Steve landed only a moment after Luke. He came down with his shield raised, prepared for a confrontation… and then realized there wasn't one.
Nobody paid attention to him — not the crowd, not the reporters, not even Loki.
He blended right in with the bystanders since Luke had finished everything before he even had time for action.
Steve looked at Loki hanging upside down, rope glowing faintly, and he couldn't hide the surprise.
"That… is one way to do it," he said quietly. He finally understood what Fury meant when he said Luke gets things done, even if the methods weren't exactly standard.
Up in the Quinjet, Natasha let out a long breath. "Every time," she muttered. "Every single time he does something like this."
Then—
WHOOSH.
Repulsors roared across the plaza as red-and-gold armor shot downward at full speed. Iron Man landed beside Steve, metal boots thudding against the stone.
The armor straightened, the faceplate slid up, and Tony Stark looked out—
Right at the scene in front of him
Loki hanging upside down like he was being stored for later.
Blue rope wrapped around him like some magical duct tape.
Luke holding the scepter casually, almost like a stick he picked up off the ground.
Dozens of civilians taking pictures like they were watching a street show.
Tony blinked once.
"…Okay. What did I miss?"
He looked around again, just to confirm he hadn't hallucinated something on the flight here.
Fury sent Coulson to bring him in because some clown had stolen S.H.I.E.L.D.'s precious glowing cube thing. He suited up expecting a chase or a fight… and instead he was greeted by this.
Everything looked wrapped up already.
"Romanoff, what am I looking at?"
Natasha answered, tone completely dry. "He's one of the helping hands we got for this mess."
Tony's eyes shifted back toward Luke, who lifted the scepter slightly in greeting.
"Hi," Luke said with a relaxed smile.
Tony didn't return the smile.
"JARVIS, I want all the data on him," Tony said.
All meant everything—public, private, buried, or supposedly erased. If Fury actually invited someone, they were either useful or dangerous, and Tony wasn't a fan of blind spots.
JARVIS paused.
Not the usual blink-and-done microsecond pause Tony had designed into him. This one stretched, lingering just long enough for Tony's brow to tighten.
"…JARVIS?" Tony pressed.
"Apologies, sir," the AI replied. "I attempted a full-spectrum search — background, digital footprint, encrypted records. Something is blocking me."
Tony blinked slowly. "Blocking you?"
"Yes, sir."
Tony's frown deepened. "Alright, try something stronger. Run a deep trace — military-grade, Stark-level clearance."
Another silence. Longer this time.
"Negative, sir," JARVIS said. "If I push further, they may detect the intrusion and reverse-track the signal. It could compromise the suit."
"…Hold on."
"You're telling me there's someone out there who can stonewall you?"
His voice had dropped, quieter, sharper. Even S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't completely keep JARVIS out. Fury's best firewalls slowed him down, sure—but stopped? Never.
JARVIS, perfectly level, answered, "Yes, sir. Whatever firewall or encryption is masking his data is beyond anything I've encountered. It does not resemble human technology."
Tony's eyebrow lifted. "Not human? Like alien?"
"Possibly, sir," JARVIS replied. "Or something else entirely."
A beat of silence followed.
Tony stared at Luke again—really stared this time. The annoyance was gone.
The snark was gone. What remained was pure, unfiltered curiosity—the kind that made him build suits inside caves and create new elements in his basement.
"…Okay," Tony muttered, more to himself than anyone. "That's new."
As for the one responsible for blocking JARVIS — well, that was Red Queen and White Queen.
They had already scanned and mapped every digital system on Earth. Every network. Every database. Every classified file. If it existed on the internet or any connected server, they had it.
And why did they block Jarvis?
Simple.
They were bored.
So, they toyed with Tony's AI just to entertain themselves — two hyperintelligent super-AIs treating one of the most advanced systems on the planet like a puzzle box.
Even Luke didn't know they did it.
If he did, he'd probably just shrug and say something like, "Eh, saves me the trouble."
Tony glanced at Steve, taking in the blue uniform with a raised eyebrow.
"…So Cap" he said, voice casual but clearly judging, "you're still going with the stars-and-stripes look."
Steve looked down at himself, then back at Tony. "It works."
Tony gave a small shrug. "Sure. Just feels a little… old-school."
Steve didn't rise to the bait — just folded his arms. "Some things don't need updating."