Siberia — the S.H.I.E.L.D. base, originally a secret facility left by the Soviet Union. Most S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who escaped HYDRA's pursuit around the world were gathered here.
At the deepest part of the base, Dr. Erik Selvig stared in shock at the two men in front of him, his eyes full of disbelief.
"Hey, Tony, we need to build a gamma-ray activation device."
The Hulk — Dr. Bruce Banner — was wearing an oversized white lab coat, holding a delicate, toy-like instrument in his right hand. He carefully handed it to Tony Stark. The device was far too fragile: with a little too much force from Hulk Banner, it would turn into scrap.
"Big guy, I think your talent is better suited for smashing things. Right now, you look kind of funny… Hehe—Banner, it's just a joke."
Tony's usual sarcasm slipped out—only for him to be grabbed immediately by the annoyed Dr. Banner. Seeing Banner's glare, Tony quickly raised both hands in surrender.
"Hahaha, Tony, that was a joke too. You know the biggest difference between me and Hulk? Wisdom."
Dr. Banner laughed happily. Watching Tony deflate gave him rare joy in this stressful scientific work.
"Okay, Banner, you win. You're the strongest Avenger… oh—the strongest Avenger, Hulk. Congratulations on defeating Iron Man."
Tony curled his lips, his voice full of dry humor. Even during intense research, he still needed to keep his mood balanced.
Click.
He installed the final component onto the blue missile in front of him. The missile closed up instantly, glowing with a cool blue sheen. When designing it, Tony had even shaped the front like a smiling face.
"All right, done. Space missile? Tesseract missile?"
Dr. Banner scratched his head. After two days of design, he had finally built it—but naming things was clearly not his strong point.
"Death Smile. This missile will deliver a deathly grin to the enemy."
Tony snapped his fingers proudly. Dr. Banner nodded in agreement.
"Two super geniuses…"
Dr. Erik Selvig had barely been able to participate these past two days. The sheer intelligence of Tony and Banner had left him stunned. He had worked for months without being able to develop a Tesseract-based weapon—yet Tony and Banner had created an incredibly powerful missile in only two days.
"Brain Allens… can we really defeat him?"
Tony's smile faded. He glanced seriously at Dr. Banner, his tone full of bitter irony. Odin, the All-Father, was far stronger than Thor, and even he failed. Could the Avengers really succeed?
"Tony, we have to keep faith. Even if the enemy is strong, we—"
Before Banner could finish, he was cut off by a sudden impact.
BOOM.
A blazing sphere of golden light tore straight through the base. The entire facility shook violently. Tony and Banner staggered from the force of the explosion.
KRRR-KRRR.
When the shaking stopped, Tony immediately tapped the Arc Reactor on his chest. The nano-bleeding-edge armor flowed over him. Veronica connected instantly to the base's internal systems.
"Nick Fury, what happened?"
Tony's brows tightened sharply. Veronica's scanners displayed the full schematic: the entire base had been pierced cleanly from top to bottom. With no hesitation, Tony opened a live connection to Nick Fury.
"Tony… we're in big trouble."
In the projected feed, Nick Fury's face was more solemn than ever. In the command center, he leaned forward over the table, staring at the surveillance monitors.
On-screen was a figure in golden armor, holding a golden spear. Nick Fury recognized him instantly—the same figure who had once crashed into the small town in New Mexico.
"Veronica, pull all surveillance feeds."
Seeing Fury's expression, Tony immediately ordered the AI to display the base's full footage. The same image appeared on Tony's visor.
"Son of a bitch… Thor?"
Tony could hardly believe it. He had assumed HYDRA or Loki might have attacked—but never imagined it would be Thor Odinson, one of the Avengers' three pillars.
BOOM.
Tony surged upward, air jets blasting from his boots as he flew toward Thor's location. Behind him, Dr. Banner followed at full speed. To save time, he simply smashed through walls instead of running around them.
Deep inside the base, Thor stood surrounded by crackling electricity, divine light burning in his eyes. A group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents rushed to confront him.
"Thor—why? Why are you invading a S.H.I.E.L.D. base?"
Phil Coulson, now a Level Nine agent, stepped forward. Confusion and disbelief filled his eyes as he questioned Thor.
"Phil Coulson… stand aside. Anyone who gets in my way will die."
Thor's voice was icy and murderous. Coulson's expression hardened instantly. His training told him one thing—Thor truly meant it.
"I'm sorry, Thor. No matter your reason, we are S.H.I.E.L.D. We have our duty."
Coulson's face grew serious. He raised his hand. Dozens of agents behind him lifted their rifles and aimed at Thor.
"In the name of the All-Father, I will pierce the heart of anyone who stands before me."
Thor raised Gungnir, the Spear of Eternity. With a whispered incantation, the spear burst into golden light and shot forward.
SHHK-SHHK-SHHK.
Each beam of golden light pierced a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent through the heart. Dozens fell dead within a single second.
"SIR—requesting support, request—"
Coulson pressed a hand to his earpiece, but before he finished the sentence, Gungnir impaled him as well. Blood spilled from his lips as he collapsed to the ground, dead.
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