Chapter 123:
Yang Jian smiled as he wrapped his arm around her waist, his bio-field gently activating.
The two slowly lifted off the ground, gently swaying a few inches above it, as if dancing a silent dance.
Wanda's eyes widened in surprise, then she laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"What if someone sees us?" she asked softly, but showed no intention of coming down.
"My super hearing can cover the entire Earth."
Yang Jian's lips brushed against her earlobe.
"Right now, the closest witness is two streets away, busy arguing with his Pomeranian."
Wanda let out a soft laugh, which was quickly silenced as Yang Jian kissed her.
In this quiet dusk alley, a few inches off the ground, they shared a sweet kiss.
Yang Jian could taste the lingering sweetness in her mouth, hear the accelerated heartbeat in her chest, and feel the touch of her fingers running through his hair.
Wanda smiled and linked her arm with his. "Now, shall we go watch the sunset?"
They arrived at the East River. The setting sun was dyeing the water surface golden.
In the distance, the recently completed Stark Tower reflected warm light.
Wanda leaned against the railing as Yang Jian hugged her from behind.
"Where do you want to go next time?" he asked, resting his chin gently on top of her head.
"Hmm…"
Wanda thought for a moment. "Is there a universe that's all desserts?"
"Theoretically it exists, but the sugar content might exceed the limit."
"Then let's go there."
Wanda turned to face him, her eyes filled with Yang Jian's reflection.
"Anyway, I'll metabolize the extra calories, right, Mr. Superman?"
Yang Jian nodded with a smile and leaned down to kiss her again.
In this New York dusk, undisturbed by superheroes or cosmic crises, they were just two ordinary lovers enjoying a date.
If one of the ordinary lovers could hear a butterfly flapping its wings half a city away, and the other could change the color of streetlights according to her mood.
...
Midnight
Above the S.H.I.E.L.D. secret base, the roar of rotors tore through the night's silence.
A black helicopter dove down like a steel falcon, its downdraft kicking up dust on the helipad.
The agents on the ground quickly assembled, all wearing identical black tactical uniforms.
Maria Hill stood at the front of the formation, her earpiece pressed close to her cheek, her short blonde hair whipping in the wind.
Her gaze locked onto the descending helicopter. Her right hand held a tablet computer.
The helicopter landed. The cabin door slid open, and Nick Fury lifted the hem of his coat.
He stepped out of the helicopter in one stride. His single eye swept over the assembled agent team as he walked toward the base entrance without stopping.
"What's the situation?"
Fury's voice was serious, as if he couldn't wait to know the details.
Hill quickly caught up with the director, the screen on her tablet constantly switching.
"The Tesseract began abnormal energy fluctuations one hour ago and has now reached alert level!" Her report was concise and precise.
"The energy readings are still climbing, and the fluctuation pattern doesn't match any previous records."
They passed through several security doors, their steps never slowing.
"What about personnel and material evacuation progress?" Fury pressed the elevator button. The metal doors slid open silently.
Hill followed him into the elevator, her fingers rapidly swiping across the tablet.
"Non-essential personnel have been evacuated 80%. The core research team is still trying to stabilize the Tesseract."
The elevator began to rise. She adjusted her stance.
"Important equipment transfer is 65% complete, but some heavy instruments…"
"I don't need excuses, Hill."
Fury cut her off. "I want a timeline."
The elevator reached the second floor. The metal doors opened.
Hill pursed her lips. "Full evacuation will still take 37 minutes if we follow standard procedures."
Fury strode out of the elevator and crossed the busy command center.
Technicians were urgently shutting down workstations. Documents were being packed into boxes.
A young agent nearly collided with the director but froze the moment he recognized who it was.
"Continue your work, agent." Fury said without looking back.
Soon, they approached the final security door leading to the laboratory. Hill finally couldn't hold back.
"Director, I don't understand."
Her voice was very low. "Why are we still following standard procedures to transfer all materials at a time like this? The Tesseract's energy readings have already…"
Fury suddenly stopped, turning to face his deputy.
The noise in the command center seemed to freeze at that moment.
"As long as the end of the world hasn't truly arrived, we must continue our normal lives and order, Agent. That is what we are protecting."
Fury's single eye stared straight at Hill as he spoke firmly.
Hill opened her mouth, but in the end only nodded.
She knew her superior too well. For Fury, procedures weren't just procedures — they were the last line of defense between civilization and chaos.
The security door slid open in front of them. Blue light from the laboratory poured out rapidly.
The Tesseract floated in the center of the instruments, its energy pulsing like a living thing.
Fury quickly approached. He stared at the blue cube, his expression unreadable.
"Notify the Council," he finally said.
"We may need to activate the Avengers Initiative."
Hill was stunned. Her finger hovered over the communicator. She knew the weight of those words.
"Yes, sir."
She pressed the comm button, her voice returning to professional calm.
"Execute immediately."
The blue light in the laboratory continued to shine. Nick Fury walked into the center.
He stood in front of the instruments, looking at the cube inside.
The Tesseract was emitting unstable light, like an ancient beast that had been sleeping for years and suddenly started breathing again.
"What's the situation now?" Fury's voice was low.
Professor Selvig walked over, his fingers continuously tapping on the keyboard.
"Originally we detected the Tesseract beginning to operate autonomously. The energy curve was as steady as if it had been precisely calculated." His voice mixed excitement and hidden unease.
"But the problem is, it's completely out of control. It's simply…"
"Get to the point, Professor." Fury interrupted.
"It's simply doing whatever it wants." Selvig finished and nodded, as if that description was perfectly accurate.
Fury's single eye narrowed slightly, his expression unchanged.
"Doing whatever it wants?" he slowly repeated, as if he had heard something amusing.
"Exactly!" Selvig suddenly became agitated, waving the tool in his hand.
"It's drawing energy from the universe by itself! It doesn't need any external power supply. It's like… like…"
"Like it suddenly has its own ideas." A voice came from above.
Fury looked up and saw Hawkeye standing up from the shadow of the pipes on the second floor.
The agent landed lightly on the laboratory floor like a cat, his tactical boots making almost no sound.
"How long have you been squatting up there?" Fury asked.
"Long enough to see the temper of this little blue box." Hawkeye walked closer, his gaze never leaving the Tesseract.
"It doesn't look like it's releasing energy randomly, sir. I feel like it's trying to do something."
Fury frowned. Could the Tesseract really act on its own?
"Be clear." Fury ordered, confused.
Hawkeye tilted his head, organizing his words: "Just like Selvig said, it has its own ideas. And I think that idea might be…"
He paused for a moment. "To bring someone over from somewhere. Or to open a door."
Fury's single eye turned toward the constantly pulsing cube.
As the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., he had seen enough supernatural phenomena, but a Cosmic Cube that could think for itself? This was outside his comfort zone.
"Bringing someone over from another place?" Fury slowly repeated, his brain quickly assessing the possibility and threat level of this speculation.
Hawkeye was about to nod when suddenly—
Buzz!
A low-frequency vibration came from deep within the Tesseract, like an ancient giant beast awakening.
The laboratory floor began to tremble. Instruments on the tables jumped and fell.
"Everyone back!" Selvig shouted, lunging toward the main control console.
"Energy readings have broken through the peak!"
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