Matt Murdock loosened the restraints around Agent Morse's arms just enough that the woman could break out of them at a moment's notice. All the while, he quickly tapped along her arm, using the morse code for what amounted to a 'wait for it'.
"Now… let me think what should I gloat about now?" Octavius pondered, Matt's powerful ears took in the ruffle of the material covering her right arm as it scratched at her head. He wasn't too familiar with the fabrics and the like used to protect people from high caliber weapons but from what he could tell, this stuff was thick, it was insulated against electricity, and it could probably take a knife no issue. "Oh, I know. Did you know that the Helicarrier has a massive weakness against computer viruses?"
"No it doesn't," Morse replied with some confusion. "We've got the best cybersecurity on the planet, even if a virus was somehow able to get through, it wouldn't last ten minutes before being isolated, shut down, and removed from our systems."
"Ah… but that's still ten minutes that a virus could be active," A claw from the tentacle waved in front of the SHIELD Agent's face, dangerously close to removing the nose from her entirely. "And that whole thing up there is connected like a spider's web; remove the sides and the center falls."
(SHIELD Helicarrier)
The Helicarrier was falling
The Brainwashed agents under Loki's control, led by Clint Barton, Hawkeye himself, had assaulted the Helicarrier using stealth and with such force that the other non-mind controlled agents couldn't deal with them.
Barton was using special arrows, newly created by a keen mind given knowledge from beyond this world, to shut things down, to block halls out with quick cement foam, to seal doors shut with high heat explosions that had a low area of effect but were hot enough to melt the joint shut against the walls.
Originally the invaders had planned on shooting an explosive into one of the Hellicarrier's lift fans. But the good Doctor Octavius had given them a little gift, a virus, it would turn off the power for the carrier's fans.
They couldn't even contact anyone for help, the entire craft's broadcasting capabilities had been temporarily taken offline. This along with how the doctors, both Banner and Ross, were missing along with Loki, left many in a worried state.
But it only got worse as it continued to fall into the body of water below, a body that was more than large enough to consume the weight of the mighty craft, the Atlantic Ocean. So things weren't looking good for the SHIELD Agents inside, even as they fruitlessly attempted to bring the power back online.
The sudden drop had caused lift to occur to any being or object inside the Helicarrier. Agents that hadn't grabbed hold of railings were brought up the ceiling. The ones that had tied themselves down to their seats in front of their computers, struggled with moving their hands to their controls, desperate to save themselves from a watery demise.
Fury himself could not help but glare at the world around him as he held on tight to a nearby handlebar. Silent otherwise.
A single agent, a man that was still going through orientation, couldn't help but glance about the control center, his nerves causing him to miss the click of the straps each time he attempted to fasten himself down.
"What can we do, sir?" he turned his attention to Maria Hill, her own attention set to trying to break through the jamming blocking their communications. As many would in this situation the woman was quick to reassure her subordinate.
"What we're not going to do is pay any attention to the sectioned off parts of the carrier, nor are we going to bother with sealing the holes, we're rapidly regaining power to the fans, so we may not crash into the ocean at all," Hill revealed. "The best thing we can do is fasten ourselves down and minimize our whiplash if we hit the water. The Carrier is buoyant enough that we're going to have several hours before the water filling causes us to sink. There's nothing to worry about."
Of course, Hill knew that this was probably wrong, at the speed they were currently falling the Carrier would hit the water hard enough that then resulting damage alone would sink them. But that didn't mean she was going to terrorize someone while there was still a chance that they could survive if the engines came back online.
"So… we're going to be fine?" he asked, confusion replacing the naked terror the young man had been feeling over the weeks.
"... Yes, agent," She glanced over at him, all the while her fingers continued to type furiously at the controls. "If we keep calm-"
"The engines are failing to stabilize us, sir," One of the many technicians attempting to fix the situation interrupted. "The Helicarrier is going to flip, we're attempting to adjust power but they're not responding quick enough."
The woman was suddenly interrupted by a loud screech of noise coming from her headset. Hill flinched even as it suddenly became clear, something that surprised even her years of experience in this job.
"Quinjet 1-" Black Widow's voice piped in. "-to HQ, returning from the mission, the target was not there. I repeat, the target wasn't there. We're returning to base now.."
It was the years of experience that allowed Hill to take their badly timed return in her stride.
"Negative, HQ has taken damage, we are going down. it will not be a suitable location to regroup. Head to the Alpha location instead, find the Tesseract..."
For a second there wasn't a response, then Romanoff's voice came out with a sentence that startled Hill.
"Doyle, what are you doing?!" It sounded more confused than angry, as the microphone on board of the Quinjet was overcome with the sound of the wind. The door had been opened, Hill could tell that much. "... and he's gone. Doyle's heading your way, Hill. He's got a comm unit on him."
As if an oracle, another agent yelled out.
"We've got an unknown heading towards us, it's breaking Mach 5-" The man paused as if not believing his eyes. "No, it's Mach 7… Mach 8, 9."
Fury gave out an audible sigh, that along with a grin told Hill just what the Director was thinking. Maria couldn't help but sweat at the thought.
"He couldn't."
"I think he's going to try."
"It's impossible."
"Should probably tell him that," Fury dryly spoke, pointing his finger at the blip on the radar, coming at them as if they hadn't been a few thousand miles apart from each other. The unreal speed that the man was flying towards them sent a chill up Maria's spine. "The man will put jets out of business."
"Mr. Doyle," Hill contacted the man. "There's nothing that you can do, just-"
"Sorry, I'm a bit busy, I need to concentrate on this next part," he yelled, his voice struggling against the loud screech of the wind rushing by him. "Where would be the best place to grab?"
"Nowhere, don't grab-" It was then, much to everyone's shock, suddenly gravity returned, it had been barely noticeable at first, but soon they shared that sensation an elevator slowly reaching its floor. Hill couldn't help but glance over to Fury, the man himself barely raising an eyebrow compared to everyone else in the room. "Did… did you just stop us?"
"... Yes, yes I did," Doyle spoke, his voice lacking even the slightest note of stain. "And honestly, I didn't think the carrier would be so light. Almost want to see if I can push it up now."
"I'd rather you not go through my Helicarrier, Mr. Doyle," Fury intruded, he was talking in a 'so and so' manner, something that let him fish for information with his next few lines. "Why aren't you doing that? Holding up that entire craft from a single point should just snap it into three, or the pressure should shove you right through it?"
Of course, SHIELD already had several theories on how the man's invulnerability worked. Some of the theories involved something like a telekinetic field inches from his body, something that could be broken or needed the man to mentally prepare himself to use. It would make it appear as if his skin hardened in response to threats.
This would explain how Doyle would suddenly get injured by minor things, like the blade of Loki's scepter, or off the shrapnel of a Doc Ock's bot exploding
Without bringing the man himself to a SHIELD lab to test it would be for the SHIELD eggheads to check these theories. Given their role in society, it could end up being as hard to get that man in for tests as it would be to get an Iron Man suit from Stark. This was probably why Fury was originally fishing around the topic by getting Stark interested in the first place.
It just seemed that now the Director wanted to try the direct method.
"Not sure about how this works myself," The man holding the carrier replied, with an earnest nonchalance that caused Hill to sigh, it would've been too easy for the man to know how his powers worked, wouldn't it. "Should really look into that."
"Maybe I should schedule some vacation time," Fury mumbled.
(Stark Tower)
"I wish that I could see their faces as their computers fail to respond in time," Octavius sighed in melancholy. "If only they had a few more seconds they would've been saved from hitting the Atlantic ocean… but those are the dreams of foolish SHIELD Agents. My dreams end with it hitting the water and tipping over."
Neither Murdock nor Morse responded to the melodramatic rantings of the doctor. Instead, they stared at her with a piercing glare… well, Morse did, Murdock's stare was blank.
"I'd call Selvig down," Doc Ock lamented. "Even brainwashed he appreciates my genius, but I do want to leave some of the boring busywork to him, and distracting him would only cut the time we've left to finish this project before Loki arrives back."
Murdock walked towards the window, his hands reaching into his pockets, he had noticed that Morse had tilted her head towards a nearby table, one that was full of gizmos and a few sidearms. He didn't give any heed that she had just told him to grab one of the tools that had been taken from her.
The vigilante didn't want to play his hand just yet. The deadly doctor was far too focused on her surroundings, any move towards there would negatively draw her eye.
"Agent… agent… what's your name again?" Doc Ock struggled to recall, which was probably more due with not knowing his name than actually forgetting. "You all look the same to me, you… Johnson?"
"Jackson," Murdock corrected, but perhaps it was too fast a correction as the woman turned her head to the side in confusion. Matt moved his own head to face away from the women now, hoping that she wouldn't pay too much attention to his eyes. "It's Jackson, Sir."
The woman hemmed and hawed, the sound of her tentacles scraping against the ground soon was apparent. Using only those famous limbs she made her way towards the disguised lawyer, the man himself keeping his face as blank as possible, even as he heard Morse free herself from restraints.
"Let me get a look at you," Octavius ordered, a claw tapped him on the shoulder and he turned to face the woman. He tried his best to meet where he thought her eyes were, but the giggle from her mouth told him all he needed. The words were just icing; "Now… did you think that I wouldn't realize that you're blind?"
"..." He blinked, making sure to glance towards her mouth. "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure what you're talking-"
"-I'm shining a light into your face right now."
Matt flipped back, dodging the pair of claws that tried to skewer him fromboth sides. Instantly Morse broke free from her restraints, leaping over to the table with the woman's gear laid out in a neat display. Her 9mn pistol was firing off a series of rounds towards the Doctor, who had taken off her helmet so that Morse could see her face as she gloated.
A pair of tentacles sprung up towards her face, blocking the shots with a speed that nearly took Morse off guard. But she wasn't a highly trained SHIELD Agent for her good looks, the woman flipped over to the other side of the table, creating more distance between her and the mad scientist.
Morse took the moment to glance probably at the table, noticing the EMP Equipment used to disable the doctor wasn't there at all.
"Going to have to deal with her the old school way."
Ock's helm snapped back over her head with a hiss while Murdock threw a pistol at the woman's head. It bounced off and hit the floor with a dull clang, firing off a single round along the way as well. It hit against a wall, harmlessly but not without a comment from the SHIELD Agent.
The duo noticed that the helm was missing a visor, this was what clued Morse in on the fact that the woman hadn't the time yet to properly fix the damage from earlier.
"There's a reason why they're meant to be used to shoot with," Bobbi griped, keeping her head low now that a crazed doctor could strike at any moment. She picked up a long taser that had been left on the table, throwing it to her rescuer with a keen aim only outmatched by the likes of Barton. "Not throw at people while still loaded."
"Sorry," Matt exclaimed, hopping over a swiping tentacle while catching the taser. "I'm not used to them being loaded when I throw them, typically they're heavy so I know to throw out the clip first."
"Ah," Morse grabbed a few more bits and bobs from the table. "SHIELD rounds are a bit lighter, they're custom rounds and all."
The casualness the two were displaying was an obvious ruse to the doctor. One meant to in enrage, like the Phrenology remark from earlier. Something that someone of her station wouldn't fall for… at least not a second time.
Instead, Octavius lifted herself up into the air, two tentacles acting as legs while the other two swiped and stabbed at the two fighting with deadly intent. They moved with practiced grace as if they had training for this sort of combat for years.
Suddenly, Murdock sprinted forward; an action that Morse took to mean that the man had a plan so she laid down covering fire, taking the attention of at least a single tentacle. The remaining free tentacle's claw spun around like a saw blade while swiping in the blind man's direction.
In a dazzling display of flexibility, Murdock slid underneath the deadly limb. Ending right inside the woman's reach, Matt rocketed forwards with the taser held out, aiming right for the exposed eyes of the woman that had nearly ended all life on Earth.
Only to be kicked in the head.
"You fool!" Octavius grinned, freeing the two tentacles holding her up by jumping back on the ground. Letting the pair take hold of the man by his arms, trapping him to her mercy. "They call me Doctor Octopus. Of course, since you're blind, you missed my other four limbs!"
"He didn't miss, he was just the distraction," At the new voice Octavius flung Murdock at Morse, the woman barely ducking the body of the man as he slammed against the wall as if he was a sack of meat. "This is the actual attack."
But before she could turn to face this new person, Doc Ock found her mechanical limbs dead, her rage only grew as she turned around slowly. The person that had arrived was that red-head from before, another person that had been involved with her incredible last attempt at crossing the barriers of the universe.
Octavius glared at the red-head holding the familiar shape of the SHIELD EMP Rifle in her hands.
"Who can't count now," Louise grinned. "Should've put locks on the weapons that make you a useless fighter."
"I'll show you, don't think it was just my mind that I've trained, even my own body is a deadly weapon," The Doctor ran forward, her fist clocked back while Louise simply rolled her eyes.
When the magic moment came, Louise was much faster, her fist slamming into the stomach of the Doctor, taking the other woman off guard enough that when the red-head kicked her in her helmeted head, she didn't have enough awareness to dodge.
The kick sent Octavius sliding back and allowed Morse to level her pistol right between the good Doctor's eyes.
"I surrender," The Super-villain sheepishly shrugged, not at all hurt from Louise's assault.
There was a slow clap and a metallic clang that sent a chill down Morse's spine. They all turned to face Loki as the trickster god simply took in the room and smiled, Barton at his side.
"Well, I'm certainly impressed with the quality of Midgard's warriors," Loki spoke with the kind of smugness that came with being completely assured of the situation and where they stood in it. "Three Midgardian warriors to take down an untrained woman. My, at this rate you might be able to defend a bakery from some foxes."
Morse glanced to the still form of Murdock who had been knocked unconscious. Then the Agent exchanged glances with Louise, who nodded.
"It's over, no doubt SHIELD Agents have tracked you-"
"-Tell me, Doctor," Loki interrupted Morse without a care, walking forward as if the woman was nothing. "Is the portal ready to open?"
"Selvig's just waiting for the word."
There wasn't a moment's hesitation, just a single moment of pity that went off in Morse's head before she let loose a single round through the doctor's eyes, dropping the woman to the floor before firing off a few towards Loki.
The Norse God simply tanked them all, a smile growing on his face as he walked closer to the Agent, his scepter held out as Loki crept ever closer. Aiming right for the center of Morse's chest.
Author's Note: Hello Everyone! Guess Whose Back? Back again... I don't know the rest of the words for this song... so going to end it here.
Sorry for the super long wait on this, real life has been kicking me up the behind. That and the number of projects that I decided to take on. I'll be trying to focus in on this for a bit, at least till I'm finished with this story arc... maybe the next? Hopefully given my plans that I want to get to for this story.
I'm currently working on the next chapter of this, so expect it before or around the end of the week.