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When Mark mentioned this, it's uncertain whether due to excitement or shyness, Natasha's cheeks turned slightly red.
About her romantic involvement with Bruce Banner, they hadn't publicly announced it yet, and their relationship hadn't been officially confirmed.
Natasha hadn't expected Mark, who had limited contact with them, to notice the ambiguity between them.
In truth, Natasha was unaware that Mark hadn't figured it out himself. Despite his cheat-like abilities, his emotional intelligence was often lacking!
Mark knew about the relationship between Bruce Banner and Natasha purely because he was a reincarnator with an inherent knowledge of the plot. He had learned about the ambiguity between the two from movies in his previous life.
Though he wasn't sure when their relationship began, considering it wasn't long before the Sokovia events would start, Mark estimated that they must have started their relationship by now.
As expected, after Mark's probing statement, Natasha didn't express any doubt or displeasure, indicating that she had indeed become involved with Bruce Banner.
However, the issue was too crucial, and Natasha couldn't make an immediate decision after listening to Mark's explanation, especially with Hawkeye and Falcon waiting for her outside.
Natasha and Mark agreed on a deadline, and she promised to give a thoughtful response within that time frame before leaving Mark's laboratory.
Before Mark could receive Natasha's reply, he received information about another long-silent name – Mandarin!
After the final upgrade of the artificial intelligence stage, Baymax's data retrieval and intelligence analysis capabilities were significantly enhanced.
It could be said that if Baymax disregarded the energy consumption and hardware pressure of the data processing center, it could achieve 24/7 monitoring of all devices connected to the global internet and extract and analyze their data.
No network security company or government agency could prevent Baymax from obtaining what it desired unless they completely isolated their network from the outside world.
However, to ensure its long-term stable functioning and respect others' privacy, Mark never gave Baymax such instructions, and Baymax never engaged in unauthorized surveillance.
Today, the information about the Ten Rings and Mandarin primarily relied on Baymax's even more powerful data analysis capabilities.
With its strong analytical abilities, Baymax could easily find anomalies from numerous publicly available information sources without privacy restrictions and trace the clues back to their origins.
In daily life, there is an abundance of information flow, with most of it appearing completely normal. Even if there are a few pieces of abnormal data, they are often drowned in the massive flood of information, making it difficult for people to notice.
It's like an obscure company with no business transactions but still pays a significant amount of taxes to the tax department each year.
Due to the large sums of money involved, the tax department's employees only check whether the amounts are correct and if there are any tax evasion issues, but they don't investigate the legitimacy or source of these earnings.
Behind such information, there are often hidden unknown evils, and these are the objects that Baymax needs to collect and analyze.
Originally, Baymax's purpose in analyzing abnormal data was to quickly find the remnants of Hydra's secret bases and completely eliminate any possibility of their resurgence in the future.
Based on existing data models, after reaching the analysis results, Baymax can swiftly determine whether the hidden force behind the data is Hydra and trace its true location.
However, during today's analysis of this abnormal data, Baymax did discover a particularly distinct result among all the anomalies.
It was a company that had been legitimately paying taxes since the establishment of the national tax system. It had branches in major countries worldwide, and each branch's earliest tax records could be traced back to the year when the local tax system was established.
This seemed quite coincidental, indicating that the power behind this company had existed even before all modern civilizations were established, and it had persevered until today.
Furthermore, based on its tax amounts, it not only survived but thrived, providing substantial tax revenue to the local tax authorities every year. It also used money to bribe any government officials who doubted its hidden identity.
Even if bribery failed, according to the information collected by Baymax, those who didn't accept bribes all died due to unexpected reasons.
And the successors who replaced them would often accept the money secretly sent by this company and become its protectors, allowing it to continue existing in the same way.
After discovering the abnormality in this company, Baymax went all out, continuously collecting relevant information and tracing it to its source.
Eventually, it found a record of this company's transaction with the Ten Rings terrorists in the Middle East. This record allowed Baymax to analyze the true identity of this company.
On the surface, this company was controlled by an ancient and wealthy family that had been in existence for nearly a millennium. In reality, it was a financial tool used by Mandarin for conducting financial activities and laundering wealth.
The so-called ancient family that has been passed down for a thousand years actually consists only of Mandarin. In this way, it perfectly resolves the issue of Mandarin's agelessness and effectively conceals his true identity.
Unfortunately, despite confirming that this company belongs to Mandarin, no matter how much investigation is done, it's impossible to find more information about its internal operations.
It's as if this company is isolated from the world, leaving no traces in this information age.
This can't be blamed on Baymax's capabilities; even the abnormal data of this company was discovered from the tax bureau, not from the company itself. The only transaction record was found in information left behind by Obadiah, the traitor of Stark Industries.
Intelligence shows that all the information and financial records of this company are still kept in the traditional way before the digital age, using paper documents. After completing the tax clearance each year, these documents are completely burned to ashes, leaving no trace of any information.
"Baymax, continue monitoring all information and activities of this company. If necessary, deploy micro monitoring robots to investigate its internal operations.
I want to know what extraordinary abilities Mandarin possesses to have survived under the eyes of all government institutions worldwide for such a long time!"
"Understood, Master!"
Regarding the collection of information about the Ten Rings and Mandarin, the progress is not satisfactory. Even with the deployment of micro monitoring robots, there has been little success.
Once these robots enter the mysterious company building, they lose all contact with Baymax and never come out.
However, Mark is not discouraged by this. After all, the other party is said to be a super old fox that has existed since the Middle Ages, and possibly even older, surviving for over 1000 years.
Although there have been no results so far, since they have caught a lead, Mark believes that with continuous effort, they will eventually uncover the truth they seek.
Mark remains patient and instructs Baymax not to send more surveillance robots but to continue monitoring and reporting any important information immediately.
As for the search for Hydra bases, it has been going smoothly. Aside from the Sokovia base that Mark already knew about, Baymax has marked the locations of all other remaining bases on the data map.
Mark kept the information about the Sokovia base and sent the locations of the remaining Hydra bases to the Avengers' internal server. He also informs Captain and Tony about this development.
Shortly after sending the message, Mark receives contact from Natasha. She expresses her willingness to undergo the ultimate transformation with the Extremis virus after they complete the mission to eradicate Hydra bases.
Upon receiving Mark's message, Captain and Tony waste no time and gather all the members, including Falcon/Sam, for an urgent operation to strike the Hydra bases.
Due to Mark's exceptional talent and scientific abilities, the team usually doesn't involve him in such missions unless absolutely necessary. This time is no exception.
Though the number of Hydra bases Mark found is quite high, the Avengers resolve the allocation issues and decide that each member will be responsible for a specific location. They will cooperate with SHIELD teams to complete the mission.
Because of the urgency of the mission, Natasha has to wait until after its completion to undergo the ultimate transformation. However, Mark believes that whether she undergoes the transformation before or after the mission will not significantly affect its success.
The main reason is that before sending out the information about the Hydra bases, Baymax had already thoroughly investigated the details of each base.
Although there are still many Hydra members stationed inside these bases, maintaining their normal operation, in reality, the main members and core combat strength have already started to transfer elsewhere, specifically to the Hydra Sokovia base.
This has resulted in the remaining bases being severely weakened. The Hydra leadership has made the decision to sacrifice and abandon these locations.
Sokovia is a small country in Eastern Europe, economically backward and politically chaotic. This makes it an ideal hiding place for the secret Hydra bases, and until now, except for Mark, the other Avengers have not found any trace of this base.
Moving the core strength of Hydra to Sokovia in advance can be considered a wise decision. Additionally, this base is also a research facility for the Mind Stone, providing it with advanced resources and protection.
Thanks to the presence of the Mind Stone, Hydra has access to breakthrough energy shielding technology, further enhancing Sokovia's defensive capabilities.
The result of this mission didn't surprise Mark; the Avengers completed it effortlessly, pushing through the secret bases with ease. The four most powerful members, Thor, Hulk, Captain America, and Iron Man, finished the task the quickest and returned to the Avengers Tower early.
Natasha's speed in completing the mission was also commendable, thanks to Mark's equipment. She dealt with the remaining Hydra members with ease.
After the mission, instead of going back to Avengers Tower to report, Natasha headed straight to Mark's research center headquarters. She was eager to have Mark help her undergo the ultimate transformation and become whole again.
...
In the laboratory, Mark confirmed with Natasha, who had already laid herself in the transformation pod, "Are you sure you're ready to undergo the ultimate transformation?"
"Yes," Natasha responded with a firm nod, without saying much.
For Natasha, this moment was undoubtedly something she had been anticipating for a long time. Previously, she could only occasionally fantasize about such a possibility in her dreams.
Now that she had a real opportunity to make it happen, no matter what risks she would face in the future, it was worth it for Natasha.
Seeing Natasha's determination, Mark didn't say anything more. Since it was confirmed that she was ready, they could start the experiment directly.
If Natasha regrets later, Mark could always administer a dose of the Hope Virus to reverse the ultimate transformation. By then, the injuries she received would have already been healed by the capabilities of the Extremis Virus.
Although the reversal would cause her to lose the hard-earned enhanced abilities, it would not have any impact on her normal life.
However, if Natasha wanted to continue contributing her strength within the Avengers and fulfill her responsibility of maintaining world peace, then the abilities granted by the Extremis Virus would undoubtedly be a great asset for her.
The chamber door closed slowly, and the nutrient fluid mixed with the virus solution quickly filled the entire transformation pod. Natasha's ultimate transformation had officially begun...
"Why did you come so late? Everyone else is here except for you two!"
Tony impatiently complained as he watched Mark and Natasha arrive late.
"Sorry, after completing the mission, there was something I needed Mark's help with, so we went straight to his laboratory without reporting back," knowing Tony's temperament and not meaning to upset him, Natasha explained with a smile.
Natasha didn't explain what the matter was that she needed Mark's help with, but the joy on her face indicated that it had been successfully resolved.
Indeed, the process for Natasha's ultimate transformation went very smoothly. Her previous experience with the "Black Widow Virus" enhancement played a significant role and greatly increased the upper limit of this final transformation.
During the post-transformation testing, Natasha was able to elevate her body temperature to 3500 degrees Celsius, far exceeding the normal limit for individuals who underwent the ultimate transformation.
Clearly, the results of these two virus enhancements complemented each other.
While Natasha remained in a good mood and didn't bother with Tony's complaints, Mark was different. Having grown used to opposing his own father, he raised an eyebrow at Tony, not responding at all and showing a complete disregard for him.
Seeing Mark's reaction, Tony felt that his authority as a father was being challenged, and he couldn't let it pass, especially in front of so many Avengers.
"I must salvage my authority as a father!" Tony thought, preparing to challenge Mark.
However, before Tony could speak, he was met with a threatening look from Mark.
Mark first locked eyes with Tony, confirming that he noticed his actions. Then, he shifted his gaze down to his lower body before shaking his head and looking back into Tony's eyes.
The meaning behind Mark's actions was clear: he was threatening Tony, saying, "Dad, I know all about your weakness. If you don't swallow what's in your mouth, I'll expose it in front of everyone."
Tony, as his father, understood Mark's intention immediately and chose to back down. He turned away as if nothing had happened and continued preparing for the meeting.
Despite the enjoyable time he had spent alone with Pepper in recent days, Tony couldn't help but feel regretful about today's incident.
"I should have stopped Pepper in the first place. How could I let this brat know about such secrets? Pepper kept saying we're a family, and it's better for Mark to know these secrets than some outsider doctors.
If I could go back now, I'd rather spend a fortune on an external medical institution to complete the virus enhancement rather than involve this annoying brat—damn it!"
Anyway, Tony could only silently complain in his heart. He didn't dare to say these thoughts out loud in front of Mark, or else his wise and heroic image would be completely ruined by Mark.
...
Now that everyone had arrived, the meeting began promptly.
"I have called everyone together today because, after our large-scale operation to destroy Hydra bases, S.H.I.E.L.D. gathered a lot of important intelligence.
The reason our mission went so smoothly is that several months ago, the core forces in these bases had already been transferred. What remained in the bases were just ordinary logistics personnel.
Based on the intelligence we have compiled, we can confirm that the base they transferred to is a secret facility located in Sokovia, a small country in Eastern Europe. This is likely the last remaining Hydra stronghold.
Of course, there may be some smaller and more hidden escapees, but what makes Sokovia's base unique is that it became the final destination for Loki's scepter, which was secretly transferred by Hydra members lurking within S.H.I.E.L.D.
The scepter is now being stored and researched there.
Our purpose for convening this meeting is to discuss how to destroy this last known Hydra secret base and safely recover Loki's scepter."
As the meeting began, Captain America got straight to the point and stated the point of the gathering.
Upon hearing the news about Loki's scepter, Thor immediately took this mission seriously.
He now knew that the scepter, like the Tesseract and the Aether, was one of the six Infinity Stones that represented supreme power in the universe—the Mind Stone.
The Infinity Stones, as treasures representing supreme power in the universe, were sought after by countless powerful forces across the cosmos, who aimed to control their might.
Even with Asgard's strength, they didn't dare to keep two Infinity Stones at the same time.
Leaving the scepter on Earth would undoubtedly attract the covetous eyes of other civilizations, especially for a planet like Earth, which had not yet developed enough power to handle such great forces.
Setting aside external threats, the previous incidents with the Space Stone falling into the hands of Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. already proved that Earth was not yet ready to handle such immense power.
So, for the safety of Earth, Thor had already decided to take the scepter back to Asgard after completing the mission and find a reliable custodian for it, just like they did with the Aether.
While the group was discussing the plan for their upcoming mission in Sokovia, Thor was lost in thoughts about the Mind Stone. Meanwhile, Mark stood apart from the others and did not participate in the meeting.
The Avengers ultimately discovered the Hydra base in Sokovia through the information Mark provided, which was something he hadn't anticipated.
However, now that the trail of the Mind Stone had emerged, it meant that Ultron's creation was imminent, and he needed to prepare for this significant event in advance.
If he missed this opportunity, who knew how long it would take for Baymax to become a true sentient being.
...
"Commander, besides our base, we have lost communication with all the other contact points today. If I'm not mistaken, they must have been destroyed by the Avengers!"
Inside the Hydra secret base in Sokovia, while the Avengers were discussing their action plan, Hydra had already sensed the impending danger.
"Prepare all combat members, if the other bases have fallen, then our location might be exposed soon too. We must be ready to confront the Avengers.
Oh, and have the twins prepared as well, they are my secret weapons..."
"All members, report to your positions immediately!
Attention - this is not a drill; we are under attack!
I repeat, this is not a drill; we are under attack!"
In Sokovia, the last secret base of Hydra, the emergency alarm continues to blare as the commander issues the orders for the impending battle.
No need for further explanation, other Hydra members know well who they will be facing. After all, this storm against Hydra has been ongoing for over half a year, and most of them came to this base to evade the crisis.
Since there's no escaping it anymore, they have no choice but to take up arms and fight back. Judging from the previously captured bases, they don't expect the Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. to show any mercy.
Moreover, although the Avengers are powerful, in the eyes of many Hydra warriors, they are not unbeatable.
It's essential to note that this Hydra base in Sokovia has been their secret research facility since they acquired Loki's scepter during the Battle of New York in 2012.
Over two years have passed, and they have made significant progress with the weapon development using the power of the scepter.
Back in World War II, they had experience in weapon development using the Tesseract. With advanced weaponry, Hydra suppressed any military force that dared to resist their rule.
Now, with the accumulated experience and technological innovations, their weapons are far more advanced than ever before.
Inspired by Tony Stark's Iron Man armor, which made Hydra's weapon experts envious, they developed a lower-grade version of a powered exoskeleton suit using the technology derived from Loki's scepter.
This lower-grade exoskeleton, similar to Tony's armor, possesses flight capabilities, allowing Hydra soldiers to move with exceptional mobility both on the ground and in the air.
Additionally, the intelligent combat assist system assists the soldiers with target acquisition, positioning, aiming, and shooting, enabling them to make swift and precise deadly strikes.
However, being a lower-grade version means it has its drawbacks compared to Tony's Iron Man suit.
Firstly, there's an issue with the power source. While they use highly efficient graphene batteries developed by the Mark Research Center, the battery life is not on par with Tony's Arc Reactor.
To extend the operational time of each suit, the designers drastically reduced the flight capability, imposing significant limitations on speed and altitude.
Furthermore, they did not equip the exoskeleton with any built-in weapon systems; the soldiers must carry their own weapons for attacking.
Additionally, considering factors such as cost-effectiveness and load-bearing capacity, this set of powered exoskeleton suits definitely cannot use the expensive aerospace-grade gold-titanium alloy that Tony Stark uses, or even the extremely pricey vibration absorbing metal Vibranium.
So, the material used for manufacturing these suits comes from the graphene nanomaterial and carbyne material purchased from the Mark Research Center.
Although these two super materials are not cheap and not easily obtainable, they offer the best performance to meet the requirements.
Despite the challenges, Hydra used some yet-undiscovered connections to obtain enough materials for the initial batch of exoskeletons.
After the first batch of Hydra suits was successfully manufactured, the base leaders were quite satisfied.
Test results indicated that although these suits might not reach Tony Stark's level, they could easily match the abilities of Captain America during the time in World War II.
Furthermore, Hydra had a significant advantage in numbers compared to the Avengers, and the leaders believed that with these suits and their overwhelming numbers, they would find a way to counter the Avengers.
However, reality often differs from expectations. As soon as the Hydra soldiers, proud of their new exoskeletons and fully armed, confronted the Avengers, they were met with a crushing blow.
You see, the current Avengers have made enormous progress in strength, not only compared to the time of the Battle of New York but also since they foiled the "Insight Plan" not long ago.
Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Falcon are considered street-level heroes. While they maintain strict systematic training, they also have access to advanced technology equipment tailored by Mark, significantly enhancing the overall power of the Avengers.
Additionally, they have Dr. Banner, who can control his transformation at will with an emotion controller, Thor, whose magical abilities have grown stronger with age, Tony Stark, who continuously updates his Iron Man armor, and Mark, who excels in both technology and magic.
With the current lineup of the Avengers, unless Hydra truly cracks the secrets of the Mind Stone and gains full control over its power, any attempts by Hydra would be like attacking a rock with an egg, utterly ineffective.
The seven official Avengers, along with their reserve member Falcon, cleared the way upfront, while reinforcements from S.H.I.E.L.D. followed from the rear, swiftly wiping out the Hydra soldiers who came out to confront them.
With no more threats or hindrances in their path, Tony Stark ascended rapidly and charged straight towards the Hydra base.
Thud!
Unexpectedly, Tony's direct charge resulted in him crashing head-on into something. "Damn it!" Tony exclaimed. He even heard Mark's mocking laughter over the communication channel.
"You little brat, you knew about the energy shield, didn't you? You watched me charge in without a warning just so you could enjoy a good laugh!"
"Hahaha, Dad, you need to be more careful yourself. How can you blame me? But your crash was quite crisp, like a funeral bell for Hydra."
Mark chuckled, avoiding directly responding to Tony's questioning. However, it was evident to everyone that Mark was determined to see Tony's mishaps.
"Don't curse" Captain suddenly interrupted and reminded Tony.
"Mark, I thinks that this HYDRA base also uses the energy shield technology we have encountered before"
"Correct, but compared to before, where they used volcanic energy for power support, the technology here is clearly more advanced.
They directly used the gem from Loki's scepter as the core energy source. We can't breach their defenses using the same methods as before."
Mark nodded, agreeing with Captain, and shared his analysis with everyone.
"So, you're saying that Loki's scepter still inside. They didn't transfer it away!" Thor instantly became excited upon hearing this, knocking over a few Hydra soldiers in front of him.
Thor's primary objective in this mission was to recover the Mind Stone from Loki's scepter. If Hydra had moved or concealed it, it would be a significant obstacle for him to achieve that goal.
"The problem is, how do we get in now? If their energy shield is as strong as the one Mark invented and endlessly powered, we won't have any way to breach it completely"
Hawkeye voiced his concerns over the communication channel while shooting an arrow that hit the enemy's vital point through the gaps in the trees.
"Wait a second, folks. I know the situation is a bit stalemate, but doesn't anyone want to comment on "Don't Curse!" just said by Captain?" Tony suddenly interjected with humor.
"I knew you would make fun of it, Tony..." Captain replied somewhat helplessly. "It just slipped out."
"Alright, Dad. Since you have time for banter, you must have already noticed the flaws in their energy shield, right?"
Mark casually asked Tony. In his Informational vision, this replica of his invention had numerous weaknesses, but he didn't destroy it himself.
The most significant research achievement within this base, Quicksilver, would soon join the outer battlefield. Mark was eager to witness the clash between the speedster of the Marvel Universe and his pirated version of Flash.
"Of course! Watch my performance!" Tony confidently responded, lowering his flight altitude, preparing to take action.
...
Inside the Hydra base, Commander Strucker continually adjusted their tactical deployment, hoping to maintain the current situation. "Quick, send out all our tanks and concentrate firepower on attacking the enemy's weak points!"
"Sir, I believe it's time to deploy the twins. We've worked so hard to achieve this; it's about time to let them witness the fang of Hydra!" A subordinate stepped forward and proposed to Strucker.
"Now is not the time. I trust my men can hold them off." Strucker dismissed the subordinate's suggestion, turning back to observe the battlefield.
However, he was immediately proven wrong - Boom! The energy shield guarding the base was breached...
Boom! With a loud noise, the energy shield of the Hydra base was officially breached, and Hydra lost their last retreat. The only path before them was to either fight the Avengers to the end or surrender.
"Sir, after the shield was breached, the Hydra soldiers have gone completely berserk, and their attacks have started affecting nearby cities," Jarvis reported real-time updates to Tony from within the Iron Man suit.
"I knew Hydra wouldn't care about civilian casualties. Jarvis, deploy the Iron Legion to maintain order in the city."
...
"The Avengers thought they could completely annihilate us, but for Hydra, cut off one head, and two more will grow. So today, we absolutely cannot surrender!"
"Never surrender! Never surrender!..."
Inside the Hydra base, facing the passionate speech of their leader, Strucker, all the members who remained in the base and those who were still alive on the other end of the radio communication responded enthusiastically to his call.
Seeing that his emotional manipulation worked on his subordinates, Strucker took his assistant aside and whispered, "I'm planning to surrender. Delete all the confidential data from the base.
If we leave some weapons for the Avengers, it might divert their attention and prevent them from delving too deep into our research."
"But what about the twins..." the assistant asked.
"They are not ready yet..."
Before Strucker could finish, the assistant patted his arm, interrupting what he wanted to say, "No, I don't mean sending them out. I mean... the twins are gone..."
Following the direction indicated by the assistant's finger, Strucker also immediately noticed that the twins, who had been standing silently behind them, had disappeared without a trace.
...
Whoosh!
On the outer battlefield, Hawkeye still occupied the terrain advantage, launching attacks against the continuous stream of Hydra soldiers.
Just now, he fired a high-explosive arrow at an enemy turret and then took cover behind a tree trunk, waiting for the explosion to sound.
However, to his surprise, the explosion didn't occur as he expected. The Hydra soldier at the turret continued to attack other Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. reinforcements without any disruption.
"Did I just get a dud earlier?" Hawkeye speculated in his mind as he reluctantly took out another high-explosive arrow, aiming at the target, ready to fire.
But once again, his arrow failed to explode. Before he could shoot the arrow, someone interfered with his action and knocked him down.
"Didn't you foresee this situation?" lying on the ground, Hawkeye looked up to see a young silver-haired guy, dressed in sportswear, provocatively speaking to him.
What followed surprised Hawkeye. After making a bold statement, the silver-haired youth suddenly burst into an unbelievable speed and disappeared from his sight.
Seeing this, Hawkeye quickly stood up, bent his bow, and aimed in the direction where the silver-haired youth disappeared.
However, because the superpowers displayed by the other person attracted his attention, Hawkeye didn't notice that the turret he wanted to destroy had already aimed at him.
Swoosh! Using the energy weapon developed with the Mind Stone, the Hydra soldier at the turret completely ignored his battle suit's strong defense and inflicted a severe open wound on Hawkeye.
"Ah!" In agony, Hawkeye screamed and immediately covered the wound, falling to the ground.
"Barton got hit and injured!" Black Widow, who was nearby, rushed over upon hearing that something was wrong with Hawkeye.
After dealing with the turret that injured Hawkeye, she came to his side to inspect his injury. "How is it? Let me see!"
Natasha opened Hawkeye's hands that were tightly covering the wound to assess the extent of his injury.
Seeing a huge wound on Hawkeye's side that kept bleeding, she quickly removed her combat gloves and took out a small syringe from the utility belt around his waist, injecting it into his body.
This was the life-saving substance Mark had prepared specifically for Hawkeye and Falcon before the mission - the ultra-concentrated nutrient solution, and it turned out to be useful now.
With the treatment, Hawkeye quickly recovered from his weakness. With his battle suit weakening the effect of the turret's attack, combined with his recent enhancements, the otherwise fatal blow didn't claim his life.
However, due to the lack of high-purity energy stimulation, although Natasha had injected him with the ultra-concentrated nutrient solution, it didn't immediately heal Hawkeye's injury; it only stopped the heavy bleeding.
"Barton needs to be immediately evacuated from the battlefield and treated in the nutrient sleep chamber. His injuries are severe!" Natasha knew that with Hawkeye's current condition, continuing to fight was impossible. He had to be taken away as soon as possible.
"Wait, Captain, can you hear me? An enhanced individual has appeared on the battlefield; his speed is incredibly fast. He managed to catch my arrows barehanded while moving at high speeds.
Captain, I believe only you, being the fastest among us, can catch this guy!"
"Rest assured, Hawkeye. Just focus on resting. I've spotted this mischievous troublemaker!"
As Hawkeye transmitted the information, Captain America had already noticed Quicksilver's high-speed movements on the battlefield.
He was pranking the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents assisting in the operation, causing them to lose their combat effectiveness one after another. Hence, Captain America referred to Quicksilver as a mischievous troublemaker.
As described by Hawkeye, Quicksilver's speed was exceptionally fast, and even Captain America's superhuman reflexes and dynamic vision couldn't fully grasp his movements, let alone anticipate his attacks.
To counter Quicksilver's ability, Captain America decisively activated the accel world feature of his suit. In an instant, the world seemed to shift into slow motion, and everything came to a halt, except for Quicksilver, who was locked in by Captain America.
Although Captain America had increased his reaction speed to thousands of times its normal rate, Quicksilver's actions remained incredibly swift. Captain America knew this confrontation would not be easy.
However, having made a promise to Hawkeye, there was no other option but to face the challenge head-on. If Quicksilver continued to wreak havoc, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would undoubtedly suffer severe casualties.
Captain America switched his Flash suit to high-speed mode and rushed towards Quicksilver's location.
This action immediately caught Quicksilver's attention; it was the first time he had encountered someone who could match his speed. Curious like a cat discovering something new, Quicksilver engaged Captain America in a cat-and-mouse game.
Leveraging his advantage in familiarity with the terrain, Quicksilver continuously zigzagged through the forest, always accelerating at the last moment when Captain America felt he was about to catch him, causing the attempt to fall short.
In this back-and-forth, Captain America understood that Quicksilver was toying with him. However, even in this series of jests, Captain America was not acting recklessly without a plan.
From the start of the chase, Captain America had not unleashed the maximum speed of the Flash suit. One reason was the complex terrain and dense foliage in the area, where running at full speed could easily lead to collisions with obstacles.
On the other hand, Captain America intended to keep some tricks up his sleeve, aiming to surprise the enemy with an unexpected move in the current situation.
Indeed, Quicksilver realized that Captain America wasn't repeating the same tactics and decided to close the distance between them to toy with Captain America once more.
However, this time, Quicksilver wasn't successful.
Captain America gave him the impression that he was pushing himself to the limit to catch up, and when the distance between them reached a dangerous level, Quicksilver accelerated, attempting to leave Captain America behind.
Unexpectedly, Captain America also accelerated at that moment, and his speed surpassed Quicksilver's.
Caught off guard, Quicksilver had no chance to evade Captain America's sudden attack.
The corner of his sportswear was firmly caught, and taking advantage of this opportunity, Captain America exerted force, disrupting Quicksilver's balance, and they both tumbled and fell to the ground.
Thud!
Having witnessed Quicksilver's non-malicious approach to dealing with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and sensing that the young man's nature might not be bad, he could be either threatened or brainwashed by Hydra.
Captain America chose to protect both of them from harm. He used his shield to crash into several tree trunks, finally bringing them to a stop.
"Kid, I've got you now!" Captain America said with a smile, looking at Quicksilver, who was pinned under him and unable to resist.
Unexpectedly, the irritation on Quicksilver's face vanished completely after Captain America spoke, replaced by a mocking smile. "Not necessarily!"
Seeing Quicksilver's reaction, the rich experience of the WWII veteran immediately alerted Captain America. However, before he could take any precautions, a tremendous force came from behind and flipped him away from Quicksilver.
While rolling on the ground, Captain America looked towards the direction of the attack and saw a red-clad girl with long hair, holding two balls of red smoke, clearly an enhanced individual.
However, what surprised Captain America even more was that her appearance didn't trigger any response from the artificial intelligence in his suit.
He only realized there was an enemy behind him after the attack, which could have resulted in his heroic sacrifice if the girl had any malicious intent.
When he finally stopped rolling and stood up from the ground, both the silver-haired young man and the girl in red were nowhere to be found.
At that moment, Tony's voice came through the communication channel, "Guys, I've got Loki's scepter, and there seems to be a big guy we are all familiar with here..."