The Conceptual Deck

Chapter 90: Brass tacks

After a quick check to make sure I had everything I could possibly need, something I was going to make a standard checklist after having been stranded in space with "Limited" resources, I traveled down to the Helicarrier, Ema holding my shoulder.

The first thing I noticed was that the deck of the ship had been cleared and repaired, though there were still plenty of defenses set up. Soldiers patrolled the deck, with anti-air turrets, mounted weapon emplacements, and even a series of large artillery weapons, Howitzers maybe. I made a note to go on a scanning spree soon, I needed some more large-scale weapon blueprints.

The second thing I noticed was that not far from my landing pad was a large party tent, set up on the deck, with a large table underneath it. Fury was sitting at the table, as was Agent Hill, Agent Coulson, Steve, Bucky, Peggy, Clint, Thor, and three people I didn't recognize. They all immediately noticed my arrival since they were all generally facing my direction around the long rectangular table.

"Here we go" I mumbled before making my way over.

"Maker. Good of you to join us. My name is Chao Yen, these are my compatriots Jakuna Singh and Amanda Strawton," He said, the other two people standing as he said their names. "We are members of the World Security Council, here to represent the council's interests and concerns."

"It's nice to put some faces to the position," I said with a smile, shaking all three of their hands. "But please, call me Carson. Carson Walsh."

I reached up and pulled off my mask, carding it with a simple flourish before sitting down. Everyone at the table looked shocked, save for myself and Ema. I had mentioned the idea to her before traveling here, and she agreed that freely identifying myself would make me seem more approachable. At this point keeping up the separation was pointless, I hardly had a civilian life at all, so what was the point? Besides, it wasn't like I couldn't just put the mask on and change my look if I wanted to mingle with the normies.

"Well It's nice to meet you, Mr. Walsh." Mr. Chen said as he recovered from the surprise.

"So, you recovered the Tesseract." Fury stated. "Where is it?"

"On the Void Skipper," I said simply. "Where it will remain."

"Shield-" Started Mr. Singh started, only for Thor to speak over him.

"Asgard has need of the Tesseract, Maker," He said simply. "We will take it and keep it safe once we are done repairing the Rainbow Bridge."

"I have a way to fix the Rainbow Bridge that doesn't require the Tesseract," I assured Thor, who looked surprised. "And I can take you home as long as you have the coordinates for Asgard. As for protecting it I believe my ship is plenty strong enough to protect it already. I think Asgard would serve better as a place for the Mind Stone."

The WSC members started to argue, but Fury cut them off.

"You want to keep the Tesseract for yourself, but give Asgard the Mind Stone for safekeeping?" He asked. "Wouldn't keeping the Tesseract so close to Earth just make us a target anyway?"

"My concern isn't being a target. I believe that between the Void Skipper and any future ships and defenses I make will be able to hold off large-scale attacks." I explained. "My concern is keeping the stones separate. If all of the stones are brought together they enable the user to affect the universe in ways no one, god or mortal, should be able to."

"You plan on making more ships?" Ms. Strawton asked, focusing on only one part of my statement. "That is a topic in dire need of discussion Mr. Walsh."

"I know, but we should focus on one thing at a time," I said, the council member reluctantly nodding in agreement. "I will keep hold of the Tesseract and Asgard will take the Mind Stone. This way they are kept separate, they are both heavily defended and humanity has the chance to study the Tesseract further. Asgard has had access to it for what, thousands of years?"

Thor looked conflicted, his mind working through the offer, the table quiet as he thought.

"Your idea is sound to my own ears, but I do not have the final say. My father would need to approve of this. Assuming you can repair the rainbow bridge without it, a process that would take months with the Tesseract, as I understand it"

"I think I have something that can, but I might need to cudgel something together if it doesn't work. There isn't much I can't do these days Thor," I assured him. "I also have a few offers for your father to sweeten the deal."

"Very well. I approve this direction, at least until my father can approve it fully."

I nod, before returning my look to Fury and the WSC members, the latter three of which were talking in hushed tones.

"I'm willing to offer some benefits for Shield as well. Since you would be giving up the Mind Stone, I have ten machines that will essentially print out jewelry, all of which will block and remove any mind control or influence," I offered, watching the reaction of Fury and the council members closely.

"And they Print as many as we want?" Mr. Singh asked. "In any style?"

"That's right, and they would be yours to do with as you want," I explained. "Hand them out to whatever governments you want, saturate the jewelry market to prevent mass influence, it would be up to you."

"And you think mind control protection is something we should want?" Ms. Strawton.

"I've said it before, and I don't mind it going on record. This is just the beginning. The world is going to start getting weirder and weirder. Pretty soon, the ability to know that your agents aren't being influenced will be huge. Plus I'm sure that our Asgardian neighbors would be interested in something like that."

"We would! Some of our oldest enemies are capable of influencing the mind. To know your mind is safe is an incredible boon," Thor added. "Very few could state that with certainty, and none that I know could claim that for their entire organization."

The three council members shared a look before focusing back on me.

"Assuming that Asgard is willing to protect the Mind Stone, we could see making an exchange. And having access to that sort of advantage seems important after witnessing the effects the scepter had on our agents," Mr, Yen admitted. "However, we believe that the Mind Stone is worth more than just those machines."

"It is, but you're also getting the bonus of not having to worry about what it might do to you and the world," I pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Mr. Yen asked.

"Infinity Stones are aspects of the universe. They embody the concepts they are named for, tied directly to them. They affect everything they are near. The effects they might have on humans are unknown, but I would not be surprised that after a few years of being on Earth we start seeing people develop psychic abilities. Are you prepared to handle that?"

Almost Everybody's eyes went wide at that statement, including everyone who I was pretty sure had been ordered to stay silent. Eventually, Fury turned to Thor.

"Is that true?" He asked.

"It is certainly possible. The lore surrounding Infinity stones varies from source to sourceAnd in all honesty, I am not an expert."

"Would your brother know?" I asked, Thor's look snapping to me.

"You have him?" He asked, sounding surprised. "I had assumed he got away!"

"I found him when we were locating the Tesseract," I explained. "Would he know?"

"He would likely know more than me, but I could not say. The real challenge is knowing if he is lying or not."

"That won't be a problem," I said with a smirk, pulling out my control unit for Loki's restraints.

I slide through a few of the tabs before tapping the teleport command, and suddenly Loki is on the deck of the Helicarrier, sprawled out after falling from a sitting position.

"What the in the eternal damnations-!" Loki started, slowly getting to his feet, cutting himself off when he realized what had happened. "Maker you infernal bastard, where have you-!"

Before he could even finish he was gone again, disappearing in the same flash of colors he had appeared in. For a moment everyone was silent, stunned by the sudden appearance and disappearance of Loki until I smacked my forehead and groaned. My helmet armor appeared around my chest and down my arm, letting me access my droid communicator.

"All droids on the Void Skipper, return to your storage trunk, it should be in the bridge or engineering," I said, before repeating myself. "All droids on the Void Skipper, cancel all orders and return to your storage trunk."

Everyone watched as I waited a full twenty seconds before pressing the teleport function again, and Loki appeared on the deck of the ship once more. I double-checked the slow and weakening effect of his restraints were on, as well as his lie blocker.

"Loki, have a seat," I said, pointing at one on the other side of Ema. "We have some questions we are hoping you could answer."

"Brother! What has happened to your arm!?" Thor asked as Loki begrudgingly moved to sit next to Ema.

"The cost for dealing with the ruthless and bloody, I-" He responded, coughing and half choking as he attempted to lie.

Thor was clearly struggling. On one hand, Loki was a wanted criminal and had tried to orchestrate an invasion of Earth. On the other hand, he was still his brother.

"Mr. Odinson, I appreciate the position you are in is difficult, but you will have time to talk with your sibling later." Mr. Yen. "For now, we have several questions for him."

I explained what the restraint I had made for Loki was capable of, the fact that he couldn't lie when they were on getting a morose chuckle from Thor. Over the next hour or so, the WSC and Fury asked Loki a variety of questions, only a few of them having to do with the infinity stones, though they did confirm that Infinity Stones affected everything around them eventually, it would only be a matter of time.

They seemed primarily interested in the threats the Chitauri posed to Earth, who their mysterious backer was, and if they would return. Loki, who barely answered the other questions to their minimum, did take a particular delight in assuring them that if they knew that Infinity Stoned existed, and if they knew it was here on Earth, then it was not a matter of if, but when. He even did a little bit of an evil chuckle, which I responded with by giving him a bit of a shock.

Thor didn't appreciate that.

Eventually, though the WSC was satisfied, though not happy with the knowledge Loki had provided. I tapped the silencing button on his restraint controls when they started fishing for information on what the interior of the Void Skipper was like.

"Well, I think that answers your question?"

"It does. We will give you the Mind Stone to safeguard at Asgard," Mr. Yen said, looking to Thor, who simply nodded. "We would also ask that the Void Skipper be stationed as far from the Earth as possible."

"That's manageable," I agreed, knowing I would need to find out my travel points maximum range.

"With that part of the conversation over with, I believe it's time to discuss the existence of your ship, as well as your mention of further defenses?"

"I sense a shift in topics, to one that does not concern myself or my brother," Thor said before I could respond. "Perhaps we could step away? I have much to discuss with my sibling."

"Sure, do you want him to only speak the truth or should I turn that off?" I asked as

Thor stood and walked around the table, "helping" Loki to his feet.

"I would prefer it on for now,"

I just nodded, using the controller to turn off the silence effect on him as the two walked out of earshot, eventually getting to the edge of the Helicarrier. Fury was giving me a hard look, clearly not liking the fact that I had allowed them any leeway.

"Relax, you literally just saw me teleport him down from space, he isn't going anywhere," I assured him, the stare finally relenting. "Right, so what are your questions?"

"First, we need to address your ship," Ms. Strawton responded. "It represents a severe imbalance of normal power structures. We recognize that we have no jurisdiction in space, but we do not want your ship in orbit around Earth."

"Further, You will not deploy your robot soldiers without the express permission of Director Fury or the World Security Counsel," Mr. Yen explained. "The weapons they wield and the abilities they have make them too much-"

"Let me stop you right there," I said, cutting them off. "While I want nothing more than to get along with the WSC and Shield, I did not come down here to get talked at. You cannot tell me what to do, do not act like you can. You cannot control me, do not act like you can."

"Do you have any idea what the ramifications of your presence in space will do?" Mr. Singh asked, leaning forward with a frown. "Panic in the streets, conflict, chaos!"

"Why do you think I went to such lengths to keep it all under wraps?" I asked. "If the Chitauri hadn't come knocking, you would have no idea the Void Skipper even existed, which is exactly what I wanted."

"Why the secrecy?" Ms. Strawton asked. "An asset like your ship would be-"

"First off the Skipper was meant to be a prototype, a proof of concept, that's it. I probably would have mothballed or scrapped it pretty quickly. It was never meant to be an asset." I explained. "And second, my ships will never be an asset that can be pointed at Earth. The Void Skipper will retain the ability for emergencies, but any new ships I make will not be able to enter Earth's atmosphere or aim their weapons in its direction."

"Then what's the point?"

"The point is that there is shit out in the universe that will literally eat Earth for breakfast. We are a speck of undefended, unprotected nothing, destined to make a smear on some bid bag warrior races windscreen." I explained. "We are not alone, and our neighbors carry pretty big sticks. I plan to level the playing field in a way that won't disrupt the natural progression of Earth too much."

"And if Earth doesn't want your help?" Fury asked, staring me down.

"Then that's to fucking back because there isn't much you can do to stop me," I said before letting a big long groan out. "For fucks sake, did I really just say that? I sound like him!"

I pointed in the vague direction of Loki, rubbing my face with my other hand.

"Look. I'm not here to be a cartoon villain," I said, looking into the eyes of the WSC members. "I've held back a lot, trying to keep from messing with Earth's natural progression, mostly because I'm worried about people becoming dependent on me. The stuff I make is powerful, but it can only spread so far. Making humanity dependent on the stuff I can make It would be a double-edged sword. But what I can do is help stop things that the rest of humanity isn't ready to deal with."

The group was silent for a long few seconds. I looked down at Peggy, Bucky, Steve, and Clint. The two guys looked more than a little out of their depth, but Peggy shot me a reassuring smile.

"What are your plans then?" Mr. Yen asked. "Or are you going to keep it all a secret?"

"First thing is defense," I responded, leaning back in my chair. "I want to set up some sort of planetary shield. It will either be reactive, meaning it will be off most of the time, or it will stay intangible until it's necessary. I have a few ideas."

"And for offense?" Fury asked, Ms. Strawton giving him a look now.

"I plan on making an Earth defense fleet, maybe thirty to forty ships of various sizes, with plenty of smaller starfighters for dogfights. They will be strictly interplanetary, but I have a few ideas on how to help them get around the solar system faster," I explained, doing my best to paint a full picture of what had just been a basic idea so far. "Look, I'll be the first to admit that warfare isn't something I was familiar with before all of this. If you guys want to put a concept together, or even just some general ideas, something we can both agree on, I would be more than willing to listen. I want to work with you guys, I want this to be something that works and can keep Earth safe."

"We It would have to be brought up to a vote," Mr. Yen responded, the other two members nodding in agreement.

"Good. But remember that I'm not waiting for you guys. I plan on starting the project when I get back from Asgard Which admittedly might take a while," I said, looking over the two Asgardian brothers talking. "Speaking of which, are you guys listening in on that?"

"They are standing over a security camera, of course we are," Fury responded.

"Anything good?"

"Loki is attempting to manipulate him into watching over him instead of you, without lying," Fury answered. "Thor is naive but knows what Loki is like. Why haven't you fixed his arm?"

"Because fuck him, that's why. I'm sure Natasha told you already but the asshole wanted the invasion to happen over New York City," I explained, turning back to the table. "It could have been a real shit show."

"One we appreciate you helping to prevent." Mr. Yen said. "The damage that would have done, the panic"

"Yeah it would have been bad," I said, pausing for a second before shifting the conversation a bit. "Anyway, I will be leaving sometime tomorrow most likely. Is there anyone you would like to send with me?"

"You would accept passengers?" Mr. Singh asked, seeming surprised.

"Yeah, a few people is fine, the ship has plenty of room," I said, holding back a chuckle. "I would suggest an ambassador or two, maybe from the UN, preferably someone who won't embarrass the human race. I'll be inviting Tony, mostly cause he would never talk to me again if I didn't at least offer."

"If Tony Stark is going we have to send someone to make sure he doesn't represent humanity as a whole," Ms. Strawton said firmly, her peers nodding in agreement. "We will form a team. Does five sound like a good number?"

"I'm happy with that number, but anything under ten is good," I said with a shrug, Ms. Strawton nodding in agreement. "Alright. In that case, I need to get back to work to prepare for the trip."

I stood from the table and walked over to Thor and Loki, the latter noticing me coming. He cursed under his breath, which caught Thor's attention.

"I assume the meeting has adjourned then?" The blond god asked.

"Yeah. We are leaving tomorrow."

"Very well. And you will keep an eye on Loki until then?"

Loki's eyes went wide as he turned to look at his brother, shocked at his words. Clearly, Loki had believed he was negotiating better than he was. I nodded and he smiled.

"Very well then, I will see you tomorrow. For now, I wish to talk more with Fury about the anti-mind control jewelry you mentioned."

Loki watched as his brother walked away from him without another word, leaving him alone with Ema and me.

"Alright stumpy, let's get you back to your room," I said, traveling the three of us away.

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