At the same time, the aircraft began to lose control and plunge downward. Tony reacted instantly—he grabbed Barton, a stun device snapped out from his forearm, and with a single jolt, Barton was knocked unconscious. Without sparing the others a glance, Tony turned and flew straight back toward the Helicarrier with Barton in tow.
Lucas moved to the outside of the Helicarrier, keeping watch in case anyone else tried to launch a surprise attack.
Roar—!!!
A furious roar suddenly erupted behind him.
A massive green figure burst out of the Helicarrier, grabbing another figure and hurling him away like a ragdoll.
The one sent flying was Thor.
And the green monster was the Hulk.
By sheer misfortune, Thor was flung straight toward one of the Helicarrier's engines.
As expected, the engine didn't survive the impact. Thor was dragged directly into it, and in the next instant, the engine exploded. Thick black smoke and raging flames shot skyward.
"Lucas, the front-left engine of the Helicarrier has been completely destroyed," Skye reported urgently. "Current damage is manageable. The remaining three engines can still keep the Helicarrier airborne, but we can't afford to lose another one. Otherwise, we'll be forced into an emergency landing."
Skye's voice came through the comms. She was already in the control room, fully in charge of the Helicarrier's operations.
Thor was ejected from the ruined engine. Without Mjolnir, he began to plummet.
Lucas immediately summoned the hammer and hurled it toward him. Thor reacted quickly, catching it midair as the hammer carried him straight toward the enraged Hulk.
"Natalia, what happened?" Lucas demanded over the comms. "How did the Hulk get out?"
"I warned Banner to stay calm. How did this still happen?"
"Loki had a hidden satellite bomb on him," Natasha replied, clearly overwhelmed. "He detonated it right in Banner's face. If the Hulk didn't lose control after that, I'd be shocked."
The control room was in chaos. Hulk had torn apart nearly everything he could get his hands on. If Skye hadn't taken control of the system in advance, the Helicarrier would already be falling out of the sky.
"Wanda, go help Natasha," Lucas ordered. "I'll handle the Hulk."
With a flick of his cloak, Lucas shot toward the exterior of the Helicarrier, where the Hulk was still wreaking havoc.
"Tony, take Barton back and wake him up," Lucas added. "We need him conscious."
After giving the order, Lucas didn't look back. Tony slung Barton over his shoulder and flew back into the Helicarrier.
Steve had already arrived at the destroyed engine, working to put out the fires.
"Captain, give me a status report on the engine," Skye asked through the earpiece.
She needed precise information to coordinate repairs.
Nick Fury stood firmly at the command console, issuing orders nonstop. Beyond emergency procedures, he also commanded all agents to arm themselves and prepare for combat. Under his direction, S.H.I.E.L.D. began operating like a massive war machine.
"Uh… the first layer of turbine blades is damaged," Steve reported after a quick inspection. "The second layer should still be operational, but it'll need a manual restart. The external shielding is completely destroyed."
"Captain," Skye said, "there should be a red lever near you—that's the turbine restart switch. But you'll need someone to manually clear the debris and help rotate the blades."
Skye sat on the steps, laptop in hand, with Fury beside her. At that moment, Fury felt an overwhelming sense of relief that Lucas had Skye infiltrate the Helicarrier's systems in advance. Otherwise, it would've been impossible to keep the ship operational.
In front of them, the control station—normally operated by more than twenty people—had been reduced to rubble, courtesy of the Hulk.
Just then, Tony flew in and casually tossed the unconscious Barton onto a nearby table. Natasha rushed over to check on him.
"I stunned him," Tony said, his voice filtered through his helmet. "Get him awake as soon as possible—we'll need him in the fight."
"Cap, stay at the engine," Tony continued. "I'm on my way."
He shot back out of the control room, heading straight for Steve's position.
From the air, Tony had a much clearer view of the engine's condition.
"Skye, I'm going to clear the debris jammed in the turbine," Tony said. "You and the Captain need to follow my lead."
After a quick scan, he confirmed the blades were jammed and couldn't be restarted until the wreckage was removed.
"Captain, be ready. The moment I tell you to pull the lever, do it immediately."
Steve nodded—he'd already located the lever.
Tony flew directly into the massive turbine, using repulsors and lasers to blast away the broken blades and debris.
"All set, Cap!"
Tony began manually pushing the turbine blades. As he increased his force, the rotation speed steadily rose.
Soon, the turbine was spinning so fast that Tony could barely move. The acceleration pinned him against the inner blades—any longer, and he'd be shredded.
"Now, Cap! Pull it!"
Steve yanked the lever.
The turbine paused for less than a second.
That brief instant was all Tony needed.
He accelerated hard and shot out of the turbine just in time, narrowly avoiding being torn apart.
"Skye, restart the engine now!" Tony shouted into the comms.
Skye immediately initiated the restart. With a series of deep, thunderous rumbles, the engine slowly roared back to life. The Helicarrier stabilized, its motion growing steadily smoother.
---
Meanwhile, although Loki's bomb had successfully unleashed the Hulk, Loki himself didn't flee immediately.
He still needed to retrieve his Mind Stone scepter.
Thor, seething with rage, stormed up to the cell. This chaos—every bit of it—was Loki's doing.
"Loki! Do you even understand what you've done?!" Thor roared.
Inside the cell, Loki wore a deliberately provoking smile.
Thor smashed his fist into the control panel. The glass door slid open at once. Without hesitation, Thor lunged forward—
Only for his body to pass straight through Loki's.
He crashed onto the floor inside the cell.
With a soft hum, the Loki standing at the entrance vanished. The glass door began to close once more.
Thor realized he'd been tricked again.
The real Loki strolled over leisurely, a remote control in his hand.
"Brother," Loki said with a mocking grin, "after all these years, you still haven't changed. You're just as easy to fool as ever. You can't even see through such a simple illusion."
From childhood to now, this trick had never failed on Thor—not once.
"Loki!!" Thor roared in fury, smashing Mjolnir into the glass wall of the cell.
Suddenly, the four clamps holding the cell in place released at once.
The cell dropped abruptly—though it didn't fall all the way.
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