First Filter.
We'll need to keep our eyes open and be aware then. It's a little difficult sometimes to know what's local - there's a lot of local legend and lore that doesn't seem to be based in actual fact as it is in many of our realities - but that doesn't honestly mean there isn't something local that is rare enough to go unnoticed I suppose.
But possibly it's just a shifter then.
And you're right on SWORD. I'd rather think the Tesseract is in good hands, than not.