"Damn this air conditioning system is working fine!"
The officer cursed inwardly and immediately sent a team to repair it.
Meanwhile.
At the main gate of the base, Peter and Steve were rushing into the base.
Steve clutched his head, still dizzy, feeling like his head had been struck by The Hammer of Thor.
"Peter, promise me, never use this armor in the city..."
"I wouldn't dare to anymore."
Peter said, covering his face.
Then he turned to scold Karen, "Karen, why didn't you tell me the sonic cannon was so powerful? Luckily, I aimed at the Hydra Base gate this time. If I were in New York now, an entire city block would have been destroyed!"
"I said the sonic cannon's power was enough to blast through a ten-centimeter metal door."
Karen replied, "Primus Technology, kid!"
"Alright, it's my fault."
Peter said, covering his face.
The power of the Iron Spider-Man Battle Armor was too immense. Unless it was used against Hydra, Peter was determined not to use it again.
"Also, I've already released a signal jammer for most of the electronic devices in the base. You can proceed with your infiltration with peace of mind," Karen said.
"Nicely done!" Peter clenched his fist, then turned to look at Captain.
"Captain, let's charge in!"
...
A certain underground base of S.H.I.E.L.D.
A massive aircraft carrier lay like an island before Ben.
Tony, clad in his Iron Armor, flew up and down, occasionally cutting metal with lasers, and then staring at the modified blueprints for a long time, calculating the data for the anti-gravity system with Jarvis's help.
Even for a genius like him, this was a major challenge.
As for Ben, without being able to transform into Grey Matter, he couldn't participate in such high-tech production for the time being.
Fortunately, Eunice's algorithmic abilities prevented him from looking like he was just making up the numbers and exposing himself.
Besides, Ben wasn't here to work on the anti-gravity system from the start.
Following the model provided by Eunice, after modifying the Turbine, Ben came to the main control room under the guise of testing the device and inserted a chip into the aircraft carrier's control console.
Instantly, the black and green stripes on the chip began to spread, infecting all the control panels.
This was an electronic virus Ben had developed based on the characteristics of the Galvanic Mechamorph.
Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't show any problems, but once Ben transformed into Upgrade, he could directly access the chip's core remotely, thus controlling this behemoth without physical contact.
With that done, the most crucial part of the operation, codenamed "Project Anti-Insight," was completed.
Ben relaxed and decided to see if there were any other treasures in the base.
Night.
While everyone was asleep, a semi-transparent shadow passed through walls, wandering around the base.
It was naturally Ghostfreak.
"The Cosmic Cube isn't here."
Ben searched the entire base but couldn't find any sign of the Tesseract.
Clearly, Nick Fury had long since stored such an important item separately. In fact, besides the aircraft carrier, there wasn't much else in this base.
"The Tesseract isn't on the aircraft carrier, nor is it in this base. It seems Nick Fury might be researching the Tesseract again," Ben mused, his sharp claws pinching his jawbone.
The reason he said "researching again" was because S.H.I.E.L.D. had once studied the Cosmic Cube. That project was called Project Pegasus, and it ultimately created powerful beings like Captain Marvel.
This fruitless search clearly showed that Nick Fury understood the principle of having multiple safe houses, or even countless safe houses, and wouldn't put all his eggs in one basket.
Ben wasn't disappointed, though.
He never had a strong desire for the Infinity Stones.
After all, the most mysterious treasure in this world had always been on his wrist.
Returning to his temporary resting room in the base, Ben reverted to his original form.
He planned to go back to Queens first, then wait for events to unfold. Besides, he had another arrangement for this operation.
When he returned to Queens, Uncle Ben and Aunt May had already gone to bed.
"It feels like I haven't been home in so long..."
Ben scratched his head. He had experienced too much recently, and it made him feel a bit tired.
He had always told Uncle Ben and Aunt May that he was doing research at Primus.
The next morning, Aunt May was utterly surprised when she saw Ben walking out of his room while she was making breakfast.
"Benny?"
"When did you get home?"
"Last night," Ben said, sitting at the dining table and picking up a fried egg. "I saw you were already asleep, so I didn't want to disturb you. Peter, on the other hand, probably won't be back for a few more days; his experiment is right at a breakthrough."
"I don't understand experimental stuff, but no matter how busy you two are, don't forget to eat."
Aunt May placed another fried egg on Ben's plate, then put her hands on her hips and said, "It's starting to get cold. Aren't you going to wear a jacket?"
"The company has air conditioning."
"Goodbye, Aunt May, I'm going to see Harry." Ben mumbled, then jumped up from his seat, said goodbye, and went out.
Not long after, he arrived at the Osborn mansion.
This time, there was no need to ask for permission; the butler directly invited Ben in.
"Good morning, Benny."
Seeing Ben, Norman immediately walked over with a smile, then put on a look of reproach.
"Harry told me everything. I didn't expect you and Peter were Spider-Man."
He seemed to be blaming Ben for keeping such an important secret from him, but at the same time, he was also a little worried.
It wasn't worry for Ben, but mainly for Peter.
"So that's why that kid can always get photos of Spider-Man," Norman sighed, pulling Ben down to sit. "It's a shame he's always doing good deeds, but people don't always understand him."
"Those he's saved will become his support," Ben said with a smile.
Ben was confident about this.
Hearing this, Norman nodded, then asked, "And you? What are your plans?"
He had already realized that Ben, if not to say he never came without a reason, certainly wouldn't visit without something important going on.
"You guessed it?" Ben was a little surprised.
Norman, however, smiled and held up a finger.
"When Harry told me your secret identity, I already guessed you must have a plan. Harry wouldn't betray a friend. The only reason he'd tell me this secret is because you let him."
Clearly, Norman understood Ben very well.
He was like a very loving elder, knowing the personalities of Harry, Ben, and Peter like the back of his hand.
"Tell me about it. Let's see if I can help you with anything."
In fact, Norman was very happy that Ben was willing to come to him to discuss things. It meant that, even in the eyes of someone as smart as Ben, he, as an elder, could still be of help.
This was an acknowledgment of his abilities.
It was also a sign that a younger generation was truly relying on him.
For Norman, who had long neglected Harry as an unfit father, this felt like another form of compensation.
"I do have a plan."
Ben sat down properly and said, "I assume you've heard of S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"Of course. This organization is secret to ordinary people, but to people like us, it's no secret," Norman said.
It wasn't just because of money; it was because of the industries and projects Osborn Corporation was involved in that could lead to cooperation with the military, so it wasn't strange to have had dealings with S.H.I.E.L.D.
Especially after the Self-Healing Serum came out, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s contact with him increased even more.
"Your plan has something to do with S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Norman frowned, his expression showing some concern. He said, "The origins of this organization are not simple. I've tried to investigate, but I didn't get much result."
Compared to the FBI and CIA that everyone knew, S.H.I.E.L.D. was more mysterious, which also meant it was more dangerous.
Therefore, Norman couldn't help but worry that Ben might get entangled with them and find it difficult to extricate himself.
To be honest, he didn't want Ben to deal with these people too early. If things went wrong, he might become a pawn in the hands of the powerful, a tragic sacrifice.
However, Ben shook his head and said:
"I am not a pawn."
"You want to be the player?"
"No, I want to be the one who draws the chessboard and sets the rules." Ben smiled slightly, then recounted everything that had happened in the past few days and the current situation of S.H.I.E.L.D. to Norman from beginning to end.
After listening, Norman felt dizzy.
Even for someone like him, knowing that Hydra had unknowingly infiltrated the country's centers of power made him feel a sense of dread.
If that day ever came, and the entire country was controlled by Hydra, then who would be able to stop them?
"Since S.H.I.E.L.D. is no longer the shield protecting the country, then let it be destroyed along with Hydra!" Ben said slowly.
"But a shield can be broken, and people cannot be left defenseless."
"We need to hold another weapon, so that when facing the dangers of the outside world and the universe, humanity will have a sense of security."
Norman first nodded, then said, "So you founded the Galactic Plumbers. Are you planning to have the Galactic Plumbers replace S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
He thought he had seen through Ben's thoughts, but unexpectedly, Ben shook his head.
"No."
"It's not the Galactic Plumbers who will replace S.H.I.E.L.D., nor can it be them."
"Why is that?"
The reason was actually very simple.
"The powers that are aware of the Galactic Plumbers nowadays all believe it's an organization built by aliens, and how can the important responsibility of protecting Earth fall into the hands of aliens?"
Hearing this, Norman understood.
It wasn't that aliens couldn't protect Earth, but that this leadership couldn't be controlled by aliens.
Otherwise, wouldn't Earth become a larger version of devils and Koreans, where everything depended on the whims of alien soldiers?
To put it bluntly, even Superman, you first have to be the son of a Kansas farmer. Even if you are Ultraman, you have to find a human host first, otherwise, you will become human and think and act in a human way.
Therefore, the Galactic Plumbers, yes!
But the Galactic Plumbers becoming the sole dominant superpower organization on Earth, no!
Not only would America not allow it, but no country in the world would. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s legacy could not possibly fall into the hands of the Galactic Plumbers.
Therefore, Ben needed another organization, one that belonged entirely to humans.
And so he thought of H.A.M.M.E.R., founded by Norman Osborn in the comics.
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