickly shifted back to the task at hand. Banner and Tony, having set up a mini-lab with whatever equipment SHIELD could scramble for them on the Helicarrier, were hard at work tracking the Tesseract's energy signature.

It didn't take long.

"It's spiking," Banner said, staring at the holographic map projected before them. His voice was steady but urgent. "We're getting residual gamma radiation readings all over New York... but the strongest signal is here." He tapped the glowing point on the map.

"That's... not my tower." He sounded almost offended. 

"It's not even a government building," Banner added. "Looks like... residential?"

"Cross-check that area." Fury narrowed his eyes. 

Within minutes, SHIELD analysts pulled up the information. It was a multi-floor residential building — sleek, modern, and conveniently close to Stark Tower, only a few blocks away. The building had been part of a new city initiative promoting clean energy, meaning it was hooked directly into New York's new arc reactor-enhanced power grid.

A perfect power source for a portal.

"They're using the city's clean energy system," Banner said grimly. "Same type of power Stark's tower is wired into. With enough scientific know-how, tapping the grid could power the Tesseract... and tear open a hole in space."

"Yikes. Guess saving the environment bit us in the ass a little." Tony whistled.

"I want a team on the ground immediately. Stealth approach. We don't know how many hostiles Loki's got with him. And I want the civilians out of that building, quietly if possible." Fury started barking orders.

"We move now?" Steve straightened up.

"Gear up," Fury confirmed. "I'll get SHIELD extraction teams in the area, in case the situation gets out of hand."

"If Loki seeks to open a portal, then he will not act alone. The Chitauri will be waiting. We must stop him before the doorway fully opens." Thor gripped Mjölnir tightly. 

Everyone nodded.

Liam, however, lingered a moment longer, eyes flicking back to the paused video feed of the young man. A part of him itched to find the boy right now. Warn him. Prepare him.

But another part knew — they couldn't afford to split their focus.

Not when the world might be hours away from being invaded.

He turned, tightening his grip on his staff. There would be time later... if they survived what was coming.

"Let's move," Liam said simply and opened a portal. Not everyone had left with them. Fury had asked Triss and Lambert to stay behind since Loki was here and he might try tricks. 

The portal shimmered into existence, and one by one, the team stepped through. Liam emerged first, staff at the ready, senses on high alert. Steve, Tony, Banner, Natasha, Thor, Geralt, Keira, Eskel, Yennefer, Ciri, and Vesemir followed closely behind. 

Unlike original story, Thor and Hulk didn't have a fight but that didn't mean Banner wasn't angry when he came to know about the nutjobs that were supposed to invade and at the end, he voluntarily spoke of adding himself into the mix and also promised to be more civil, as he had some power over Hulk.

The scene that greeted them was worse than expected.

Inside the spacious balcony of the residential building, the Tesseract hovered, suspended in the air above a cracked marble pedestal that had been jury-rigged with a mess of wires, metal frames, and other components. It pulsed violently, beams of blue light occasionally spitting sparks of unstable energy onto the walls and floor.

Around it stood a dozen scientists — men and women in lab coats — but something was terribly wrong.

Each one of them wore a bulky vest, strange devices strapped across their chests, and each held a small handheld trigger tightly in their trembling hands. Their faces were pale, sweating, their eyes wide and glassy, as if they were fighting some unseen pressure in their minds.

One of the scientists — a tall man with graying hair and a desperate look in his eyes. Every one of them had grey eyes. These were controlled by the scepter. 

"Stop right there!" he barked. "Take another step, and we blow it all to hell!"

The team immediately froze. 

"And if you think it'll just kill us," the scientist continued. "think again. The Tesseract... it's unstable. If we die, it might open rifts across the city. Across the world. Maybe... maybe even into other places. We don't even know."

"Uh, not to be the guy who states the obvious, but we really don't want that thing throwing doors open to random parts of the universe. Last thing I want is aliens crawling out of my basement." Tony tried to lighten the mood, only to be glared at by everyone. 

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Read 100 chapters ahead on my p@treon.com/thelightedghost