Once everyone had entered the bridge, the aircraft carrier's outer armor plates began to separate automatically. Massive turbines extended from beneath the deck—two on each side, four in total—furiously expelling seawater. The enormous vessel finally lived up to its name, achieving true flight and becoming a genuine aerial carrier.
Led by Natasha, the group made their way to the combat command center. Nick Fury stood at his command platform, watching streams of data and readouts, while rows of researchers below him monitored vast quantities of information and complex parameters in real time.
Lucas whistled softly as he took in the scene.
As expected of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most advanced Helicarrier—pure technological spectacle.
In fact, aside from Bruce, everyone present was visibly amazed by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s sheer scale and ambition. Skye, in particular, was so excited that she practically leapt onto the platform beneath the command console, pulled out her laptop, and immediately began attempting to connect to the Helicarrier's network.
Her actions startled all the technicians on duty.
Where did this girl come from?
She had just walked in and was already trying to access the system. And the Director wasn't stopping her?
Seeing that Nick Fury made no move to intervene, the staff had no choice but to stay silent and watch Skye work.
Moments later, a massive holographic screen materialized in midair above them, displaying the Helicarrier's complete system overview—propulsion, power supply, defensive systems—everything integrated into a single, clean interface. All of the ship's functions were now visible at a glance.
"Done!"
Skye said smugly, glancing proudly at Lucas.
"Your operating system was way too complicated. It made my head spin. This is much better—simple and clear."
She stepped away from the console and returned to Lucas's side.
Nick Fury's face darkened.
So many specialists under his command, yet none of them could do what this girl had just done in minutes. And a top-tier genius like Skye refused to join S.H.I.E.L.D. no matter what.
That damn Lucas… why does he insist on keeping her around?
Infuriating…
"Ahem."
Fury cleared his throat.
"Get back to work. All of you. Not one of you can outperform a single young woman. When this is over, half your bonuses are gone."
Once again, Director Fury lived up to his reputation.
"Director, all systems are ready,"
Agent Hill reported as she stepped forward.
"Very well. Activate the reflection panels. Prepare to vanish."
At Fury's command, light flared across the Helicarrier's surface. Piece by piece, the massive vessel faded from sight, blending seamlessly into the sky until it was completely invisible.
Just then, the command room doors opened again.
A familiar, endlessly chatty voice echoed through the room.
"Wow—see? I knew this carrier could fly! My imagination is unmatched! Felicia, you owe me dinner—Mexican food this time, the place near my school, I heard—"
The nonstop chatter continued without pause.
There was only one person who could talk this much without suffocating.
Peter Parker.
"Lucas!! You guys are here too?! Am I dreaming? When they invited me, I thought it was just me! This is awesome—we're fighting side by side again! Oh, and wait till you see my new gear—Mr. Stark gave it to me yesterday, he said—"
Before he could finish, Felicia clamped a hand firmly over Peter's mouth.
The unfortunate Peter could only flail his arms helplessly, muffled protests escaping as he struggled for air.
"Felicia? Why are you here?"
Gwen and the others stared in shock.
Peter being there made sense—annoying as he was, he was Spider-Man.
But Felicia was just a normal civilian… or so they thought.
Felicia smiled mysteriously.
Peter tried to speak again, only for Felicia to silence him once more. He could do nothing but gesture frantically, his meaning completely lost.
Leaving Peter behind, the four girls headed off to find Natasha, leaving a group of grown men standing there exchanging awkward looks.
Among them, Bruce was clearly the most uneasy. He paced back and forth nervously, frequently glancing toward the armed agents stationed by the doors. His anxiety was obvious to everyone.
Nick Fury approached and extended his hand.
"Thank you for coming, Dr. Banner."
Bruce shook it hesitantly.
"So… when can I leave? High altitude, thin oxygen—it accelerates my heart rate."
Fury replied calmly,
"Once we recover the Tesseract, you're free to go. We'll send you back."
Bruce nodded.
"Then how far along are you?"
"We've scanned every networked camera on Earth,"
Coulson said, stepping forward with a tablet in hand.
"That includes phones, computers—anything connected to the internet."
"That's too slow,"
Bruce said, rubbing his chin.
"You need to narrow the search. How many spectrometers do you have?"
Fury spread his hands.
"As many as you need."
"Good. Deploy them all outdoors and scan simultaneously for gamma radiation. I'll recalibrate the signal and tracking filters. That should eliminate several regions. And I'll need a lab."
Bruce laid out his requirements without hesitation. He wanted to locate the Tesseract as quickly as possible—and get out just as fast.
Fury nodded and signaled Coulson.
"Someone will take you to a laboratory that meets your needs."
He waved a hand, and an agent stepped forward.
"Escort Dr. Banner to the lab."
Bruce followed the agent and left the room.
Lucas sat casually on a set of steps, half-listening to Peter ramble on endlessly. Mostly, Peter talked. Lucas listened.
---
Elsewhere, at a hidden base…
Dr. Erik Selvig was leading a team as they reconstructed a Tesseract energy amplification device. S.H.I.E.L.D. once had such a machine at their secret facility, but it had been destroyed, forcing them to rebuild it piece by piece from scratch.
"Doctor, we've found a lead on the material you requested,"
Barton said, approaching with a tablet and handing it over.
"Yes—this is it. Iridium."
Selvig's eyes lit up.
"It can generate antimatter. Extremely rare, and the core component of the entire machine. If S.H.I.E.L.D. discovers this, acquiring it will become much more difficult."
He handed the tablet back to Barton and resumed assembling the components.
At that moment, Loki strolled over leisurely.
"So," Loki said with a smile,
"you've found what you were looking for?"
Barton nodded.
"Yes. We have a lead."
"Do you need anything else?"
Loki asked.
He could hardly wait to sit upon the throne and rule Earth.
What Loki didn't realize was that his ambition was doomed from the start.
Even without S.H.I.E.L.D. or Lucas and his allies, the Ancient One alone would be enough.
Against her, even Odin himself might not prevail—let alone Loki.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 20 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you enjoyed Marvel Manifestor, please give it a Power Stone and leave a review! Your support means everything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~