Chapter 32 I found it on the street

"I found it on the street," Indra replied nonchalantly.

If he hadn't said anything, the expressions on Iron Man, Black Widow, and Hawkeye's faces wouldn't have started twitching.

They had fought Loki for so long to retrieve that scepter and had brought it back to S.H.I.E.L.D. under tight security. Now he was saying he just found it?

Winning a bet, dodging bullets, surviving explosions—those could be chalked up to luck. But finding an artifact so closely guarded by S.H.I.E.L.D. on the street? Unbelievable.

Iron Man took a deep breath, looking incredulous. "Okay, I admit, I may have misjudged you before. And I'm willing to apologize for that. But you're saying you found this thing just lying around? Sorry, but I can't accept that explanation."

Black Widow chimed in, "I also admit, S.H.I.E.L.D. and I had some misunderstandings about you. But this scepter—this isn't something to joke about."

Indra looked at the three, all struggling to control their expressions, and raised an eyebrow. The truth was, he really did find it.

About three hours earlier, after dealing with a couple of Extremis virus subjects, he noticed Killian's challenge. He needed a vehicle to get there and found one—along with a black bag nearby. The bag was surrounded by the bodies of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, evidently victims of a severe explosion. Amid the debris, the bag stood out, so he opened it.

Inside was Loki's scepter. Indra had essentially stumbled upon the Mind Stone on the street.

At first, he was as shocked as anyone would be. But considering his 100% good luck system, even a one-in-a-million chance wasn't out of the question for him.

Analyzing the situation, he surmised that after the Avengers defeated Loki, they handed the scepter over to S.H.I.E.L.D. Unbeknownst to them, Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and planned to steal the scepter. But during an attack, the Hydra agents were killed before they could secure the scepter, leaving it for him to find.

While this was just Indra's theory, he wasn't entirely sure of the exact events. Regardless, finding the Mind Stone in the street was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. Good luck is an undeniable force.

Indra shook his head and said, "I found it on the street. Believe it or not, it's the truth."

Hawkeye, looking completely skeptical, challenged him, "This is S.H.I.E.L.D. property! And highly secured at that! You expect us to believe you just found it lying around? Do you realize how improbable that sounds?"

Indra was annoyed. The Mind Stone belonged to S.H.I.E.L.D.?

"Do you even know what this is?" he began, but before he could continue, Iron Man interjected, "Whatever the story, this isn't something to take lightly. We need to understand how you came by it and what you intend to do with it."

Indra simply shrugged. "It doesn't matter how I found it. What matters is what we do next."

"Who are you talking to right now? And by the way, wasn't this thing stolen in the first place?" Indra shot back at Hawkeye.

Hawkeye was about to respond when Nick Fury's voice came through the communicator, puzzled, "When did we ever have this scepter under S.H.I.E.L.D. custody? Wasn't it taken back to Asgard by Thor?"

Black Widow quickly interjected, "The scepter was indeed taken by Brock Rumlow and some other high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. officials. We all thought you knew."

Iron Man, clearly confused, shook his head and said, "Alright, I have no idea what's going on with S.H.I.E.L.D. But what do we do about the scepter now?"

Indra glanced at Iron Man and said, "Since I found it, it's mine."

Hawkeye: "..."

Black Widow: "..."

Iron Man: "..."

After all their hard work, it was found on the side of the road?

It seemed impossible, but how else could Indra have gotten it? If he really found it like that, how unbelievably lucky could he be?

Just then, Colonel Rhodes approached and greeted Indra with a bow, "The leader invites you to ride back with him to discuss your commendation."

Indra nodded and was about to leave with Rhodes when Iron Man called out, "Hey, about that scepter... Okay, let's table that for now. But could you give me one of the Extremis virus cures?"

He gestured towards Pepper Potts. Indra smiled warmly and said, "Of course..." then added, "But it's very expensive. There are only two doses in the world."

With that, Indra walked away.

Iron Man was speechless. Money wasn't an issue for him, but still...

"Can't say it's not infuriating," Black Widow muttered as she watched Indra get into the leader's car.

Now that Indra had saved the leader, his status had changed. Before, they could have taken him in as an undocumented person. Now, trying to apprehend him would likely provoke the leader's intervention. They had to admit, his luck was extraordinary. Fortunately, he seemed to be on their side.

All three were left feeling somewhat helpless.

"Let's head back and sort out the mess at S.H.I.E.L.D. The scepter might be tied to Hydra. There's also another critical matter," Nick Fury sighed through the communicator.