Landing on the deck, Sebastian nodded to the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who cheered and applauded his performance, then glanced at Tony, who had opened his faceplate and was shaking his head in mock defeat.
"Unless I'm mistaken, I'd say I won that round," Sebastian said with a grin.
"That doesn't count—those were just foot soldiers. At best, that guy who gave you a bit of trouble might qualify as one point."
"Aren't you being a little unreasonable here?"
Tony chuckled and shrugged. "The real heavy hitters have already gone inside. If we're going to compete properly, let's see how many of the serious players in there we can take down. Deal?"
"After you finish analyzing those Sentinels, build me ten of them, and I'll give you a fair shot at beating my record."
Sebastian's storage had contained several damaged standard Sentinels that he'd given Tony to reverse-engineer, which prompted his offer.
Tony's eyes lit up immediately. "Deal. I'm nearly done with the research anyway—it's been incredibly helpful. I wasn't originally planning to build actual Sentinel robots, just integrate the tech into my armor systems. But since you're asking, I'll construct ten for you. Problems that can be solved with money and technology aren't really problems at all."
Tony sealed his faceplate again, extended his hand to override the door's internal locks, and he and Sebastian entered the fortress together.
"Tony, who's inside?"
Knowing Sebastian was asking about the other Avengers, Tony answered directly. "Natasha, Barton, and War Machine are in there. Cap, Sam, Wanda, and Pietro are in Africa tracking down Hydra remnants. The Fantastic Four are playing hometown heroes in New York—I heard someone called the Mole Man is stirring up trouble lately. Vision's holding down the fort at headquarters in case anything else goes sideways. As for Thor and Banner, nobody's seen hide nor hair of them."
"Everyone stays pretty busy, huh?"
"Did you think everyone was as free as you are?"
"I'm not nearly as relaxed as you think. I haven't slept in two weeks—been crafting wands and hunting down rare materials."
"So how's your school project coming along—"
A thunderous roar cut him off.
Sebastian and Tony had just entered what appeared to be a large cafeteria area when an explosion echoed through the space. A man in a fitted black leather outfit with a flowing dark cape was blasted backward by a surge of orange and blue energy that resembled living flame, slamming hard into the far wall.
Simultaneously, a woman with flowing hair emerged from the blast crater, wreathed in the same orange and blue energy. She wore a distinctive gold, red, and blue battle suit—it was Carol!
"King of Attilan, you should understand the consequences of invading Earth!" she declared.
Before the words had finished echoing, a torrent of red hair, strong as steel cables, whipped out and wrapped around Carol, attempting to restrain her.
But Carol's energy flared again, incinerating the hair that bound her. At that moment, a powerful stream of water crashed into her, sending her flying. A massive hound materialized, bringing Medusa and the other Inhuman royals to Black Bolt's side. Medusa personally helped the Inhuman king to his feet.
"That suit you're wearing—even with the color changes, it's definitely Kree Special Forces issue. Humanity has secretly allied with the Kree!"
"You recognize the Kree battle suit? You're..."
Before Carol could finish speaking, Crystal—a member of the Inhuman Royal Family standing beside Medusa—suddenly stepped forward and unleashed a torrent of flames at Carol. The blast sent her hurtling backward into the wall with the same devastating force that had struck Black Bolt moments before.
Carol pulled herself from the debris and immediately counterattacked, firing concentrated beams of orange and blue photon energy at Crystal and the other royals.
Just as the energy was about to connect, Black Bolt stepped forward and spoke a single, quiet word: "Stop."
Though Black Bolt's voice was barely above a whisper, the sound transformed into a devastating sonic wave that not only obliterated Carol's photon blast instantly but also sent violent tremors throughout the entire New World Sky Fortress. Sections of the structure buckled and exploded from the sheer force.
Seeing the destruction, Carol immediately channeled even more photon energy and charged forward, bowling through the Royal Family members. She grabbed Black Bolt and burst through the fortress hull, carrying him high into the open sky.
Black Bolt's power allowed him to convert his voice into destructive sonic waves using electron energy he constantly absorbed from his environment. This same energy also granted him flight, enhanced physical strength, and the ability to survive in the vacuum of space.
So when Carol hauled him into the air, Black Bolt showed no panic. Instead, he gripped her arms and spoke directly to her.
"Ha!"
Boom!
The sonic blast hit Carol like a physical blow, sending her spinning through the air. She plummeted toward the ground, her head reeling from the disorienting sound waves as if trapped in a waking nightmare.
Fortunately, Carol's enhanced physiology kicked in. Just before hitting the earth, she snapped back to consciousness and immediately shifted into her Binary form. Wreathed in brilliant blue energy, she streaked directly back toward Black Bolt.
Buzz!
Photon energy blazed from Carol's hands, forming concentrated beams aimed straight at the Inhuman king.
Black Bolt remained unfazed. Hovering in mid-air, he spoke another carefully controlled word.
"Hah!"
This time he focused the sonic waves into a tight beam. A concentrated stream of destructive sound energy shot from his mouth, colliding head-on with Carol's Binary-enhanced photon blasts.
Boom!
The resulting explosion created a shockwave that dispersed the surrounding clouds and sent the New World Sky Fortress into violent convulsions. Critical systems throughout the structure sparked and failed, leaving the massive vessel barely airborne.
Meanwhile, Sebastian's attention shifted to Jia Ying and the other Inhumans who had brought their followers to the battle. His eyes narrowed with suspicion, and his wand rose quietly to the ready.