Chapter 98: The Curtain Falls
On the rooftop of Stark Tower, as Tony and Thor landed one after the other, Loki was clutching his scepter, leaning against the railing and barely maintaining his princely posture.
His helmet was askew, his cape was crumpled by the wind, and his face was smudged with dirt. He looked pathetic, yet he stubbornly kept his chin up, wearing an arrogant expression that said, 'I'm only taking a temporary break.'
Without a single word of nonsense, Tony first fired a beam of white light from his repulsor.
Loki hurriedly raised his scepter to block. The Impact of the colliding energy sent him stumbling back two steps. Before he could regain his footing, Tony had already rushed in front of him using his thrusters and punched him square in the face.
"You dare tear down my building! You dare blow up my lobby! You dare ruin my sky pool!"
Tony followed every punch with a shout, his blows landing with resounding force:
"My limited-edition sculptures! My panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows! And the century-old red wine I just won at auction! You're going to pay for all of it!"
Loki was beaten dizzy and wanted to cast magic to fight back, but the mark x's mobility was maxed out. It was as slippery as an eel, dodging his magic every time, while Tony didn't forget to mock him: "What? Is this all the God of Mischief has got? Weren't you acting tough when you opened the wormhole? Keep going!"
Thor stood nearby holding his hammer. He raised his hand and lowered it, lowered it and raised it again, muttering, "Loki, you really went too far," and "Stop fighting, stop fighting," yet his feet remained rooted to the spot without moving an inch.
He knew very well in his heart that his brother had caused such a massive disaster that if he wasn't beaten hard, he wouldn't learn his lesson.
In any case, Tony knew his limits and wouldn't break him; at most, Loki would just lose some face. It was better than him causing an even bigger disaster in the future.
"Enough! I am a prince of Asgard!" Loki finally couldn't take it anymore, clutching his face and shouting, "You cannot treat me like this!"
"A prince?" Tony sneered, delivering another punch to his arm. "A prince coming to Earth to build illegal structures? Then I'm the director of the New York Demolition Office, specializing in tearing down illegal alien structures like yours!"
Only after Loki's helmet fell to the ground, his hair became a messy bird's nest, and he didn't even have the strength to utter threats did Thor slowly step forward to grab Tony's arm. "Alright, alright, if you keep hitting him, he'll really break. When we go back, my father will scold me."
Tony curled his lip and stopped, though he didn't forget to lightly kick Loki. "You got off easy. Put the repair costs on your brother's tab."
Thor: "?"
Since when does the older brother pay for the younger brother's debts?
As the two were bickering, a coughing sound came from nearby.
Dr. Selvig slowly stood up, holding onto the device's support. He had a bump on his forehead, but his eyes were clear—the shockwave of energy from earlier had knocked him, but it had actually broken Loki's mind control.
"Stop fighting... the wormhole can be closed," the old doctor said, holding his dizzy head. "Loki's scepter... the gem at the tip and the Tesseract share the same source of energy. It can counteract the spatial force field. Just align it with the interface and plug it in."
Natasha happened to rush up from the stairwell. Hearing this, she bent down to pick up the scepter on the ground, raising an eyebrow. "Is that reliable, Dr.? Don't plug it in wrong and make the wormhole even bigger."
"It's reliable! I calibrated the device, I know!" Selvig pointed at the energy slot at the top of the device. "Right there. Align it and plug it in, and the energy counteraction will shut it down."
Tony waved his hand. "Go, go, close the wormhole so we can settle the bill. I'll have to have a good talk with that old fox Fury about the repair costs, mental distress damages, and lost work time for this building."
With agile movements, Natasha climbed to the top of the device in a few steps, held the scepter, aimed it at the azure energy interface, and plunged it in steadily.
"Hum—"
With a soft hum, the beam of energy shooting into the sky shuddered violently. The wormhole in the sky, like a pinched plastic bag, began to shrink rapidly along its edges.
The blue light grew fainter, and the opening became smaller and smaller, until finally, with a soft 'pop,' it closed completely within the clouds.
The sky returned to its original grayish-blue, with not even a trace of residual energy left.
Instantly, Earth-shaking cheers erupted from the ground.
Surviving civilians, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, and passersby who had volunteered to help with search and rescue couldn't help but wave their hands and shout. The joy of surviving the disaster spread along the streets.
Far away in the World Security Council's war room in Washington, several old men stared at each other, their fingers still frozen on the nuclear launch button.
They had originally been prepared to sacrifice New York to save the world, but the scene on the screen suddenly changed—the alien army vanished in an instant, the wormhole closed in a second, and the battlefield was as clean as if it had been swept, with barely any decent-sized large debris left.
"We... won just like that?" one old man asked dryly.
"It seems so... that Logan Howlett wiped out the entire Chitauri fleet with a single move."
The several men fell silent for half a minute, immediately changing their line of thinking in tacit agreement.
In the past, they guarded against Mutants and unknown alien forces, always thinking about regulation, control, and co-opting them for their own use.
Now, things were different.
With this level of combat power, let alone controlling them, they would be thanking their lucky stars if the other party didn't cause trouble. The urgent priority was to build a good relationship.
"On the X-Men's side, the Mutant Registration Act can be relaxed, and we can offer some policy support in education and employment."
"And those Cybertronian Autobots, send dedicated personnel to contact them. We can discuss technological cooperation, and it's fine to offer generous terms."
"That Logan..."
Speaking of this name, several of them subconsciously softened their tone.
"Do not disturb him, and do not conduct any surveillance or testing. For an existence of this level, as long as he doesn't actively cause trouble, that is the greatest blessing."
No one mentioned regulation or recruitment anymore.
What a joke. The man could wipe out an alien fleet with a wave of his hand. If they really angered him, the Council's meager defense forces wouldn't even be enough for him to squeeze.
They reached a consensus: pamper him, treat him with the utmost respect, and do not seek trouble.
Meanwhile, the man in question, Logan, was leaning against a fire hydrant on Fifth Avenue, puffing on a cigar while scrolling through his system panel.
Wiping out the entire area just now and cleaning up the stragglers had earned him nearly ten thousand points. Combined with his previous savings, he currently had over 20,000 points, which was actually a bit of a pity.
He had originally planned to upgrade his Healing Factor, which would truly make his offense and defense seamlessly integrated to the absolute limit.
"Forget it," Logan said, exhaling a puff of smoke. He didn't feel too much regret; anyway, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.
Beside him, Charles rolled over in his wheelchair, smiled gently, and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking that Earth is probably going to get livelier and livelier in the future," Logan didn't hide it from him, flicking his cigarette ash. "All kinds of weird and bizarre things will pop up."
Charles nodded with emotion. "Yes, indeed."
Over the next few days, the entire internet fell into a complete frenzy.
The hot trends on the Astral Platform were completely dominated; eight out of ten posts were related to the Battle of New York:
#Victory in the Battle of New York#
#Wolverine Omega-level Descends#
#All X-Men Join the Battle#
#Autobots Cybertronian Allies#
#Iron Man Beats Up Loki Live#
#Captain America Battlefield Command#
#Thor Prince of Asgard#
#Hulk Rips Apart Leviathan#
#Astral Live Stream 50 Million Online#
#Thank You to Every Guardian#
On-site videos of all kinds were wildly shared—some shot by passersby, some from streamers' live broadcasts, some captured from surveillance cameras. The image quality varied, but it couldn't dampen the internet users' enthusiasm.
The most popular was the full live broadcast recording. Although the camera shook violently, it completely documented the entire process from the opening of the wormhole to the total annihilation of the enemy army. In particular, the few seconds of Logan hovering in mid-air, gently clenching his fist to clear the entire fleet, were turned into GIFs and shared across the web, captioned with 'A God Descends.'
The comment section was even more festive than New Year's:
"In the past, I didn't believe someone could take on ten thousand alone. Today, I believe it on my knees."
"Logan Howlett is my one and only male god from now on! Who objects?"
"Storm's lightning, Cyclops's lasers, Jean's telekinesis... the entire X-Men team is incredibly cool! Who was it that said Mutants were dangerous before? Come out and apologize!"
"The moment Optimus Prime sliced the Leviathan gave me goosebumps all over! Our Cybertronian allies are so reliable!"
"Bumblebee is so cute! He even rescues kids! I want to have a transforming camaro too!"
"I feel bad for Loki for three seconds. How arrogant he was when he arrived, and how pathetic he was when he left, hahahaha."
Along with this, the Astral Gen 2 phones sold like crazy. Sales tripled that very day, and the official website crashed twice from the traffic.
When Carly rushed into the office holding the sales reports, her face was flushed with joy; Anna remained calm and steady, but as she flipped through the reports, the curve of her lips was much softer than usual.
The Avengers completely broke into the mainstream.
Before, Tony was a playboy, arms dealer, and Iron Man, with labels mostly being genius and arrogant.
After this battle, his title as a superhero was completely solidified. Walking down the street, even the grocery-shopping aunties would give him a thumbs-up.
Steve became an even greater spiritual symbol. A World War II veteran fighting aliens seventy years later—the legendary buffs were fully stacked, and the lines at the recruitment offices grew three times longer.
The public opinion of the X-Men completely reversed.
In the past, when ordinary people mentioned Mutants, they always did so with a bit of fear and rejection, viewing them as unstable factors.
Only after this battle did everyone realize.
When trouble really hit, those who rushed to the front to block bullets and rescue civilians were also these Mutants.
Every street corner and alleyway was discussing the X-Men's achievements. Schools began to add popular science on Mutant rights, and some charity organizations even came knocking, wanting to invite the X-Men to film anti-discrimination commercials.
Charles received a pile of cooperation invitations every day. While amused, he was also truly gratified by the improvement in the Mutants' situation.
The Autobots' side was even more interesting.
Internet users dug along the old videos of the Egyptian battlefield, uncovering the names of Optimus Prime, Ironhide, and Bumblebee clearly.
Because of his cool look and his rescue of children, Bumblebee amassed a huge wave of maternal fans. People camped near the Base every day hoping for a chance encounter, taking photos to post on Astral.
Skids and Mudflap were incredibly envious, clamoring every day to go out and show their faces, only to be shouted back by Ratchet. They stayed quiet for less than half a day before starting to plot how to sneak out again.
The one who broke into the mainstream the most, however, was Logan himself.
The name Wolverine completely echoed around the globe. From eighty-year-old elders to children of a few years old, everyone knew there was a metal-manipulating Mutant in New York who wiped out an alien army single-handedly with one punch.
Fan creations, comics, and video edits flooded the internet. Ares, who was already a major internet celebrity dog, gained a second wave of followers because of Logan, and his value skyrocketed.
He didn't like to show off in the first place. After the battle, he took Ares back to the Villa, fishing when he should fish, walking the dog when he should walk the dog, remaining completely unmoved no matter how much the outside world clamored.
Fury did tentatively suggest a few times to invite him to formally join the Avengers, but Logan laughed it off and brushed it aside.
Fury wasn't annoyed either.
He had finally figured it out: this man was not bound by any rules at all. If they really forced him to follow orders and clock in on time, he would probably walk away on the spot.
Rather than souring the relationship, it was better to maintain the status quo.
An ally relationship where he would come to help when called upon was better than anything else.
By the lake in the evening.
Logan sat on his fishing chair, a cigar between his fingers, his fishing rod resting on the stand, the bobber gently swaying on the water's surface.
Ares lay at his feet, munching on a freshly grilled fish steak, his tail slowly sweeping across the grass.
The distant city was quiet, with only the occasional sound of a siren reminding people that a great battle had just passed.
Chapter 99 Negotiation
When the detectors on the outer perimeter of the Base lit up, Skids and Mudflap were squatting at the doorway fighting over half an energy bar. Seeing the official vehicle insignia pop up on the screen, both of their hands froze.
"Damn it! Sector Seven's cars! And S.H.I.E.L.D.'s too!" Mudflap clutched the railing and peered outside, his optical lenses wide open. "They're not here to capture us, are they?"
"Capture my ass," Skids said with disdain. Though his mouth talked tough, his steps unconsciously shrank back a little. "We just helped beat back the aliens, do they dare to capture us? I reckon they're here to bring gifts!"
As the two were muttering to each other, Ironhide's deep, rumbling voice came from behind: "What are you doing blocking the doorway? Move aside!"
The two little guys shrank their necks and hurriedly scurried to both sides.
Ironhide walked to the doorway carrying the newly calibrated main cannon, glanced at the screen, and furrowed his thick eyebrows: "Sector Seven? Those guys still dare to come?"
As soon as his voice fell, Optimus Prime's voice came from behind: "Let them in. What's bound to come will come."
The red-and-blue colored leader walked slowly to the door, his armor emitting a steady luster under the lights.
Tony followed alongside with a coffee cup clamped in his mouth, wearing an expression of watching a good show: "I bet Fury is definitely here too. These people never visit unless they want something; right after the war ends, they come to negotiate terms."
Logan leaned against the doorframe, biting an unlit cigar, and leisurely added: "What else is there to negotiate? Nothing more than identity, technology, and that allsparkbusiness."
The gate slowly rose, and three black off-road vehicles drove in one after another, stopping on the landing pad.
The car doors opened, and the one stepping out first was indeed Simmons, dressed in a crisp suit with his hair combed meticulously. However, when he saw the forest of energy cannons and the wandering Autobots in the Base, the corners of his mouth still twitched.
Following behind him was Fury, wearing a black trench coat and sporting an eyepatch, maintaining his usual inscrutable look. After getting off, he first scanned the Base, his gaze pausing briefly on the heavy main cannon in the testing ground. Inwardly, he clicked his tongue in amazement—this firepower density was fiercer than an entire S.H.I.E.L.D. Base.
"Leader Optimus Prime." Simmons stepped forward first, trying to strike an official pose as he nodded slightly. "I am Agent Simmons from Sector Seven, and this is Director Fury from S.H.I.E.L.D. We are here representing the official authorities to discuss subsequent cooperation and identity issues with your esteemed side."
Optimus Prime nodded slightly: "Please come into the conference room to talk."
As the group walked deeper into the Base, Simmons felt he didn't have enough eyes to take everything in.
He glanced at the energy circuit board in Dr. Q's hand as he passed by, then secretly peeked at the dual-mounted main cannon on Ironhide's shoulder. When they walked near the allspark chamber, his steps subconsciously slowed by half a beat.
The allspark that Sector Seven had been searching for so long was most likely right behind this wall.
Yet he didn't dare to ask, let alone bring it up.
For one thing, the allspark was originally something from Cybertron, and it was already fortunate enough that they didn't pursue Sector Seven's past actions of hoarding the allspark and researching it behind their backs.
Secondly... he secretly glanced at Logan walking beside him. This lord had just wiped out the entire Chitauri fleet single-handedly; even if you lent him ten guts, he wouldn't dare demand things on someone else's turf.
Entering the conference room, the group split up and sat on opposite sides.
Fury spoke first, getting straight to the point: "Mr. Optimus Prime, in the Battle of New York, the Autobots lent a hand to help Earth, and we will not forget this merit. The Security Council has passed a resolution officially recognizing the legal residency status of the Autobots on Earth, enjoying diplomatic-level protection. This Base will also be designated as a joint testing area, with land use rights belonging to your esteemed side, and you won't need to act covertly in the future."
Optimus Prime nodded slightly: "Thank you for Earth's recognition. The Autobots will strictly abide by the principles of allies and will never proactively interfere in Earth's internal affairs."
The opening went smoothly. Simmons breathed a sigh of relief, cleared his throat, and began probing around: "Um... regarding the... important item lost from the Hoover Damback then, our side probably has some idea. We just want to confirm, is the item currently in a safe and controllable state? After all, the energy is too strong, in case it goes out of control..."
What he was talking about was the allspark; he beat around the bush and didn't dare to say it directly, fearing that saying the wrong thing would displease the other party.
Before Optimus Prime could speak, Tony let out a scoff: "Whether it's controllable or not, it's useless for you to worry about it. If it really goes out of control, those pitiful defensive measures of your Sector Seven wouldn't even splash a single ripple. Rest assured, the allspark is ten thousand times safer here than it was at the Hoover Dam."
This single sentence choked Simmons so badly that his face turned crimson red, and he opened his mouth but didn't dare to retort.
What the other party said was the truth; an object as large as the allspark could just vanish into thin air, making those thick concrete walls block nothing of consequence.
Fury hurriedly smoothed things over: "We absolutely trust your esteemed side in terms of safety. It's just that if there is related energy research in the future, we hope some achievements in the civilian sector can be appropriately shared, such as clean energy, new materials, and the like. Earth's technological level is limited, and we also want to make some progress along the way."
This was the main point.
The authorities didn't dare to ask for the allspark, didn't dare to mention supervision, and just wanted to freeload off some technological dividends.
After all, Cybertronian technology was thousands of years ahead of Earth's; just leaking a few scraps here and there could allow human civilization to take a huge leap forward.
"Cooperation is possible." Optimus Prime paused and looked at Dr. Q beside him: "Dr. Q will be responsible for the technology docking. But core Military technology cannot be shared; this is the bottom line."
"Naturally! Naturally!" Simmons nodded hastily, fearing that the other party might go back on their word. "Civilian use is fine, civilian use is plenty!"
His heart was already blooming with joy.
Even if it were just civilian energy and material technology, taking it back would be enough for Sector Seven and the Military to research for several years, securing his political achievements firmly.
"Wait." Tony suddenly spoke up, tapping his fingers on the tabletop. "Cooperation is fine, but it cannot be handled through official docking by you guys. I suggest that Stark Industries take the lead to establish a joint laboratory. The Autobots will provide the technology, Stark Industries will handle the translation and implementation, and S.H.I.E.L.D.and Sector Seven will be responsible for approval and supervision. That way, we avoid technology leaking out later, being used by certain people to build weapons, and eventually getting blamed on the Autobots."
Fury's mouth twitched.
This Tony truly never suffered any losses; he was plainly looking to get a piece of the pie while incidentally guarding against the authorities hoarding technology privately.
Yet he had no way to refuse.
Putting aside the fact that Stark Industries' technology translation capability was the world's top tier, just considering Tony and Logan's relationship, he couldn't reject his face.
"Very well." Fury readily agreed: "Stark Industriesparticipating as a third party is reasonable."
Simmons opened his mouth; originally he had still wanted Sector Seven to monopolize the technological dividends, but seeing that Fury had agreed, he could only nod along.
After finishing the discussion on technological cooperation, Simmons hesitated for a moment and brought up another matter: "There's also one more thing... regarding that Decepticon prisoner captured earlier, named Blackout, our Sector Seven has already dismantled and researched him. There are still quite a few parts in the wreckage that we haven't figured out; could you... please have your experts help guide us a bit?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ironhide slammed a hand onto the table with a loud clack, making the water cups bounce up: "You still have the nerve to bring that up? That is a thing of our Cybertron! You secretly hauled it back and dismantled it, and it's already fortunate we didn't ask you to return it, yet you still want guidance?"
Simmons's face instantly turned pale, stammering and unable to say a word.
Logan slowly opened his mouth from the side: "Since it's already been dismantled, let it go. Anyway, you've dismantled it for over half a year and still haven't figured out the core energy circuit, so guidance won't be necessary, lest it waste Dr. Q's time."
A single sentence precisely pierced the heart.
Sector Seven had spent nearly half a year dismantling Blackout and hadn't even grasped the principle of his power core. This matter was no secret within high-level circles, but having it pointed out directly to his face still made Simmons flush red with shame, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Fury pretended not to see anything and hurriedly changed the subject: "There's also a small suggestion: if your members go out, could you... please give a slight heads-up to the local departments? It's not for supervision, but rather out of fear of causing public panic, so we can evacuate in advance and maintain order."
He spoke tactfully, but to put it bluntly, he just wanted to know the movements of the Autobots and establish a formal reporting process.
"Reporting won't be necessary." Logan lifted his eyes, his tone flat yet carrying weight. "If we really go out, we will mind ourselves. Should anything actually happen, the Autobots can handle it, and I can handle it too."
A light sentence, yet no one dared to refute it.
With an Omega-level Mutant giving his word to back them up, let alone the Autobots going out for a stroll, even if they tore down New York and rebuilt it, he could cover for it.
Fury immediately seized the opportunity to back down: "It was my lack of consideration. Given your esteemed side's self-discipline, there is completely no need to go through this process. We were overthinking it."
Simmons nodded frantically beside him, not daring to utter a single word of objection.
He had finally figured it out; in today's negotiation, the Autobots were the hosts, and with Logan and Tony acting as two major protectors sitting beside them, the authorities simply had no room for bargaining.
Being able to secure legal status and civilian technology cooperation was already burning high incense; raising more demands would purely be asking for trouble.
After chatting about some more cooperation details and finalizing the liaisons and timeframes, Simmons and Furyrose to take their leave.
After seeing the two off, the Base instantly became lively.
"Finally, we don't have to hide anymore!" Hound clamped an energy cigar in his mouth and laughed loudly. "From now on, I can drive my pickup truck into the downtown area for a joyride without ever having to dodge satellites again!"
"What's a joyride!" Ironhide rubbed his hands together. "From now on, the testing ground can open up wide for cannon testing, and we won't have to fear the commotion being too big and attracting official planes!"
Skids and Mudflap jumped even higher: "Can we go to downtown to watch a movie? I heard human movie theaters are super interesting!"
"Don't even think about it." Ratchet walked over and knocked each of them on the head. "Fix the fence you guys crashed at the doorway first. Watch a movie, my foot—you'd more likely go out and stir up trouble."
The two little guys drooped their heads dejectedly.
Tony leaned against the wall, flipping through the newly signed cooperation letter of intent, and let out a whistle: "Not bad, this wave is a net gain. Once the joint laboratory is established, Stark Industries' material technology will be able to leap forward by at least five years."
Logan smiled: "You certainly never take a loss."
"That goes without saying." Tony raised an eyebrow. "Can't let the authorities pick up bargains for free."
Optimus Prime stood nearby, gazing at the sky outside the Base. The energy core on his chest glowed faintly, and his tone carried a hint of relief: "Finally... we have a true home on Earth."
From the fall of Cybertron, to drifting through the Universe, and finally taking root on Earth, after going in circles for so long, they finally didn't have to hide anymore and could stand upright and openly upon this land.
Logan bit his cigar and patted his arm: "It should've been like this long ago. From now on, we're all allies, and we'll shoulder whatever comes together."
On the landing pad, Bumblebee was playing cheerful music, his headlights flashing on and off to beat the rhythm.
Dr. Q hugged his circuit board and walked leisurely toward the laboratory, muttering about a new shielding layer scheme.
From the testing ground in the distance came the laughing and bantering voices of Ironhide and Hound, making appointments to test the new cannons tomorrow.
Chapter 100 Time Heist Squad
Stark Tower.
Having resolved the matters concerning the tripartite cooperation, Tony threw himself into the penthouse remodeling. Having learned his lesson from the Battle of New York, he planned to set up a defense system on the top floor to prevent anyone from having designs on it again.
Just as Tony was taking Jarvis and the robotic arms to automatically rebuild it, four sneaky figures landed in the alley next to the building.
They poked their heads out to observe their surroundings, their eyes filled with hesitation and uncertainty.
"Is the time point right? Why do I feel like something is a bit different?"
"It should be right. Look, there are still traces of battle around, which means the Battle of New York has just ended."
"But is the rebuilding really this fast? Shouldn't it have just ended less than a day ago?"
"Let me check."
The four whispered among themselves. One mustache-wearing man in sunglasses, revealing a face identical to Tony's, pulled out an electronic device and intended to hack into the network.
However, after trying for a long time, the firewall didn't even lose a layer of skin, making him wear an expression doubting his life, "Impossible. I am at least 11 years ahead of him. How is it possible that I can't even breach his firewall?"
"Are you actually capable or not?" His companion on the side wore a look of suspicion. Looking closely, he looked practically identical to Steve.
"Give me a few more minutes!"
He gritted his teeth, an unyielding expression instantly appearing on his face as he began a series of operations.
Just as he was burying himself in his work and his companions were waiting anxiously beside him,
a voice rang out behind them, causing their figures to stiffen.
"Hey! What are you four being so sneaky about? Especially you, the guy with your head down, actually attacking my firewall! Is my firewall that easy to breach? You should know this was built by me combining Cybertrontechnology!"
The newcomer was undoubtedly Tony. Upon receiving a report from Jarvis that someone was attacking the firewall and that the person was nearby, he instantly couldn't sit still, wanting to see who had the audacity.
Seeing Tony appear, the four of them turned on their heels intending to flee.
However, faster than their movements was Tony's weapon—the Cybertron weapon system carried by mark x, whose attack command arrived almost instantaneously.
"If you dare run, don't blame me for not holding back."
The four people stopped in their tracks, looked at each other, and helplessly turned around.
When Tony saw the appearance of the four people, especially three of them, he wore a stunned look, "You guys..."
Ten minutes later, on the top floor of the building still under renovation.
"So, you guys are from a parallel Universe? This is me 11 years later? This is the old popsicle from 11 years later? This is... Dr. Banner?"
Tony's expression was numb as he muttered to himself, "You guys actually managed to break the time paradox?"
"Is there a possibility that perhaps our Universe is different from yours?"
The other Tony, let's call him Old Tony.
Old Tony lowered his head, swiping on his Astral II phone, looking at the information within, his expression changing. "Seriously, the experiences between you and me started to differ from 2005. Although some things are still very similar, the results are not entirely the same. Moreover, in our World, there are no such things as X-Men or Cybertronalien allies."
"So, how did you guys cross over? According to your expectations, shouldn't it have been returning to the past timeline of your own Universe?" Tony recovered a bit of spirit at this point.
He really feared becoming like Old Tony with that decadent look, and felt a sense of urgency regarding the future crisis they mentioned.
However, the moment he thought of Logan and the others, he instantly felt that there seemed to be nothing to be afraid of.
Old Tony thought for a moment and sighed, "It should be caused by minor deviations in the quantum tunnel. I'm now worried whether the others will also encounter this kind of situation like us."
"The top priority now is to go back first, and then think of a way." Old Steve had a solemn expression. "If we can't go back, that would be terrible."
Seeing the four of them look dejected, Tony felt a bit soft-hearted. "Do you need help? I've touched upon Cybertronquantum technology knowledge to some extent and might be able to help you out."
Old Tony looked skeptical. "Are you sure? You must know I have a full 10 years of thinking and knowledge ahead of you."
Hearing this, Tony looked disdainful. "10 years doesn't mean you're ahead of me. Don't forget, you couldn't even breach my firewall."
"That's because you took advantage of alien technology." Old Tony's face flushed red. "If you have the ability, use your own technology."
Tony smiled smugly. "So what? Whoever masters it, it belongs to them. Blame it on the fact that your side doesn't have Cybertron; anyway, it's an indisputable fact that my technology is more advanced than yours."
Watching the two Tonys going back and forth, neither yielding to the other, gave Old Steve a wave of mental exhaustion. "Can you stop arguing? The problem hasn't been solved yet!"
Realizing that they were indeed going a bit too far, the two immediately quieted down and resumed discussing the previous topic.
"Huh? Costume show? Cosplay? Is the development of bodysuits nowadays this advanced?"
The sudden voice interrupted the five people discussing. Logan looked at them with a feigned puzzled expression, though inwardly his heart gave an involuntary thump.
Time Heist Squad, here to find the Infinity Stones?
Why did it happen in this World? Could it be that in the future they still failed? Half of the population was wiped out by Thanos? That shouldn't be right; at that time, beating Thanos should have been as easy as pie for him, right?
Just as he couldn't help letting his mind wander, Tonyspoke up, "You came just in time. They are the Avengersfrom a different Universe, not the kind of parallel spacetime that shares a timeline with us."
"Can it even be like this?"
Logan looked astonished. Can you cross into another Universe even if it's not the same timeline? Shouldn't this be technology that only appears a few years after their Endgame? After all, their quantum technology is not mature right now.
So, it was an accident?
"Alright, when I first heard it, I was just like you." Tonyrolled his eyes. "Since you're here, let's discuss it together, although the role you can play might not be very big."
Old Steve didn't know Logan. Old Tony poked him in the arm from the side, holding up a tablet and motioning for him to look over.
This look caused him to gasp a breath of cold air.
The person in the picture who effortlessly annihilated the Chitauri Fleet was standing right before his eyes? What kind of monster was this anyway?
Banner and Scott also looked, their eyes wide open, staring as if watching a mythological story.
Seeing this, Tony shrugged, "It seems introductions aren't needed."
Logan wasn't a tech-side person; the communication between the two Tonys was practically like listening to heavenly books to him. He was drowsy and could only rely on a cigar to barely maintain his energy.
Until the conversation ended, seemingly having reached an agreement, he finally snapped back to his senses, "Is this settled?"
Tony nodded slightly, "I'll find a way to use Cybertrontechnology to adjust their device."
"Alright, then I'll leave it to you."
Logan shrugged, stood up, and slowly walked into the elevator.
For him, whether it was the Time Heist Squad or parallel Universes, neither was something he needed to consider right at the moment.
There were still a bunch of messy things in this Universe; where would he have time to manage the affairs of other Universes?
Chapter 101: Examining Ares
Earth-199999, this is the designation of the Universebelonging to Old Tony and Old Steve, and it is also the designation of the orthodox Marvel Cinematic Universe, commonly known as the MCU.
In their Universe, there are only the stories of the members of the Avengers and their extended stories; other storylines do not exist.
Compared to the Universe where Logan is located, the constituent elements are much simpler, without so many complicated things.
Their timeline is very single-threaded, and basically major events revolve around the Avengers storyline.
And the appearance of the Stone Squad means that their Endgame is about to begin; Black Widow will sacrifice herself in exchange for the Soul Stone, and Old Tony will choose that only chance of victory to snap his fingers, which will lead to his end.
Anyway, the stones in their Universe certainly won't be borrowed away, because even if they were borrowed, it would be useless. The rules of the stones in the two Universes are different, and crossing Universes will only make the stones ineffective.
Just look at the stories about Loki in those pruned timelines born because of their actions, and you'll know.
The TVA, which is the Time Variance Authority, has a drawer of an ordinary staff member filled with a bunch of Infinity Stones, and they are only fit to be used as paperweights.
Anyway, this matter is just a small interlude and will not affect the operation of this Universe in the slightest.
Wait, no, it's not that it won't affect it.
Old Tony will exchange technology with Tony, right? This guy's armor won't directly skip the process of the original trajectory and turn straight into the Mark 50 infused with Cybertron technology, will it?
Thinking of this guy's cocky and arrogant appearance, Logan couldn't help curling his lips.
Forget it, why think so much? It's a good thing for this guy to become stronger.
Days returned to peace once again, and half a month had passed since the Battle of New York.
During this period, Logan either went to sit at Maggie's coffee shop or was invited by Charles to Xaviers School to lecture the students on the application of abilities. No matter what, he is now an Omega-level Mutant, more than enough to teach children.
Of course, interactions with Ororo and Jean were inevitable, making Scott grit his teeth in annoyance.
The White Queen is now single-mindedly busy with her career, opening a logistics company specifically to interface with various express packages from the Astra Mall, making a fortune.
Michaela hasn't graduated yet, and she, Emma, and Harrietagreed to join Logan's company after graduation, to which Logan expressed his welcome.
Fox follows Pepper around handling business all day, and has been leaving early and returning late for quite a long time.
Jessica has now become Logan's personal intelligence officer, working for him every day, and recently she has been keeping an eye on the trends of Chitauri technology on the black market.
Carly has also gradually become familiar with the tasks at hand, no longer needing Anna to assist from the side.
As for Anna, her state recently has been a bit abnormal.
Not long ago, she received notification from her handler, telling her either to obtain core data regarding the astral phone within a month or to go execute other missions.
This gave rise to a hint of killing intent in the heart of Anna, who yearned for freedom. She was wondering whether she should secretly finish off the other party and control her own destiny from now on.
But this is undoubtedly very risky; once she fails, not only will she be unable to protect herself, but she might even implicate Logan.
Thinking of this, she could only suppress her thoughts, and because of this, she was often absent-minded recently.
Logan saw all this in his eyes and understood it in his heart.
Aside from Anna's handler contacting her, he basically didn't think twice about it.
And for a killer trained by the KGB to show such a distracted appearance, this also shows that his soft offensive has already taken effect.
Regardless of whether she is willing or not, her heart has already wavered, and as time goes on, she will gradually lean toward his side.
He does not plan to intervene now; only when the other party's sense of despair is at its strongest will he extend a helping hand.
Because only in this way can she remember this moment deeply.
However, before that, he still needs to figure out who Anna's handler actually is, so that it is convenient for him to make response measures to avoid messing things up.
It is impossible for him to investigate purely according to the plot in the movie; after all, the eras are different, and many things in a stitched-together Universe will change.
Speaking of which, Frank should have connections in the CIA, right?
Logan picked up the Astra Generation 2 and dialed Frank's phone.
"Fishing?"
The call connected, and Frank's deep voice came through.
"Not fishing." Logan was torn between laughter and tears; this guy truly lived up to being a heavy-duty fishing enthusiast, "There is something I want to ask you about."
"Speak, what is it." Frank didn't talk nonsense either; just for the fact that Logan helped his family, he wouldn't refuse any request from the other party.
"Then I won't beat around the bush. I want you to help me check the personnel inside the CIA to see if there is a person named Lenny Miller."
"Alright." Frank was concise and agreed without the slightest hesitation.
Hanging up the phone, Logan smiled.
This is the benefit of having a wide circle of friends; although he doesn't have many friends, every single one of them is capable.
After finishing this matter, he led Ares, who was already five years old, out for a walk.
This guy has been eating and getting fatter recently, its shoulder height has grown to a full 90 centimeters, and its weight has even reached 90 kilograms, which is simply contrary to common sense.
He plans to drag Ares to find Tony for a check-up to see what is actually going on with this guy.
Back when it just reached adulthood, he already felt that this little fellow was a bit abnormal, but he only suspected it without taking action.
No species can continue to grow after reaching its species limit once adulthood is reached, unless there is a problem with its genes.
All the way to Stark Tower, Logan and Ares grabbed enough attention. Passersby constantly came up to take photos, and those who dared not come forward took pictures from afar.
For a time, short videos on the Astra Platform were almost occupied by Logan and Ares, causing quite a few people to have no choice but to click "Not Interested" after watching for too long.
Unimpeded and silently all the way to the top floor, the Stone Squad had already left.
Sure enough, Tony this guy was modifying his latest armor, incorporating nanotechnology learned from Old Tony.
"Sir, Mr. Howlett has arrived."
Tony put down the tools in his hand, stretched, and muttered, "This guy definitely wouldn't come looking for me if nothing's wrong; eight times out of ten there's some trouble again."
Saying this, he slowly walked out of the laboratory.
"Why did you bring this stupid dog here?"
Hearing Tony call it a stupid dog, Ares couldn't help baring its teeth, a low growl emitting from its throat.
Logan patted its head and said unpleasantly to Tony, "Can't your mouth stop being mean? Why do you always tease it? Watch out for the day it really gets angry and takes a bite out of you."
Tony chuckled, ignoring Ares's warning gaze, and stroked its head, "I'm happy to! Speak, what are you here for this time?"
"Help me check if there's any problem with Ares." Loganbit on a cigar, his expression strange, "I suspect this guy's genes are problematic. Have you ever seen a Blue Bay Shepherd grow this big?"
Chapter 102 Investigation
Tony stroked his chin and walked around Ares twice, poking the big dog's shoulder-blade-like back muscles with his finger. The latter impatiently flicked its tail, the tip of which brushed across the lab bench and almost swept half a box of donuts onto the floor.
"Stop poking. Do you think you're poking dough?" Loganreached out and pressed down on Ares's big head, shifting the unlit cigar in the corner of his mouth. "Hurry up and test it. Once it's done, I still have to go back in time for the afternoon fishing."
"What's the rush? Your dog has grown almost as tall as your waist, and you aren't in a hurry, so why should I be?" Tony rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers at the air. "Jarvis, draw blood, run a whole-genome sequencing, and scan the whole body for residual energy by the way. Who knows if it secretly rubbed against some kind of radiation one day."
The robotic arm slid slowly along the track, the needle gleaming with a cold, faint light.
Ares's ears instantly flattened back, and a wronged whimpering sound came from its throat. Its watery, big eyes stared straight at Logan, looking as if it had suffered a grave injustice.
"Good boy." Logan smiled, rubbed its ears, pulled a piece of air-dried beef jerky out of his pocket, and handed it over. "Just a little prick, and I'll give you two extra portions of snacks when it's done."
With food as a guarantee, Ares instantly settled down. It rested its big head on Logan's leg and allowed the robotic arm to draw a tube of blood without even a single grunt, only focusing on crunching away at the beef jerky while dropping crumbs all over Logan's pants.
Tony watched from the side and clicked his tongue in wonder, "What a foodie, bought off with just a few pieces of jerky."
"Better than some people who call it a stupid dog with their mouths, but bring out a Cybertron gene sequencer behind the scenes." Logan glanced at him sideways, lifted his chin toward the console, "Don't hide it, I saw the interface. Regular sequencing doesn't require alien technology, right?"
Tony wasn't flustered even when exposed. He shrugged, sat down in the chair, and tapped loudly on the keyboard like playing the piano: "Nonsense, regular equipment can't sequence crap. I want to see what kind of genes can make a Blue Bay Shepherd grow to ninety kilograms."
The base pair sequences rolled rapidly across the screen, with green, red, and blue marker bars spreading out layer upon layer, the data stream moving fast enough to make one dizzy.
Jarvis's calm voice rang out on cue: "Sir, the comparison is complete. The benchmark gene match for the Blue Bay Shepherd is 87%. The remaining 13% consists of unknown gene fragments not recorded in the Earth species gene bank, with a 12% match to Mutant x-factor sequences and an 8% match to Cybertron metal energy residual sequences. The origin and specific functions cannot be resolved."
Tony's brows furrowed instantly. He leaned forward, his fingers swiping across that lonely unknown sequence on the screen, comparing it back and forth three times while muttering endlessly: "That's not right... It's neither a standard Mutant-inducing gene nor a mutation caused by Cybertron radiation. This fragment looks like it was naturally embedded in the genome... Where did you pick up this dog? Could it be an experimental subject that escaped from some Mutant laboratory?"
"Brought back from a regular kennel. When I first got it, it was only palm-sized, as soft as a ball of cotton." Loganraised an eyebrow, lowered his head, and stroked Ares's big head. The latter was wagging its tail and licking his hand with a silly look on its face, showing no sign whatsoever of the unsolved mystery hidden within its genes. "Can you find out if it's harmful? Will it affect its health?"
"From the looks of it, nothing is wrong right now; it's even ten times healthier than an ordinary dog." Tony leaned back in his chair and spread his hands. "Its cardiopulmonary function is almost catching up to a low-tier Mutant, and its bone density is three times that of ordinary dogs, no wonder it can demolish the house so fiercely. It's just that what this unknown fragment does cannot be resolved; it seems to be dormant and unactivated. My database here isn't big enough, and I can't exactly take apart the allspark to test it, or Optimus Primewould definitely flip out at me."
Hearing this, Logan completely set his mind at ease.
There were plenty of bizarre things in this World, and since he could transmigrate to become a unique Cavell wolf, what did it matter if his own dog had a few more unknown genes?
As long as it didn't affect its health, getting big was fine. Anyway, the yard was wide enough, it looked majestic when walked, and it could serve as a free bodyguard when going out.
"Fine, then we'll observe it for now." He patted Ares's neck, signaling the big dog to get up. "Anyway, besides eating a bit much and wrecking sofas hard, it doesn't have any other flaws. If it really awakens a superpower one day, I'll let it guard your laboratory for you, specifically catching thieves who steal donuts."
"Forget it, I can't afford to feed a security guard who eats this much." Tony waved his hand, then casually bundled the test report and sent it to Logan's astral phone.
"Data sent to you, send it over anytime there's an anomaly. By the way, next time you come, don't let it jump onto my genuine leather sofa. I cleaned up the shed hair for three days last time, and Pepper thought I was raising an alpaca."
"Who told you to make your sofa so comfortable." Logansmiled, waved his hand, and led Ares out. Behind him came Tony's shout of "You stop right there," but he pretended not to hear it and strolled leisurely into the elevator.
Just as he stepped out of Stark Tower, the phone in his pocket vibrated with a short, sharp sound—it was Frank's exclusive message notification tone.
Logan took it out and glanced at it. The text message content was as concise as the man himself, without half a word of nonsense: "Lenny Miller, CIA Eastern Europe Field Office Deputy Director, took over the old KGB informant network ten years ago, stationed in New York, frequent recent movements. File attached below."
Followed by an encrypted compressed package, which opened to reveal Lenny Miller's complete resume and recent whereabouts.
The man in the photo was middle-aged and gaining weight, but Cillian Murphy's face could still faintly be discerned. His hairline was in jeopardy, but his gaze was extremely gloomy. His surface resume was clean and pretty, consisting entirely of routine field tasks without a single flaw to pick out.
But Logan saw something was wrong at a glance.
Just a deputy director simply couldn't support such a massive informant network in his hands; an ace assassin of Anna's level could not possibly report to an ordinary middle manager.
"Hiding pretty deeply." Logan chuckled softly, his fingertips tapping on the screen to reply to Frank with "Thanks, long-island bass fishing this weekend," and turned to dial Jessica's phone number.
The call was answered after two rings. The background noise was chaotic, mixed with Jessica's money-grubbing voice: "Boss? Is there a new job? Let me tell you, the black market has been boring to death lately. Recently, Stark Industries and the authorities set up a Disaster Management Agency, confiscating most of the Chitauridebris, which has left quite a few cleanup companies unemployed."
"I'll get you an interesting job." Logan leaned against the car, with Ares squatting beside him panting with its tongue out. Passing girls repeatedly turned back to peek, holding up their astral phones to secretly take pictures. "Put the Chitauri debris matter aside for now and check someone for me. Lenny Miller, from the CIA Eastern Europe Division. Focus on investigating his recent whereabouts, which overseas forces he is in contact with, and the list of informants in his hands, especially those with a KGBbackground."
Jessica's side fell silent for two seconds, followed by the sound of excitedly rubbing hands: "CIA insiders? Thrilling! Don't worry, Boss, I guarantee I'll investigate him down to the bottom, including what color underwear he wears..."
Speaking of this, her tone shifted slightly, carrying a bit of bargaining: "The risk of this job is much higher than anti-counterfeiting. If I get caught hacking into the CIA database, I'll have to go on the run. Shouldn't the bonus be increased a bit?"
"Bonus doubled, plus a lifetime VIP membership to the annual astra platform with all ads waived." Logan smiled and quoted the price, his tone extremely generous. "Investigate thoroughly, and I'll pack an extra five-figure red envelope for you."
"Deal!" Jessica agreed crisply and neatly. Over the phone, one could already hear the clacking of her typing furiously on the keyboard, looking like she had already started working. "I'll sneak into their peripheral database tonight and give you a complete report within three days. By the way, Boss, should I check if he has a secret stash by the way? If he does, let's take it down together, a three-seven split? You get three and I get seven!"
"You get seven and I get three is fine, just don't overplay it and get into trouble." Logan couldn't help laughing and cautioned: "Be safe. If you really run into trouble, call me, don't push yourself too hard. There are plenty of capable people in the CIA, don't be careless."
"Rest assured, Boss, my running-away speed is faster than anyone else's." Jessica hung up with a chuckle. In the background, the soft sound of lines of code scrolling had already begun, looking like she was rolling up her sleeves to do a big job.
Logan put away his phone and looked down at Arespanting with its tongue out beside his feet.
Lenny Miller forcing Anna to make a move at this time was nothing more than seeing the reshuffling of the situation after the Battle of New York, with astra tech enjoying the limelight, and wanting to take advantage of the chaos to fish for core touch technology.
Anna's side was probably being pushed to the critical point as well. In a few days, she would either take a desperate risk to steal the data or completely fall out with her handler.
"No rush." He muttered softly, reaching out to rub Ares's head. The big dog tilted its head to look at him with a blank and naive gaze. "We can slowly wait."
Chapter 103: B.P.R.D.
The Whitney Museum of American Art in the Upper East Side of Manhattan recently became the New York Police Department's number one headache.
In a month, six night shift security guards disappeared one after another, with neither a body nor a trace found. After reviewing the surveillance footage three times, it only captured the six of them patrolling normally; as soon as they walked into the western exhibition hall, they vanished into thin air. They neither took the fire escape nor touched the main entrance, as if they had been swallowed by the air.
The local police investigated for half a month without a single clue, and the case became increasingly bizarre, with talks of a museum curse and four-dimensional space rifts emerging. In the end, when they truly couldn't cover it up anymore, they reported it to S.H.I.E.L.D. through anomalous event channels.
When Agent Coulson and Grant Ward arrived, it was just getting dark.
Police tape was strung outside the museum, the lights inside were fully illuminated, and the marble floor was polished to a mirror shine, without even a single footprint to be found.
Agent Coulson wore a crisp suit, clutching a tablet in his hand, reading the case files as he walked with his brows slightly furrowed.
Ward followed closely behind him, his hand resting on the holster at his waist, his sharp gaze sweeping across the surrounding corners. His young face held little expression, exuding the unique tension typical of a field Agent.
"Six people, weighing nearly a thousand pounds combined, just vanished like that?" Ward looked down at the floor of the western exhibition hall, where there wasn't even a trace of blood in the tile gaps. "There are neither signs of a struggle nor any residual energy. They couldn't have all resigned and run off together, could they?"
"It would be great if they had resigned." Agent Coulsonbent down, his fingertips gently brushing against the metal edge of the display cabinet base, where there were a few inconspicuous corrosion marks, pitted and uneven, not looking like ordinary bumps. "The Battle of New York just ended half a month ago, and all sorts of bizarre things are burrowing into the city. Director Fury said that we'd rather investigate a false alarm than let anything slip, just in case another alien army burrows up from underground one day."
He straightened up, inwardly complaining silently.
S.H.I.E.L.D. used to be busy enough handling anomalous events, and then Sector Seven popped up hiding alien robots; now to make matters worse, the museum pulled off living people disappearing into thin air.
The two walked further into the western exhibition hall. The deeper they went, the heavier the fishy stench in the air became, resembling damp mud mixed with a rust odor, making one feel nauseous.
Ward stopped first, raising his hand to signal Agent Coulson to be silent, and jerked his chin toward the storage room at the end of the exhibition hall.
Faint dragging sounds came from there, along with the sound of sticky water stains rubbing across the floor.
The two exchanged a glance, drew their guns simultaneously, made their footsteps extremely light, and approached step by step.
The door of the storage room was ajar, emitting a faint light from within. Agent Coulson raised his hand to count to three, then fiercely kicked the door open.
The moment the door opened, both of them froze.
Inside weren't kidnappers or monsters at all, but rather two guys who... looked nothing like normal humans no matter how you looked at them.
The one standing against the wall was a full two meters tall, with red skin, a broken half-horn on his forehead, and an absurdly oversized right hand resembling a piece of polished red rock. He was currently squatting on the ground rummaging through things with a cigar clenched in his teeth. Hearing the commotion, he slowly raised his head, his yellow eyes filled with impatience.
Standing next to him was an even stranger one, covered all over in blue-green scales with webbing between his fingers, a fish-shaped head, wearing retro glasses, and holding a small notebook. Startled by the door-kicking sound, the pen in his hand dropped to the floor with a clatter.
"Who goes there?" Ward aimed his muzzle at the red-skinned man, his voice extremely taut. He had done plenty of field missions and seen a few Mutants, but it was truly his first time seeing one look like this, and he couldn't help muttering inwardly.
Did this Mutant evolve crookedly? Or was it another alien life form?
Hellboy frowned, took the cigar out of his mouth, flicked the ash, planted his stone hand on his waist, and said in a voice as raspy as sandpaper: "I should be asking you that, right? Even the FBI isn't as domineering as you guys, barging into someone else's crime scene?"
"Crime scene?" Agent Coulson didn't lower his gun, his gaze sweeping over the two. "We're from S.H.I.E.L.D., and this is an anomalous event investigation site. If you two are tourists, please head out; if you're something else—"
Before he finished speaking, rapid footsteps came from behind. A middle-aged man in a suit walked over quickly, holding up an identification badge with a touch of appropriate official smiles on his face—it was none other than FBI Supervisor Manning.
"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding! We're all our own people!" Manning quickly blocked the middle of both parties, extending a hand to Agent Coulson first. "Agent Coulson, I've heard a lot about you. I'm Thomas Manning from the FBI's Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. These two are consultants for our department, specifically in charge of paranormal cases."
Agent Coulson lowered his gun and shook hands with the other party, but felt even more puzzled inside.
Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense? How come he had never heard of such a department? It was one thing for Sector Seven to be hidden for nearly a hundred years, but now another one managing hell monsters popped up? Were United States official secret departments sold in bulk?
"Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense?" Ward also put away his gun, his face rarely revealing a hint of surprise. "How come I've never seen this department in the system?"
"The clearance level is relatively high, after all, the things we deal with... aren't quite suitable for public exposure." Manning smiled somewhat awkwardly, stepping aside to make space, and introduced: "This is Hellboy, and this is Abraham Sapien; we all call him Abe. We've been tracking this museum disappearance case for nearly two weeks, and we've confirmed it's not an ordinary case."
Hellboy let out a hum, which counted as a greeting, and squatted down to continue rummaging through the slime traces on the ground with a sour expression.
Abe nodded gently, bent down to pick up the pen on the ground, his voice clear and mellow with a deep resonance unique to aquatic creatures: "Sorry, we just arrived as well, and were just about to take samples for analysis. We startled you two."
Agent Coulson stared at Abe for a couple of glances, curious inside while maintaining a professional smile on the surface: "It's fine, as long as the misunderstanding is cleared up. Since we're both investigating the case, why not share some information? On our side, six security guards went missing with no signs of intrusion at the scene, only slight signs of corrosion."
"Corrosion is spot on." Abe walked over to the display cabinet, his fingertips gently touching the corroded metal edge. He closed his eyes, his scales twitching slightly, and only opened them after a few seconds, his tone certain: "It's Samael, the hound of Hell. It lacks hair, secretes acidic slime all over its body, has tentacle-like manes, and can extend its tongue over three meters long as a weapon. They drag their prey back to their nest to feed and digest them completely, which is why no bodies can be found."
Agent Coulson froze for a moment.
Just a touch? Without even needing to pull surveillance footage, they directly knew what kind of creature did it? This ability was way too convenient! If S.H.I.E.L.D. had this trick, they wouldn't have to pull all-nighters watching surveillance every day.
"Just... a touch and you knew?" Ward was also a bit surprised, unable to help asking: "Is this... a perception-type ability?"
"Sort of. Contacting objects allows one to read residual memories and emotions." Abe smiled, pointing to the slime traces on the ground: "There isn't just one of these things; Samaels divide and reproduce. Killing one can turn it into two, and the more you fight them, the more there are. The six security guards should have been dragged away by three Samaels, and their nest should be in the sewers beneath the museum."
Hellboy stood up, patted the dust off his hands, and pointed his stone finger at the manhole cover in the corner of the storage room: "No need to guess, the smell is drifting right out of from here. Sour as hell, smells just like the sludge at a volcanic crater in Hell."
As soon as his words fell, the ground beneath their feet suddenly shuddered violently!
"Watch out!" Abe's expression changed, and before his words finished, the manhole cover was blasted flying with a bang, splashing sticky black slime all over the floor.
A sleek monster leaped out from the well, shaped like a giant hound, yet without facial features, possessing only a split wide mouth filled with dense sharp teeth, with a dozen tentacle-like manes churning at its neck that brought a foul-smelling wind when swung.
It was precisely Samael.
As soon as it landed, it lunged toward Ward who was closest. With its big mouth wide open, a stream of transparent strong acid sprayed straight over! Ward reacted extremely quickly, rolling on the ground to dodge. The strong acid smashed onto the marble floor with a sizzle, corroding a large pit, and white smoke rose, choking people into coughing.
"Open fire!" Agent Coulson shouted, raising his hand to fire two shots. The bullets hit Samael's body, but only burrowed into the surface slime like shooting into rubber, causing no substantial damage.
The monster felt pain and roared. The tentacles on its neck whipped over fiercely, heading straight for Agent Coulson's face with a piercing whistling sound.
Just as it was about to strike him, a red figure charged across horizontally, its stone hand forcefully catching the tentacle.
Hellboy cursed, the strong acid from the tentacle causing his stone hand to smoke and sizzle, yet he didn't loosen his grip in the slightest. With his other hand, he pulled out a custom large-caliber pistol, pressed it right against the monster's head, and pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
The gunfire made the exhibition hall hum. Over a small half of Samael's head was blasted away, spraying black bodily fluids all over the floor. It shrieked and shrank back, but its tentacles weren't idle; several other ones lashed simultaneously toward Hellboy's waist and abdomen with a speed so fast it left afterimages.
"There's another one on the left!" Abe shouted, nimbly jumping onto the display cabinet to accurately point out the location of the second Samael.
That one crawled out from the ventilation duct on the other side, slightly smaller in size but more agile in movement, whipping its tongue out like a long whip to coil straight around Abe's ankle.
Ward immediately shifted his muzzle, firing successive controlled shots at that Samael's tongue. The monster felt pain, retracted its tongue, and let out a sharp hiss.
Agent Coulson seized the opportunity to throw an electromagnetic pulse grenade, blasting the monster all over into rigidity and slowing its movements by half a beat.
But the trouble was yet to come. The one whose head Hellboy had smashed up actually rapidly writhed at the wound, and within seconds, split into two smaller Samaels, roaring as they lunged forward again.
"Holy crap, it really does divide!" Hellboy cursed, simply putting away his gun and charging forward with both fists clenched. His stone fists carried the sound of wind as they slammed into the monster, every single punch making the monster's bones crackle loudly.
He fought brutally yet methodically, specifically targeting the monster's joints and mouth area to avoid strong acid splashing onto himself, shouting as he fought: "Abe, find their core! Smashing the head is useless; you have to blow up the nucleus inside their chest cavity!"
Abe nodded, his sharp gaze sweeping across the two Samaels, and quickly pointed out the location: "Under the third rib on the left chest! Two centimeters off!"
Ward's marksmanship was extremely precise. Hearing this, he immediately adjusted his crosshairs, held his breath and concentrated, hitting the location precisely with two shots.
Samael let out a miserable shriek, its body twitched twice, and it collapsed motionless onto the ground with slime flowing everywhere, no longer dividing.
But just when everyone thought they had stabilized the situation, two more roars came from deep within the storage room, and two larger Samaels darted out, evidently lured over by the smell of blood. Coupled with the two that had just divided, a total of four surrounded the four of them in the middle.
"This is trouble." Agent Coulson frowned deeply, rapidly calculating their retreat route.
The space here was too small, and the monsters could spray strong acid; fighting would shatter all the display cabinets, and if it spilled out onto the street outside, the trouble would be huge.
Yet Hellboy was getting into the fight, grinning and revealing sharp teeth: "Just right, time to stretch our muscles. Cooped up underground for nearly half a month, my hands were getting itchy."
He took the initiative to meet them, forcefully enduring the pincer attack of two Samaels, grabbed one's tentacle with his stone hand, swung it, and smashed it against the other.
The monsters crashed into each other, slime splattering everywhere, and a row of display cabinets in the exhibition hall collapsed, famous paintings and sculptures shattering to pieces. Manning watched from the side, his heart aching so much he gasped, yet not daring to step forward, he could only shout: "Not so hard! The repair bills are very expensive!"
Amidst the chaos, a Samael sneaked around to the side, intending to ambush Agent Coulson.
Its tongue snapped out abruptly, as fast as a black whip. At that very moment, a blue-green figure flashed past; Abe was holding a short blade in his hand, precisely cutting off the monster's tongue.
Samael shook its head wildly in pain, while Abe nimbly stepped on its back and jumped away, landing with extremely light footsteps as if stepping on water.
Agent Coulson seized the opportunity to follow up with a special incendiary bomb, and flames enveloped the monster, burning it up.
Samael rolled and roared on the ground, strong acid splashing everywhere, leaving the marble floor pitted and uneven without a single good spot left.
Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, the last remaining Samael turned around and darted toward the manhole cover, moving as fast as a black shadow.
Hellboy cursed "Want to run?", bolted in pursuit, rushed to the wellside in two steps, and reached out to grab the monster's hind legs, but was still half a step too late.
Samael plunged into the water with a plop, slipping away along the sewer and leaving behind only a ring of turbid slime.
"Damn it, it still got away." Hellboy squatted by the wellside, taking a glance down; the sewers extended in all directions, and chasing in would make finding any direction impossible.
He shook the slime off his hands and stood up grumbling, shallow traces of strong acid corrosion still lingering on his stone hand: "This thing is as slippery as a loach, and the underground pipe network is a mess; chasing in is like looking for a needle in a haystack."
The exhibition hall was a complete mess with shattered glass, fallen display cabinets, slime all over the floor, and monster remains, as if swept by a tornado.
Manning looked at the shambles all over the floor, his face turning pale as he covered his forehead and sighed: "It's over, the repair bills are going to triple again, and I'll have to write reports again when I get back."
Agent Coulson also had a bit of a headache.
The case was cleared up, but the monsters weren't all caught, and they could divide and reproduce, who knows when they might dart out again to eat people.
He looked at Hellboy and Abe, his tone solemn: "Just one Samael got away like this; will it divide into even more?"
"Yes." Abe nodded, taking out his notebook to record something with a serious tone: "They reproduce very quickly; one can divide into three or four in a week. If we don't find the nest and completely eliminate them as soon as possible, in less than a month, the entire New Yorkunderground pipe network will be occupied by them."
Hellboy bit back down on his cigar, lit it, and took a puff. The smoke mixed with the fishy stench in the exhibition hall, appearing exceptionally raspy: "Rest assured, they can't run. They can't live without water, so the nest must be near an underground water source. Tomorrow I'll bring all my equipment, trace along the pipe network, and wipe them out in one go."
Agent Coulson breathed a sigh of relief.
Having these two professionals around was better than S.H.I.E.L.D. crossing the river by feeling for stones.
He couldn't help marveling inwardly; he used to think S.H.I.E.L.D. managed wide enough affairs, but now he knew there were mountains beyond mountains, and even monsters coming from Hell had dedicated departments managing them.
He took out his phone, preparing to report the situation to Fury, but paused when his gaze swept across the contacts list.
The name Logan Howlett was conspicuously listed.
Agent Coulson's heart stirred slightly.
That Omega-level Mutant had seen all sorts of alien robots and Vampires, and might even have some understanding of hell creatures.
If they really encountered something they couldn't handle, maybe they could ask him? Anyway, that guy looked laid-back, but when things actually happened, he was easy to talk to, and at worst they could send a few boxes of fine cigars afterwards as a thank-you gift.
He put away his thoughts and extended his hand to Manning: "Supervisor Manning, for the upcoming operations, S.H.I.E.L.D. can provide technical and manpower support. After all, it's in downtown New York City, and we can't let these monsters injure people again."
"Couldn't ask for more." Manning quickly shook his hand, letting out a sigh of relief. Having the all-powerful S.H.I.E.L.D. help was better than the few of them at the B.P.R.D. fighting alone.
Ward, standing aside, leaned against the wall, looking at the monster remains on the ground with a lingering trace of surprise in his eyes.
The missions he had executed previously were all routine tasks; today there were red-skinned demons, fish-men, and dividing Hellhounds, nearly refreshing his entire worldview.
He subconsciously recalled the Wolverine in the files who single-handedly wiped out the Chitauri Fleet, thinking inwardly: No wonder Garrett always said New York was crouching tigers and hidden dragons; it really is true.
Hellboy ignored the official pleasantries from both sides, squatting by the wellside to peer down, muttering: "Next time I have to bring a flame gun, and I'll definitely roast this batch of brats into charcoal."
Abe stood next to him, flipping through his notebook, and added gently: "Remember to bring a couple more pairs of acid-proof gloves; you burned through three pairs last time."