Facing his two beautiful assistants—each locked in a silent battle for dominance—John remained perfectly calm.
In fact, he almost seemed to enjoy the spectacle.
"Tea or coffee?" he asked, strolling to the coffee machine as if nothing was amiss.
"Tea," Hattie replied, her voice cool.
"No, thank you," Natasha answered, her eyes never leaving Hattie's.
Their gazes met again, a silent contest of wills.
Hattie raised an eyebrow, as if to remind Natasha who really ran things here.
John nodded, ignoring their preferences. "Coffee it is, then."
He made three cups, set them on the table, and sat down with a relaxed sigh.
Hattie stared at her cup in disbelief. "I seriously doubt you're British. Shouldn't you have black tea ready at all times?"
Natasha took a sip and frowned. "Instant coffee?"
"I was born in Britain," John shrugged. "You can check my records, Miss Assistant—er, Miss Hattie."
He thought to himself that having both assistants in the same room was a logistical nightmare.
Settling back into the sofa, John looked at the two women standing opposite him, one on either side of the table.
"So, ladies, what brings you here today?"
Hattie sneered. "Some of your work is still unfinished."
Natasha's tone was all business. "Something very important, John."
"For work, I'm on vacation this week. Call Olov," John said, propping his chin on his hand and giving Natasha a half-smile. "But you, Miss Natalie, what's so urgent?"
"You've been gone for months. What's more important than your boss?" he teased.
Natasha took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm.
She took out her phone, pulled up some data, and slid it across the table to John.
On the screen was a photo of the Tesseract—a blue, crystalline cube.
"We're facing a global catastrophe," Natasha said.
John took a sip of coffee, his face unreadable. "Go on."
Natasha glanced at him, then continued. "This is called the Tesseract. It has enough energy to destroy the Earth. Now, it's been stolen."
"Stolen? What's the difference between that and S.H.I.E.L.D. having it?" John scoffed, glancing at the image. "S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't seem like the type to use this thing for global warming research."
Natasha was momentarily speechless.
She could not argue—S.H.I.E.L.D. really wasn't researching global warming.
"John, I know you have your issues with S.H.I.E.L.D.," Natasha said, her voice softer. "The one who took the Tesseract is Loki. You know him—Thor's brother."
"No one knows what he'll do with it, but this is already a declaration of war on Earth."
John raised an eyebrow. "Let's not even get into why S.H.I.E.L.D. was the only one managing something so important. Why are you looking for me?"
He set down his empty cup and shot Hattie a sidelong glance. "I can't eat the thing. I'm just a businessman."
"We need you, John." Natasha took a breath. "We need your ability. Your magic."
John wasn't surprised. S.H.I.E.L.D. knew he was a wizard.
What interested him more was why they were coming to him—there were plenty of wizards in New York.
He also noticed Hattie's reaction. She didn't even blink at the mention of magic.
"Alright, Natalie," John said, standing up. "Natasha or Natalie?"
Even Natasha, usually unflappable, looked confused. "What?"
"If you're Natalie Romanova, my assistant is asking for help. But if you're Natasha Romanoff from S.H.I.E.L.D., then it's S.H.I.E.L.D. asking me for help," John said matter-of-factly.
He smiled. "And I have no obligation to help S.H.I.E.L.D."
Natasha stared at him, incredulous. "So you just want to change the name?"
"It's different," John said, walking to stand beside Hattie, arms folded. "I only help my own people. My assistant, Miss Natalie."
Hattie's eyes glimmered with understanding.
Natasha's lips curled into a smile. "Then I'm asking my boss, Mr. Wick."
"Very good," John grinned. "Miss Natalie, don't forget to handle the boss's work."
He turned and shrugged at Hattie, laughing. "See, Hattie? Your boss is about to save the world, so don't bother me about buying land in Washington."
Hattie rolled her eyes. "You just don't want to work."
"Bingo! That's right!" John snapped his fingers and pulled out a bracelet strung with wooden tags.
"As your reward and a bribe for my next vacation," he said, fastening the amulet on Hattie's wrist, "just turn a blind eye and let me off the hook."
Hattie snorted but couldn't hide a faint smile.
Natasha crossed her arms. "Are you ready? The plane is waiting."
"Plane?" John blinked. "Where to?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D.," Natasha replied, frowning. "Aren't you coming?"
"No, no, no." John waved his hands. "Didn't you hear? I'm on vacation."
He smiled. "S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't the only one who can save the world. And S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't the only one with superheroes."
Natasha left on her own, her expression dark.
Anyone could see she was in a foul mood.
She had spent so much effort, only for John to have no intention of joining S.H.I.E.L.D.
But his words lingered in her mind.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't the only one with superheroes?" Natasha pondered.
S.H.I.E.L.D. was gathering people to form a superhero team. But John's words seemed to hint at another team.
Was that possible?
Lost in thought, Natasha's plane landed on the deck of the Helicarrier.
She met Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner as they arrived.
Key figures were now gathering.
Steve was friendly with the doctor whose work S.H.I.E.L.D. hoped could replicate the super-soldier serum.
Banner, in turn, was observant of his new surroundings and the organization that had sought his expertise.
The meeting went smoothly enough.
"Gentlemen, you'd better get inside," Natasha said, the frustration from her encounter with John still evident. "You won't be able to breathe out here in a moment."
"Not able to breathe? Are we going underwater?" Steve asked, curious.
"Really?" Banner smiled. "I guess they want to lock me in an airtight iron can deep under the sea."
When the two reached the edge of the deck, they realized how wrong they were.
Four massive engines rose from the water.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier lifted off from the sea.
Now they understood why they wouldn't be able to breathe.
Inside, Agent Hill directed the deployment of teams.
S.H.I.E.L.D. worked in perfect coordination to operate the enormous ship.
Even Steve, a veteran of World War II, was amazed.
Fury stood at the command center. Steve walked over and handed him ten dollars.
Fury took the bill and gave a knowing smile.
He glanced at the others. "Romanoff. Where is he?"
Natasha knew exactly who "he" meant. She replied helplessly, "He's as much of a character as Stark."
These rich second-generation types made Fury shake his head.
But as long as they could help when it mattered, he didn't care.
Steve noted the "him."
The top priority was to find Loki.
S.H.I.E.L.D. used its global network to monitor cameras and phones for facial recognition.
As soon as Loki appeared, they would find him.
Banner was assigned to track the Tesseract. In the field of gamma rays, he was unmatched.
After a massive search, they finally found a trace.
"Clue found—sixty-seven percent match."
"Wait, it's seventy-nine percent."
They had found Loki.
He appeared openly at a party in Germany.
Fury gave the order without hesitation. "Move in. Capture Loki."
***********
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