Catherine led her assault squad to swiftly secure the hangar and force open the blast doors above the underground launch pad. Simultaneously, the airlock of the sky carrier gradually opened, allowing troop-laden assault shuttles to descend into the facility. Fully armed members of the Sisterhood filed out in an orderly line, with the Royal Guard Zero at the front, clad in knight-style powered armor similar to Solomon's, weapon in hand.
Before S.H.I.E.L.D. agents could respond, they had already pushed through to the warehouse containing the Monolith and gathered behind the archmage.
With the exception of the personnel needed to defend against intrusion aboard the sky carrier, all of the Sisterhood's combat forces had been deployed. Agent Coulson and his team tried to get a look at what was happening, but Sisterhood troops filled the corridor leading to the warehouse, preventing anyone from entering.
In front of the archmage, a complex pattern drawn from sand was slowly taking form—all of it gathered from the far side of the Monolith. Solomon used it as a material component to precisely anchor the teleportation spell. One curious synthetic glanced at the runes and immediately grew dizzy from the massive flow of information the formation contained. Her squad captain promptly knocked her on the head for being a mischievous fool.
Standing behind him, Stephanie relayed information through the comms to squad leaders and to Tita aboard the sky carrier. After confirming that all preparations were complete, she spoke to Solomon. "My lord, per the plan, every two squads will be assigned one communicator." Each Sisterhood unit consisted of an assault team, a heavy weapons team, and a designated comms operator. For this operation, they were equipped with a wide range of explosives and weapons banned under international conventions.
Solomon turned to face the Sisterhood and Royal Guard Zero.
"Our opponent is a nanoscale parasite. According to the plan, the heavy weapons units are responsible for breach-and-clear," Solomon reiterated the strategy. "What we've learned from the probe is not enough to fully understand what lies on the other side of the portal, but we must settle this there. We absolutely cannot allow these disgusting creatures from beyond to reach Earth. If the teleportation drop zones differ, listen carefully for orders from your comms officer and regroup as trained. Stephanie, start the mission countdown."
The archmage began casting the spell. The previously loose sand was instantly superheated into glass, filling the air with the acrid stench of scorched silica. He stepped into the designated space at the center of the formation alongside Catherine, Royal Guard Zero, one heavy weapons unit, and one assault team.
As the spell neared completion, he used the private comms in his helmet to place a call to his London estate.
"This is—"
Solomon cleared his slightly tense throat. "Darling, um… I might need another day before I return."
"Really? I'll pass that wonderful news to Jeanne," Bayonetta chuckled. Solomon could almost picture the curve of her eyes, the deep purple eyeshadow, and the beauty mark on her chin. He began to imagine what she might be wearing. "Jeanne turns into a sugar-deprived puppy when she can't see you. This will keep her calm—for now. Miss another appointment, and don't be surprised if your art portfolio ends up with a bullet hole."
"Jeanne's not that dramatic. If she hears how you described her, our freshly renovated estate will need a redesign."
"Oh, feel free to try~"
"I'm heading out soon. Light the fire, make some tea—I'll be home soon."
"I love you, little boy. Be safe while taking down that miserable creature. I don't want the sweater I knitted for you to end up with a third sleeve."
"Don't worry. I love you too, my darling."
With a flash of blinding white light, they vanished.
The rest of the armed units followed one after another, stepping into the magic formation before the molten glass could cool. It wasn't until the last team had teleported that Agent Coulson burst into the warehouse with Bobbi Morse and Daisy Johnson.
But they were quickly forced to retreat when Stephanie, leading the squad left behind at the base, raised her weapon and pointed it at them.
"Don't think your vibration powers will help you here, little girl," she said as her finger touched the trigger. "Step back, or one bullet will shatter your bodies."
"You—"
Stephanie slightly adjusted her aim, then pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Before the barrel could swing toward herself and Coulson, Daisy raised her hand. But to her surprise, her powers had no effect. A pearlescent curved energy shield flickered briefly, and the bullet, instead of halting in midair, detonated prematurely. The twisted reactive warhead ignited on impact, sending high-speed metal fragments ricocheting through the warehouse, destroying anything they could penetrate.
Including human bodies.
"Coulson!"
Daisy, eyes wide with shock, helped the injured agent sit down. She hadn't even noticed that her own arm had been slashed by a fragment. Coulson was clearly taken aback, needing a moment to process what had just happened. Then, he managed a bitter smile—it was nearly the same spot where Loki had stabbed him during the Battle of New York. But he couldn't make a quip this time—he was struggling to breathe, a molten shard embedded in his lung. Though it had cooled quickly, it had still pierced his organs.
Stephanie calmly aimed her gun at Coulson and Daisy once more, and the rest of the assault team revved up their chainsword blades—the ear-piercing noise drowned out Daisy's protests.
"Leave now," Stephanie's voice was amplified through her helmet. "Dying by chainsword is far more painful than a bullet."
Daisy glared at them with seething hatred.
In the monitoring room, Mike and Bobbi saw what had happened and rushed to the scene. There was no time to assign blame—they had to get Coulson to surgery immediately.
"Pulmonary artery, maybe even the heart. Move! We're out of time!" Bobbi confirmed. "I'm worried the fragments might reach other organs through his bloodstream—just like with Tony Stark back then."
"My lord wants him alive," Stephanie said without emotion. "Then he will not die. Leave him with us. We can save him."
"No!" Daisy shouted.
Mike firmly waved her down. "Saving Coulson's life is the priority now." He suddenly shouted, startling Bobbi. "Daisy, stand down! I don't care what you think! If you've got something to say, say it after we save him! May's gone, Simmons and Fitz are missing—we can't afford to lose anyone else! Do you understand me?"
"I… I understand," Daisy said, lowering her head in defeat.
"Good. We need to get to surgery now." He turned to Stephanie. "Get your medics here immediately. Our base personnel aren't enough."
(End of Chapter)
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