One by one, the Hammer-branded missiles—failed products from a canceled military line—spouted thick white smoke. They shot toward Lance's position, leaving white streaks like gashes in the gray evening sky.
Suddenly, another explosion shook the ground.
The hot gust of wind that followed nearly blew Clint Barton's glasses off. Clint reflexively crouched down and shouted while holding his breath, "The Hammer Group only has one prototype! SHIELD and the military refused to buy it, so they stopped its development. The only prototype was dumped in a warehouse... these people must have stolen it!"
Barbara—her jaw tightening, her tone tense—interjected, "Wherever they got it from, it doesn't matter now. The important thing is, we can't let that thing explode in the city! Otherwise, all of Queens could become a crater!"
Clint peeked out from behind the debris, half of his face looking doubtful, "The sorcerer... is that strong, huh?"
And at that moment...
The surviving soldiers—those lucky enough not to be burned to a crisp—were stunned to see their bodies slowly floating into the air. So were the tank and other heavy debris. As if gravity had suddenly forgotten its duty.
"Magic really isn't scientific... Good thing Newton has been cremated. Otherwise, he'd probably rise from his grave right now." Clint muttered quietly, shaking his head.
Barbara stood up, running out while shouting loudly, "Mr. Sorcerer, please, don't do anything yet!"
Lance turned slightly, his expression cold and almost cynical. "What? Is SHIELD going to take responsibility if everything explodes?"
Nick Fury, Lance thought, is not the type of person who would take the risk of direct confrontation to save a bunch of armed thugs.
"No," Barbara said, her voice serious but calm, "I just want to remind you. That tank is nuclear-powered. If you destroy it recklessly, it could turn into a dirty bomb that wipes this city clean..."
Where Barbara explained as quickly as possible, concise but sharp, about Hammer's 'masterpiece' that failed. In the end, Barbara said softly yet with pressure, "I'm sure Mr. Mage wouldn't want to let hundreds of thousands of people die just because of an emotional explosion, would he?"
Lance grimaced. "Justin Hammer is truly a talented idiot."
Lance swung his sword—Golden Dagger—in a half-circle motion. The light from the weapon streaked across the sky like a flash of lightning.
"But you're right. We can't let them die because of a momentary rage... so, let them die in a different way."
"Another dimension!"
The air around him shattered, like glass struck by a giant hammer. The cracks formed a dark, pitch-black rift, seemingly repelling light. It was as if the world itself began to collapse, revealing the darkest secrets of the universe.
In seconds, the AIM members and all their combat gear were sucked in. Their voices choked, disappearing into the silence of another dimension.
Behind the rift—an expansive, frozen space, filled with dead stars and emptiness. Lance stared silently, momentarily imagining... could they possibly meet the Guardians of the Galaxy there?
...
...
...
Lance played with a small badge between his fingers.
Where Lance found it on the battlefield—a simple badge, seemingly ordinary at first glance, but with a suspicious pattern: interlocking Ten Rings, forming a symmetrical circle. In the center, two sharp blades crossed, like a warning sign.
His eyes narrowed. This pattern... the Ten Rings group.
These crazy people are not from AIM. They come from the Ten Rings organization. And the fact that they are here... stirs something bigger than just a regular combat operation.
Why are they involved? Is this a special mission given to them by AIM, or... is it Mandarin's own idea?
Lance leaned back, looking up at the sky that was beginning to blush with dusk, his lips moving slowly. "Mandarin... he's a planet-level powerhouse, isn't he?"
Then Lance chuckled, amused by his own thoughts. "And that man... is a planet-level powerhouse wrapped in the gear of gods."
There was a spark of excitement in Lance's eyes. Something between admiration and obsession.
Mandarin. A direct descendant of Genghis Khan. Mandarin's mother was an English noblewoman. Abundant wealth, a genius mind, and a body honed by martial arts into a living weapon. Mandarin's martial arts alone are enough to slaughter dozens of superheroes without breaking a sweat.
Compared to Mandarin, the Five Fingers are just shadows. A thousand years of wasted life.
But it's not just martial arts. Mandarin coincidentally acquired alien Ten Rings—each containing extraordinary powers: matter reorganization, mental enhancement, black force fields, jet fire blasts, razor-sharp wind vortices...
Ten Rings. Ten powers. Mandarin is a living weapon of war. Comparable to ten Alpha-level mutants. Even when compared to Thor or Hulk, Mandarin is not something to be underestimated.
And facing a monster like that... is truly tempting. Lance is not afraid. On the contrary—Lance looks forward to it.
In the now silent field, only shattered bricks, scorched earth, and dust hung in the air. The remnants of a battlefield left in silence. The troops that once crowded the place—vanished. As if they had never been there.
The crowd that had filled the street corners had retreated. Only two figures remained among the ruins—S.H.I.E.L.D. senior agents, Barbara and Clint.
They stood rigid, their bodies appearing small amidst the debris and cracked pavement. Silent. Staring blankly at the spot where the last troops had stood.
Barbara finally broke the silence. Her voice was soft, almost like a whisper in the evening breeze. "Mr. White... where are you taking them?"
Lance spun the badge in the palm of his hand once more—then clenched it. The badge crumbled into fine powder, drifting slowly like ash.
"Another dimension," Lance replied flatly.
Clint turned anxiously. His face was filled with doubt. "But... they are just soldiers. They were just following orders."
Lance turned to Barton. His gaze was sharp, leaving no room for empathy. "Then ask the one who gave the orders. They knew it was dangerous... but still sent them like sheep to the slaughter."
Clint fell silent. His eyes dropped for a moment. "...Nick Fury said... you sorcerers have a responsibility to protect humanity."
------------------------------
[Announcement: A New Novel Has Been Added!
The Puppet Maker in the World of Naruto
A man who is a scientist, researcher, and expert mechanic in robotics dies in a massive explosion that occurs in his laboratory while developing an advanced robot project. However, instead of experiencing death as he thought, the man awakens in another world—a strange place with vast stretches of desert.
There, the man is surrounded by people who can jump high, calling themselves ninjas. The confusion he initially felt grows as he realizes that this world is not unfamiliar to him. This is the world of Naruto! However, there is one thing that surprises him.
"Isn't this Sunagakure? Why am I not in Konoha? This poorest village... Oh my God, this is serious!"
Now, in the midst of a new life filled with danger and uncertainty, the scientist must find a way to survive in Sunagakure, a harsh place full of limitations. With his robotic knowledge, can the man change his fate in this ninja world, or will he fall along with the village?]
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