IRON MAN: BROTHER DON'T CAUSE TROUBLE

The room remained silent as everyone exchanged uncertain glances. Fury raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued.

"You reinforced the walls?" he asked, his tone both skeptical and intrigued.

John nodded. "Yeah. You'll thank me later."

Steve folded his arms, scrutinizing John carefully. "And why exactly do you think a fight will break out here?"

John hesitated for a moment. He couldn't just say, Oh, because I know the script. Instead, he gave a half-truth. "Call it intuition."

Thor, still watching John with sharp eyes, finally spoke. "You wield power unlike that of Midgard's warriors. Where did you learn it?"

John met Thor's gaze, his expression unreadable. He could sense that Thor's divine perception was sharper than the others. John just hoped that Thor wouldn't rat him out.

"Just trying to understand the world a little better," John replied without giving an exact answer. Where did I learn it? Of course, I'm self-taught, he thought to himself.

Before Thor could press further, an alert blared through the Helicarrier's speakers.

Warning! Security breach detected. Unknown entity approaching.

John sighed. "Right on time."

—---

The Helicarrier trembled under the strain of the explosion. Alarms blared, red lights flashing across the control panels. Fury's voice echoed over the intercom, demanding a status update.

"Engine three is down! We're losing altitude!" an agent shouted.

Tony, already suited up, activated his thrusters. "I'll take care of it," he announced, flying off to stabilize the engine.

Steve grabbed his shield, turning to Natasha. "Find Barton. We need to get him back."

Natasha nodded, her expression hardened. She knew what needed to be done.

Thor, gripping Mjolnir tightly, stormed toward the exit. "Loki is behind this. I will deal with him."

John, who had been observing quietly, exhaled. Everything was progressing as expected—except for one crucial difference.

Bruce Banner, instead of transforming into the Hulk, was sitting on the floor, breathing deeply. The calming rune John had used earlier was still suppressing his anger. Normally, Banner would have lost control by now, but this time, he remained composed. Even though Hulk had been behaving well since their last talk, who could say what he would do inside the Helicarrier?

Natasha glanced at him warily. "Bruce, we need to move. Now."

Bruce nodded, his voice steadier than expected. "I'm good. Just... keep me out of the fight."

John studied him carefully. Looks like the rune is holding. Good.

Meanwhile, Natasha rushed out to find Barton, while Tony worked on repairing the damaged engine with Steve tagging along as well. Thor made his way to Loki, determined to confront him.

John leaned against the reinforced wall, watching everything unfold. Since he wasn't part of the original plan, no one had given him any orders.

"You staying here?" Fury's voice came from behind him.

John turned to see the director watching him intently.

"For now," John replied. "I reinforced the walls, so this place should hold."

Fury's gaze lingered on him for a moment before he nodded and walked away.

As time passed, events continued to follow the script. Natasha successfully subdued Barton, breaking Loki's mind control. Tony managed to stabilize the engine with Steve's help, and Thor confronted Loki—only to end up trapped in the containment cell when Loki tricked him.

And one more thing surprised John—Loki's scepter had just disappeared from the briefing room. That was different from the movie.

"This is new."

—---

The aftermath of the attack left the Helicarrier in a state of chaos. Smoke filled the air, and the scent of burnt metal and scorched circuits lingered. Emergency lights flickered, casting eerie red and yellow glows across the corridors. The constant blaring of alarms had faded into sporadic beeps, and agents rushed through the damaged halls, trying to restore order.

John walked through the wreckage, his boots crunching against debris. The battle had taken its toll—bullet holes lined the walls, and a few sections still smoldered from stray blasts. The reinforced walls he'd strengthened had held up, preventing more severe structural damage.

Near the command center, he found Coulson lying on the floor, barely breathing. Blood pooled around him, his chest rising and falling in shallow, painful breaths. Loki had run him through with his scepter, and in the original timeline, Coulson would have died here.

Not this time.

John knelt beside him, pressing his palm against the wound. A faint green glow pulsed from his fingers as he activated the Wood Rune, channeling its restorative properties into Coulson's broken body. The rune worked slowly but effectively, closing torn tissue and halting internal bleeding. John could feel the warmth of magic flow from his hand into Coulson, stabilizing him just enough.

Coulson's eyes fluttered open, his breath ragged. He stared at John, trying to speak.

"You'll be fine," John reassured him, though he wasn't sure if Coulson fully heard him. The man's body was still weak, but at least he was alive.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor. Fury and Hill arrived, their eyes widening at the sight of Coulson barely clinging to life.

"Med team, now!" Hill barked into her earpiece.

Fury knelt beside Coulson, his usual composed demeanor cracking ever so slightly. "Hold on, Phil," he muttered.

Coulson managed a weak smile. "Was hoping… for more of a dramatic send-off."

John smirked slightly. "Yeah, well. You're not dying today."

The medics arrived, carefully lifting Coulson onto a stretcher. As they carried him away, Fury turned to John.

"You did that?" he asked, his sharp eyes studying him.

John shrugged. "Just trying to keep our numbers up."

Fury didn't press further. Instead, he turned back toward the destruction around them. The Helicarrier was battered, but still flying. The Avengers had survived—barely—and now they had a mission.

As John stood there, he exhaled. He had already changed things—Coulson was alive. But the real battle was still ahead.

Eventually, everything led up to the inevitable. The Avengers, now gathered once more, prepared for their next move.

Stark Tower. The Chitauri invasion. The Battle of New York.