afterglow - tony stark

38

        "Also, it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long, as Loki wants," Tony explained before speaking loudly as he looked over all the workers. "Raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails. That man is playing Galaga. He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did..."

        Tony put a hand over one of his eyes as he looked at the monitors, "How does Fury even see these?"

         "He turns," Agent Hill explained.

         "Sounds exhausting," Tony said and she shook her head a bit before he played with the settings on the monitors. "The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-energy density. Something to kick-start the Cube...."

       "When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Hill asked.

      "Last night," Tony approached them. "The packet, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?"

          "Tony, we don't read things we don't understand," Eira crossed her arms before she teased. "That's why you were assigned the homework part of this whole mission. The fun part..."

          He rolled his eyes a bit before Steve asked, "Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?"

       "He would have to heat the Cube to 120-million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier," Bruce explained.

      "Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunnelling effect," Tony said.

       "Well, if he could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet."

            "Finally, someone who speaks English," Tony said as he approached Bruce behind the table where she was sitting; although, she didn't notice (but Bucky did) Bruce seemed to linger near her.

              "Is that what just happened?" Steve questioned as Bucky muttered. "If that's English, I'd rather be put on ice again."

          "It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner," Tony said as he shook hands with Bruce. "Your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm also a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage-monster."

          "You did not just say that," Eira said in disbelief as she gave a small glare to Tony before looking at Bruce softly. "Bruce, I'm sorry."

          "It's...okay," Bruce smiled a bit awkwardly.

        "Dr. Banner is only here to track the Cube," Fury said as he joined them and looked at Tony. "I was hoping you might join him."

        "I would start with that stick of his," Steve stated. "It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon."

           "I don't know about that, but it is powered by the Cube," Fury said. "And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

        "Monkeys?" Thor questioned. "I do not understand."

            "I do," Steve interjected loudly and almost excitedly as Bucky shook his head. "I understood that reference."

             "Well, I don't," Eira said in confusion. "Does Earth have flying monkeys?"

            Bucky actually started to chuckle and Nat had bit her lip with an amused smile. Tony gained an exasperated look before he sighed, "Snowflake, you're embarrassing me...."