Power Is External, and Internal

Above the Atlantic Ocean, beyond the clouds.

A colossal steel behemoth, large enough to take one's breath away, hovered slowly ten thousand meters in the air on four massive turbine engines.

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mobile command center—the Helicarrier.

On the deck, a Quinjet had just landed.

The hatch opened, and Steve Rogers, Captain America, and Bruce Banner, the Hulk's host, stepped out one after the other.

Steve looked at the busy deck crew and high-tech equipment around him. Though he had somewhat adjusted to modern society, a hint of awe still showed in his eyes.

"It's a little... overwhelming," Steve remarked.

"You'll get used to it."

Natasha was leading the way when a piercing whine suddenly came from the sky.

A red-and-gold armored figure came roaring in, performed a flashy midair roll, then crashed heavily onto the deck with a clang.

At the same time, a bone-chilling wave of cold swept through the air.

A translucent ice slide suddenly formed in the sky, winding downward.

A ghostly alien wrapped in a blue cloak, with moth-like wings, glided gracefully down the icy path. Thin frost spread across the deck wherever he passed.

"Necrofriggian—Big Chill!"

"Cool." Tony flipped open his faceplate and glanced at the ice sculpture beside him. "Just remember not to play with ice on my runway next time. It gets slippery."

Big Chill landed, his form flickering as he transformed back into Jiang Li in casual clothes.

"Hey, Agent Romanoff." Tony flashed his signature cocky grin. "Looks like I'm not late either."

"Mr. Stark, and... Consultant Jiang." Steve stepped forward and politely held out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you both."

"Captain America." Tony glanced at Steve but did not shake his hand, his tone teasing. "I've heard my father go on about you a thousand times. You may be an old popsicle, but you seem to have thawed out nicely."

Steve's brow furrowed slightly as he withdrew his hand. He keenly detected the barb in Tony's words.

"Doctor, you came too?"

Jiang Li walked past the two of them and headed straight for the middle-aged man who had been shrinking awkwardly in the corner—Bruce Banner.

"You're... the rumored Omni?"

Banner adjusted his glasses and took a nervous step back. "Fury said you can transform into... giant monsters too?"

"More precisely, a hundred kinds of monsters."

Jiang Li smiled and patted Banner on the shoulder. His easy familiarity made Banner relax a little.

"Don't be nervous, Doctor. I'm very interested in your 'big guy.' If we get the chance, we can exchange transformation tips. For example... how not to burst your pants while transforming?"

Banner gave an awkward smile. "I don't think that's an experience worth discussing, Mr. Jiang. I just want to cure it."

"Cure it? Why cure it?"

Jiang Li leaned closer and lowered his voice. "That's power, Doctor. Even Hulk can become the best... demolition crew, if properly guided."

Ten minutes later, in the bridge command center.

All the Avengers candidates sat around the famous glass round table.

The atmosphere was far from harmonious. It could even be said that it was ready to explode at any moment.

Nick Fury stood at the head of the table, looking at this room full of problem children and feeling a splitting headache coming on.

"Have you found Loki's location?" Tony sat with one leg crossed over the other, even propping his feet on the table.

"Our facial recognition system is scanning globally," Agent Hill reported.

"Rather than finding him, I'm more curious about what S.H.I.E.L.D. plans to do with the Tesseract."

Steve suddenly spoke, staring sharply at Fury. "I saw Hydra-style weapon prototypes in the warehouse. Fury, are you using the Tesseract to develop weapons of mass destruction?"

"That's for defense!" Fury argued.

"Like nuclear deterrence?" Tony sneered. "That trick is long outdated, Director."

"Stark, what right do you have to say that?"

Steve turned to Tony, finally unable to hold back. "Your fortune was built on selling war. Without that suit of metal, do you think you'd be sitting here?"

The smell of gunpowder instantly grew thick.

Steve rose to his feet and looked down at Tony. "You only fight for yourself. Take off that armor—what are you?"

Tony was just about to fire back with his classic, "Genius, billionaire..."

"Is this what you call team building?"

A lazy voice interrupted them.

Jiang Li sat in his chair, holding a bag of chips he had swiped from Coulson, eating as he shook his head.

"Captain, while I respect you, that whole 'what are you without your equipment' argument is really childish."

Jiang Li stood and walked between them.

"If I take off this watch, I'm just an ordinary high school student. If Tony didn't have his brain, he couldn't build armor. And if you didn't have Dr. Erskine's serum, you'd still be a scrawny kid from Brooklyn."

Steve froze.

"We're sitting here not to compare who's stronger without gear."

Jiang Li pointed at the Omnitrix on his wrist, then at Tony's reactor and Captain America's shield.

"Power is external, but it's also internal. No matter where that power comes from—technology, mutation, or alien artifacts—what matters is the heart that controls it."

"Instead of attacking your teammates' weak points here, save your strength and think about how to beat the hell out of that bastard Loki."

Tony looked at Jiang Li with some surprise.

"Well said, kid." Tony stood and straightened his suit. "Though I don't like you saying my armor is merely 'external power.'"

Just then, a shrill alarm suddenly rang out.

"Sir! We found a matching target!"

Agent Hill shouted, "Germany, Stuttgart! Kunaien Square! Loki has appeared!"

On the screen, Loki, clad in his horned armor, stood before a group of trembling civilians, forcing them to kneel.

"I told you he was a showboating bastard."

Jiang Li tossed away his chips, his gaze instantly sharpening.

"Gentlemen, we may not have worked out our chemistry yet, but we don't have time to argue now."

Jiang Li pressed his left hand to his chest as a faint green light flickered.

"That's my prey. I let him get away last time, but this time... I'm snapping off his horns."

"Captain, Tony."

Jiang Li looked at the two of them. "Want to see who gets to Germany first?"

Tony's faceplate snapped shut, and his thrusters lit up blue.

"The wager is a French dinner. JARVIS, full speed ahead!"

Boom!

Iron Man smashed straight through the window and flew out.

"That arrogant bastard..." Steve shook his head, but he still grabbed his shield. "Natasha, let's go."

Watching everyone spring into action, Jiang Li's lips curled upward.

He looked at the clouds outside the window and turned the Omnitrix dial, stopping on the icon of an alien with incredible flying speed.

"Aerophibian—Jetray!"

"It's Hero Time!"

A streak of red light shot out of the Helicarrier, transforming in midair into a massive red manta ray-like creature. Its wings spread wide, its tail firing neuroshock blasts as it instantly surpassed the Quinjet that had just taken off at supersonic speed.

"Stuttgart... and that little reindeer who loves making people kneel."

"Hold on. Justice's group beatdown is on its way."