Unfortunately, this is Marvel.
In Marvel, no matter how insane or arrogant you are, it's still not enough.
You also need a tragic past, a broken family, and to have buried a few loved ones yourself.
Only then will the big boss grant you a power-up.
Someone like Pierce, with a perfect family and a stable position, is doomed to lose.
Just like now.
He had just made an extreme, maniacal decision to deploy nuclear weapons.
Suddenly, the floor-to-ceiling windows in the conference room shattered in unison.
Dozens of shadowy figures broke through, rolling across the floor to disperse the impact as glass fragments clattered onto the tiles.
Blinding sunlight flooded in behind them, spilling over the tiles and broken glass.
Some of them were dressed in form-fitting black suits, others in elegant black dresses or black nun habits.
The moment they landed, they quickly rose and took defensive positions.
Hearing the commotion, Hydra operatives outside rushed in.
But the Hydra agents who rushed in were immediately shot in the head by these figures in black.
Their guns seemed like extensions of their bodies, each shot fired with elegance.
It was as if dark roses were blooming, tinged with despair.
Each shot was a kiss of death.
In mere seconds, every Hydra agent who entered the conference room was dead.
After clearing the threat, the women spun their smoking pistols in a flourish, then holstered them smoothly.
Only now did the representatives get a clear look at them.
They were a group of young women, ranging from their teens to their twenties.
All were dressed uniformly in black suits, their movements precise and without hesitation.
Their cold, beautiful faces displayed both a lethal intent and an undeniable allure.
"Who… who are you?!" Pierce stammered, retreating in shock.
This was the top floor of the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, dozens of meters high—where on earth had these people come from?
A girl in a black dress stepped forward and kicked Pierce's leg, shattering it down to the bone, then pinned his head to the ground amid his screams.
"Men in Black," she said coldly.
…
The Hydra agents in S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters were quickly eliminated, and the world leaders held as hostages were promptly released.
Meanwhile, the airborne carriers above San Francisco and Sokovia were also under attack.
However, the attackers in each location differed.
In San Francisco, a group of figures in black combat suits stormed the air carrier.
Their guns and cannons roared as they fought.
Some even removed their armor and engaged in hand-to-hand combat, taking down large Hydra agents with a single punch.
Before the Hydra members could even react, the battle was over in three minutes.
This armored group then activated the carrier's cloaking technology and flew it away.
In Sokovia, however, Iron Man arrived on the deck with several golden-red suits.
Unlike the larger force in San Francisco, he was only backed by four suits, effectively making them five in total.
Once they landed, they immediately destroyed the missile launch system and disabled the hydrogen bomb controls.
Then they fought their way from the deck into the interior of the air carrier.
The Hydra agents were completely overpowered, unable to fight back at all.
However, Tony was ultimately a bit too late.
With all weapons firing, he was taking down foes left and right. After blasting the head off the last Hydra operative in the command room, he realized too late that before he arrived, the Hydra agents had reversed the system, disabling the air carrier's flight controls.
Tony's heart sank as he flew back to the deck, where he saw all four "propellers" had stopped spinning.
"Jarvis, scan the air carrier's flight system and check repair feasibility," Tony said, breaking into a cold sweat.
By now, the ship was starting to descend, accelerating rapidly under the pull of gravity.
"Sir, the air carrier is only 1,000 meters high. I suggest calling Master Lyon, as the city below is only 8…"
"Minutes away? That's enough to fix this thing!"
"7… 6… 5…"
"Oh, oh, oh! Lyon! Lyon! Hurry up and get over here!!"
Tony used the loudest voice of his life to shout for Lyon.
He cranked his suit's thrusters to maximum power.
He shot off the deck, flying toward the bottom of the air carrier, trying to buy more time before the ship crashed.
But when he reached the bottom, he saw Lyon already there, cape billowing like clouds, holding up the entire air carrier.
"Who was it last time who swore he'd never call me for help?" Lyon teased with a smirk.
"Phew… just glad you made it in time." Tony didn't have the energy to argue, exhaling in relief, only now noticing his back drenched in sweat.
He looked down.
The distance between the ground and the air carrier was less than a hundred meters.
People on the street were fleeing, looking up and screaming in terror.
Many were so scared they collapsed where they stood.
The look of panic frozen on their faces, the crushing sense of impending doom from such a colossal object falling from the sky—this was an experience they'd never want to relive.
Meanwhile, Lyon, shrouded in the air carrier's shadow, had undoubtedly become a shining beacon of salvation in the eyes of those below.
"Everyone!"
"The danger has passed—you can all head home!"
With one hand holding up the carrier, Lyon waved to the crowd and began slowly ascending into the sky.
Tony followed, though his entire body was feeling weak, even with his enhanced constitution.
That had been too close; he had nearly caused the deaths of tens of thousands.
If the carrier's missiles had detonated upon impact, he would've endangered countless more lives.
Suddenly, Tony could understand Lyon's sense of responsibility back in the Resident Evil world—the weight of creating something like a virus, only to see the entire world thrown into chaos as a result.
"Damn… I need to think more comprehensively next time. I can't afford to be so careless."
Tony resolved to do better but couldn't resist countering Lyon, "That wasn't a cry for help just now—it was a request. You know, the kind of help request."
"Yup, big bro, keep telling yourself that," Lyon replied with a grin. "You'll have plenty of times you'll need to call for help in the future."
Carrying the massive air carrier like a gigantic platter, Lyon flew toward the Arctic Ocean.
Such a fine carrier was obviously too good to leave behind.
Before he left, he made sure to take one last look at the Hydra base in Sokovia.
Inside the base, hardly anyone was left.
Clearly, Baron Strucker had a good sense of Pierce's unreliability and made an early exit when things started looking grim.
Lyon scoffed, turning to Tony. "See now why I never gave you the materials for synthesizing the SS serum? I'm honestly worried you'd end up breaking this world one day."
Iron Man was, after all, Marvel's greatest "trouble magnet."
In both the movies and comics, more than half of the crises seemed to trace back to him.
So Lyon wasn't exactly keen on handing over items from the Resident Evil world to Tony.
Of course, Tony wasn't too sure about Lyon's trustworthiness either, given Lyon's track record in that world.
So the two reached an agreement: absolutely no bringing any viruses, spores, or anything of the sort into their main world.
"Heh! My intentions are good," Tony continued to defend himself. "From now on, I'll be extra careful about civilian safety when I'm in action."
"You know, you sound just like a rookie Batman. Back when he was just trying to play the superhero role but, due to inexperience, would twist his back every time he'd try to jump through a window."
"Yeah, right, little Clark Kent wanna be. You only have more backbone because you're tougher. Otherwise, you'd be in the same boat."
Tony helped Lyon carry the air carrier over to an island in the Arctic Ocean.
"Heading to New York with me? It's just about time for Sherry to get out of school," Lyon asked.
"Hmm… sure, it's been half a month—I should go see little Sherry too."
The two flew toward New York together, disappearing into the horizon.
___________
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