When Luke stepped into the plane, the Avengers followed behind him like a mismatched parade of legends.
Fury, with his usual sharp eye for details, immediately noticed something unusual. Luke's casual comment earlier, that he "didn't suffer a loss this time", suddenly carried a deeper weight. He had clearly been telling the truth.
The interior of the plane had undergone a complete transformation.
What was once a fairly standard cabin, not much different from a military transport, now looked like something pulled out of the future. The walls and floor gleamed with dark red stripes that pulsed faintly like veins of light, tracing intricate patterns through the metal. The air smelled faintly of ozone, crisp and mechanical, and yet the space carried a strange elegance, as though luxury and warfare had been merged into one design.
But the most unsettling difference was the absence of a cockpit.
There were no flight controls, no pilot seats. The entire aircraft was now one vast passenger compartment, as though the plane had no need for humans at all.
Before anyone could question it, a deep, resonant robotic voice rolled through the cabin's speakers, vibrating in their chests:
"Master, Megatron is at your service. Please give your order."
The sound was calm, yet it carried a weight of authority that made even hardened warriors like Natasha and Clint exchange wary glances.
Luke, unfazed, inspected the interior with an approving look. He gave a slight nod and replied, his voice casual but decisive:
"Take off. We're going to Sokovia. I'll provide the exact coordinates soon."
The moment the words left his lips, the floor beneath their feet thrummed. The entire craft shifted, rising with an almost organic smoothness. No jolts, no vibrations, just a steady lift that was quieter than most luxury cars.
For a long moment, silence ruled the cabin. The Avengers, usually quick with questions or quips, simply stared at the altered space around them, listening to the faint hum of machinery that seemed alive.
It was Fury who broke the silence at last, unable to hold back his suspicion.
"…You're telling me this thing doesn't need a pilot anymore?" His single eye narrowed as he studied Luke's expression.
Technically, autonomous systems weren't unheard of. Planes and cars already had autopilot features, but everyone in the room knew those systems were flawed, unreliable, and always required human supervision. But this? This wasn't just a regular autopilot, this was something else entirely.
Luke's lips curled into a faint smile.
"This isn't an ordinary airplane anymore," he explained smoothly. "Its true form is a robot, something far beyond Earth's current technology. Its IQ surpasses that of most humans. If anything, a pilot would only slow it down."
The way he phrased it was deliberate, simple enough for them to grasp. What he didn't bother clarifying was that Megatron was no mere robot, but a transformer, a living mechanical being with a will of its own.
Natasha's eyes narrowed, studying the glowing lines on the walls. "So… the plane is alive?" she murmured, more to herself than anyone else.
Clint gave a low whistle, folding his arms. "Great. Just what we needed. Flying inside a giant robot."
Steve frowned, though his voice was calm. "If it's as advanced as you say, let's hope it's on our side."
Luke only chuckled, offering no further explanation.
Fury exhaled slowly, forcing himself to accept the answer with a nod. He had dealt with too many unexplainable things in his life to let this rattle him too much. Still, he kept his guard up.
Luke leaned back comfortably in one of the sleek new seats, then waved lazily at Fury. "Tell Megatron the coordinates of Hydra's base. I don't remember them, and honestly, I'm too lazy to look them up."
Fury suppressed the twitch in his brow but complied, relaying the information. The ship adjusted course instantly, accelerating with such speed that even Thor raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. They were moving at a pace nearly three times faster than what these planes were capable of before. Sokovia would be within reach in no time.
…
Sokovia - Hydra Secret Base.
Deep in the mountains of Sokovia, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker walked the sterile halls of Hydra's hidden fortress. The base was an old castle, its roots stretching back decades, yet its laboratories gleamed with modern technology.
Few knew of its existence, even within Hydra's fractured remnants. That was why it was still standing, while so many other Hydra cells had been obliterated by S.H.I.E.L.D.
The fortress served one purpose above all: weapon research.
At the heart of it, scientists huddled around a glowing artifact, the Mind Scepter, once wielded by Loki. They were unraveling its secrets, eager to twist its power into something Hydra could control. Already, they had found ways to enhance superhuman abilities with it.
In a side chamber, a silver-haired young man stood by a narrow window, his sharp eyes fixed on the snow-dusted cliffs outside. Pietro Maximoff, also known as Quicksilver.
But unlike the familiar tale, his twin sister Wanda was not by his side. Separated at a young age, Wanda barely remembered him at all. To Pietro, that emptiness was Hydra's greatest cruelty.
Beyond their experiments on him, Hydra had also invested heavily into the fortress's defenses. A shimmering, invisible energy shield encased the entire base, making it impenetrable to missiles and artillery. With time and refinement, they believed it could one day withstand even a nuclear strike.
Suddenly, the heavy doors to Strucker's chamber swung open. A breathless subordinate rushed in, panic lacing his voice.
"Boss! There's a plane incoming!"
Strucker's expression darkened immediately. Their radars should have detected any intruder long before they were close, yet the screens remained blank.
"It-it wasn't the instruments!" the man stammered. "The lookout saw it through binoculars. It won't be long before it's above the castle!"
Strucker's face went pale. For them to miss it entirely until visual confirmation, it could only mean advanced cloaking technology, something far beyond conventional systems. And if he had to guess… only one organization would dare strike this boldly.
"…S.H.I.E.L.D. Or worse," Strucker muttered, his jaw tightening. "The Avengers."
Raising his voice, he barked the command: "Alert everyone! Prepare to defend the base!"
His men scrambled into action, boots pounding through the halls. Strucker knew the odds were grim. Hydra was fractured, cornered. Still, he held confidence in his personal worth. Even if this base fell, he believed he would live to fight another day. And he also had a big insurance, Pietro was fast enough to spirit him away if things went south.
But then came a low hum from above, the sound of something massive cutting through the air.
The plane had arrived.
"So soon?" Strucker's eyes widened. Less than half a minute had passed since the alarm.
And then, the impossible happened.
With a thunderous crash, part of the castle's ceiling exploded inward. Stone and steel rained down as a figure dropped straight through the roof, landing in the chamber with enough force to rattle the walls.
Dust and debris clouded the air.
When it cleared, Strucker and his men froze.
Standing before them was a young man, his clothes barely dusted from the impact, as if leaping from an aircraft at impossible height and piercing the castle's stone ceiling had done nothing to him.
Strucker's heart sank.
"You, who are you?!" Strucker demanded, though fear slipped into his voice. The castle's protective barrier was active, no one should have been able to bypass it. Yet here this stranger stood, calm and unharmed.
Before Luke could answer, another shadow plummeted through the hole in the roof.
With a soft thud, a husky landed at Luke's side, tail wagging. The dog shook itself free of dust, looking deceptively like a regular house pet. But Strucker wasn't fooled. If the beast could survive that fall, it was no ordinary animal.
For a brief, bizarre moment, the scene almost looked comical: the calm young man and his fat, fluffy dog standing amidst rubble.
But then the Hydra soldiers finally found their wits.
Dozens of rifles were raised, surrounding Luke and Doggo in a tight circle. The room filled with the tense clatter of safeties being switched off.
…