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The green light on Jack's face slowly faded away like ripples dissolving into water. As the glow vanished, his disguised appearance disappeared with it, revealing the familiar face that every single person in the room hated to the bone.
Silence instantly swallowed the laboratory.
Then came the anger.
"Jack..." Natasha gritted out through clenched teeth, her voice trembling with fury. The hatred in her eyes was so intense that it almost felt physical.
Thor's expression darkened immediately. Steve's fists tightened. Tony's jaw clenched hard enough to creak. Even Banner, who had been trying his best to stay calm, felt the rage inside him boiling violently again.
Fury's one remaining eye narrowed sharply.
None of them had expected this.
None of them had imagined that the man they had been discussing all this time had been standing beside them openly, pretending to be an ordinary S.H.I.E.L.D. soldier.
Jack smiled lightly as if he was enjoying everyone's reaction.
"Looking at your expressions," he said with an evil grin, "it seems all of you are very excited to see me. Surprise, anger, hatred… ah, these feelings really make people feel alive. After all, someone as graceful as me is difficult to find."
"Jack..." Natasha's voice became colder and colder. "You actually dared to sneak into the Sky Aircraft Carrier."
"Not difficult," Jack shrugged casually. "Your S.H.I.E.L.D. security system is full of holes. I simply walked in. Honestly, I thought it would be harder."
Fury stared at him without blinking.
"Worthily called Humankind's Public Enemy," Fury said calmly. "You infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. right under our noses."
Jack smiled.
"I like giving people pleasant surprises."
"You succeeded," Fury replied coldly. "Now I only want to know one thing. Why are you here?"
"Why?" Jack spread his hands. "To have fun, naturally. Watching all of you gather together like this is very interesting."
Thor suddenly stepped forward, lightning faintly crackling around Mjolnir.
"Jack!" Thor roared angrily. "The destruction you caused in Asgard... today I will return it to you tenfold!"
Jack looked at Thor lazily.
"If you can do it."
The muscles on Thor's arm bulged tightly around the hammer handle. The memory of Asgard burning still remained deeply carved inside his mind. The ruined palace. The screams. The countless dead Asgardians. Every single scene continuously replayed in his head whenever he looked at Jack.
Steve also stepped forward slowly, staring directly at Jack.
"Do you still remember me?" Steve asked coldly.
Jack laughed.
"Of course I remember. Captain America, my old ally from World War II. Meeting again after seventy years truly feels like fate."
Steve frowned immediately.
"Second time?" Steve's expression changed.
Jack's grin widened.
"Did you forget already? The man-made lake in New York. The man you chatted with."
Green light flashed again across Jack's face.
In an instant, his appearance transformed into the ordinary young man Steve had spoken with near the lake.
Steve's eyes widened instantly.
"It was you?!" Steve shouted angrily.
Jack restored his original appearance and laughed loudly.
"Yes, Captain. It was me. At that time, didn't we have quite a pleasant conversation?"
Steve's fists trembled violently.
"Jack... you actually dared to play with me."
"And?" Jack said indifferently. "What are you going to do about it?"
"Captain," Fury warned immediately, "stay calm. This is still the Sky Aircraft Carrier."
Steve inhaled deeply before forcing himself to nod. But the veins bulging on his neck clearly showed how difficult it was.
Jack looked toward Tony next.
Tony's eyes were filled with undisguised killing intent.
"Jack," Tony said slowly, "what exactly did you do to Pepper?"
Jack tilted his head slightly as if thinking.
"Pepper?" he said with a smile. "Didn't she go back to you already? Looking at your face, I guess things didn't end very well between you two. Tragic. Truly tragic."
Tony suddenly took a step forward.
"You did something to her!"
"Tony," Fury immediately shouted.
But Tony almost couldn't hear him anymore. Ever since Pepper left, anger and helplessness had been eating away at him continuously. Hearing Jack mention her so casually made his rage explode instantly.
"I will kill you," Tony growled.
Jack smiled mockingly.
"Then try."
Banner was breathing heavier and heavier nearby. His chest rose and fell violently as he struggled to suppress Hulk.
"You..." Banner said through gritted teeth. "Why do you keep doing this? I never had any grudge against you."
Jack glanced at him lazily.
"When humans walk on the road, they accidentally step on ants every day. Did the ants offend you? No. But they still die."
Banner's expression darkened.
"You're comparing us to ants?"
Jack smirked.
"If the shoe fits."
Banner's breathing became rougher.
The others immediately noticed the danger.
"Banner," Natasha warned carefully.
"I'm fine," Banner replied, though his voice already sounded unstable.
Jack continued smiling.
"Dr. Banner, don't hold back. I actually quite like Hulk. He's entertaining."
"Enough!" Fury suddenly shouted.
The room fell silent again.
Fury looked directly at Jack.
"You came here to provoke everyone intentionally."
Jack clapped slowly.
"Correct. Finally someone understands."
He leaned back against the chair casually.
"You heroes really are troublesome. Always worrying about morality, justice, sacrifice... exhausting. Your greatest enemy is standing right in front of you, and yet all of you are still trying to stay rational because you're afraid the aircraft carrier will crash."
Thor's lightning intensified slightly.
Tony's armor systems began activating automatically.
Banner's fingers twitched violently.
Jack laughed louder.
"If I were you, I would stop pretending and attack immediately."
"Don't listen to him!" Fury shouted immediately. "He wants Banner to lose control!"
"Smart," Jack nodded approvingly. "But unfortunately, emotions are difficult things to control."
Banner closed his eyes tightly, trying desperately to calm himself.
But Jack continued speaking.
"You know what I find funny?" Jack said lazily. "All of you claim to protect humanity, but none of you can even control your own anger."
Thor suddenly raised Mjolnir.
"I cannot endure this creature any longer!"
Steve immediately moved slightly in front of Thor.
"Thor, stop!"
"Stop?" Thor roared. "He destroyed Asgard!"
Tony coldly stared at Jack.
"And he ruined my life too."
Natasha's expression was ice cold.
"I want to tear him apart."
Jack laughed happily while looking at all of them.
"Yes. Exactly like this. Anger. Hatred. Much better."
Fury's expression became uglier and uglier.
He understood very clearly now.
Jack had entered this place for only one purpose—to break the Avengers apart before they even truly formed.
And it was working.
The atmosphere inside the laboratory had already become suffocating. Distrust, anger, resentment, pride—all of it was colliding together violently.
Even Steve and Tony were glaring at each other now.
Thor distrusted humans.
Tony distrusted S.H.I.E.L.D.
Banner distrusted himself.
And Jack was happily pouring fuel onto the fire.
Jack slowly sat down in a chair nearby as if he were simply watching a movie.
"Come," he said smiling. "Continue. This atmosphere is wonderful."
"Shut up!" Natasha shouted.
Jack only laughed harder.
"Natasha, your temper is still so bad. Careful. Anger causes wrinkles."
Natasha's face instantly darkened further.
If Fury had not been present, she might have already attacked.
Jack stretched lazily.
"You know," he said lightly, "all of you are worried about this aircraft carrier crashing."
His eyes slowly swept across everyone.
"But what if I told you... it's already too late?"
Fury's expression changed slightly.
"What do you mean?"
Jack raised one eyebrow.
"It means," he said smiling, "someone fast enough should already be here."
At that exact moment—
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion suddenly shook the entire Sky Aircraft Carrier.
The entire laboratory violently trembled.
Warning sirens instantly exploded throughout the aircraft carrier.
Red emergency lights flashed everywhere.
The powerful shockwave smashed through the laboratory windows as flames burst inward violently.
Steve grabbed the table immediately to steady himself.
Thor's eyes sharpened.
Tony's helmet instantly formed over his face.
Banner stumbled backward heavily.
Natasha grabbed onto a control panel.
Fury's expression instantly became extremely ugly.
"Clint..." Fury muttered darkly.
Jack slowly stood up amidst the chaos.
His smile widened.
"Looks like the show," he said softly, "is finally beginning."