The deck shook like a struck drum. Consoles spat sparks, alarms screamed, and the Helicarrier lurched hard to port. Agents stumbled across the bridge as red warning lights flooded the room.
"Engine three is offline!" someone shouted.
"Pressure's dropping—we're losing altitude!"
Steve braced himself against the railing, jaw tight as the mighty ship groaned. Across the room, Banner was already pulling up diagnostics, his hands flying uselessly over SHIELD's systems.
Then the explosion came. A tremor roared up through the hull, rattling the entire carrier. Smoke poured in from the lower decks.
"Sabotage," Fury growled, his single eye cutting across the chaos like a blade. "We've been hit from the inside."
Another blast followed, and the emergency bulkheads slammed down. The entire bridge went quiet for half a breath, everyone looking to Fury.
"Alright, listen up!" His voice cut through the alarms like thunder. "We're not going down today. I want this ship stable, I want that intruder found, and I want Banner contained before he goes green and tears the whole place apart!"
"Hey, maybe it's a good time to let me out?" Ben called from the cell.
"Can't risk it, for all we know, you are still under enemy control, you stay there. Banner, you find somewhere to keep yourself calm." Fury would indeed have preferred to place Banner inside the cell meant for him, but with Grimm already in there, he had no choice.
"I'm going to look and see if I can't get the engines online, without those, we aren't going to last long enough to worry about anything else." Stark said as his newest suit came flying in from the hallways and slammed into him.
"I will help!" Steve called as Stark took off flying as the suit snapped around him.
"I'm finding Barton," Natasha shouted as she took off.
"Logan," Fury called, "You follow Natasha. Clint is one of our best; he isn't easy to take down and can do a lot of damage."
Logan didn't argue, he quickly followed Natasha's trail.
"I'm going to try and stop them from blowing us to bits." Susan said as she too flew off.
"And you two," Fury finished, glancing at the twins. "Stay with Banner; he needs to keep calm, and you can do that." Without looking back, he too took off when he was needed on the bridge; someone had to take command of the situation.
-----
Tony was stopped by nothing as he flew through the corridors. A few times, he ended up running into some attackers, but while the elite mercenaries might be able to threaten the agents of SHIELD, they were nothing in front of his suit.
He didn't even need to do anything himself; Jarvis had handled it, shooting special bullets at them, non-lethal ones. Normally, he didn't care too much about not killing; his usual targets were terrorists, but here, with possible mind control being a factor, he held back.
Tony was also happy that Jarvis had mapped out the place, because this was nothing short of a maze. "Wow, that's a real mess this thing." Tony couldn't help but exclaim as he finally made his way outside to the problematic turbine.
It wasn't destroyed, which was good, but it was damaged and blocked by debris.
"What's the situation?" Steve Rogers asked as soon as he came out of the door.
"It's pretty bad, I will have to remove the debris, which isn't the worst, but it will likely need a kick start, and manual overrides need to be done… well, manually, and I can't do both." Tony said, and indeed, that was a problem.
"Well, I'm here, aren't I?" Steve said, confident that he could help, a confidence Tony didn't share.
"It's not that easy. It's not just flipping a switch, it's flipping a few in a sequence, and if something goes wrong, it won't be good." Tony said, shaking his head.
"Explain it to me." Steve wasn't about to give up that easily. They needed this turbine online, so they had to do it, no matter what it took.
"Well, the biggest thing is that once I give it the kickstart, the brake needs to be pulled so I can get out; if not, I will be trapped in there and risk getting cut up, or if I'm lucky, I will just break it." Tony was confident his suit could do more damage to the turbine than it would to him, but that would also make his effort pointless.
"Maybe I can help." Susan Storm said as she arrived, having heard half of it. "Maybe I can start it from outside, and you do the technical stuff, Stark?" she offered a different solution.
"That works, yeah." Tony agreed; he liked that plan much better than having to risk his suit and life by getting in there himself.
"Sir, you have incoming." Jarvis's voice sounded in his ear as alerts popped up on his HUD.
He whipped around and quickly fired at the incoming missile, blowing it up before it could hit the carrier, but the resulting explosion still shook them. "I guess these people won't make it easy for us." He couldn't help but curse.
"Damn. Alright, change of plans, you two take care of this, I will handle them." Susan was quick to decide on a new course of action. While she was still the better choice at starting the turbine, she needed Stark here for the technical stuff, and Steve couldn't fight the jets, meaning she had to do it.
Before either man could argue, she shot skyward, a comet wrapped in shimmering force-fields, intercepting the squadron.
"Fine," Tony muttered. "She plays air-traffic control; we do the dirty work. Cap, I'm going to show you what to do, so pay attention, we don't have much time." He quickly showed Steve what buttons to push and leavers to pull.
"This is the main brake. When you finish the start-up sequence and I get it spinning, I need you to pull it, giving me time to escape. If you fail and it spins up while I'm inside, I'm ground beef."
Steve planted his boots on the gantry, shield in hand, while Tony slipped into the turbine housing. The damaged machine loomed above them, a maze of warped steel and half-shattered blades.
"Alright, clearing the debris," Tony muttered, his voice crackling over the comms. Repulsors shrieked as he melted and blasted through the blockage.
Steve kept his eyes scanning the shadows. The noise of the turbine masked movement, but instinct told him they weren't alone.
He was right.
A masked mercenary leapt from the scaffolding above, knife flashing. Steve's shield came up in a snap, the blade skittering harmlessly across vibranium. He shoved hard, sending the man sprawling.
Two more dropped in behind him. One went low, trying to sweep his legs, while the other fired a burst from a compact rifle. Steve pivoted, shield angled—sparks spat as the rounds ricocheted away, one slamming into the turbine wall with a scream of metal.
"Stark, we've got hostiles down here!" Steve shouted.
"Tell them to take a number, I'm working!" Tony grunted back. Another blast lit the interior of the turbine, sending smoke curling out. "Cap, just keep the platform clear!"
That was exactly what Steve did. He smashed the rifleman across the jaw with his shield edge, spinning into the second merc with a bone-crunching kick that sent him toppling over the railing. The man's scream cut off as he fell into the clouds below.
But more were coming. Rope lines dropped from the upper deck, three, four, five at once. These weren't ordinary soldiers—they moved fast, coordinated, clearly under Barton's direction.
Steve's shield rang with impacts as they pressed him from all sides. He fought with brutal precision, blocking a strike here, countering with a shield-bash there, his boots sliding on the trembling gantry. Every blow pushed him back closer to the edge.
Inside the turbine, Tony cursed. "Almost got it clear. Cap, whatever you're doing out there, don't let them touch the controls!"
"I noticed!" Steve snarled, driving his shield into another attacker's gut.
The turbine groaned as the last hunk of debris tumbled free under Tony's repulsors. "Alright, Cap—listen up!" Tony barked. "Once I get this thing spinning, I need you at that brake lever. Not yet—not yet—but when I call it, you pull it. Got it?"
Steve parried another knife thrust, sweat dripping down his temple. "Got it!"
He didn't look away from the mercs as he said it. The fight wasn't over.
Two more mercs lunged from the catwalk behind him. One fired short bursts from a compact rifle, sparks exploding across the gantry as bullets ricocheted. Steve threw himself behind his shield, deflecting the fire, then spun low, knocking the rifle aside with a sweep of his arm before driving the edge of his shield into the man's ribs.
The second came in fast, knife gleaming. Steve caught the strike, twisted, and hurled the attacker into the turbine wall. The man slumped, unconscious.
But the real trouble came from above. Four rope lines snaked down from the upper scaffolds, mercenaries rappelling in with practiced speed. They moved like a single unit—quick, precise, relentless.
"Great," Steve muttered, setting his stance.
They hit him all at once. One drove a boot at his midsection, another swung the butt of a rifle toward his head. Steve blocked high, shield ringing with impact, then snapped his elbow back into the ribs of the one behind him. But they didn't stop. Blades slashed, fists struck, rifle stocks cracked against metal.
"Cap, what's going on out there?" Tony demanded, repulsors roaring inside the turbine.
"Little busy!" Steve growled, his boots screeching as he slid dangerously close to the gantry's edge.
A knife tore a shallow line across his shoulder; he ignored it, pivoting to send another merc sprawling with a shield-bash. But there were too many. They drove him back step by step until his heel clipped the outer railing.
The merc with the rifle lunged, trying to shove him over. Steve twisted, barely catching the railing with one hand. His shield arm swung wildly, deflecting a blow that would've sent him into the clouds below.
For a heartbeat, he dangled there, nothing but air beneath his boots.
Inside the turbine, Tony's voice cut through. "Cap, listen up! I've almost got this thing spinning again. Once it kicks—there's a brake lever on the gantry. You have to pull it, or I'm hamburger!"
"Kind of—busy—here!" Steve grunted, hauling himself back onto the gantry with raw strength. His shield smashed upward, catching one merc square under the jaw and sending him tumbling.
"Not a request!" Tony barked. "Brake lever—when I call it! Got it?"
Steve rolled across the deck, slamming his shield into the last attacker's chest and sending him flying. He scrambled to his feet, chest heaving, shield at the ready.
"Got it," Steve said between breaths.
The turbine groaned, Tony's repulsors flared as the blades started to grind against life again. But Steve's eyes weren't on the machine. More shadows were moving above, more rope lines dropping. The fight wasn't over—not by a long shot.
Steve's boots skidded. He lashed out, caught the man by the collar, and hurled him over the edge. The merc's scream was swallowed by the roar of the engines below.
"Cap!" Tony barked, voice sharp. "I'm inside the turbine! She's about to spin! You need to be on that brake!"
Steve turned, sprinting across the gantry toward the lever Stark had pointed out earlier. His chest heaved, every muscle burning. Behind him, another merc raised his rifle.
The crack of gunfire split the air. Bullets sparked off the railing inches from Steve's head. He dove, rolling across the deck, and hurled his shield. It clanged into the gunman's chest, dropping him like a rag doll.
"Now, Cap!" Tony shouted. "Pull it, pull it, pull it!"
Steve slammed into the brake lever with all his weight. The metal shrieked as it locked into place.
The turbine roared to life. Blades spun faster and faster, stabilized at last. For one sickening second, Tony was still inside—his silhouette tumbling against the spinning metal—but then he shot free, repulsors blazing, armor sparking from the strain.
"Whew!" Tony wheezed over comms. "See? Easy. Nothing to it. You were worried for nothing."
Steve hauled the lever back into its slot and grabbed his shield on the rebound. His expression was tight, his chest rising and falling with exertion. "You were nearly cut to pieces."
"My suit would have held, can't say the same for the blades, so hey, you did well." Tony quipped, brushing scorched metal from his shoulder plating.
Steve shot him a look that could've bent steel. "Just get ready for round two. This isn't over."
Tony followed his gaze back toward the sky, where Susan Storm darted between the SHIELD jets like a streak of light. Force-fields shimmered around her, explosions blossoming harmlessly against her defenses as she drove the enemy squadron back.
The Helicarrier shuddered again, but this time its massive body began to rise instead of fall. Engine three was alive, whining but holding.
"Stark to Fury," Tony said, snapping his faceplate shut. "Tell your boys in the bridge we're stable. For now."
(End of chapter)
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