"You've waited long. I'm a little late!" Roland Phils said with a wry smile as he entered Bismarck's room.
To his surprise, Tirpitz was also there.
But it didn't shock him. Bismarck and Tirpitz were sisters, much like Enterprise and Yorktown, bound by the same origin.
"Commander, your presence alone makes us happy!" Bismarck said with a joyful expression.
She and Tirpitz walked forward in small, respectful steps, then knelt before him to change his shoes. They looked like perfect, dutiful wives. This sight alone filled Phils with satisfaction. With daughters like this, what more could a man ask for?
"Commander, your work must be exhausting. Please take care of yourself," Tirpitz said gently.
"I'll keep that in mind," Phils replied with a knowing smile. He had indeed been overworking himself in certain ways.
"Commander, it's late. Allow us to serve you now," Bismarck said respectfully.
"Us?" Phils asked curiously, glancing at the sisters.
"Yes. My sister Tirpitz doesn't yet know how to care for you properly. As her elder, I thought I should guide her. This way, she will grow faster," Bismarck explained with a serious look.
"Guide her?" Phils asked with a strange expression.
"Yes, Commander," Tirpitz said honestly. "I've lived alone in the north for too long. I worry I won't serve you well. If my sister teaches me, I'll learn more quickly. Besides, one person is given two hours. Together, we'll have four hours. That means more time to learn."
"In that case, so be it," Phils nodded.
Since both sisters were willing, there was no reason for him to refuse. All he had to do was enjoy their service.
Smiling, he sat down. The sisters moved gracefully behind him, massaging his shoulders and back with utmost care.
Moments later, Bismarck circled to the front and knelt slowly before him…
At that same time, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s systems came under a virus attack.
Nick Fury strode quickly into the lab.
"Tony, what are you doing?"
Seeing him, Tony Stark shot back, "Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing. What are you doing?"
"You should be tracking the Tesseract, not wasting your time attacking S.H.I.E.L.D.'s security system!" Fury snapped, his face dark.
"The signal is locked. We're scanning for gamma signatures. Once we find them, we'll narrow the location to within half a mile. Then we can recover your cube. Don't panic," Dr. Banner explained.
"What I want to know is, what exactly is Phase Two?" Tony suddenly asked.
"Phase Two means using the Tesseract to build weapons. Sorry, but computers run too slow for me," Captain America's voice came from the doorway. He tossed a heavy weapon onto the table.
Seeing the weapon, Fury felt a growing sense of dread. But he instinctively chose to hide the truth.
"Gentlemen, collecting information about the Tesseract doesn't mean we're building weapons."
"Cut it out, Fury. Stop lying." Tony tapped his tablet, revealing weapon schematics for all to see.
"Why is S.H.I.E.L.D. making weapons of mass destruction with the Tesseract?" Banner asked, clearly disturbed.
"Why do you think I created the Avengers Initiative, Tony? Because of him, because of those demons that can appear at will, and because of the so-called Life Church with beings who can fly or vanish into thin air!" Fury pointed at Thor, who had just entered.
"Me?" Thor looked baffled, unable to follow.
"You're only one reason. But your arrival alone brought an alien to Earth. Your personal feud leveled an entire town. We learned there are other worlds with life far stronger and more advanced than ours," Fury said seriously.
"But my people mean you no harm!" Thor protested.
"That may be true, but the universe doesn't consist of only your kind. And you're not the only threat. This world has plenty of beings with no rivals," Fury replied.
"Even so, they can't just be controlled, like with the Tesseract," Captain America said calmly.
"You don't see it. Your research on the cube is what drew Loki and his allies here. To other worlds, your actions look like Earth preparing for higher war," Thor said angrily.
"Higher war? That's on you! You left us no choice but to prepare! Should we just sit and wait to die?" Fury retorted.
"Prepare with what? Nuclear deterrence? Will that calm things down?" Tony sneered.
"And how did you build your fortune, Tony Stark?" Fury shot back with sarcasm.
"Wait, why is this suddenly about me?" Tony looked annoyed.
"I finally understand why Phils didn't step in this time. You never trusted him. This whole mess is your own making. Phils wants you to reap what you sow," Tony said bitterly.
He had known Roland Phils for a long time. Though younger, Phils had earned Tony's respect, even admiration. Tony himself was a believer in the Lord of Life, so naturally, he stood by Phils' side.
"Trust him? How can I, when his power is outside our control?" Fury shook his head.
"But Phils is human, on our side. If you can't even trust that, then should we also treat Kamar-Taj's sorcerers as threats? If so, who would stand with us? Who would we rely on?" Tony countered.
"Right now, we rely on ourselves. Even without allies, we must protect our home. The time to prove yourselves is here," Fury said solemnly, staring at the gathered heroes.
A sudden explosion rocked the lab. The blast hurled them all backward.
"Damn it! If this is our chance to prove something, I'd rather not!" Tony cursed, quickly donning his armor.
"What happened?" Fury growled as he struggled to his feet.
"Our helicarrier has been infiltrated. Explosives planted!" Hill shouted as she staggered in.
"Infiltrator? Who?"
"Barton, Agent Barton!" Hill pressed a button, and the monitors showed Hawkeye outside the carrier, bow in hand, aiming at the camera.
He loosed an arrow, and the screen went dark.
"Damn it, send people to stop him. We need to secure the scepter and retreat!" Fury ordered.
"The scepter?" Tony asked curiously.
"We've been tricked. Loki can control it remotely. He used that scepter to cloud our judgment!" Fury realized.
"Roooar!"
Banner suddenly roared. His eyes turned green, his body swelling as he lost control.
"No, no, no! Banner, calm down!" Tony panicked, his earlier confidence gone.
"I told you this was digging your own grave. Now look what happens," Rogers said with a trace of mockery.
"Really? You think this is funny? Maybe you in your costume can handle him. I'll go repair the turbines!" Tony said as he blasted away in his armor.
"..." Rogers.
He hadn't expected Tony to throw the problem at him.
Glancing at the nearly transformed Hulk, Rogers swallowed hard and turned to Thor.
"Thor, you said you're a god. Then you can handle this monster, right? I'll help Tony with the turbines!"
Without waiting, Rogers retreated quickly.
"Humans, pathetic," Thor muttered with disdain.
Others might fear Hulk, but not him. As Asgard's future king, what was Hulk to him?
But before he could lift Mjolnir, Hulk's punch slammed into him, sending him flying.
"What a weak god," Hulk growled.
"..." Thor.
Meanwhile, on the deck, Hawkeye led a strike team, parachuting from a plane to assault S.H.I.E.L.D.
Before they could act, a glowing portal appeared. From it stepped a breathtaking maid in a modest uniform. It was none other than the perfect maid, Belfast.
"My lord might wish that Fury suffer the consequences of his own choices. But if this carrier falls from nine thousand meters, countless innocents will die, including my lord's believers. Out of mercy, my lord will not allow that. So, stop now, or I'll remove you myself," Belfast said calmly, not even acknowledging Hawkeye as a threat.
Hawkeye's men raised their guns at her.
"Foolish," Belfast shook her head.
A crimson laser shot from the cannon floating at her side, cutting them down instantly. Only Hawkeye survived.
Eyes wide with shock, he loosed an explosive arrow, but Belfast dodged with ease, walking toward him unhurriedly.
Her overwhelming presence crushed him to his knees. His bow slipped from his hands.
"You think you can challenge me? Ignorant."
Her kick sent Hawkeye flying, knocking him unconscious.
Belfast dusted her hands, sighed, and said, "Too weak. Boring."
Inside the base, Thor and Hulk clashed fiercely.
Though Hulk towered over him, Thor's body was nearly as resilient, his strength able to match the green giant.
Their fists collided like cannon blasts, the shockwave knocking out nearby agents. Both men staggered back, surprised by the other's power.
Hulk's face twisted with fury. With another roar, he swung a massive overhead strike. Thor raised his arms to block.
"Banner, calm yourself. I'm not your enemy. We're teammates. I'm your friend!" Thor tried to reason even as he resisted.
But Hulk ignored him, throwing another punch that sent Thor crashing into a fighter jet, splitting it in two.
"Damn it, you leave me no choice!" Thor's eyes burned with fighting spirit. Raising Mjolnir, he struck Hulk with a mighty blow.
The hammer's power sent Hulk flying.
The destruction was immense. In just a few exchanges, they had wrecked the entire chamber. At this rate, the helicarrier itself would be destroyed.
Realizing this, Fury gave the order.
"Deploy the fighters! Draw Hulk away, or we're all finished!"
If you liked this chapter, please consider supporting with power stone, or join my Patreon for new chapters ahead of the webnovel.
Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations
1592 Words