Chapter 282

Getting superheroes to fight as a team sounded great, but in reality, it was extremely difficult. It was even harder than gathering twenty-five team leaders to run a dungeon together.

Each of them had once stood alone, accustomed to everyone around them being little more than assistants, background figures, or props. Their strong personalities made it difficult for them to obey orders. They would question, they would ask, and if they did not receive a satisfactory answer, they would investigate on their own.

Evenson and Black Widow had just finished toying with Loki when they arrived outside Tony and Banner’s workshop and heard an argument erupting inside, each voice louder than the last. What was this, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s version of The Voice?

When Evenson pushed open the door, he saw Coulson standing off to one side, innocently content to serve as background scenery. That showed how smart the man was. When the big shots were arguing, why would someone of his rank blindly jump in?

"Pretty intense," Evenson said, quietly sidling up to Coulson. He had no desire to join this pointless shouting match.

"Yeah," Coulson said, pursing his lips without offering much comment.

"Here, have this little thing. It’ll bring you good luck." Evenson handed Coulson a purple pearl.

"Thanks." Coulson took the pearl and was about to put it in his pocket, but then he cautiously asked, "This isn’t going to cost me, right?" Don’t tell me I accept it now, then you open your mouth later and ask me for a hundred thousand or eight hundred thousand. Who am I supposed to cry to then?

"It doesn’t… Well, you can give me whatever you think is appropriate later," Evenson said, hastily changing his words just as he was about to refuse.

"Evenson, you’re here." Tony spotted Evenson, who was standing beside Coulson and trying his best to make himself invisible.

"Yeah, just got here. Carry on." Evenson indicated that they should keep arguing; he was just watching.

"Don’t you have anything to explain?" Captain America suddenly turned around and asked with a dark expression.

Evenson was utterly bewildered. How had this gotten dragged onto him again? Should he go stand in the corner and keep his mouth shut instead?

Tony silently spun the computer monitor in front of him around. It displayed the detailed contents of the Phase Two plan, including one line that read: Project Consultant, Evenson Richter.

Evenson shot Nick Fury an annoyed glance. "Buddy, couldn’t you use a more advanced firewall?"

Then he looked at Tony. "What exactly do you want me to explain?"

"Why did you support this plan?" Banner asked angrily. "When you knew S.H.I.E.L.D. intended to use the Cosmic Cube to develop weapons of mass destruction?"

"Why support it?" Evenson found the question amusing. "You don’t actually think this plan needed your support to get approved, do you?"

"No, it didn’t need it at all." Evenson shook his head. "The committee approved the plan, and S.H.I.E.L.D. was responsible for carrying it out. Who could stop it?"

Evenson pointed at Tony. "This Playboy?" Then he pointed at Captain America. "Or you, an American hero who’s been dead for over sixty years? Or…" When he looked toward Banner and Thor, his tone shifted. "You two might be able to interfere with it, but in the end, you’d only make the committee believe this plan was even more necessary."

"Since it couldn’t be stopped, the only thing I could do was join the plan and use my own knowledge to prevent those terrible consequences." Evenson smiled and found himself a chair.

"Besides, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this plan. After seeing how weak and helpless human armies were against the Destroyer, if the World Security Council could still remain indifferent, then they really ought to replace some people."

"Maybe you just wanted to use this opportunity to get Nick Fury to pay you another salary," Tony stubbornly refused to believe Evenson.

Huh? How had I forgotten about that? Evenson scratched his head. More work meant more pay. When he agreed to this, he really should have demanded a fee.

While they were arguing, Hawkeye’s plane had already entered the airspace near the Helicarrier, and the navigator had sent a request for identification.

"There’s no record of your flight on the computer. What cargo are you carrying?"

"Mostly ammunition." Hawkeye took out his compound bow, while the other members aboard the plane began putting on their equipment.

"Maybe we should see…" Hawkeye said to the woman who had joined them later, "whether your gun is faster or my bow is faster."

The woman said coldly, "That will be the last wrong decision you ever make."

In an instant, the team members who were putting on their gear all froze, staring blankly at the two of them. For some reason, they suddenly felt that they were doomed.

The cabin door opened. Hawkeye slowly drew an arrow, pulled the bowstring taut, and tested the wind direction, proving through his actions that his archery was not based on luck, but on precise calculation.

"Disperse." The instant Hawkeye fired the arrow, the woman who had been standing beside him suddenly transformed into an unknown substance resembling a cloud of black smoke and shot outward, attaching herself to the arrow.

Just as the arrow was about to hit its target, the cloud of smoke suddenly condensed back into human form. She flicked her left hand, firing a grappling hook that latched onto the edge of the Helicarrier’s deck. As the hook reeled in, she used the pulling force to launch herself onto the deck.

After getting up there, despite wearing high-heeled combat boots, she ran through the high-altitude, low-oxygen environment at a speed even Bolt could not match. At last, she slipped into a ventilation duct and vanished.

Yet the superheroes were still arguing, and they had all turned their attention to Banner.

Evenson, meanwhile, quietly sat off to one side as though isolated from them all. He suddenly smiled faintly, as if he had received good news.

He stood and slowly moved toward the edge of the hall, but Carter walked over with a grave expression and asked, "Don’t you think something is strange? Their argument is almost completely meaningless."

It was something that could have been made clear in just a few sentences, yet they argued tirelessly, their targets shifting back and forth for no apparent reason. Carter found it puzzling.

"Take a closer look at that scepter…" Evenson said softly.

Loki’s scepter was currently in Banner’s hand, while Banner himself remained completely unaware as he spoke of his inner journey. But Carter had no interest in listening to what he was saying. She lowered her sunglasses slightly and used her demon eyes to stare directly at the scepter. In truth, the sunglasses made no difference; lowering them was merely a habitual gesture.

"Everyone…" Under Carter’s Ghost vision, the scepter was giving off strange blue ripples. Among everyone present, only she and Evenson were unaffected. Just as she was about to warn the others, Banner’s instrument sounded an alarm.

"Looks like even my specialty won’t work on it." Banner irritably set the scepter on the table and went to inspect the instrument. Carter, who had intended to warn everyone, could only let it go for now. The whereabouts of the Cube were more important, and the moment Banner placed the scepter on the table, the radiation of those blue ripples stopped as well.

"Oh, God." After confirming the location, Banner’s face showed shock. Before he could explain why, the Helicarrier erupted in a violent explosion.

Caught off guard, everyone was immediately blasted off their feet. Only Evenson, who had retreated to the side beforehand—well, he had it worse. For some unknown reason, the explosion had occurred precisely in the direction he had moved toward.

"Ah!" Evenson was nearly driven mad with anger. After wiping the dust from his face, he shouted, "Tear them apart for me!"

Tyler and the others who had been stationed aboard the ship sprang into action at the call.