The Cosmic Cube originally came from space and does not belong to Earth. The S.H.I.E.L.D. forced preservation of items from outer space was always risky.
If Loki came to Earth only to "retrieve" the Cosmic Cube, took it, and then left, that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.
Earth would not have suffered any loss, and it would have been spared the potential dangers that the Cosmic Cube might bring.
But if Loki took the Cube and didn't leave, if he wanted to stir up trouble on Earth, that would be quite troublesome.
"We don't know Loki's intentions yet, but Director, I don't think he will leave so easily."
Black Widow spoke after a brief pause, her face heavy with concern.
"Why do you think that?" Nick Fury asked, his face equally grim. It was clear that he shared Black Widow's assessment.
"Loki said he wants to give Earth a world without attachments."
Black Widow explained her reasoning. "If his only goal was the Cosmic Cube, wouldn't that sound strange? He must be planning something for Earth."
"Moreover, we all saw Loki's abilities. If he wanted to leave the base, no one could stop him. But why take Barton, Dr. Selvig, and the others with him?"
"It's not like he needs Barton to drive him, right?"
"And Dr. Selvig, although he is a scientist, is an old man. To Loki, his only value is the knowledge in his head!"
"Loki needs Dr. Selvig's knowledge!"
"The Cosmic Cube!" Iron Man interjected, his voice filled with gravity. "Loki needs Dr. Selvig to continue his research on the Cosmic Cube!"
"In that case, Loki must be planning something on Earth," Nick Fury concluded heavily.
There was little disagreement on this point; everyone more or less reached a consensus.
After all, the possibility of Loki taking Dr. Selvig back to Asgard to study the Cosmic Cube seemed unlikely.
That was the legendary realm of Asgard—would they really need Earth's help to study the Cosmic Cube?
Would they rely on Earth's knowledge?
That would make their godly realm seem rather weak, wouldn't it?
Moreover, the footage clearly showed that Loki had controlled many people—besides Dr. Selvig, the others were all agents.
If Dr. Selvig's research on the Cosmic Cube still had value for Loki, though the likelihood of him taking him to Asgard was small, it still existed.
But what about those agents?
What value did they have for Loki?
Surely he wasn't taking them to Asgard to fight?
Those agents had no value in the realm of gods; their value would only be realized on Earth.
Clearly, Loki was planning something on Earth, which was why he needed the extra manpower.
"We don't know what Loki wants to do on Earth, but is there a possibility it's related to the Chitauri?"
After a brief, tense silence, Iron Man spoke again, his face grim.
Nick Fury and Black Widow exchanged looks, both sensing the seriousness of the situation.
Like Iron Man, they were both concerned about this possibility.
"That's exactly what I wanted to say—this is the second crucial question." Nick Fury nodded, agreeing.
Under the gaze of Nick Fury and Black Widow, Iron Man began his analysis clearly.
"First of all, the space wormhole opened by the Chitauri when they invaded New York is identical to the one opened by the Cosmic Cube."
"So we are forced to reach a dire conclusion: the Chitauri also used the Cosmic Cube to open the space wormhole."
"Now, the problem is, we already know that after Loki stole the Cosmic Cube, Nick Fury called the Avengers together for the first time—note, the first time."
"This means that Loki took the Cosmic Cube first, and the Chitauri invaded New York later. The order of these events is important; it sends an important message."
"Do you remember my previous speculation? The Chitauri civilization might not be advanced, but they somehow opened a space wormhole."
"And now we know Loki stole the Cosmic Cube and is planning something on Earth... Have any of you connected the dots?"
"Stark, are you saying... Loki used the Cosmic Cube to help the Chitauri open the space wormhole?" Black Widow interrupted, her eyes lighting up.
Iron Man's hypothesis immediately connected the previous footage with the current one.
It filled in some of the gaps and uncertainties, and logically, it made sense.
Such reasoning often brings us closer to the truth.
"An insightful theory! Let's dig a little deeper," Nick Fury said, slightly moved and fully agreeing with Iron Man's theory.
"If Loki and the Chitauri invasion of Earth aren't related, then there are only two possibilities."
"First, we took the Cosmic Cube back from Loki, and then the Chitauri stole it from us."
"Second, the Chitauri directly stole the Cube from Loki."
Iron Man and Black Widow both nodded slightly. This scenario was indeed possible, and while Iron Man's theory made sense, it was still just a theory.
They couldn't rule out other possibilities.
"I don't think the first scenario is likely," Iron Man said after a moment's thought, quickly shaking his head to make his judgment.
"If the Chitauri really planned a mission to steal the Cosmic Cube from S.H.I.E.L.D., it wouldn't have been an all-out invasion; instead, they would have sent a special operations team to infiltrate Earth."
"That makes sense." Black Widow agreed. "If they were going to invade Earth with their main fleet, why would they bother stealing the Cosmic Cube?"
The Chitauri wanted the Cube to open a space wormhole and send their main forces through to invade Earth.
If they had sent their main fleet to Earth right from the start, why would they still need the Cosmic Cube?
So, if they did come to S.H.I.E.L.D. to steal the Cube, it would be more like Loki—only a special team sent to take it.
"But we've also seen that the Chitauri's combat ability is very limited without their main fleet. They couldn't even deal with my Iron Man suit!"
"And after Loki stole the Cube, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s base defenses must have been significantly upgraded. The Avengers would also respond quickly to assist."
"In this case, I don't think the Chitauri could steal the Cosmic Cube."
(End of Chapter)