(SIREN WAILING)
(INAUDIBLE)
HILL: You wanna know what went wrong?
How this...
Horror, this catastrophe,
could have been averted.
COUNCILMAN: A lot of people are dead, Agent Hill.
Somebody has to answer for that.
A lot of people have to answer for that.
COUNCILWOMAN: Nick Fury?
(SCOFFS)
That man...
COUNCILWOMAN: You filed several reports
criticizing Director Fury's actions
since you joined S.H.l.E.L.D.
Because he's reckless.
We're at war,
and he thinks about superheroes.
COUNCILMAN: The Avengers?
God.
Who would bring those people together and not expect what happened?
(ROARING)
COUNCILMAN: You have to understand there are aspects of this incident
that are difficult for most people to accept.
COUNCILWOMAN: Those creatures...
Fury says to me once,
"In the time of gods and monsters, what is the worth of a man?"
I don't know what he means.
And then men are dying all around.
Good men.
Friends.
Even some heroes.
COUNCILWOMAN: So, it's safe to say mistakes were made
in the handling of the incident?
Mistakes?
God.
That's all there was, a series of astonishing mistakes.
And the worst of all...
COUNCILWOMAN Agent Hill.
Agent Hill?
SELVIG: This is wonderful.
The Tesseract has shown me so much.
It's more than knowledge. It's truth.
LOKI: I know.
It, uh...
It touches everyone differently.
What did it show you, Agent Barton?
My next target.
(LAUGHS) Stick-in-the-mud. He's got no soul.
No wonder you chose this tomb to work in.
Well, the Radisson doesn't have three levels of lead-lined flooring
between S.H.I.E.L.D. and that Cube.
I see why Fury chose you to guard it.
You're gonna have to contend with him, sir.
As long as he's in the air, I can't pin him down.
And he'll be putting together a team.
Are they a threat?
To each other, more than likely.
But if Fury can get them on track, and he might,
they could throw some noise our way.
You admire Fury.
He's got a clear line of sight.
Is that why you failed to kill him?
It might be.
I was disoriented.
And I'm not at my best with a gun.
I want to know everything you can tell me about this team of his.
I would test their mettle.
I am weary of scuttling in shadow.
I mean to rule this world.
Not burrow in it.
It's a risk.
Oh, yes.
If you're set on making yourself known,
could be useful.
Tell me what you need.
I need a distraction.
And an eyeball.
ANNOUNCER ON TV: War! With the forces of darkness
pressing in from the East on the West.
America heeds the call to fight for freedom.
And at the front of the fight, shoulder to shoulder with our battling boys,
is Captain America,
a product of old-fashioned values and exciting new science!
Captain America is the name every Nazi fears.
Uncle Adolf's secret new weapons, no match for our man.
When tough times turn tougher, when hope's on the ropes,
here's the man to knock the Axis on their backses.
He's out there, fighting for the land that we love, and he won't stop...
(REMOTE CLICKS)
(INDISTINCT TALKING)
Waiting on the big guy?
Ma'am?
Iron Man.
A lot of people eat here just to see him fly by.
Right.
Maybe another time.
Table's yours as long as you like.
Nobody's waiting on it.
Plus, we've got free wireless.
Radio?
Ask for her number, you moron.
COUNCILMAN: Director, S. H. I. E. L. D. operates
under the World Security Council.
We should have been informed of all the details.
The Council's interest in our work has always been about result,
not procedure.
Agent Clint Barton
is intimate with S.H.l.E.L.D. procedure, I believe.
And now we learn he's working with the enemy?
A man whose talent appears to be...
Killing. But he didn't kill me.
He didn't take the head shot.
He's been brainwashed, but I won't write him off.
We're on Loki's trail, and we're scrambling a response team.
The Avengers.
The Avengers initiative was shut down, Director.
It was volatile concept at the best of times, which this is not.
This is just a response team.
councilwoman: I suggest you make your response rapid.
We all know what's at stake.
Yes, we do.
(SIGHS)
You've noticed me.
Yay-
(GRUNTING)
(GRUNTS)
(LASER FIRES)
(GROANING)
(GRUNTING)
(LASER FIRING)
(GRUNTING)
(YELLS)
(GRUNTING)
(GROANS)
(STRAINING)
(GROANS WEAKLY)
What's the story upstairs?
The power surrounding the Cube is impenetrable.
Agent Romanoff, could you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please?
You're gonna love it, Doc. We got all the toys.
Really? You have the Commodore 64?
ROMANOFF: I'm not sure...
BANNER: Oh, you're very young.
Agent Hill,
did you tell the Council that Barton had been compromised?
Was that not procedure?
Did you tell them who exactly is on your response team?
Doesn't appear that I have to.
(SIGHS)
GUARD: So, which one is it?
Sorry?
Are you a big guy that gets all little,
or a little guy that sometimes blows up large?
You know,
I'm not even sure.
You got somewhere to go?
Stark Tower.
I... No.
Yes.
I'd expect some confusion of the mind,
since your body's kind of all over the place.
But it has to be one or the other.
I know where I could do the most good,
but it's where I can do the most harm.
Well, that's no different than anybody else.
Me, I'm here in Jersey, where I can't do much of either.
And, since I'm not likely to move on from this placement,
you may as well pilfer my ride.
I, uh...
I don't know which way to go.
Your mind's already made up, son.
The rest of you will follow.
COUNCILWOMAN: Agent Hill...
Agent Hill?
You were saying...
Sorry. Yes.
You said the worst mistake...
Well, I think we all know who made that.
You thought they were a threat.
I thought they were a joke.
Nick Fury only ever saw them as the Avengers,
no matter what he said.
If he hadn't seen that...
Well, midtown Manhattan would be a smoking crater, for one thing.
That issue is not in question at this time.
HILL: It was absolutely a bad idea.
The wrong people at the wrong time, and it worked.
They came together and they saved us.
And it's infuriating.
We're trained to believe in a system,
not to gamble.
Not to hope.
Nick Fury saw something
running under the system, a current,
a connection, a truth.
About what we can do.
What they would become.
The Avengers were the mistake that saved the world.
That's my official statement.
I see...
Oh! And, um...
As for the matter that's not in question,
where you morons tried to nuke New York.
Well, that's on the record.
As in, we recorded it.
We do that. We're S.H.I.E.L.D.
So, if you're thinking about coming after Nick Fury,
even
think really, really hard.
How'd that go?
Sold you down the river, sir.
Should have your job within the month.
Good work.
You should maybe ask for a chair.
I'll keep that in mind.
Sir, how does it work now,
with the Avengers?
They've gone their separate ways.
Some, pretty extremely far.