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[Frog] Chapter 170: The Fantastic Four Appear, and Red Queen’s Envy
🕑 Added 2024-11-23 17:53:56 +0000 UTCA powerful surge of energy rippled out, instantly destroying the power system of the experimental base.
The entire underground laboratory plunged into darkness, with only a few emergency lights flickering to life, faintly illuminating the dim space.
The energy beam emitted by the Tesseract vanished completely after just a moment.
As the energy beam dissipated, a figure stood at its epicenter, holding a scepter in hand.
Nick Fury quickly got a clear look at the individual.
Noticing the faintly glowing blue weapon in his hand, Nick Fury spoke up, “Sir, put down the spear!”
Loki, who had just been transported, took a moment to adjust before glancing at the Scepter of Mind in his hand.
“It seems I’ve arrived safely.”
As soon as he spoke, Loki raised the scepter, and powerful energy quickly began to coalesce.
A blue energy wave shot out from the tip of the Scepter of Mind.
Hawkeye reacted instantly, shoving Nick Fury aside. “Watch out!”
Several agents with firearms, seeing Nick Fury under attack, opened fire without hesitation.
However, bullets that could turn an ordinary person into a sieve only caused a few sparks to fly off Loki’s body.
Loki leaped forward, combining the energy strikes from the Scepter of Mind with other techniques.
In less than a minute, he had taken down all the security personnel in the underground lab.
Surveying the scene, Loki strode over to Hawkeye, who had been thrown to the ground while shielding Nick Fury.
Hawkeye, seeing Loki approach, scrambled to his feet and prepared to fight back with his gun. However, Loki grabbed his wrist with ease.
“You’re loyal, Earthling,” Loki remarked.
Before Hawkeye could respond, Loki pressed the Mind Scepter to his chest.
In an instant, Hawkeye froze, and the stone on the scepter emitted a faint blue glow.
Under its influence, Hawkeye’s eyes gradually turned a pale blue as well.
Nick Fury, who had struggled to his feet, was shocked by the sight.
He knew Hawkeye’s abilities better than anyone. A top S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, now completely powerless against this mysterious individual.
What happened next left Fury even more stunned.
Hawkeye lowered his gun and stood respectfully before the intruder.
Nick Fury immediately realized that Hawkeye had been mind-controlled.
This man wielded powers beyond comprehension.
Fury had to escape.
While Loki busied himself with subjugating others, Fury quickly removed the Tesseract from its housing, placed it in a specialized briefcase, and prepared to sneak away.
But Loki’s voice rang out from behind him. “Stay where you are. I need that. You can’t take it.”
“I came here specifically for what’s in that case,” Loki declared.
“Sorry, I don’t know who you are, so I can’t hand it over,” Fury replied, steeling himself.
Though he outwardly showed no fear, his mind raced as he calculated an escape route.
Loki smirked, glancing at the Scepter of Mind in his hand, and introduced himself. “I am Loki of Asgard.”
“I bear a glorious mission.”
“You’re Loki? Thor’s brother?” Fury exclaimed in shock.
He had read Coulson’s reports on Thor and was well-acquainted with the name Loki, the God of Mischief, Trickery, and Deception.
To Fury, those skilled in deceit and manipulation were the most dangerous of all.
“Our people have no quarrel with each other. I can’t give this to you.”
Loki’s smile widened.
Just as he was about to engage Fury further, Hawkeye, now under Loki’s control, spoke up. “Sir, Fury is stalling.”
“This place is about to explode. The energy surge activated the base’s self-destruct system.”
“The hundreds of layers of earth above us are about to collapse. He plans to bury us alive.”
Hearing his plan exposed, Fury glared at Hawkeye in anger.
Even under control, Hawkeye’s sharp observational skills hadn’t dulled. That was the most troublesome part.
Dr. Selvig, also under Loki’s control, looked up from the computer and confirmed, “He’s right. The tunnel is collapsing.”
“If we don’t leave in two minutes, we’ll all die here.”
“Do it,” Loki ordered.
At Loki’s command, Hawkeye raised his gun and fired.
With a loud bang, Nick Fury fell to the ground.
Loki, along with his newly acquired followers, picked up the briefcase containing the Tesseract.
They walked right past Fury’s “corpse” without a second glance.
Once Loki and his group had left, Fury clutched his chest and slowly stood up.
“Motherf—!” Fury cursed under his breath.
“Barton, you never followed my orders this well,” he muttered bitterly.
With effort, Fury removed the bullet embedded in his chest from his bulletproof vest, a shot that had nearly killed him.
Nick Fury immediately activated his communicator. "Hill, do you copy?"
"Barton has betrayed us. Don’t let them escape!"
As soon as he finished, gunfire erupted on the other end of the line.
“Shit!” Fury cursed, gripping the communicator tightly before rushing to flee the area.
If he didn’t leave now, he’d be the one buried alive.
---
A short while later, aboard a helicopter, Nick Fury turned to look back at the experimental base.
With a resounding explosion, the ground collapsed entirely.
“Director, can you hear me? Director?”
The voice of Agent Coulson crackled through the communicator. Clearly, Coulson, who had been overseeing the evacuation, was unaware of the events in the lab. He had no idea why the self-destruct sequence had suddenly activated.
“Coulson, the Tesseract has fallen into enemy hands. What’s your status?”
“I’ve just evacuated. All critical data has been preserved.”
Hearing this, Fury felt slightly relieved. “Hill, what about you?”
After a brief pause, Maria Hill’s exhausted voice came through. “Barely avoided getting buried alive.”
“But many of our colleagues didn’t make it. I don’t know how many survivors there are.”
Emerging from the rubble, Hill looked battered and disheveled.
Fury’s voice came through again on the communicator. “Notify all surviving agents: track down the briefcase at all costs.”
“Understood, Director.”
“Coulson, return to base. Initiate Level 7 Alert.”
Coulson’s expression darkened at the mention of a Level 7 Alert, realizing the gravity of the situation.
While not the highest level of S.H.I.E.L.D. security, it was the first time in the agency’s history that it had been invoked. Things had spiraled out of control.
“Understood, Director!” Coulson replied.
“Let’s go. Back to New York!”
A helicopter slowly lifted off, heading toward the city.
---
New York.
Night had fallen.
Alan sat alone on his couch, watching a holographic projection in front of him.
The scene showed the ground collapsing in a cloud of dust and debris.
Anyone unaware might have mistaken it for a disaster movie.
As he watched the projection, courtesy of the Red Queen, Alan’s fingers tapped rhythmically on the armrest of the couch.
“So, the surge I felt earlier was from the Tesseract’s energy.”
“It seems Loki has arrived on Earth.”
Loki’s arrival meant it wouldn’t be long before the Chitauri army invaded Earth through the Tesseract’s portal.
When that time came, a battle that would shake the world would unfold in New York.
“Red Queen.”
“Yes, Master?”
Alan glanced at her projection and asked, “Is Gwen’s new suit ready?”
Given Gwen’s personality, she would undoubtedly join the fight once the battle in New York began.
Though her liquid vibranium suit offered considerable protection, the chaotic environment of such a battle warranted something even stronger.
The Red Queen responded, “Master, it might take a bit more time.”
“While vibranium has excellent bio-properties, integrating it with the symbiote requires further improvement.”
Alan nodded. “If I’m not on earth when the aliens arrive and Gwen ends up in the fight, deliver the new suit to her immediately.”
The Red Queen’s projection displayed a thoughtful frown, her expression strikingly human. “Master, what do you mean by that?”
Alan rose and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing into the distance. “I have a feeling I’ll be leaving soon.”
“And during my absence, New York might face an enormous battle.”
As his fusion with the Emperor Armor deepened, Alan’s mind and physical strength grew stronger, along with an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
This heightened perception, reminiscent of Gwen’s spider-sense, allowed him to anticipate danger before it struck.
Lately, Alan had been sensing an ominous vibe.
With Loki’s arrival, he decided to prepare in advance by briefing the Red Queen.
“Understood, Master.”
“If Miss Gwen asks about you, what should I tell her?”
“Just say I had urgent business and returned to the Hometown.”
Red Queen nodded. “Understood, Master.”
---
Not long after Alan’s conversation with the Red Queen, Gwen swung into the room on her webs.
She hurried over to Alan, her face brimming with excitement.
“Alan, you won’t believe what just happened!”
“I just ran into this guy who was completely on fire—and he could fly!”
“There was also this big guy who looked like he was made of rocks, and another guy who could stretch and shrink like a rubber band!”
“And they were all fighting some dude covered in metal…”
...
After seeing Anna off at the airport and watching her plane take off, Alan and Gwen left New York Airport, only to immediately receive an emergency alert intercepted by the Red Queen about mutant activity.
Without hesitation, Gwen rushed off to the scene. Alan, assuming it was just a typical mutant incident, decided to return home.
Now, hearing Gwen’s excited retelling, Alan realized it wasn’t just any mutants—it was the Fantastic Four.
Ever since their spaceship landed, they’d kept a relatively low profile. But based on Gwen’s description, it seemed the four had joined forces to defeat Doctor Doom.
“So, did you stay busy tonight?” Alan asked, guiding Gwen to sit on the nearby sofa.
“Of course!” Gwen exclaimed. “That guy named Victor? I trapped him with my webbing!”
“Then, at my suggestion, the guy who was all on fire surrounded him, using the chimney effect to create enough heat to take him down!”
Watching Gwen recount the events with pride, Alan could easily picture the scene.
Though Gwen’s abilities weren’t the most powerful among heroes, her creativity and improvisational combat instincts often turned out to be the key to resolving crises.
Alan affectionately ruffled Gwen’s hair. “You really are our little Spider.”
Gwen lifted her chin proudly. “Of course!”
“Oh, by the way, Alan!”
“Tomorrow, my dad and his team are planning to capture Norman. I want to help them.”
Alan chuckled. “Didn’t I already agree to that back at the airport?”
Gwen shook her head. “No, I mean I want the Red Queen to infiltrate Oscorp’s internal network first. We can get the building plans and locate Norman’s position.”
“That way, even if he manages to escape tomorrow, we’ll be able to track him down immediately.”
“Just ask the Red Queen to handle it. Oscorp’s firewall is like tissue paper to her.”
Alan wasn’t exaggerating. For the Red Queen, only Stark Industries' firewall posed a real challenge. Any other system connected to the internet could be breached in an instant.
With Alan’s approval, Gwen leaned in and quickly kissed his cheek. “That’s your reward!”
Though the Red Queen often assisted Gwen in her crime-fighting efforts, Gwen still considered her Alan’s AI butler. Out of respect, she always made sure to ask Alan’s permission before requesting anything from the Red Queen.
It wasn’t about the closeness of their relationship but a mutual respect for boundaries.
“Well, since you’ve rewarded me, I should give you something in return!” Alan declared, lunging toward Gwen.
She deftly dodged. “No way!”
“You’re not getting away…”
“Pika… Pika…”
Hearing their playful commotion, Pikachu, who had been resting in the room, came running out.
Gwen scooped him up and gleefully exclaimed, “Pikachu, Alan’s bullying me! Zap him for me!”
“Pikachu, come over here!” Alan called.
Following Alan’s command, Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder. “Pika… Pika…”
“Pikachu, no snacks for you if you side with him!” Gwen teased.
Alan grinned mischievously. “Hehe, I’m coming for you now…”
“Take my return gift!”
“No way!”
On the side, the Red Queen’s holographic projection watched Alan, Gwen, and Pikachu playing together.
A trace of longing, almost humanlike, flashed across her gaze.
“If only I could join them…”
“That would be wonderful…”
...
Comments
Parmar Yagnik
hah i was thinking the same
Lord Of the Mysteries
Ultron body
