Chapter 104: Opening Act.

 "Why… are you pretending to be sick to get out of work?" Tony asks the kid popping out of the holochat.

"You must make a good dad," Ryan sniped with an exhausted voice. He put his head on the table while sitting. He lay his head on his arm, barely looking at Tony. He is very sick right now. 

To sit out of the Avenger assembly, he injected a disease into his body. A normal person needs 2-3 weeks to get better from mono. He can do it in 3 days. But it didn't change the fact that he is currently sick. 

'Honestly, I injected it because I panicked…' 

Fury suddenly appeared near his house. Before the Shield director walk-in, he takes the disease vial from his lab and injected it inside his body. If Gwen knows what he did, he will be greatly admonished. He planned to use the Disease cure spell before Gwen returned home.  

"Is this because you want the robot back? I won't give it to you," Tony said teasingly. He is studying the information packet and Selvig's notes for the research while Jarvis is running a facial scan. 

"2 days. I only left it with you for 2 days and you already turned it into a killing machine. You realize its function is to be a personal healthcare companion right?" Ryan said when he saw the big, red armor that was equipped to the robot he gave Pepper as she is unusually sick these days.  

[Hello. I am. Baymax. Your personal, ass-kicking, Healthcare companion.]

The robot is waving at Ryan. Tony had been teaching Baymax some stuff. He had hijacked Baymax from Pepper as the sentient AI system intrigued him. Jarvis' capabilities are better but Baymax can sense emotion. 

"Baymax. No," Ryan said to the big marshmallow... This wasn't the purpose of the robot.

"Baymax. Yes!" Tony is excited. He raised his fist toward the robot and said, "Bump here."

Baymax looks at the fist and holds his hand to bump into it. Tony hits his fist and makes an explosion sound. Baymax processes it and follows what Tony is doing. [Falalala] 

"We will work on that," Tony said to Baymax after seeing the cute gesture. 

Ryan doesn't even have the energy to do a face palm. "Has the Mark 7 been completed yet?" 

"It will be done by tomorrow morning. I'm turning off the call. You are distracting me…," Tony said before he closes the connection. 

In Ryan's house, he is cursing as Tony is the one who called him in the first place. Tony cut the call because he did something on the Mark 7 he didn't want Ryan to find out. The kid had stressed to him many times the importance of the feature. He takes it out anyway to increase firepower. 

"(sigh) I don't know why the Ancient One ground me from interfering…" Ryan grumbles as he closes his eyes. He is supposed to be curing himself right now to prepare for the upcoming incident, but his tiredness causes him to fall asleep for who knows how long.

… 

The quinjet engine roared as it waited for the passenger to board. A blonde man in a chequered shirt and khaki pants arrived first.  

Steve Rogers is preparing to enter the Quinjet when he hears a voice from his back. 

"It's awkward when you run into people you know at the airport." 

He smiles and turns back. "Don't you know how surprised I am when I see your name on the briefing packet, Kai?" 

"It won't compare to my surprise that I have been drinking and watching baseball with Captain America, " Kai approaches Steve and puts his hand on the Captain's shoulder. He is wearing a standard Kingsman suit right now while holding a cane and a duffel bag. 

"Phil has made you sign his…" Before Kai could continue, Phil Coulson interjected. "We should get inside now. And Kai shut it…"

The trio entered the plane and the plane flew toward the ocean. Inside the Quinjet, Kai is watching the final 15 minutes of the baseball game, which catches Steve's attention. 

"How are you so relaxed?" Steve asked. Every time before battle, he had to fight off his nerves. Steve sat down next to Kai. Although  Kai's record had a lot of redacted information, his battle experience is tremendous. 

"I just ask myself a question. Can I control what the enemy is doing? If I can then maybe I will be more anxious, to guide him to take the path that is beneficial to me. If I can't, then why should I care? I couldn't control it anyway." 

Steve smiles. Kai's behavior is the same as his friends in the Howling Commando unit. It makes him feel nostalgic. 

"Hahaha, my team is in the lead. Be prepared to wash my laundry for a week, Captain." Kai teased. They have made a bet for today before this emergency happens. 

Steve smiles and says. "It's not over yet, they can still catch up." Kai hands over the phone for Steve to hold. He takes out some snacks and throws a candy bar at Phil who is approaching them. 

The agent caught it and said, "You did bring some equipment… right?"

So far he only sees Kai bring his suit and his cane. His duffel bag is filled with candy though. Where is his other sword, small knives, gadgets, and everything else? 

Kai smiles and points at his snacks, "Equipment." They will face an army. What he needs is energy to keep fighting. 

Phil is helpless. He turns to look at Steve who is watching the game. Steve pry himself away from the screen as he sensed Coulson wanted to talk to him. 

"Captain, I hope you don't mind, we made some adjustments for your uniform." 

"Uniform? Aren't the stars and stripes a little old-fashioned?" 

"With all the things that will come to light, the world might need a little old-fashioned." 

Steve puts the phone down and goes to the bridge to look at the sky outside, leaving Phil with Kai. 

In a hushed tone, Kai said "I thought you're going to say something like I am your fan, or I watched you while you sleep or something." 

Phil shudders. "Imagine if I slip that out instead of just saying we have met before" 

Kai suddenly became urgent and yelled, "Steve, your team catches up!!" 

"Really?" The Captain turned back to look at him. 

"Just kidding. They lost." Kai mocks the old man. Steve smiles softly. He thought that people would treat him differently if they knew he was Captain America. But Kai didn't change.

In the future when he asks Kai about it, he will answer like this. 

"I know Steve Rogers first before I know Captain America. Even if you say you're Captain America or Captain Crunch after that, for me you will still be Steve Rogers."

…

The Quinjet arrived on the helicarrier. Steve disembarked first, followed by Phil Coulson. Kai is still on the ship, learning how to drive the plane in case of an emergency. The agent inside it is greatly shocked at the speed Kai is learning. It will only take a few minutes for Kai to graduate. 

Natasha greets the captain and tells Coulson that he is needed on the bridge. She takes a walk with Steve to show the guy around. 

"It's a buzz around here finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was going to swoon. Has he asked you to sign his trading card yet?" Natasha said in a sultry voice. It is different from her normal voice. This voice can attract people's attention to her. 

"Trading card?" Steve smiles awkwardly. That's why Phil is so squirrelly around him. He is a fan. 

"They are vintage, he is very proud," Natasha is making trouble for Coulson. Who asks Phil to send her to Calcutta. 

Steve saw Dr. Banner who was fidgeting around the landing zone. He strides and greets the doctor. 

"Dr. Banner. Steve Rogers. Word is you can find the cube." Steve shakes hands with the doctor and introduces himself unnecessarily. He learns from Coulson that the guy is trying to replicate his super serum before he had an accident. 

"Is that the only word they say about me?" Banner said while putting his guard up. He is in a strange place, alone, and stranded at the sea. It is an ideal place for Shield to do something to him if they want to.

"That is the only word I care about," Steve said. 

"Gentleman, you may want to step inside. It will get harder to breathe," Natasha grinned and warned them. The ship will take off into the air. Turbines surface from the sea and start to lift the helicarrier to the air. 

Kai who just disembarked saw the interaction between the trio. He slyly approaches Natasha's back as Steve and Banner are talking. 

He mimics the ways she is talking. In a sultry voice, he says "It might get harder to breathe." 

Natasha's eyes widen and she turns back to see the guy mocking her. "Where did you go?" She said calmly but with a hint of anger. The way she is talking is very different from when she is talking with Steve and Banner. 

"Hey, I arrive at the same time as the Captain. Also, (in sultry voice again) the place is so big I lost the path" 

Without anyone noticing, Natasha steps on his foot while she is walking toward the entrance. "Be professional. This is my place of work." 

"Have you gotten thinner? The yoga must have paid off. I can barely feel it when you step on me this time," Kai teased. Natasha glared at him. 

Entering the bridge of the ship, Fury greeted Dr. Banner and showed him where he was supposed to be working. Banner will rough out a basic cluster recognition and tracking algorithm. Natasha is leading the doctor to the research lab. 

Fury also greeted Kai and asked something that made Steve raise an eyebrow. 

"Have you healed your injury from before?" Fury asks. In the upcoming battle, he needed Kai to be at his best. The doctor in front of him is the only one in the room that has experience of fighting an army of another race and winning.

"Don't worry, it is not that far for a full recovery. Even then I am better than the agents here," Kai said. Even though he is a little cocky, none of the agents are offended. After all, this man killed an entire race of mutant vampires before. 

Kai is going to help Banner, but something else needs his attention. 

"Sir, we got a ping. 67% match," Sitwell said to the director. 

"Wait, cross reference, 78% match," 

"He is not exactly hiding," Kai mutters. Right now Loki is being a distraction for Barton. He knows about it, should he stop it? Or should he just let it happen? Ryan is knocked out so he has to decide on his own.

"Where is he?" Fury asks. 

In New York. Stark Building.

"Sir, we found a match," Jarvis notified Tony.

"Prepare the upgraded Mark 6.5 armor Jarvis," Tony said as he put down the notes he was currently reading and headed to the suit-up area. The predecessor armor didn't have the quick equip function. 

"Tell Pepper I can't make it to dinner tonight. I will see her when she comes back from DC," Tony ordered before a red and gold streak lit up the night sky. 

Inside a quinjet that is heading to the same place, a ragtag team of misfits is going to Stuttgart, Germany. 

"Kai, did you find something?" Steve asks. Kai had asked Shield for a list of the guests there. He is apparently searching for Loki's motive.

It was near the place where Loki is sighted when Kai reported something to Shield.

"Got it, the target is Schafer. He owns a research lab a hundred kilometers away. He possesses Iridium, a unique element found in meteorites," Kai said while Natasha is conveying it to Shield. 

"What use is the iridium?" Fury asks. There is no mention of iridium anywhere. Not that he is underestimating Kai, but he needed to be sure to send a team there. 

Heinrich Schafer is a prominent politician in Germany. A strong justification will be needed to answer the World Security Council. They couldn't just move because of a hunch.

At this moment, Banner interjected after listening in for a while. Fury purposely allows him to listen to the situation, in case it could make him feel heroic.

"It can act as a stabilizer to open up the wormhole. Make it open as big and long as Loki wanted it. Of course, there are still many variables he needs to…" Banner said as he pieces the information together. He was cut off by Fury though as the director got what he needed.

"I will send another team of agents there. Your team needs to focus on Loki," Fury said. He smiles softly while hiding from the other agent. However, Hill saw it. It makes her wonder. Did Fury smile because Kai found out the cause, or because Banner backed up the hypothesis?

Or is it because his decision to bring together this group of misfits proved to be effective? Kai and Banner managed to do something that the entire Shield agent couldn't. Hill puts the thought away and focuses on the situation.

"Nice job, are you an astrophysicist in your spare time?" Natasha teases.

"Well, it is always a coin toss," Kai smirks.

"Heads up, we are here," Steve said. He is a bit embarrassed right now. Kai is wearing a formal suit, but he is wearing spandex. 

"Must you wear the tuxedo Kai?" Natasha said helplessly. 

"We are going to a prestigious banquet. You guys are the weird ones wearing skin-tight costumes." 

Natasha is wearing her Black Widow outfit while Steve is wearing his Captain America suit.

"The suit really brings out your figure. And by the figure I meant ass," Kai teases Steve. The hatch door opens as the Quinjet hovered 5 meters from the ground. Natasha will stay on the jet for support.

"Hey don't tease him too much," Natasha reminded Kai as she saw Steve's sullen face.

Kai put his hand on Steve's shoulder, " Don't worry Steve, even though it's snug, it's America's ass," 

"Piss off," Steve said while smiling. It's been a long time since he has a new friend in this era. People will tiptoe around him, but not Kai. He is very grateful for that. 

"Wait, the situation inside is becoming…," Natasha tried to warn them, but the duo already jumped out of the plane. 

"...chaotic…" She closes the hatch and pulls the plane up higher.

…

Loki is attending the fundraiser with the aim of Heinrich Schafer. The head researcher at Schafer Research Lab. Amidst the crowd, he attacked the poor guy and copied his eyeball.

The copy was then transferred to Barton via holographic projection. He is infiltrating the lab at the same time. 

The crowd screams and runs away as the madman is attacking. Loki basks in those fears. A smile appears on his face.  

Once done with the eyeball, he goes out to encircle the running crowd. "Kneel…" He said calmly. But the mortal is not obeying him.

His clone is making an encirclement of the crowd. "I said KNEEL!" he said angrily. 

The crowd reluctantly kneels to the madman.

 "Isn't this simple? Is this not your natural state.?" He changes to his golden armor and horned helmet from his formal suit.

He felt satisfied seeing the obedience. 

"It's the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy. In a mad scramble for power, for identity." 

"You were made to be ruled. In the end… you will always kneel" 

An old man in the crowd seems to have had enough. He had gone through a dictator regime before. He will not go through that again. He said to Loki. "Not to men like you." 

Smirking, Loki said. "There is no man like me." 

"There will always be a man like you..." The elder has seen the madness in Loki's eyes before. 

"Look to your elder people, let him be an example," Loki pointed out his scepter toward the old man. The energy blast is charging for a kill shot. 

Loki shoots toward the old man. The old man closes his eyes, accepting his fate. But the energy blast was blocked by a starry shield and rebounded on him. 

"You know the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else. We end up disagreeing," Steve says. Although the Shield is invulnerable, he can feel the raw power of the blast. 

"The soldier, the man out of time, '' Loki said to Captain America, who was carrying his shield. 

Another voice is heard from behind the god of mischief. 

"Go on, get to safety," Kai said to the crowd. Loki smiles seeing Kai, making him get goosebumps. 

Finally, his target appears. He isn't afraid of Stark or Rogers, but he needs to take extra precautions with the doctor. Hawkeye had briefed him about all the avenger prospects. He had learned about all of their battles. He had sent Amora to take care of something for him in New York after learning about the mortal world. 

"The savior. I am waiting for you…" Loki said glamorously. Kai is puzzled about the situation. Natasha who is on the quinjet is curious. Steve, who is ignored, is also curious. 

"People of the world know about the soldier's sacrifice. But what about you? Will you remain hidden your whole life?" Loki tries to instigate. 

"What are we talking about, man?" Kai takes out his sword from his cane. 

Loki seems to ignore the question and says something shocking instead. "Be my warrior. And I will let the world know about your feats. As a bonus, I will give you… your revenge," 

"My revenge?" Kai pretends to be interested as he approaches Loki.

Loki smirks as he knows he couldn't convince the man with just words. He got an elixir from Amora when they met and healed himself from the dark energy corrosion. He isn't the Loki that could only use illusion to make a doppelganger of himself this time.

"Revenge for your family…" Loki projected an illusion toward Kai. A figure of a woman and a child is getting close to Kai. 

Kai's eyes widened and he froze in his tracks. He knows the people running toward him.

Fury's eyes almost pop out of his socket. "Natasha! Attack Loki!" He ordered urgently. 

When Shield tries to study Kai, they enter Latveria to investigate his background. There, they found out that Kai's family had been killed by the former dictator. The dictator is dead, and Shield has reason to believe that Kai did it.

But after they investigated more on the issue, the Kai family's true killer was still roaming free and became the new minister of the Latverian army. They planned to share it with Kai as leverage when they wanted to bring him to Shield. Only the 8th-level agent at the time knows about it. Coulson, who was only a 7th-level agent at that time, didn't know.

Loki planned to break Kai by showing him the truth. Among the people he controlled, one of them is an agent who goes to Latveria to investigate Kai.  

"Kaiser Von Eras," Loki announced Kai's true name before he changed it. Steve's eyes darted among the two people. 

"Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife," Loki said as he controlled the illusion to change. The mother and child are shot dead by the current minister as they are running toward Kai. The mother and child pair fall to the ground as their blood splatters on Kai's face. 

The scene became silent. Natasha is still processing what has happened. Steve became solemn. Fury kept ordering to attack Loki, but they didn't respond. They are too late to do that now. 

"Do you think that Shield is your ally? Why do you think that they hide this information from you? " Loki instigated again. He smirks as Kai has lowered his sword. He is a few moments away from turning Kai against the world. 

If Ryan is awake right now, he will know what is going on. He had based Kai's identity on a real person. Now, Loki and Shield are using the past that has nothing to do with him to try to control him. Kai can barely hold his smile, but Loki and Shield are taking his contorting face as a sign of him breaking down.

"What is going on, Director?" Coulson, who is watching the whole thing, realizes that Fury knows what is happening. 

"Tell me, what is your decision?" Loki asks, feeling confident. He had already dispatched a mercenary team to catch the minister quietly a few hours ago. Only he can give Kai the revenge he wanted. 

Kai walks slowly toward Loki. 

"Kai! Don't!" Steve exclaimed as he threw his shield toward Loki.  In his mind, what Loki shows is replaying over and over.  'What did Kai experience?' He realizes that there are many things he still didn't know about his friend. 

The shield was knocked away,  back to Steve. However, it wasn't Loki who did it. 

"Good choice," Loki smirks. Fury mutters, "We are too late," 

Kai had knocked the Shield away from Loki. 

Loki holds his scepter toward Kai and watches him walk to it willingly. 10 centimeters from the scepter, Kai stops and asks suddenly, "If I become your ally, what will the salary be?"

"Whatever you want," Loki said as if he had already won. The question must be the remnant of Kai's conscience. 

"That's an ambiguous contract. Sorry, I had to reject it," Kai ambushed Loki at an extremely close distance with his fist. He punches Loki on his chin. Loki flies backward and the scepter falls from his hand. 

Steve smiles and joins in the battle. Fury let out a sigh of relief. He can sense it, among his agents, many are looking at him with hateful eyes. 

Loki is mad, "Foolish decision. I will make sure you regret it." 

Kai and Steve tag-teamed to beat up Loki. This time, the battle is in their control. When Loki targets Steve, he throws his shield at Kai and Kai uses it to slam Loki in the face before he returns it to Steve. 

"Nice, " Natasha said. Loki's eyes widened. These guys are more powerful than he thought. 

"The guy is all over the place," Natasha said. The targeting system couldn't lock onto Loki, so she couldn't join the battle. 

But then, her PA system is overridden. "Miss me, Romanov?" A sleazy voice is heard from the comms. 

The PA system is playing Highway to Hell loudly, stunning the trio in battle. Natasha smirks as she knows who is coming. A red streak comes in from the sky and shoots at Loki with his palm cannon. 

Tony landed on the floor, making cracks on the pavement. 

"Stay down, reindeer games, " Tony Stark arrives at the scene. His shoulder missiles, his palm repulsor, and many more weapons are targeting Loki. 

Loki seems to be helpless about the situation, so he raises his arm to surrender. 

"Easy," Tony said smugly. Then, he notices that Captain America isn't paying any attention to him. Steve is patting Kai's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" He asks. 

"Yeah, sure. Let's go. We need to interrogate him to find the tesseract location," Kai walked toward Loki and put Shield-enhanced cuffs on the man. 

"Tell me, what did I do that was wrong?" Loki smiles as he asks. He is sure that he can shake Kai.

"You shut up," Tony said as he pushed Loki inside the jet. Kai wants to get in, but he is stopped by another agent who is flying the jet beside Natasha. 

"Director Fury said another plane will come to pick you up," The agent said reluctantly. He has been a part of the Kai fan club since a long time ago. 

Kai smiles. He knows Fury is being paranoid again. Fury is afraid Kai will kill Loki in the plane, or worse, let Loki go. Loki smirks as he sees the situation. Although he couldn't make Kai betray, he still completed one of his goals. 

'Minus one,' He thought. Even if Kai joins in, there will always be distrust in him.