Steve had led his people outside to begin the battle over the helicarriers, leaving no one to notice the changes in the weapons warehouse.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters housed a wealth of advanced technology.
Weapons developed from research on the Tesseract, Super Soldier Serum data, and Chitauri technology.
Any one of them would become a powerful weapon in the right hands.
Two aliens capable of shapeshifting entered and began looting with abandon.
They were smart enough to know they could only take a limited amount while the chaos lasted.
So they left behind anything unnecessary.
They carried their loot onto a newly developed Quinjet that had yet to enter service.
"This place is paradise."
They quickened their pace, loading the advanced technology aboard. They had to escape before S.H.I.E.L.D. caught on.
After rushing to finish the final load, they prepared to board the aircraft and flee.
A snap rang out.
One of the aliens urged the other, "Hurry up and get us out of here."
He told his companion to start the aircraft.
But there was no response.
He looked up and saw his companion's mouth hanging open. Starting at his hands and feet, his body was gradually turning to stone.
"What's going on?" He reached out and touched him.
The stone statue crumbled at his touch like windblown sand.
Terror filled his face. He clutched his head and screamed, "What happened?"
He looked around, then abruptly turned.
John stood at the entrance, slowly approaching with his hands behind his back.
With a blink, the alien went rigid, unable to move, like prey caught in a hunter's sights.
His lips trembled. "It's you?"
"Your expression and your mind tell me you know me." John stopped in front of the alien.
He tilted his head, his vertical pupils meeting the alien's eyes as