144

Chapter 144: The Startling Recovery

This was S.H.I.E.L.D's first-generation space carrier. It hadn't been equipped with the advanced anti-gravity engine invented by Tony Stark, so it relied entirely on its solid structure.

The current space carrier depended on four turbine engines for power.

The designer once boasted, "The space carrier I designed will never fall. To prevent accidents, the engine's performance greatly exceeds the required strength. Even if one turbine is damaged, it can still maintain altitude!"

Just like the Titanic , which claimed it would never sink a hundred years ago, it could stay afloat even with four compartments flooded. …

Yet, with five compartments of the Titanic flooded, two of the carrier's engines had stalled.

There are classic scenes in American comics: Spider-Man stopping a train and Superman lifting a passenger plane weighing hundreds of tons.

The former doesn't exist in the Marvel universe, and the latter appeared in a comic from the previous century, which Stark had read as a child...

Karla, possibly inspired by her cousin's comic feats, decided to try it herself.

However, she was not lifting a passenger plane, but a massive aircraft carrier!

Karla supported the falling carrier. Stark, panicked, said, "Hey, little girl, this isn't going to work. You can't manage it without support...

Even with two turbine engines working, you're still bearing thousands of tons of weight...

And you might pierce through the carrier, uh..."

The space carrier shook violently, but its descent slowed considerably, and the surrounding decks remained intact.

Stark's eyes widened as he narrowly avoided being hit by the impeller, muttering, "I can't believe it. This girl is like a human Hulk. Wow, this strength must be at least a thousand tons? And the deck of S.H.I.E.L.D. is incredibly durable?"

Thor soon appeared beside Karla, joining her effort to support the space carrier.

"Crack..."

A crack appeared.

Stark: "???"

Thor grinned: "As expected, only Kryptonians can handle this task."

Thor flew behind Karla and embraced her waist.

"What are you doing?!" Karla exclaimed.

Has her beloved brother finally shown his true colors?

Thor said helplessly, "Helping you; you can't hold it up alone."

He lacked the ability to control the stance and could only channel power through Karla's body...

Stark was exasperated: "Why do I feel like you two could handle anything?"

Captain America, who was acting as a bystander, watched the scene and muttered, "Bucky, where are you?"

It was clear that a space carrier weighing tens of thousands of tons was beyond the capacity of any superhero to support single-handedly.

Fortunately, the combined efforts of Thor and Karla bought enough time for Stark to restart the engine.

Stark looked at Karla with a mixture of awe and fear...

A family of Inhumans!

Stark thought, aside from the anti-Thor armor still in concept stages, he should also consider an anti-Superman armor?

Natalia had knocked Hawkeye out of his blue-eyed trance and back to normal.

Bruce Banner, regaining his composure, sat quietly at the table.

After the shield-wielding duo fixed the engine and resolved the space carrier's crisis, they returned to the cabin.

Despite the crisis being averted, the atmosphere was heavy.

Nick Fury had just announced the tragic news—Phil Coulson had sacrificed his life.

Looking at the somber faces, Nick Fury spoke quietly, "I know we've suffered a total defeat this time, and it's my fault. S.H.I.E.L.D used the energy from the Tesseract to create weapons. I paid the price—I lost the most powerful subordinate."

"But I never relied solely on this, knowing that even the Tesseract might not be enough against a truly powerful enemy, let alone a weapon made from it."

"My real hope was always a more powerful weapon.

The Avengers Initiative, which I discussed with Thor seventeen years ago, was to gather all those with extraordinary abilities to form a collective—the Avengers!"

...

"I, and Phil Coulson, believe in soldiers more than weapons!"

He paused, then turned and left, leaving the Avengers to their own thoughts.

Thor, unable to endure the silence, approached Maria Hill: "Where is Phil Coulson's body? I want to see him one last time. There's something I promised him."

Hill nodded and led him to a room where Phil Coulson lay covered with a white cloth.

"Hill, you may witness something unbelievable soon. I hope you don't spread it, understood?"

Thor spoke casually.

Maria Hill eyed him suspiciously and nodded, "Unless it's something that threatens the safety of the world."

Thor smiled, "No, but it will definitely be shocking!"

As he spoke, he extended a hand, and a rune appeared before glowed briefly before vanishing.

Among rune magic, Thor was the only one who mastered it.

Hill looked puzzled and was about to ask Thor when a cough interrupted her.

She turned in shock and witnessed the most astonishing scene of her life...

The lifeless Phil Coulson lifted the white cloth and slowly sat up.