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The next day!
At noon, a faint blue barrier enveloped the space within a thirty-mile radius of Camp Lehigh.
This barrier could block all known detection methods in the world and simulate false images to deceive any 'eyes' hovering in the sky.
Above Camp Lehigh, a Spaceship hovered, Šumer fully armed and ready for deployment.
The camp's rooftops opened, revealing an arsenal of long guns, short cannons, and various high-tech weaponry.
Arthur sat alone at the ship's prow, swinging his legs and chatting with Tony.
"Doesn't this whole show of force seem a bit excessive?" Tony remarked. "Besides, it's been an hour past the predicted arrival time, and we haven't detected any suspicious presence."
Arthur pondered for a moment. "I think we need to be extremely cautious until we know what kind of opponent we're facing. We really have no idea whether what suddenly appears before us will be human or... a dog."
"...Let's just hope it's not a dog-headed humanoid."
Tony shrugged.
"If you want kobolds, I know where to find them," Thor suddenly interjected into the comms, his voice earnest. "I once faced the kobold race. They're..."
"No! We don't want to know!"
The entire comm channel erupted into chaos.
The cacophony of everyone talking at once was genuinely terrifying.
Arthur chuckled wryly. "Just listening to you all, it's hard to believe you're a group of superheroes."
"Really? Am I a superhero now too?" Scott's slightly excited voice rang out. "Then what should my superhero name be?"
"I think 'Little Guy' suits you perfectly," Spiderman chimed in.
"'Little Guy'? Then why are you called Spiderman? I think Ant-Man would work for me!"
"...No, no, no. Ant-Man sounds so unheroic!"
"I don't think 'Little Guy' sounds any more heroic."
"Well, I think..."
Arthur sighed helplessly, tuning out Scott and Spiderman's bickering. Truth be told, he'd always felt Scott had probably gotten the wrong script.
'I swear this guy's reading from Deadpool's script…'
"Attention, attention!"
A sudden, unfamiliar voice cut through the communication channel.
Arthur instantly recognized the speaker: one of the masterminds behind today's looming crisis, the very culprits who had put them on high alert.
The communication channel fell silent in an instant.
"Barrier breach countdown: 10, 9..."
The abrupt warning sent Arthur's nerves taut. "Location! We need their location!" he demanded.
"Directly overhead!"
"6, 5, 4, 3..."
As the countdown reached this point, Arthur tilted his head back and could already see an unusual ripple forming in the air above.
The bizarre distortion resembled ripples on water, yet they undulated in the void itself.
Arthur could clearly sense that this wasn't the natural flow of spatial energy, but rather a passive... uncontrollable fluctuation.
As the final three seconds vanished, a crisp cracking sound shattered the air, only to be instantly repaired by the space's powerful restorative forces.
A figure plummeted headfirst from the sky!
Arthur vanished in a flash and reappeared beside the falling figure, catching her effortlessly.
His expression was more bewildered than shocked, because the person in his arms... should currently be sitting in Camp Lehigh's intelligence office.
"Natasha?"
Tony's voice reached Arthur's ear.
Arthur nodded silently. "It's her, but the situation is likely far more complicated than we imagined... This probably isn't the Natasha we know."
"Well, at least the alert's been lifted for now, right?" Tony said.
Arthur nodded. "Yes, tell everyone to return to their duties... and check on the status of the barrier breach data?"
"It's stopped."
"Good. Well done, everyone."
Arthur unfurled his Raven God's Wings and slowly descended onto the roof of Camp Lehigh.
A massive green figure crashed down beside Arthur, poking Natasha's cheek with a finger. "What's wrong with her?"
The spaceship automatically returned to its docking bay, and Tony, still clad in his full battle armor, appeared beside Arthur, his helmet retracting. "Why does her apparent age not match Natasha's current age?"
"Your eyes are sharp..." Arthur replied. "We can't determine the specifics right now, but it's clear she's in dire straits. We need Princess Shuri's help."
"No problem," Princess Shuri responded immediately over the comms. "It's been too long since you last visited my lab."
With a thought, Arthur stored Natasha in his Disassemble space. Surprisingly, there was no rejection, causing his brow to furrow. "Let's go."
"Something feels off," Tony said, following Arthur. "Her combat suit... it doesn't look like anything we made."
"If she's from the future, that still doesn't explain how she breached the dimensional barrier," Arthur nodded. "More importantly, what exactly did she experience?"
Hulk's body gradually shrank back to Banner's as he walked. "We probably won't get any answers until she wakes up," Banner said. "But judging by her expression, she doesn't seem to be at peace. Time may bring many changes, but suffering ages a person prematurely."
The three exchanged glances, then Tony and Banner simultaneously locked their gaze on Arthur.
Arthur's face darkened. "This isn't my fault!"
"We believe you," they said in unison, only making him sound even less believable.
After delivering Natasha to Princess Shuri and placing her in the medical pod, the real Natasha walked in from outside.
The three glanced between Natasha lying in the pod and the one standing at the doorway. After a moment of silence, Arthur said, "I think we might be facing a major problem."
"I had a feeling," Natasha replied. "If she really is me, I probably wouldn't have chosen to return to the past unless it was absolutely necessary."
Most importantly, if she could return to the past, she definitely wouldn't have come back to this exact moment...
Soon, Steve and the others arrived as well, all utterly baffled by the current situation.
Even Arthur, usually so composed, felt somewhat dazed, left with nothing to do but wait for Princess Shuri's medical examination to conclude.
Ten minutes later, the medical pod opened, and Natasha lying inside opened her eyes!
(End of Chapter)