"Tohka, could you please come up here for a moment?"
Just as Tohka was chatting with Miku, Tony's voice sounded again. But judging from the tone, he didn't sound good at all, like he was in some serious trouble.
"What is it? Don't tell me all of you in there actually got invaded anyway. That's pretty pathetic, isn't it? You're only up against Hawkeye, right?" Hearing Tony's call, Tohka was a little puzzled. By rights, this shouldn't be happening—surely that group wasn't that weak.
"Don't even start. Who could have known that guy would go so hard—he blew up one of the engines the moment he arrived."
Tony sounded completely exasperated but kept going: "Can you come help hold this thing up? The Helicarrier is about to drop out of the sky. That so-called God got backstabbed by his dear little brother. Right now, it's just me and one kid who can still fly—and that kid is flailing around uselessly. Come quick—argh!"
"Uh…fine."
Hearing that, Tohka frowned. It sounded like Hawkeye had caused even more damage than in the original story. Back then, he'd only created chaos to bust Loki out—but this time, it clearly wasn't just that.
"Forget it, Miku—let's go. Suit up in your Spirit Dress, don't waste time."
Hearing Tony's words, Tohka knew he must actually be in trouble. So, without hesitation, she grabbed Miku Izayoi and sprinted off. In the next moment, both of them activated their Spirit Dresses and took to the air.
Using the coordinates Tony had sent earlier, Tohka quickly located the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. But to their surprise, the situation was dire—black smoke was billowing everywhere, and Tony and Nova were desperately trying to prop it up from below. Even so, the massive vessel was still steadily sinking.
"Hey, now that you're here, could you stop gawking? Only one engine is still running—if you help hold it up, I can go repair the others." The moment Tohka and Miku flew over; Tony urgently waved them closer.
"Wait, wait—you're telling us two to hold this giant thing up?" Glancing at the colossal Helicarrier, Miku Izayoi was the first to protest. She didn't know exactly how heavy it was, but she was absolutely sure she couldn't lift it.
"Look, the Helicarrier's systems are still running. Otherwise, I'd have been pancaked ages ago. And even in the suit, my strength doesn't come close to Tohka's, okay?" Seeing Miku's reluctance, Tony quickly explained.
As scary as it looked, it wasn't quite as hopeless as it seemed—otherwise, he would have flown up to start rescuing people already.
"Fine, hurry up then. If we wait any longer and Loki trashes the remaining engines, I'm bailing." Ignoring their argument, Tohka flew closer to Tony.
She braced herself and pushed upward with both hands, lifting the entire Helicarrier. But she was surprised to find it lighter than she expected—at least easier than when she lifted that skyscraper.
"Whew—alright, hold it steady. I'm going up to fix the engines." With Tohka taking over, Tony and Nova instantly felt the strain ease. Knowing there was no point in staying down there, they both flew up to start repairs.
"We'll just wait here. Seriously, why do we always end up with the heavy lifting?" Scowling at the two as they flew away, Miku had no intention of getting involved in the fighting.
She had to admit, Tohka's earlier warnings had sunk in—she knew there were definitely people up there who meant her harm. So, she really didn't care how fierce the battle got—honestly, the more of them who died, the better.
"Relax—it's really not that big of a deal." Tohka didn't care about Miku's complaints.
Anyway, it wasn't that heavy—these Helicarriers were built with powerful engines precisely to handle emergencies like this. She suspected that even if she hadn't come, they could have dumped some weight and still managed to stay airborne.
"Wait—are those two, okay?" Just then, Miku spotted a couple of figures tumbling from the Helicarrier. One was a giant green-skinned brute, and the other was a cage that seemed to have someone inside.
"Huh? Oh, them?" Tohka glanced over and then looked away without concern. Just like Miku guessed, she'd recognized them at a glance.
"Don't worry about those two—they're famous for how much punishment they can take. Falling from the Helicarrier—or even from orbit—won't faze them."
"Uh…okay." Hearing that, Miku abandoned any thought of going to help.
Since Tohka said it so casually, she figured there was no rush. As for helping Tohka hold up the Helicarrier—forget it. It was obvious Tohka wasn't even straining, so she wasn't about to pitch in. After all, as a 'lady,' she had to maintain her image—unlike Tohka, who didn't care about appearances in the slightest.
While they were talking, Tohka suddenly felt the weight lift from her hands. She cautiously loosened her grip—and as she'd expected, the Helicarrier stayed airborne just fine.
"Hey—is that Loki?" At that moment, Tohka noticed a plane streak past in front of her. Through the cockpit window, she could see Loki's sinister face staring back—and he was clearly looking at her too.
"Who is that? Just seeing him makes my skin crawl." As Tohka noticed, so did Miku. But before either of them could react, the plane accelerated and vanished from view.
"Loki—trickster god Loki. Those so-called champions of justice…in the end, they still let him get away." Watching Loki escape unscathed, Tohka was a little speechless. Honestly, if Batman were here, he'd have toyed with Loki until he was begging for mercy.
"Damn it—there's no time for this. We have to go." Suddenly, Tohka realized she and Miku had been away from Stark Tower for quite a while. That was more than enough time for their enemies to finish setting up the portal—and judging by everything, this had all been a diversion to lure them away. So, she didn't bother with the Helicarrier any longer. She grabbed Miku and flew off at full speed.