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Loki stared at Jack, and for the first time since arriving on Earth, a trace of caution appeared in his eyes. His body unconsciously stiffened. The swollen bruises on his face still throbbed from the earlier beating, serving as a painful reminder that the man standing before him was unlike anyone he had ever encountered.
"How... what exactly do you want?" Loki asked.
Jack smiled casually, as though they were discussing the weather instead of standing in the middle of a collapsing S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.
"What do I want?" Jack shrugged. "Why are you asking your father what he wants? Relax, Loki. I'm not going to kill you. I'm not going to stop your plans either. Just go handle whatever it is you need to handle."
Loki narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"You definitely have your own objective."
"Don't worry about so much, you fool."
Jack casually patted Loki's shoulder as if they were old friends. The gesture made Loki's eye twitch with anger.
Then Jack turned and walked toward Natasha.
Natasha watched him approach with cold hostility. Before she could move away, Jack effortlessly lifted her onto his shoulder once again.
"Jack!" Natasha snapped.
Ignoring her protest, Jack began walking away.
Without even looking back, he waved a hand toward Loki.
"Oh, right. The scepter is still in your father's hands. If you want it back, come and take it. Let me see what you're capable of."
Loki's fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"Jack!"
His voice echoed through the corridor.
"I will never let this go. One day, everyone will kneel before me. My Loki will become the god of all!"
Jack laughed.
"Dream big."
Nearby, Hawkeye stepped forward.
"Boss, we need to leave. Selvig is already in New York."
Loki took a deep breath to calm himself.
The swelling on his face made his expression look both angry and ridiculous at the same time.
"I know."
He shot one final murderous glare toward Jack.
"Let's go."
The group quickly departed.
Jack, meanwhile, leisurely made his way toward the Helicarrier's flight deck.
---
A transport aircraft sat waiting near the edge of the deck.
White Queen was already inside.
When she saw Jack approaching, she crossed her arms.
"You finally showed up. I was beginning to think you decided to stay behind."
Jack tossed Natasha into a seat before stepping inside.
"How could I stay behind?"
His eyes immediately landed on White Queen.
"You insulted me so many times earlier. I still haven't settled that score."
White Queen stuck out her tongue.
"Narrow-minded fellow."
Then she made a face at him.
"Petty man."
Jack pointed at her.
"Keep talking."
Natasha sat upright and rubbed her sore shoulder.
When she noticed another familiar face, she froze slightly.
"Maria Hill?"
Hill looked equally surprised.
"Natasha."
Natasha laughed bitterly.
"So you got captured by this scumbag too."
Hill folded her arms.
"Looks that way."
White Queen sighed dramatically.
"Yes. He specializes in kidnapping beautiful women."
She shook her head with exaggerated sadness.
"Honestly, the two of you are very unfortunate."
"Give up."
Hill's voice was cold.
"You'll never change my mind."
Alice, who had been quietly observing, smiled faintly.
"You know, I once said exactly the same thing."
Natasha immediately looked at her.
"Then you ended up working for him."
Alice didn't appear offended.
"Maybe."
"But if you knew everything that happened before that, you might not be so quick to judge."
Natasha remained silent.
Meanwhile, Ada leaned against the wall.
"Living in this world is actually quite nice."
Everyone looked at her.
Ada smiled.
"At least you don't know if the next second will be your last."
Natasha blinked.
"...What?"
Hill frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
"Zombies," Ada answered casually.
"Zombies?" Natasha repeated.
Jack suddenly raised an eyebrow.
"You know, that's not a bad idea."
The entire cabin became quiet.
Jack nodded thoughtfully.
"A zombie apocalypse could be fun."
"This world is a little too peaceful sometimes."
Alice, Ada, and White Queen all stared at him.
White Queen pointed at him immediately.
"You're joking, right?"
Jack shrugged.
"Maybe."
Ada looked genuinely concerned.
"If you actually do that, this world will end."
"Not necessarily."
White Queen shook her head.
"Besides, even if zombies wiped out humanity, you wouldn't gain Villain Points."
Jack sighed dramatically.
"Can you stop talking about Villain Points all the time?"
He leaned back.
"Sometimes people should do things simply because they want to."
Hill frowned.
"What are Villain Points?"
White Queen immediately smiled.
"A secret."
Hill's expression darkened.
White Queen laughed.
"Maybe someday you'll understand."
---
Jack suddenly looked toward the cockpit.
"Anyway, enough chatting."
He stood up.
"You can leave now. I'll stay behind for a bit."
Ada glanced at him.
"You're still planning to crash this giant thing?"
White Queen waved her hand.
"That's unnecessary."
Everyone looked toward her.
White Queen smiled proudly.
"I already have complete control of the Helicarrier's systems."
Hill's eyes widened.
"What?"
Natasha also looked shocked.
"You hacked the Helicarrier?"
"Of course."
White Queen looked confused by their surprise.
"It wasn't difficult."
Hill immediately shook her head.
"That's impossible."
"The Helicarrier has the strongest security system in the world."
White Queen shrugged.
"Maybe for everyone else."
Then she turned toward Jack.
"Want a demonstration?"
Jack grinned.
"Go ahead."
White Queen's eyes flashed with streams of data.
"Stopping one engine."
Instantly, the massive Helicarrier lurched violently.
Warning alarms blared.
The entire structure tilted.
Inside the aircraft, everyone nearly lost their balance.
Natasha and Hill both stared in disbelief.
"She actually did it..." Natasha muttered.
Outside, only two engines remained operational.
Combined with the damage Hawkeye had already caused, the Helicarrier began losing stability rapidly.
The aircraft shook violently.
"See?" White Queen said proudly.
"Very easy."
"Launch now," Jack said.
Ada immediately activated the engines.
The transport aircraft lifted from the deck and flew away from the Helicarrier.
Jack remained standing near the open hatch.
Inside the aircraft, Hill stared at him.
"Jack!"
"Hmm?"
"If that carrier crashes, thousands of people will die."
Jack looked at her.
Then smiled.
"Maybe."
Hill clenched her fists.
Alice looked at Hill sympathetically.
"You're angry."
"You feel powerless."
"You want to stop him."
She shook her head.
"You'll get used to that feeling eventually."
Hill glared at her.
But said nothing.
---
Outside, the Helicarrier suddenly stabilized.
Jack floated in the sky and turned toward the massive vessel.
"Hmm?"
His eyes narrowed.
The destroyed third engine had somehow started operating again.
"Looks like they repaired it."
A smile appeared on his face.
"Interesting."
Then—
"JACK!"
An angry roar echoed across the sky.
A red-and-gold figure shot toward him at incredible speed.
Iron Man.
Tony Stark.
The distance between them vanished in an instant.
BOOM!
Tony crashed directly into Jack.
The impact sent both of them hurtling across the flight deck.
Steel crumpled beneath them.
Sparks exploded everywhere.
The two rolled dozens of meters before finally separating.
Tony immediately stood up.
His arc reactor glowed brightly.
Inside the helmet, his expression was filled with determination.
"Jack!"
Tony pointed at him.
"Die!"
Before Jack could respond, Tony launched forward again.
His armored foot slammed into Jack's chest.
The force sent Jack flying dozens of meters across the deck.
Jack slid through steel plating before finally stopping.
Tony hovered above the ground.
"You think I'm still the same person from before?"
His voice echoed through the speakers.
"I've changed."
The palms of his armor lit up.
Twin streams of brilliant energy erupted outward.
BOOM!
The blasts struck Jack directly.
The impact launched him once more.
His body smashed into a parked fighter jet.
The aircraft crumpled instantly under the force.
Metal twisted.
Glass shattered.
Fire erupted from damaged fuel lines.
For a moment, smoke covered the battlefield.
Tony hovered above the deck.
His eyes remained fixed on the wreckage.
He remembered Pepper.
He remembered every humiliation.
Every defeat.
Every moment Jack had treated him like a joke.
This time was different.
This time he intended to fight back.
The smoke slowly cleared.
And somewhere within the twisted wreckage, a familiar laugh began to echo.
"Tony..."
Jack's voice carried amusement rather than pain.
"That's more like it."
"You finally look interesting."
The real battle was about to begin.