After a few minutes, the two of them had basically recovered their strength and could leave this place.
Hive looked at Viper, who was next to him, touching up her makeup in the mirror. He wondered what she could see in such dim light and used his mind to ask, "What are your plans next?"
"My favorite mirror was broken... What can I do against Deathstroke? I couldn't even see his movements when he attacked; it's better if I don't go to the front lines in the future."
Viper acted pitifully, wiping the blood off the lower half of her face with a handkerchief, then applied lipstick and kicked a few empty skulls beside her into the black clouds.
The black smoke column shook a few times as if something was twisting inside. Hive half-closed his eyes and said, "It's not a matter of looking that far ahead."
"You mean now? I should retreat back to India, since all my people are dead." Viper tossed away the mirror and flicked her golden hair: "This is a perfect opportunity; my division and I will go into deep-sea mode, the past Viper is already dead, you can pick a newcomer to take my place. From now on, I'll be called Lady Hydra."
"Understood, I won't tell anyone about this, including Zemo and Kraken. It's just that Lady Nine-Heads and Faust are dead, so you can use your new identity to take his place, as you're also a member of the Supreme Committee," Hive calmly replied, with yellow-brown tendrils growing from his chin.
The new Lady Hydra nodded. She had used the previous code name for many years, so to be honest, she was a bit reluctant.
However, since the rights of the Supreme Committee were preserved, the code name could be given to someone else, and it looked like she would become a masked person from now on.
"What about you?" she asked, after all, Hive had saved her, the method was not important, the result was what mattered.
"I already know what's below the Abyss, and it's nothing good, so I'll return to the surface. My insects have seen the Iron Bird; what I want has appeared. It must be destiny's arrangement."
A small bunch of insects flew out of Hive's palm, charging into the black cloud, and they instantly vaporized, becoming part of the black cloud.
Lady Hydra withdrew her gaze and picked out a few relatively intact pieces of cloth from the pile of corpses to wear as clothes. After discerning the direction, she turned to leave: "Alright, let's part ways here, good luck to you."
"Goodbye," Hive didn't say much more. Gelin was clearly scared, but he wouldn't be afraid; the steps leading outside the world, he was determined to obtain them.
At this point, Gelin's help was no longer important; Deathstroke had jumped into the black cloud, so he could go deal with the Iron Bird.
.........
"Cut a little less... yes, that's about right, keep it steady, don't cause any vibrations, it might activate the boulders."
Fitz watched Xiaowang nervously, as this unfamiliar masked man cut three large boulders with magic under everyone's watchful eyes.
The three boulders were about the same size, each over three meters tall, with cubic stone pillars over a meter wide. The plan was to take a palm-sized disc from each of them.
But Fitz appeared very anxious, hiding behind a table with only his head exposed, guiding Wang from afar on how to work.
Wang helplessly glanced at Simmons beside him, and Jemma gave an embarrassed smile, as everyone was standing there, only Fitz had found a hiding spot, which seemed rather embarrassing.
Actually, not everyone was present; Mike and Youyou had disappeared shortly after returning to the ship, but only Daisy could sense some vibration waves coming from the dormitory direction, guessing what they were up to.
But that's everyone's freedom; special agents also need to rest.
"Get up, stop hiding," Jemma turned her head and gave Fitz a deathly glare.
But Fitz's head shook like a rattle, shrinking even lower, leaving only a pair of eyes and eight fingers visible over the edge of the table:
"No, I won't go over there. If you get drawn in by the boulders again, I'll have to stay behind to figure out how to save you."
This wasn't just empty talk; not long ago, everyone except Fitz had been sent to the future by a boulder with three red lines on it. Thanks to Fitz, who froze himself for decades, he arrived in the future to save them.
This directly led to a shadow parallel universe after Earth's destruction, making things quite complicated.
Upon mentioning this, everyone looked at each other without much to say. They all owed him a favor, so if he wanted to hide, they let him.
However, knowing Fitz was their backup, people felt much more at ease, showing relieved smiles.
While spraying medication on her wrist, Daisy sat on a nearby table, swinging her legs, and joked with a smile: "Let's switch next time, in case there's a next time, I'll rescue you guys, and you can enjoy waiting for rescue as a VIP?"
Fitz's mouth twitched slightly, as he knew what had happened to Coulson and them on that timeline when they were caught by the Kree People—not as slaves, then as miners. What kind of VIP was this: "No, when handling time issues, a physicist like me is more reliable."
Daisy nudged Mimic Bird with her shoulder, winking: "Did you hear that? He doesn't think much of you and Jemma as talented biologists."
Bobbi was nonchalantly playing with her batons; she wasn't a little girl anymore, long past the age of competitiveness. She responded to Daisy's deliberate instigation with a tickle: "He doesn't think much of you as a talented hacker either."
Daisy squirmed as Bobbi tickled her, unable to match Mimic Bird's fighting techniques without using her superpowers, and with her sore wrist, she could only dodge and run around the room.
Bobbi chased her with a smile, her two hands never leaving Daisy's ticklish side.
"Haha, good Bobbi, stop it, haha." Daisy ran while protecting her vulnerable side.
"No way, serves you right for being naughty, tickle tickle..." Bobbi's ten fingers teased Daisy like playing a piano, her face full of mischief.
Watching them play around, Coulson always smiled. The kids were so lively, giving him a feeling of home.
Thinking of this, he glanced at Melinda, who happened to be looking at him too.
Both a little awkwardly looked away.
Captured from behind by Mimic Bird, the caught 'Little Rascal' Daisy discreetly passed a glance, while the blonde beauty holding her shrugged, indicating she couldn't help either.
If you put it in terms of the Celestial Dynasty, there was just a thin veil between Coulson and Melinda, yet no one poked through it, trapping their relationship in an awkward position.
They had heard that Coulson once confessed to 'Melinda,' though they weren't sure if the rumor was true. The two young people could only secretly keep watch with their curiosity in check.
In fact, things were more complicated than they thought.
The Melinda whom Coulson confessed to was an LMD manufactured by the 'Frame' inventor, a type of AI robot. At the time, the real Melinda was locked in a dark nutrient pod by the enemy.
But Coulson didn't know this; when he confessed, she agreed right away. He was delighted to take her out on dates, to movies, to gaze at the moon, even bringing out his cherished Skywalker 50-year-old vintage for them to drink.
They reminisced about the past and looked forward to the future, laughing happily.
It happened that the Melinda robot, meant to infiltrate the Shield Squad, was loaded with an emotional program. Originally an enemy, she was moved by Coulson's genuine feelings and really shared some happy days with Coulson.
However, the world was dark; later, to protect the real Coulson, she perished with the fake Coulson robot.
From then on, everything became chaotic, leaving even Coulson, who had experienced countless storms, baffled.
The real Melinda, though rescued later, left Coulson unsure of how to proceed. He couldn't tell Melinda about what had happened with the impostor, yet he didn't know how long he could keep it secret.
'The fake you agreed to my confession earlier, and now she exploded. So, how about...'
Can't really say that, can I?
As for Melinda, she had heard some rumors too and felt quite helpless.
She had thought if Coulson first confessed to her, she might have agreed.
But with her LMD taking the lead, the feeling had changed.
It was simply mortifying, as if her twin had betrayed her innermost thoughts, leaving her feeling unwell. Now, seeing the inquisitive looks from Daisy and Bobbi, she felt nervous, not to mention advancing with Coulson.
Especially as Coulson later had 'died' for a while, with everyone caught up in missions, they hadn't had time to address this issue. It clearly exceeded their capabilities; even top agents have things they can't handle, like emotional problems.
In the room, Daisy and Bobbi tussled, Fitz and Jemma quarreled, and Coulson and Melinda counted ants on the floor. Among the rest of the team members, those with any sense went off to drink or to share a bed...
Feeling entirely puzzled by everything, Xiaowang smirked. He had long thought this team was mentally unstable, and now they collectively showed their symptoms.
But this had nothing to do with him; he'd probably never meet these fools again.
So he packed the three small stones, placed the bag of Gravityium on the table, raised his hand to open the teleportation gate, and once again disappeared from the scene without drawing anyone's attention.