[The arrow that Hawkeye had fired moments earlier suddenly activated, revealing two pre-fabricated data plugs that extended from its shaft and inserted themselves directly into the main computer terminal's access ports.]
[Within seconds, every screen throughout the helicarrier flickered and distorted into chaotic static as Barton's cyber-warfare arrow successfully compromised the ship's entire network infrastructure.]
[The situation deteriorated rapidly as another critical engine shut down completely, its massive turbines grinding to a halt with mechanical groans that echoed throughout the ship.]
[As the port-side engine failed, the massive helicarrier began listing heavily to one side. Personnel throughout the ship lost their footing and tumbled across tilting decks, while unsecured cargo and equipment slid dangerously toward the lower bulkheads.]
[Emergency klaxons blared as the ship's automatic systems tried to compensate for the catastrophic power loss.]
["We need to get this situation under control, now!" Director Fury shouted over the chaos.]
[Before anyone could respond, another devastating report came through the communications system.]
["Director! We've completely lost power to Engine One! She's dead in the water!"]
[Fury immediately understood the full scope of Barton's sabotage mission: "Barton didn't just hack our systems - he's taken out our primary propulsion! He's heading for the detention level! Does anyone have eyes on the prisoner?"]
[At that moment, Black Widow, who had been recovering from her traumatic encounter with the Hulk, steadied herself against a bulkhead and activated her comm unit despite her trembling hands.]
["This is Romanoff! I copy your transmission!"]
[Meanwhile, Tony in his Mark VI armor flew directly into the massive turbine housing of Engine Three, positioning himself among the enormous rotor blades.]
["Stark! We're in free fall!" Fury's voice crackled through the comms as Tony began his desperate manual restart attempt.]
["Yeah, I kind of noticed that!" Tony replied, bracing himself against the turbine assembly and beginning to push the massive blades with his suit's full power output.]
[Although the engine housing was severely damaged from the earlier explosion, the core mechanical systems remained functional. Tony engaged his repulsors at maximum capacity and gradually began accelerating the enormous rotors by sheer force.]
[Back at the control station, Captain America was still engaged in a firefight with the remaining Hydra operative. Due to his disadvantageous position on the damaged platform, he was pinned down by sustained automatic weapons fire and forced to give ground.]
[In his tactical retreat, he miscalculated the platform's structural damage and stepped onto a section that had been weakened by the earlier explosion.]
[The metal gave way beneath his enhanced weight, and only his superhuman reflexes allowed him to grab a nearby support cable before plummeting thousands of feet to the ocean below.]
[In another section of the ship, Thor sprinted through the corridors toward the detention level where Loki was imprisoned. When he arrived at the containment area, he saw that the security door to the glass prison stood wide open.]
[Without taking time to analyze the situation or consider it might be a trap, he shouted "NO!" and charged directly into the cell to apprehend his brother.]
[Instead of making contact, Thor passed completely through what appeared to be Loki's physical form. His momentum carried him deep into the containment cell, and the moment he crossed the threshold, the security door slammed shut with a pneumatic hiss.]
[The real Loki materialized outside the prison, his illusion magic having worked perfectly. He looked at his trapped brother with obvious satisfaction, the roles now completely reversed.]
["Are you ever going to not fall for that?" Loki asked with genuine amusement. "I've been using the same trick since we were children."]
[Elsewhere in the ship, Hawkeye was moving through the maintenance corridors when his enhanced senses detected movement behind him. He spun around with fluid precision, drawing and nocking an arrow in one smooth motion.]
[But Natasha had already closed the distance between them. She grabbed his bow with both hands, preventing him from achieving a proper draw while simultaneously deflecting his aim toward the ceiling.]
[She attempted to wrangle the weapon away from him, but Barton's strength and leverage advantage allowed him to drive his elbow into her solar plexus, forcing her back and creating space for combat.]
[Barton used his bow like a staff, swinging it in a wide arc that forced Natasha to duck and weave. She countered with a spinning back-kick that caught him in the chest, staggering him backward along the narrow corridor.]
[As he recovered his balance, she performed a gymnastics-style flip over his head and landed behind him in the passageway.]
[Barton immediately spun to track her movement, but Natasha had anticipated this and came up from his blind spot to deliver another powerful kick.]
[When Barton attempted to bring his bow to bear for another shot, Black Widow - who knew his archery capabilities intimately - used the corridor's railing system to swing herself over his line of fire and land on the opposite walkway.]
[Barton pursued her across the gap with athletic precision. Once on the same level, he wielded his compound bow like a close-quarters weapon, using both the rigid frame and the flexible bowstring to control and strike his opponent.]
[He managed to catch both of Natasha's wrists with the bowstring, and his superior upper body strength allowed him to pull her off balance and deliver a devastating strike with the bow's frame before pinning her against the corridor railing.]
[However, Natasha had survived years of brutal training and countless missions. She drove her knee upward into Barton's groin with vicious precision, causing him to double over in pain and loosen his grip.]
[She immediately freed her hands, delivered a reverse elbow strike to his face, and appropriated his bow as her own weapon.]
[Barton quickly drew a tactical knife from his boot and prepared to continue the close-quarters battle.]
"What an incredible fight! You know what? I've always wanted to learn those advanced combat techniques." Little Peter Parker watched the Natasha vs. Barton confrontation with obvious envy, then whispered to his friend Harry.
Harley asked with curiosity, "So why don't you start training seriously?"
"Because Aunt Natasha says I'm still too young for the really dangerous stuff. She only teaches me basic defensive moves for now." Little Peter Parker shrugged with disappointment.
Considering that 3rd Generation Spider-Man was constantly getting into trouble trying to prove himself in the sky screen broadcasts, Peter had learned to be more patient. After all, he'd seen his future self get his suit confiscated multiple times.
Although Tony had eventually returned it, the underlying problem was clear - the desire to prove himself had nearly gotten his classmates killed.
[Inside the containment cell, Thor channeled his rage into Mjolnir and began hammering the reinforced transparent aluminum walls with tremendous force. Each impact created spider-web cracks in the nearly indestructible material and caused the entire detention mechanism to shake violently.]
[The mechanical arm that suspended the prison cell above the drop zone began losing its structural integrity under the repeated impacts.]
[Loki watched his brother's futile efforts with obvious amusement as he approached the containment system's control panel.]
["The humans of Midgard think we are immortal gods," Loki said conversationally. "Shall we test that theory?"]
[Just as he reached for the release mechanism that would drop Thor's cell through the ship's hull, Agent Coulson appeared at the entrance to the detention bay. He quickly eliminated the Hydra guard with precise marksmanship and trained a unusual-looking weapon on the God of Mischief.]
["Step away from the controls," Coulson ordered firmly. "You might be interested to know what this is."]
[Loki observed as Coulson adjusted his grip on the weapon, and even the God of Lies could sense the dangerous energy emanating from the device. He began moving slowly toward the SHIELD agent.]
["We developed this specifically after you sent the Destroyer to that little town in New Mexico," Coulson explained, showing perhaps too much confidence in his tactical advantage. He actually began walking closer to his target.]
["I'm not entirely sure what it will do to you, but I'm certainly looking forward to finding out," he continued as he activated the weapon's charging sequence.]
[But in the next instant, Coulson gasped in shock and pain as Loki's scepter erupted through his chest from behind. The Loki he had been threatening was merely another illusion - the real God of Mischief had approached from his blind spot with perfect stealth.]
[Thor witnessed this betrayal and could only roar helplessly from his prison: "NO! COULSON!"]
[Agent Coulson collapsed to the deck, the searing pain of the scepter's energy making every breath an agony. He could feel his life force being drained away with each labored inhalation.]
[Loki withdrew the Mind Stone scepter with casual indifference and walked deliberately toward Thor's containment cell, the stolen weapon gleaming with otherworldly power.]
[Under Thor's horrified and furious gaze, Loki activated the cell's atmospheric purge system. The chamber's floor iris opened to reveal the miles-long drop to the ocean below, and hurricane-force winds immediately began sucking the air from the containment unit.]
[Loki's hand hovered over the final release mechanism, and Thor finally understood the full scope of his brother's plan. Without hesitation or mercy, Loki triggered the release, and Thor's cell detached from the ship and plummeted toward the earth far below.]
"Oh my God! Coulson! Damn you, Loki!"
"Did he actually die from that?"
"What a tragedy! He was one of the good ones!"
"Now I finally understand why we never saw him in any of the later timeline videos!"
The multiverse viewers didn't seem particularly concerned about Thor being ejected from the helicarrier, since everyone knew the God of Thunder was virtually indestructible.
But Coulson, who had been murdered by Loki's treachery, appeared to be genuinely dead. After all, none of them had seen Agent Coulson appear in any of the subsequent sky screen broadcasts from the MCU timeline.
That absence spoke volumes about the finality of his sacrifice.