Nick Fury gathered the key players for the upcoming battle two days later. While the group was small, their combined forces and influence formed a formidable entity.
As Zhao Jian predicted, Kingpin did not attend, though he sent a message stating he would be happy to help if they had any information on Loki.
“Dr. Banner, how’s it looking?” Zhao Jian asked Bruce Banner, who walked over with a laptop.
“Not great,” Banner shook his head, his hands busily working on the computer.
Zhao Jian turned back to the screens in front of him, displaying the footage from cameras carried by all the field agents. With Banner unable to pinpoint Loki’s location quickly, they decided to cast a wide net.
“Got him!” a researcher suddenly shouted.
Zhao Jian and Banner rushed over. The researcher swiveled his chair to show them the screen.
It was footage from Roy’s team, and the key area had been magnified. The face was unmistakably Loki’s.
Zhao Jian picked up his phone and made a call.
“Captain? What’s up?” Roy’s voice was weary, bored from the fruitless search.
“Listen up, Loki was spotted thirteen seconds ago to your right rear. He might be following you. Stay alert,” Zhao Jian instructed quickly.
“Got it.”
Hearing that Loki had been spotted, Roy immediately perked up, scanning the area and ready to capture Loki.
Lin Zhengying also heard Zhao Jian’s instructions through his earpiece. With a slight flick of his sleeve, a yellow talisman slipped into his fingers.
“Target sighted!” another researcher shouted as Loki appeared on Tony Stark’s solo mission feed.
“We’ve got a target here too!” shouted another researcher.
Loki’s image continued to appear across S.H.I.E.L.D.’s surveillance, causing everyone to speculate which one was the real Loki.
“Hold on!” Banner shouted.
His eyes were fixed on his screen. “There’s no increase in gamma radiation levels. This might just be a distraction! Everyone, hold your positions, be cautious of your surroundings, and open all communication channels. Be ready for sudden attacks!” Zhao Jian quickly issued commands.
As everyone scrambled, Nick sat calmly, sipping tea.
“Director, is it wise to let them take command?” Hill whispered.
“What else? You? Who would follow your orders?” Nick replied nonchalantly.
If Nick tried to take command, only Black Widow Natasha would listen. Tony and Rogers might consider his input, and Zhao Jian’s team would only follow if they agreed. Banner wouldn’t even bother.
Moreover, Nick’s task was already accomplished. Forming this team was his goal. What followed was up to them.
The tense alert lasted for over ten minutes, during which Loki’s image kept appearing, distracting everyone.
“Got it!” Banner suddenly exclaimed.
“Gamma radiation levels at Oscorp’s main energy center have spiked by 300%!” Banner’s fingers flew across the keyboard. “It’s still rising and will reach the minimum threshold to open the Tesseract portal in three minutes.”
“Understood!” Tony said, closing his helmet and flying towards Oscorp, accompanied by numerous drones.
“Got it. Daoist Lin, follow me!” Roy responded, dragging Lin Zhengying towards Oscorp.
Lin Zhengying shook off Roy’s grip gently, looking around as if sensing something off.
“Roy, you go ahead. I’ll stay here a bit longer,” Lin Zhengying said.
“But Director Fury said there should only be one portal, and it’s at Oscorp. Why are you staying here?” Roy didn’t understand Lin Zhengying’s choice.
“I just feel everything is going too smoothly. Go on. Whether I’m there or not won’t make much difference,” Lin Zhengying trusted his intuition.
“Alright, take care. Contact me if anything happens,” Roy hesitated but then ran towards Oscorp.
Joining the rush were Kingpin from New York, Anna and Annie from Tony’s home, while Rambo and the ninja stayed back in the safe room to recover.
Qi Yun floated in the atmosphere, easily seeing through Loki’s plan. Five locations across New York emitted gamma radiation, but Oscorp’s was the most obvious.
Knowing this, Qi Yun didn’t plan to warn them immediately. Doing so might deter some from causing trouble.
Roy sprinted through the streets, generating gusts of wind as he went. This wind brushed against the street, walls, and sometimes over crowds.
Snap!
A wire suddenly went taut, hidden in the bustling street, it hadn’t been immediately visible to Roy.
Roy’s ears caught an unusual sound, but it was too late.
The next second, Roy felt something tear through his ankle, wrapping tightly around his bone.
Losing balance, Roy spun through the air.
Ambushed!
At that moment, Hawkeye emerged from an alley, wielding an automatic rifle aimed at Roy.
Seeing the bullets coming, Roy’s face lit up with excitement. Using his abdominal muscles, he righted himself mid-air, swinging his right fist forward with centrifugal force.
A whirlwind appeared, sucking the bullets into it, throwing them off course.
In the next instant, Roy landed, his ankle wound already nearly healed in the span of a few breaths.
Boom! Roy created a crater as he disappeared from Hawkeye’s sight, moving faster than Hawkeye’s dynamic vision could track.
As he slowed, Hawkeye finally saw Roy’s figure, but by then Roy was less than two meters away, not enough time for Hawkeye to react.
Roy aimed his left fist at Hawkeye’s rifle when he noticed a flash of green in the corner of his eye.
The green figure swiftly moved through Roy’s afterimages. Grabbing a clothesline pole on the second floor, Roy looked down, surprised. A lizard-like creature?
Hissing under Roy’s gaze, the Lizard flicked its long tongue.
Its tail had just attacked Roy, its thick and sharp armored tip proving its dangerous offensive capabilities.
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