"Damn it, what the hell is going on now?!"
On the Helicarrier, Nick Fury was visibly frustrated as he watched the battle unfold in the distance.
He had originally believed that infiltrating HYDRA would allow him to find that thing.
But to his dismay, not only had he failed to find it, it had already become someone else's weapon.
This had resulted in nearly every idle member of the Ultimate Team being dragged into the fray.
One after another, every single one of them had now shown up on this battlefield.
And yet, they still couldn't gain full control over that thing.
"Sayaka Kyoda! That thing isn't as simple as you think—it's going to kill you!"
Sayaka Kyoda, once a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and nearly its director, had already been a member of HYDRA back then.
She had joined S.H.I.E.L.D. primarily to help HYDRA gain access to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s weapons and secrets.
It was she who had brought that thing into HYDRA's base this time.
This move successfully promoted her from a double agent to a HYDRA commander—codename: Crimson.
"You really think everyone else is a fool?" Sayaka Kyoda didn't believe a word Nick Fury said.
In her eyes, the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. was not someone who spoke the truth.
Everything he said was meant to instill caution and persuade her to give up using that thing.
Unfortunately, she wasn't going to listen to Nick Fury!
"Stark! Grab that thing!!!"
From aboard the Helicarrier, Nick Fury carefully monitored Sayaka Kyoda's every move. The moment she reached for the object, he immediately issued the command to Stark.
Seeing the red, blue, and white armor charging toward her, Sayaka Kyoda merely smiled.
Because it was already too late.
She had already seized the ruby-like stone.
Feeling the power surging into her body, Sayaka Kyoda smiled.
But the very next moment, her smile vanished.
The thing showed no signs of stopping—its energy continued flooding violently into her body.
Cracks began appearing across Sayaka Kyoda's body, glowing with red energy from within.
Intense pain began to corrode her mind.
"No! No!! NO!!!"
Sayaka Kyoda had never imagined that Nick Fury was actually telling the truth.
Now she truly understood what he meant.
But it was already too late.
"Ahhh!!!"
"Energy levels are spiking!" came Anthony's urgent voice inside Stark's armor.
The next second, Anthony forcibly took control and began retreating the Iron Patriot suit. But even though the response was swift—
It still wasn't fast enough to avoid the shockwave.
A massive energy beam shot up into the sky, and even its aftershock was enough to send Stark flying.
The airborne Helicarrier was rocked by the energy wave.
Fortunately, with the help of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, all thrusters were quickly recalibrated.
Watching the slowly fading pillar of light, Nick Fury said to Stark with a blank expression, "Retrieve it."
"Tell me, that thing isn't going to attack me, right?"
Stark was still uneasy. Logically, that thing could erupt again at any moment.
"According to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s researchers, after a brief burst, it stabilizes. As long as no one tries to use it again, there shouldn't be any major issues."
Nick Fury recalled what the S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists had concluded during their research.
They might not be as smart as Tony Stark and his team—but there were a lot of them.
"Got it," Stark replied. But Nick Fury was already distracted by another piece of news.
"Something's happened in New York." Even though Monica was the current director of S.H.I.E.L.D., when she received this kind of message, she instinctively turned to Fury. "Miles has been taken. Jessica and the Bat were attacked. There's also a Spider-Man we haven't seen before. And—"
Seeing Monica hesitate, Nick Fury already suspected this had something to do with him.
He said nothing—he trusted Monica would explain.
"Remember the team that was assembled in response to 9/11?" Monica didn't say it outright, but the moment she said that, Nick Fury understood exactly what was happening.
"I thought they were locked away?"
Indeed, before the Ultimate Team, Nick Fury had assembled another superhuman squad.
Comprised of Quake, Tigra, Vision, Power Man, and Black Knight.
But the problem was, the Super Soldier Serum S.H.I.E.L.D. created at the time was completely random—just like how mutants awaken powers unpredictably.
And worse, the serum had side effects that interfered with normal cognition, making them unstable and difficult to control.
In the end, Fury had no choice but to abandon them.
He confined them in a special S.H.I.E.L.D. base.
If that base was attacked, Fury didn't believe those people wouldn't try to send a message out.
There's no way it took this long for the alarm to reach them.
Monica handed her tablet to Fury.
The moment he saw the footage on the screen, Nick Fury knew S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't stay here any longer.
"Pull S.H.I.E.L.D. out of here. Notify the Ultimates—things are about to get complicated." Fury gave the order to Monica, then turned and left the command room.
Monica didn't ask what he planned to do. She knew Fury always had a plan—and could keep himself alive.
That was enough.
"Return to New York." Monica was decisive. After learning all this, she made her call.
Especially now that Miles had been taken.
As the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Monica had access to far more information than before.
She knew a lot more now.
One of those things: S.H.I.E.L.D. had conducted genetic testing on Miles and Peter Parker.
The reports clearly stated that Spider-Man was the perfect genetic template for cloning super soldiers.
As long as they had him, they could keep producing cloned armies indefinitely.
Watching the departing Helicarrier, Stark glanced down at the red gem beneath his feet, still uncertain.
Meanwhile in New York, Tigra had already been taken down by Jessica and Gwen.
But Bruce remained motionless, quietly standing in place.
If not for the faint signs of breathing, Gwen and the others would've thought he'd turned into a lifeless machine.
Still, none of them dared approach Bruce.
"When do you think he'll snap out of this?" Gwen tossed a chunk of asphalt in Bruce's direction, but before it could touch him, that wild, flowing cloak of nanobots instantly disintegrated it.
"No idea," Jessica replied.
She was so bored that she kept reinforcing the webbing around Tigra—she was one step away from wrapping her into a ball.
Elsewhere, Quake simply hugged her knees, sitting quietly with no intention of escaping.
By now, she understood—they had probably been used as pawns.
The citizens of New York had long grown used to this sort of chaos. They gave the area a wide berth, well aware that it was best to avoid involvement—no one could tell whether the superhumans had finished fighting yet.
If the fight wasn't over and they accidentally went in and died, who would they even reason with?
The insurance companies might not even pay out.
Even having superhuman accident insurance would be useless.
Because that policy only compensates if someone dies without realizing there's a superhuman battle going on. Walking in now would basically be considered seeking death.
Besides, the NYPD has already completely sealed off the area.
There's no chance of getting in.
"Buzzz~"
"An airborne helicarrier," Jessica said as she heard the sound and looked up at the sky. That thing was very familiar to her.
It had just been a while since she last went aboard.
But its arrival this time felt way too late.
"Wow~"
Gwen couldn't help but let out a gasp of amazement. In her universe, she'd never seen something like that.
However, after everything she had gone through with the multiverse, her ability to accept the strange and extraordinary had reached its limit.
She quickly regained her composure.
Soon, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents descended from the helicarrier.
Monica and Captain America looked at Bruce, who was standing there, with some confusion.
Captain America was about to step forward to check on Bruce.
"If I were you, I wouldn't touch my boss," Jessica warned him.
That only deepened Captain America's confusion.
He had no idea what she meant.
Before he could even ask, Jessica made her move.
The brick she threw was shredded into dust by the nanobots on Bruce's body before it could even get close to him.
If they still didn't understand why Jessica had warned them earlier, they'd really be idiots.
"What's wrong with him?" Captain America asked, walking over to Jessica.
Since he couldn't ask Bruce directly, he had to turn to someone who had been here the whole time.
"No idea," Jessica replied honestly.
At that moment, Monica approached Gwen. She needed to figure out where this Spider-Woman had suddenly appeared from.
Before she could get too close, something went wrong with Bruce.
The nanobot cloak that had been flaring out like ink suddenly calmed down and returned to its normal, quiet state.
Then, Bruce, who had been standing upright, collapsed.
Jessica reacted instantly and rushed over. Gwen was right behind her.
Both Spider-Women caught Bruce together.
They exchanged a glance. They hadn't sensed any injuries on Bruce, so why did he suddenly become so weak?
"Take him back," Jessica made a quick decision.
"How about the helicarrier instead?" Monica suggested to the two Spider-Women.
Bruce's identity had always been a mystery to S.H.I.E.L.D.
They had considered tracking him before, but after realizing someone had left a backdoor in their main system without them knowing, that idea was shelved.
Until they had a brand-new, fully secure central system, they wouldn't dare mess with the Bat.
But now, clearly, was a rare and valuable opportunity.
"No need," Jessica shook her head at Monica. She knew Bruce. The best course of action was to take him back to the Batcave.
Not to mention, the medical facilities on the helicarrier were no better than what was in the Batcave.
After all, most of that tech had come from S.H.I.E.L.D.
In fact, it had been gifted to them by a former director.
"Wait," Bruce said as he stood back up, shaking off their support and turning to Monica and the others. "There's someone with them, a guy called Vision. He's already out in space, modifying a satellite."
"He's probably trying to turn it into a mobile nuclear weapon that could explode at any moment."
"I just temporarily shut down his bodily functions, but that won't last. He's already starting to destroy the nanobots I injected into him. You'd better bring him back."
With that, Bruce left.
Jessica and Gwen followed closely behind.
After hearing Bruce's words, Monica immediately contacted Stark, who was returning to New York with the stones.
She relayed Bruce's message to him word for word.
"Stark, did you hear that?"
"Got it. But I think you guys owe me some overtime pay," Stark joked, then shot straight into the sky. His armor had more than two hours of air supply—plenty of time to get to space and back.
Meanwhile, Jessica looked ahead with concern at Bruce. Something about the way he was moving felt off, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what.
The next moment, while she was still thinking, Bruce failed to grab his grappling hook and slammed into a fire escape.
Jessica and Gwen quickly rushed over. When they reached him, they saw sweat beading on the lower half of Bruce's face.
It clearly wasn't from exertion—Bruce was seriously injured.
"I remotely summoned the Batmobile. I'll drive back myself. You two go on ahead," Bruce said, his tone as calm and steady as ever.
Gwen looked like she wanted to say something, but Jessica stopped her with a gesture. She just nodded at Bruce, then vanished in a blink.
Gwen looked at Bruce. He didn't say anything—just jumped down from the fire escape.
As he landed, the Batmobile arrived at the alley entrance.
Only after watching Bruce get into the car did Gwen take off after Jessica.
But when she climbed up, she found Jessica hadn't left. She had waited for her.
"You should know, that Bat is incredibly stubborn."
With those parting words, Jessica moved into action again.
Gwen didn't say anything, silently following behind her.
(End of Chapter)
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