"In the place that was just leveled and filled with lethal radiation, plants are actually growing... and so quickly."
Leading the group down, Captain America looked in wonder at the location of the giant woman. He held a radiation detector in his hand, and the radiation index on it had dropped to normal levels. As the radiation decreased, the ground that had been purged by the nuclear bomb was once again covered in lush vegetation. This miraculous scene surprised not only Captain America but everyone else as well.
"Such an ability is comparable to a god, to be able to create plants on such a large scale and absorb lethal radiation. This woman's identity is not simple. Could she be from a race of gods like those in Asgard?"
The one-eyed Nick Fury glanced at the green flowers and trees growing on the ground, then focused all his attention on the giant woman. Who exactly was she? He was very curious. Such god-like power didn't look like someone with a special ability at all; appearing from a hard boulder after an explosion made her look like someone out of myth and legend jumping out of a seal.
"Director, should we..."
Hill whispered into Nick's ear, but Nick stopped her. He understood Hill's intention—to see if they should attack again to test the opponent—but Nick had other ideas. A being like this didn't look like someone who could be defeated by force. Nick decided to try talking to her.
"Captain, I'll need you to come with me."
Taking off his radiation suit, Nick spoke to Captain America. His meaning was clear: he wanted to take Steve to talk to this unknown giant lady. The danger was high, but he wasn't afraid. Leaving so many Avengers behind and only taking the Captain was clearly a move so that if he died at her hands, Captain America could escape quickly and continue to lead the Avengers. He didn't want to use such a backup plan, but luckily, with the secret 'resurrection' technology, he could be fearless. If he died, he could go into hiding, which would be a perfect way to lure out the moles inside S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Jarvis, send a message to Pepper and Artoria. Tell them to leave immediately and go to the bunker fortress I secretly built under Avengers Tower. Don't worry about my safety, just get off Earth first. Finally... I love you both."
"This... Sir, I understand."
For the first time, Jarvis hesitated. It was as if he had developed a sense of self and could judge that Tony was leaving a final testament. It... no, he! For the first time, he wanted to argue against Tony's order, but in the end, he executed it. He wanted Tony to leave, but he didn't want to disobey Tony's command. Jarvis's hesitation stunned Tony, followed by a surge of joy. This meant Jarvis might be evolving into an intelligent life form with the capacity for independent thought and the ability to disagree with others. It showed Jarvis was evolving 'human' thinking, which thrilled Tony.
If time weren't so tight, Tony would have definitely given Jarvis a thorough check-up. But for now, he had to see if he could survive this. Letting Jarvis carry out the order, Tony turned his gaze toward Nick and Captain America, who were walking toward the woman. To be honest, he didn't much like this guy his father had praised so highly, thinking him stiff and stubborn. But at this moment, his impression of Steve changed; he truly lived up to the old man's evaluation.
"Hmph!"
Gaia seemed to sense something. She looked up and found nothing in the sky, but she was certain someone had come and observed her closely. If she hadn't been distracted by accepting the Earth's memories, she would have discovered the traces of the other party long ago. It seemed she had been sealed for too long; even her power had regressed quite a bit. At her peak, even her clones could handle the defense of an entire star. She let out a displeased 'hmph,' and the space within the entire area shook.
"Such a violent temper. Can I really entrust the fate of Earth to you all? The Avengers and Artoria."
Inside the Mirror Dimension, the Ancient One watched the trembling space with an expressionless face. A mysterious pattern emerged on her forehead, emitting a thick aura of darkness. The Ancient One frowned, and the pattern hid itself again. This was not good news for her. She turned her gaze to the Avengers and spoke with some concern.
"That girl... she's been out for so long, why hasn't she returned yet?"
By viewing the future, she already knew the result would be the Avengers' failure, and they would be beaten quite badly. But the only thing she couldn't be sure of was Artoria's whereabouts. As an anomaly, the Ancient One couldn't find her location at all. She possessed the power to change everything, but right now she was still an immature child. If she were to act, the Ancient One could step in to help. At this critical juncture, she didn't even know where the girl had run off to. It was troublesome, so she decided to just stay out of it for now.
"Do I need to tell the main body?"
More conflicted than the Ancient One was Artoria's clone. Through the subsystem of Saturday, she hacked into a satellite and saw the scene in Manhattan. This woman felt like an insurmountable mountain to her, powerful enough to be suffocating. For the safety of the main body, she did not want to dispel the clone technique and let the main body know about this. Right now, it was still considered safe in the Universe, but against the woman before her, there was zero chance of winning.
"This is troublesome."
Looking at the woman in the video with a headache, the clone clutched her head and spoke with distress. It was not just her; Raven, Hope, and a whole bunch of other women were also agonizing over this matter. Whether to avoid the battle was a dilemma for Susan right now. Her younger brother and good friend were currently in Manhattan, and she did not dare imagine whether her only family would be caught in the crossfire and lose their lives.
"I suggest we just evacuate Earth! There is no way we can beat a monster like that!"
Maya watched the woman in the video with a bitter smile. They had been watching ever since the monster appeared in Manhattan, even after the administrator cut the video feed. With their genius minds, how could they not handle a tiny satellite? They had watched from beginning to end. Ever since that woman appeared, they had all felt that pressure coming from a higher dimension. Maya suggested that taking Artoria and running away was the right choice.
"Wait a bit, isn't there some movement from the people at S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Susan, who was familiar with the members of S.H.I.E.L.D., saw that shiny black bald head and immediately understood who the other party was. She watched curiously to see what S.H.I.E.L.D. was planning to do.
"Excuse me, Miss, I would like to have a word with you."
The sound from earlier had made Nick terrified, but it clearly did not seem like the other party was targeting his side. The closer Nick got, the more surprised he became. How tall was this woman? Furthermore, the closer he got, the more he could feel the heaviness in his body, as if the gravity around this woman had increased.
"Hmm~!?"
Gaia, who had been annoyed just a moment ago, looked down curiously after hearing that sound. Seeing that tiny Director Egg and the one with the big perky butt, after receiving the memories of the Earth, Gaia recognized them instantly. It was this bunch of guys who had killed the guardian beasts beside her. To defend herself while breaking the seal, she had released these creatures to protect her, but she had not expected them all to be killed by the other party. There were those two guys as well, but she was not in a hurry. There was plenty of time now! She would settle the score one by one.
Let's start with this bunch right in front of her! Thinking of this, a flash of murderous intent flickered in Gaia's eyes, which was noticed by the observant Captain. The hairs on his body stood on end instantly.
"Not good, run, Nick."
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