"Oh my god!"

Standing on the peak and witnessing the carnage below, their expressions grew grim. The destructive power of those missiles was terrifying—S.H.I.E.L.D. had truly spared no expense this time!

Though the missiles were conventional, the explosive yield appeared comparable to a hundred-kiloton nuclear warhead, minus the radiation. These were definitely not standard-issue weapons. They felt a chill of lingering fear. It had been far too close; if Harley hadn’t warped Jason away in time, he would have been vaporized in the blast, regardless of whether the energy consumed him or not.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had clearly prepared for this day with lethal precision.

Tony hovered his suit over the crater, activating deep-scan sensors to look for survivors. After a moment, the scan concluded. He sounded pleased. "No bio-signs detected. If Jason was in there, he’s currently part of the atmosphere."

Natasha, however, remained cautious. "Or he was never in there to begin with."

Tony nodded. "Possible. Let’s recon the area. I’ll take the west, Thor takes the east, and Nat, you take the northern mountains. If he wasn’t in the base, he’s nearby."

The group split up. Thor’s eastern sector was mostly open grassland—easy enough to scan with the naked eye. The western and northern sectors were far more rugged, requiring advanced thermal imaging.

"There’s a mountain range a few hundred meters high up ahead. Good spot for a hideout," Natasha noted, switching on the Quinjet’s thermal sensors. Banner watched the screen intently. High-contrast heat signatures appeared, but their shapes and sizes identified them as wildlife, not humans.

Up on the mountain peak, they watched a lone jet approach and begin circling at high altitude.

"Yep, that’s a S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet. Sons of bitches," David muttered, peering through binoculars.

"Do it," Harley commanded.

"On it." Franklin extended his hand, framing the distant jet between his fingers, and squeezed his fist shut.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

In an instant, the Quinjet’s cockpit erupted in alarms.

"Nat!" Banner gripped the sides of his seat.

"The controls are dead!" Natasha fought the stick, but there was zero feedback.

Banner realized what was happening and keyed his comms. "Thor, Tony, we’re losing the jet! The Joker group is in the mountains!"

Before he could finish, the jet pitched forward into a vertical dive, its engines roaring as it accelerated toward the earth. Fortunately, they were buckled in, or their faces would have met the instrument panel.

"Bruce!" Natasha yelled over the wind. "Your turn!"

Banner gave a confident, albeit grim, smile. He forced his heart rate up, his expression twisting into a snarl. His body began to swell, growing to over three meters tall as the green behemoth took over.

"HULK!"

Hulk tore through the seatbelts like paper, scooped Natasha into one massive arm, and leaped with bone-crushing force.

CRASH!

The Hulk smashed through the cockpit canopy, shielding Natasha with his body to protect her from the wind and debris. The jet slammed into the ground behind them, exploding into a massive fireball that sent shrapnel whistling through the trees. Hulk hit the forest floor with a thud, skidding through the undergrowth. Both emerged from the wreckage unharmed.

"So it’s them," David said, lowering his binoculars.

"Who?" John asked.

"Dr. Banner... and that pretty S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Reddish-brown hair, very sexy."

Franklin looked surprised. "Black Widow! My god, how did those two end up together?"

A-Train added a crude joke: "It’s a real Beauty and the Beast situation. I wonder if she can even handle that... size."

"Zip it! We’re at war, what is wrong with you?" Harley snapped, her eyes full of contempt. No matter how close they were, making jokes like that in front of a lady was out of line. A-Train, slightly intimidated by Harley, lowered his head and shut up.

*

Thor descended from the clouds, spinning Mjolnir to a halt. "Are you two alright?"

Hulk set Natasha down, huffing and grunting in anger. Natasha, her heart racing from the near-death experience, panted, "We’re fine."

Tony arrived shortly after, hovering above them. Seeing they were safe, he got straight to the point. "Nat, where are they?"

"I don’t know," Natasha said, looking toward the ridgeline. "The plane died the moment we got close. Franklin—the manipulator—is definitely up there."

Tony thought for a second. "If Jason’s down, they’ll be huddling together. They’re all there." He boosted his thrusters, gaining altitude to overlook the forest. "Jarvis, find the rats."

Jarvis: "Scanning thermal signatures. Sir, I have multiple human heat signatures on the peak three kilometers away."

"Top of the mountain, huh?" Tony notified the others. "They’re on the peak. It looks like they aren’t even trying to hide."

Natasha steadied herself. "What’s the play?"

"Thor, let’s go say hello," Tony said. He wasn’t brave enough to face the Joker’s top tier alone, so he made sure to bring the God of Thunder.

"Let’s go!" Thor roared, swinging his hammer. The two streaked toward the summit.

*

"Here they come. Thor and Stark," David warned, putting away his binoculars.

"Copy that."

They remained casual—some sitting, some leaning—showing zero fear in the face of two of Earth’s greatest heroes. Thor and Tony landed with a heavy thud. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Hiya!" Harley waved at Thor. "Long time no see."

Thor looked at her, his expression a complicated mix of emotions. His first real attraction after arriving on Earth had actually been to Jason’s wife. There was an undeniable magnetism to Harley that he still thought about back in Asgard. But alas, she was a married woman and a blood-stained criminal. There was no future for them.

Thor struggled for words, but Tony had no such filter. He extended his hand and started counting like a child learning numbers. "One... two... three... four... five..."

Franklin frowned. "What the hell are you counting?"

Tony smirked. "Counting how many pests I’m about to exterminate."

Alex let out a cold, mocking laugh. "With what? You’re just a coward hiding in a tin can."

Tony didn’t take the bait. "Wait, something’s wrong. The count is low. Where’s Jason? Let me guess... did he finally kick the bucket?"

"You—!" A-Train’s veins began to bulge. He lunged forward, but David caught his shoulder.

"Easy. Don’t fall for such a low-tier taunt," David warned.

Insulting her man was the fastest way to get on Harley’s bad side. She shot Tony a look and said, "Thor, is this talking insect your official spokesperson?"

Thor shook his head, his eyes turning stone-cold. "Surrender. Jason isn’t here, and you cannot win against me. Do not let others pay the price for your pride."

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You can read advance Chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.

pat reon.com/GreenBlue17

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