Lucas turned to the people present and said calmly,
"Next comes the matter of this headquarters."
"There's no need to guess—this is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s main base, which means Hydra's presence here will be the densest."
Hawkeye nodded and added,
"Once Hydra realizes they've been exposed and surrounded, they'll definitely do everything they can to create chaos—anything to disrupt the situation and escape."
Natasha followed up,
"The clerks and guards in the lobby are only armed with pistols or light weapons. They're not a real threat to the four major agencies."
"The real danger lies in the unconventional weapons—and the three Helicarriers hidden beneath headquarters."
Lucas cast a meaningful glance at Nick Fury and smiled.
"After all, I was personally 'welcomed' by those weapons last time."
"If Hydra wants to break through the encirclement, they'll stop at nothing to seize control of them."
"I'll take care of the key control points with Natasha," Hawkeye said immediately.
Captain America stepped forward as well.
"Leave the underground hangar to me. I may not know everything else, but fighting Hydra scum is what I do best."
"I don't want Peggy to witness S.H.I.E.L.D. being destroyed."
Tony Stark spoke up too.
"I'll help as well. Three Helicarriers are no joke—one person won't be enough."
"JARVIS can lock down their control systems so Hydra won't be able to operate them."
"My father, Howard Stark, dedicated his life to eliminating Hydra. As his son, I want to do my part."
"Instead of always scheming behind people's backs."
As he finished, Tony shot a pointed look at Nick Fury, who avoided his gaze.
Captain America also glanced at Fury.
"Fine. Just make sure you stay alive," Lucas said indifferently.
He had more important matters to deal with.
"Contact Pierce. Find out his location," Lucas ordered, turning to Fury.
Fury took a deep breath and made the call.
Five minutes later, he hung up.
"I suggest you move fast. He's already sensed something's wrong."
"With his personality, if you don't reach him within half an hour, you won't find him again."
"Relax. He won't escape," Lucas replied confidently.
"If anything unexpected happens, contact me."
Boom!
With a surge of Ki, Lucas blasted out of the office. A sonic boom echoed as he transformed into a streak of blazing light and shot into the sky.
In less than a breath, the streak became a dot and vanished from sight.
"JARVIS!" Tony shouted.
[Sir, his speed has reached Mach 33.]
The report made everyone inhale sharply.
Was this really something a human could do?
---
At the same time, Alexander Pierce was inside his private residence in New York.
After hanging up Nick Fury's call, the more he thought about it, the more unsettled he became.
Nick Fury never called him without reason.
Even though the conversation had been disguised as a routine report, Pierce sensed something was off.
In less than three minutes, he made his decision.
He grabbed his weapons, hurried outside, got into his SUV, and started the engine.
Just as he was about to step on the accelerator—
A figure descended from the sky and landed directly in front of the vehicle.
Pierce didn't hesitate. He floored the gas pedal.
The engine roared as the reinforced SUV slammed forward.
But in the next instant, Pierce's eyes widened in disbelief.
The modified SUV—nearly four tons in weight—was stopped cold by a single outstretched hand.
Tires screeched violently, white smoke billowing as the wheels spun against the ground.
Lucas lifted his arm.
The SUV rose effortlessly, as if it weighed nothing.
Click.
The hood split open, revealing a concealed light machine gun.
Buzz—!
7.62mm rounds poured out, bullets powerful enough to snap thick tree trunks in half.
They struck Lucas's body like cotton, utterly ineffective.
Lucas slammed the SUV down.
Crash!
The reinforced bulletproof windows shattered completely, glass raining everywhere.
Crunch, crunch.
Stepping across the broken glass, Lucas reached the driver's side.
He grabbed Pierce by the collar, yanked him out, and took off into the air once more.
At blistering speed, Lucas carried Pierce to a mountain range in New Jersey.
Though the film universe never specified the exact location, Lucas had already identified this abandoned military facility.
Boom!
An energy blast tore a crater into the concrete ground, and Lucas dropped straight down into it.
Underground, rows of computer systems surrounded them.
Suddenly, the lights snapped on.
A massive screen flickered to life, and an electronic projection appeared.
"Lucas, I didn't expect you to find me so quickly."
Lucas cut straight to the point.
"Dr. Zola. Serve me—and you live."
"Hahahaha!"
Zola's digital face burst into laughter.
"You think you can kill me?"
"As long as I wish it, I can leave this place at any time."
"Even if you destroy everything here, it won't matter. I need only 0.001 seconds to vanish into the internet."
"You want me to submit to you? Who do you think you are?"
"Unless you destroy the entire planet, you can't kill me! Hahaha!"
Lucas sneered.
"Zola, you're smart—so why didn't you think this through?"
"If I knew you were here and came in person, then I obviously accounted for all your tricks."
Zola's laughter stopped abruptly.
"That's impossible!"
Then fear crept into his voice.
"You—you cut off all the data channels!"
"Exactly," Lucas replied coldly.
"Knowing you're a sentient AI, how could I not prepare?"
Lucas tapped his earpiece.
"Tony. You can inject the destruction program now."
"No problem. JARVIS, get to work!"
[Understood, sir. Destruction protocol has been injected into the target network zone. Activation in three seconds.]
Lucas frowned slightly.
"Tony, I don't understand network systems—are you sure this will kill it?"
"Oh, that's where you're wrong," Tony replied smugly.
"This is my field."
At that moment, Tony felt absolutely fantastic.
Because he had finally found one thing he could do better than Lucas.
_____
T/N:
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