The alarm was deafening, blaring through both facilities as Eclipse's forces swarmed in like a flood. The Avengers knew they had walked into a trap, but retreat wasn't an option now. Whatever Eclipse was planning, they had to stop it—no matter the cost.
At the jungle facility, Steve, Natasha, and Clint were cornered in a wide, dimly lit control room. The walls were lined with monitors showing streams of data, schematics, and what appeared to be countdowns. Red lights strobed overhead, casting an eerie glow over the chaos.
"We're running out of time!" Clint shouted, loosing an arrow that exploded on impact, scattering a group of guards.
Natasha ducked behind a console, reloading her pistols. "Steve, those countdowns—what are they for?"
Steve deflected a barrage of gunfire with his shield before slamming it into an advancing guard. "I don't know, but I don't plan on waiting to find out. Clint, can you disable the controls?"
Clint glanced at the console Natasha had pointed out, his expression skeptical. "I can try, but I'm not exactly Stark."
"Just do it," Natasha snapped, covering him as he moved to the console.
As Clint began typing, sweat beading on his forehead, Natasha and Steve held the line. The guards were relentless, their weapons flashing in the dim light.
"I've almost got it," Clint muttered, his fingers flying over the keys. "Just a little—"
Before he could finish, the countdown on the monitors froze, replaced by a single word: ACTIVATED.
"What the hell?" Clint exclaimed, stepping back as the screens flashed red.
Steve's heart sank. "They've started the launch."
Meanwhile, at the underground city facility, Tony's team wasn't faring much better. The air was thick with the hum of energy weapons and the whir of drones, their glowing eyes tracking every move.
"Vision, tell me you've got something," Tony barked, blasting a sentry bot with his repulsors.
Vision's face was calm but strained as he worked, his hands glowing as he interfaced with the facility's systems. "The launch systems are deeply embedded. Their encryption is unlike anything I've seen before."
Sam swooped down, dodging a laser blast. "Well, you better crack it fast, because we're getting swarmed out here!"
Bruce, who had reluctantly transformed into the Hulk to fend off the relentless drones, roared as he smashed a group of sentries into scrap metal. "Big guy's doing all the heavy lifting!" he bellowed, swiping at another wave of machines.
Tony hovered in the air, his suit battered but still functional. "Vision, if you can't shut it down, we need a plan B."
"I am attempting to overload the core," Vision said, his voice steady despite the chaos around him. "If successful, it will disable the entire facility."
"And if unsuccessful?" Sam asked, his wings slashing through a drone.
Vision didn't answer.
At both sites, the Avengers fought desperately, but Eclipse's forces seemed endless. The facilities were designed to keep intruders out—and now, they were turning into death traps.
Steve's team found themselves forced deeper into the jungle facility as the guards pushed them back. The corridors were narrow, the walls closing in as the sound of boots and gunfire echoed behind them.
"This isn't working," Natasha said, her breathing labored as they ducked into a side room. "We need a new plan."
Steve looked around, his mind racing. The room they had stumbled into was filled with machinery, the hum of power resonating through the floor. His eyes landed on a series of exposed wires and control panels.
"If we can't stop the launch from here," he said, "we'll destroy the facility."
Clint raised an eyebrow. "Blowing up the place sounds great, but how do we get out alive?"
"We'll figure it out," Steve said firmly. "Natasha, can you rig these systems to overload?"
Natasha examined the machinery, her sharp eyes picking apart its components. "It'll take time."
"Then we'd better buy it," Steve said, gripping his shield. "Clint, with me."
At the city facility, Tony and Sam fought their way to the core room, where Vision was working tirelessly. The room was bathed in an eerie blue light, the massive core pulsating in its center.
"Vision, status update!" Tony demanded, firing a blast at a sentry bot.
"I am close," Vision replied, his voice calm but focused. "But I will require assistance to stabilize the overload."
Tony landed beside him, his suit's systems whirring. "Alright, tell me what to do."
Vision gestured to a series of panels around the room. "These must be synchronized manually. Each one controls a segment of the core."
Sam groaned. "Of course it's complicated."
Hulk smashed through a wall, sending debris flying as more drones poured into the room. "Hurry up!" he roared, slamming his fists into the floor to create a shockwave.
Tony, Sam, and Vision worked quickly, moving to the panels and inputting the necessary codes. The core's pulsations grew more erratic, its light intensifying.
"We're out of time," Vision said. "The core will overload in sixty seconds."
Tony's HUD flashed warnings as the room shook violently. "That's cutting it close, even for me!"
At the jungle facility, Natasha finished rigging the systems just as the guards breached the room.
"Go!" she shouted, tossing a grenade to cover their escape.
Steve and Clint led the way, fighting their way back through the corridors as explosions rocked the facility. The ground trembled beneath their feet, and the walls began to crack.
"Natasha, we need to move!" Steve called out, catching her arm as she stumbled.
"I'm fine," she said, though her voice was strained.
The three of them burst out of the facility just as the first explosion ripped through it. Flames shot into the sky, and the jungle echoed with the sound of destruction.
In the city, Tony's team barely made it out of the underground facility before the core overloaded. The ground shook violently, and a plume of smoke and fire erupted from the parking lot, scattering debris across the street.
Sam landed beside Tony, breathing heavily. "Please tell me that worked."
Tony glanced back at the destruction, his suit scorched but intact. "It worked. But don't celebrate just yet. Eclipse isn't done, and neither are we."
Back at their bases, the Avengers regrouped, battered but alive. The twin victories felt hollow, though. Eclipse had anticipated their moves, and the launches had been stopped—but at what cost?
Steve stared at the map on the screen, his jaw clenched. "We stopped the launches, but they still won. This was never about the weapons. It was a distraction."
Tony, patched into the comms, nodded grimly. "Yeah. And now they know exactly how far we'll go to stop them."
The Avengers were still standing, but Eclipse had gained the upper hand. And as the team prepared for whatever came next, they couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the beginning.