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Chapter 424 - Chapter 424: Space Carrier

[After Coulson departed with purposeful strides, Natasha looked at Captain America with a knowing smile playing on her lips, "You're quite the celebrity around here! I thought Coulson was going to swoon when he saw you. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?"]

[Captain America looked slightly surprised, his forehead creasing: "Trading cards?"]

[Natasha's eyes sparkled with amusement as she teased her colleague: "They're vintage. He's very proud of his collection." Her tone suggested this wasn't the first time Coulson's admiration had been a source of workplace humor.]

[At this time, Captain America spotted Dr. Banner standing awkwardly on the deck, looking lost amid the organized chaos of flight preparations. Banner's disheveled appearance and nervous body language stood in stark contrast to the disciplined SHIELD personnel around him. Steve took the initiative to greet him: "Dr. Banner!"]

[Hearing his name, Banner turned toward the voice. Recognition dawned on his face as he saw Captain America approaching. He walked over with an extended hand: "Oh! Yeah! Hello! They told me you were coming!" His handshake was firm but cautious, as if he was constantly aware of his own strength.]

["I heard you can find the Cosmic Cube!" Captain America said directly, his military background evident in his straightforward approach to the mission at hand.]

["Is that all you've heard about me?" Banner's expression became guarded, his eyes searching Captain America's face for any hint of fear or judgment. The question hung in the air, weighted with the unspoken reference to his green alter-ego.]

["That's all I care about right now," Captain America replied diplomatically, his blue eyes meeting Banner's with sincerity and respect rather than suspicion.]

[Banner pursed his lips and nodded a few times, visibly relieved by the response. He gestured broadly at the surrounding fighter jets, personnel, and advanced technology: "You know, this must all seem pretty strange to you." His tone was sympathetic, acknowledging the time displacement that Captain America had experienced.]

[Captain America surveyed the scene with a hint of nostalgia rather than bewilderment: "Well! Actually, it feels like déjà vu." His gaze lingered on the military precision around them, memories of the 1940s war effort flickering behind his eyes.]

[At this moment, Natasha, who had been following a few steps behind them, interrupted with a note of urgency: "Gentlemen! You'd better get inside quickly! It's going to get hard to breathe out here in a minute!" Her red hair whipped around her face as wind began to pick up across the deck.]

[Just then, Banner and Captain America heard the distinctive sound of massive engines powering up. Though they couldn't see the enormous turbine engines extending from beneath the carrier, the mechanical roar was unmistakable, growing louder by the second as it reverberated through the deck beneath their feet.]

[Captain America's tactical mind immediately assessed the situation: "Is this a submarine?" His tone suggested skepticism – submarines weren't typically associated with difficulty breathing on deck.]

["Really! They want to lock me in a pressurized, submerged metal container?" Banner also assumed it was a submarine, his nervous laugh barely covering genuine concern. Behind them, Natasha watched their confusion with a subtle smile, knowing what was about to happen.]

[The two men walked cautiously to the edge of the carrier to investigate. Instead of the expected submarine descent, they witnessed something far more impressive. Massive turbine engines, each larger than a house, were emerging from the sides of the carrier. The colossal machinery churned the ocean below into violent white foam as they began to rotate with increasing speed.]

[As the turbines' power continued to build, their rotation accelerated until they became almost a blur. The entire massive aircraft carrier began to slowly lift from the ocean surface, water cascading from its hull in great sheets. Captain America was so astonished that he instinctively took two steps back, his expression one of genuine awe. Despite all the wonders of the modern world he had encountered since his awakening, this display of technology clearly exceeded his expectations.]

[Banner observed the enormous engines with a sardonic smile: "No, no, this is much worse!" His dark humor masked genuine concern about the implications of being thousands of feet in the air with his condition.]

[All around them, deck crew scrambled to secure fighter jets with heavy-duty straps while donning oxygen masks. The helicarrier officially began its ascent, displacing enormous volumes of seawater that fell back to the ocean in spectacular cascades. The deck tilted slightly as the massive vessel oriented itself toward the sky.]

[Black Widow led the two men through corridors into the internal command center. Even before entering, they could hear the controlled chaos of staff continuously reporting on the helicarrier's systems and status.]

["Circling power check completed! Position stable! Increasing global power to eight percent! Preparing for maximum thrust! All systems nominal! Power output approaching capacity!" The technical jargon flew back and forth across the bridge as dozens of agents monitored complex displays.]

[Captain America entered the bridge, hands in his pockets, silently observing the busy personnel. Despite his attempt to appear nonchalant, a small smile of appreciation crossed his face at the impressive display of coordination.]

["Attention! Power has reached full capacity! All preliminary checks complete! All engines functioning within optimal parameters!" announced one of the technicians from her station, not looking up from her display.]

[Maria Hill stood confidently on the command platform, hands on her hips, projecting authority with every gesture: "SHIELD emergency protocol 193.6 is now in effect!" She then turned to Director Fury, who stood at the center of the action: "We've reached the designated altitude, sir!"]

["Good! Let's vanish." Nick Fury surveyed the operation with satisfaction, his single eye taking in the controlled precision of his team.]

["Engage retro-reflection panels!" As Hill issued the command, the outer hull of the entire helicarrier began transforming. Special panels activated sequentially, rendering the massive craft virtually invisible from below as advanced technology bent light around its surface.]

["Retro-reflection panels successfully engaged and functioning at one hundred percent, sir!"]

"Wow! I didn't expect that this ship can be invisible! SHIELD is so awesome! Do you think there is a similar organization in our world?" A policeman who was looking at the sky sighed.

"I wonder when we will be able to have similar technology?" Officer Butler, who had pushed the 2nd Gen Spiderman out of the police station in the sky, was also a little envious.

"There will always be one! For example, Osborn Industries! Isn't it? They have a lot of advanced technology, maybe they can make it someday! I hope I can go up and take a look then!"

"Come on! SHIELD is obviously an official organization, and it can't be compared with a private enterprise!" Butler rolled his eyes and sneered.

"Everyone! The taxpayers didn't invite you here to chat!" George stood at the door of the office and glanced at them. Several people who were talking immediately returned to their workstations and started working.

Of course George knew why these people could chat here. It was because his daughter and 2nd Gen Spiderman were too powerful and too famous, so all the villains with normal minds didn't want to meet them and went to other cities one after another, so their police officers were free.

[Nick Fury turned from the viewport to face the new arrivals: "Gentlemen!" His commanding presence immediately drew attention, the light glinting off his leather coat and eye patch.]

[Captain America silently reached into his pocket and removed a crisp ten-dollar bill. With a resigned expression, he handed it to Nick Fury – clearly the settlement of their earlier bet about surprises in the modern world. Fury accepted it with a satisfied smile, tucking it away without comment.]

[The two men walked forward onto the main bridge, while Maria Hill observed Captain America with curious assessment, sizing up the legendary soldier in person.]

[Nick Fury approached Banner directly, extending his hand with surprising warmth: "Doctor! Thank you for coming. We appreciate your expertise in this situation."]

[Banner glanced at Fury's hand briefly before shaking it, his eyes darting around the command center: "Thanks for asking nicely. So, how long am I staying?" His question carried an undercurrent of wariness – a man who had been hunted too often to trust easily.]

[Fury, unfazed by Banner's cautious sarcasm, replied matter-of-factly: "Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're free to go wherever you please." His tone suggested this was a straightforward transaction rather than a trap.]

[Banner nodded thoughtfully: "Where are you with the search so far?"]

[Fury gestured toward Coulson standing at a lower level of the bridge, silently directing the question to him. Coulson immediately outlined their current approach: "We're scanning every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cell phones, laptops, security feeds – if it's connected to a satellite or cell tower, we're watching it." The wall of monitors behind him displayed thousands of simultaneous video feeds being analyzed in real-time.]

["That's still not going to find them in time." Natasha had moved to crouch beside an agent who was reviewing Clint Barton's personnel file. She tapped the screen with a subtle gesture of concern for her compromised colleague.]

["You'll need to narrow your field." Banner removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, already shifting into problem-solving mode. "How many spectrometers do you have access to?" His scientific mind immediately identifying a more efficient approach.]

["How many are there?" Fury countered, curious about Banner's methodology but willing to provide whatever resources were needed.]

[Banner draped his coat over a chair and addressed Coulson directly: "Call every lab you know. Tell them to put their spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma radiation." His movements became more animated as he focused on the scientific challenge rather than his precarious situation.]

["I'll rough out a tracking algorithm, basic cluster recognition pattern. At least we could rule out a few places." His hands sketched invisible equations in the air. "Do you have somewhere for me to work?"]

[Fury nodded with approval at Banner's practical approach, then called out: "Agent Romanoff, would you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please?"]

[Natasha smoothly approached and gestured for Banner to follow her: "You're gonna love it, Doc. We've got all the toys." A hint of a smile played on her lips as she led him from the bridge toward the research levels of the helicarrier.]

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