A C-23 transport plane ascended in altitude, approaching the landing zone of the Helicarrier...
The optical camouflage background reflector disengaged, revealing the massive steel behemoth lying quietly above the clouds.
<...Transport vessel 66B, your records are in our system, but there's no flight log. Please state your cargo. Over...>
The radio crackled with the control tower's inquiry.
The colossal ship that resembled a space fortress required vast amounts of supplies daily to sustain the lives of over a thousand people, relying on a formidable logistics team to operate normally.
"Weapons and ammunition. Over," the pilot replied.
In the rear compartment, a fifty-man team was gearing up. They donned helmets, strapped on bulletproof vests, and checked their weapons.
They were all elite HYDRA operatives, among them Barton, who had been missing for some time. He opened a black case and retrieved a specially crafted recurve bow.
He had lost consciousness during the assault on Umbrella and subsequently suffered memory loss. Any attempt to recall triggered severe headaches. Yet, under the Mind Stone's influence, Barton still remembered the mission he needed to execute.
The intangible illusions woven into his mind had implanted a programmed objective...
Remain lucid and never forget the task at hand. Attack S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier, create chaos, and rescue Loki from his prison cell.
As the transport plane neared the landing pad on the ship, Barton nocked an arrow and stood firmly at the open hatch, his cold detached eyes glinting with determination.
Turbulent airflow, shifting wind directions, and the shuddering of the transport plane... all of these would ordinarily throw an arrow off course, like fish caught in a chaotic current.
Yet Barton remained unfazed...
After a brief assessment of the trajectory, he simply released the fully drawn bowstring. Like a leaf drifting on the wind, the black arrow rode the currents and carved a curved path through the air before embedding itself deep into the metal hull of the engine compartment.
The arrowhead deployed tiny tendril-like appendages, and a red-lit timer activated.
In less than thirty seconds, Engine Three erupted in a violent explosion. Raging flames surged through the pipelines, sending the Avengers in the lab tumbling to the ground.
The powerful shockwave shattered reinforced glass, sent papers flying, and sparked electrical fires across the equipment.
A piercing alarm blared, and the entire Helicarrier immediately went into lockdown, sealing off all sections.
Feeling the ship tremble, Loki in his circular prison finally allowed a faint smile to surface. He had nearly gone mad being confined here. That is, being cut off from all communication, and with no one to talk to except for Nick Fury's occasional interrogations. Perhaps out of discretion, Thor hadn't visited him either.
The Asgardian prince who had meticulously scripted this entire scheme was now plagued by doubts... had he been forgotten? Had some irreparable flaw derailed his plans?
"Engine Three is down..."
"Open defensive lockdown in the sealed sectors..."
"Arm the weaponry! Initiate highest alert protocol!"
"Watch Banner! Coulson, protect Dr. Banner!"
Stationed at the bridge, Nick Fury issued orders methodically, his voice booming through the ship's speakers. As the commanding officer, he had to quell this chaos swiftly, leaving no opening for the enemy.
"Stop them from repairing the engines! Take out the cameras in the sealed sectors! The rest of you, follow me!"
Led by the insider Hawkeye, the HYDRA operatives aboard the transport plane stormed into the ship's interior at breakneck speed.
To maximize the chaos, Barton's first objective was to locate Bruce Banner...
HYDRA moles within S.H.I.E.L.D. had already provided the Helicarrier's blueprints, rendering its security system useless.
"Bring the ship back to coordinates 18O, and head south!" The one-eyed director maintained order from the bridge, steadying the crew's morale.
If one more engine turbine failed, the Helicarrier would lose balance and plummet from 9000 meters...
Fury needed to steer it toward an uninhabited area to minimize casualties in the worst-case scenario.
Meanwhile, Iron Man and Captain America set aside their differences to collaborate on repairing the damaged engine. Though they usually clashed, emergencies demanded unity.
Clad in his armor, Tony hovered outside the engine compartment. The explosion had severely damaged the turbine, twisting the alloy casing into grotesque shapes wreathed in flames.
Exposed circuitry spewed thick smoke...
"I need to get this cooling system operational again. First, we have to clear the debris..." Tony scanned the engine room and swiftly proposed a solution, "Cap, I need you at the control panel. Tell me which switches are overloaded."
Steve nodded. Then, leveraging his enhanced physique, he quickly reached the designated spot. He pried open the control box...
"Looks like a bunch of circuit boards to me," the World War II hero offered succinctly.
Tony sighed...
He couldn't expect Captain America to rattle off technical jargon. This was a man who had been frozen for seventy years and didn't even know the Beatles.
The mechanical arm's laser sliced through the useless obstructions.
A quick glance told Tony all he needed to know, "I have to go inside the turbine. Without auxiliary power, they won't restart."
When the moment called for action, someone had to step up. The men of the Stark family didn't know the meaning of retreat, even if entering the turbine meant risking being shredded during acceleration.
"To keep me from turning into salsa, the stator control unit can reverse polarity. That'll buy enough time to disengage the magnetic levitation and–"
"Say something I can understand."
"See that red lever? It slows the rotors. Wait for my signal, Cap."
While Iron Man and Captain America worked together, Natasha escorted a visibly tense Banner to a secure area.
The most dangerous individual aboard wasn't Loki in his cell...
If Bruce Banner lost control, the Helicarrier hovering above the clouds would be doomed. Stopping the green behemoth's rampage was no easy feat. The devastation in New York was still fresh in everyone's minds.
Hawkeye and his HYDRA squad arrived at the secure zone...
Hidden atop the pipelines, he loosed an arrow at Banner who was encircled by agents. Unleashing the Hulk was the most efficient way to sow chaos.
Banner and the Hulk were two sides of the same coin. The poor scientist had once tried to shoot himself, only for the green monster to spit out the bullet. It went without saying that when faced with mortal danger, the mindless Hulk would emerge.
The arrow struck Banner's chest, but drew no blood. His gentle features twisted into something monstrous.
Barton left the HYDRA operatives behind and slipped away. He still had to break Loki out of his prison.
As he sprinted down the corridor, a bestial roar echoed behind him.
The beast was loose...