Chapter 433 The Helicarrier in Peril

The crystal at the top of the magic staff, placed on the workbench, was shattered by Caesar's grip. The once-glowing staff immediately dulled, becoming nothing more than a useless relic. The psychic influence that had been clouding everyone's minds quickly dissipated as the magic staff was destroyed.

"Caesar, what did you do?" Fury's single eye stared at Caesar in shock. Caesar nonchalantly blew the crystal fragments off his left hand, revealing the core inside— a brilliant and exquisite yellow gem.

Everyone else in the room stopped arguing, snapping out of their mental fog.

Thor, who had raised Mjolnir, Hill, who had drawn her gun, and Steve, who had readied his shield, all looked around in confusion as they put down their weapons.

"That was close, I almost lost control," Dr. Banner said while clutching the computer desk and lightly patting his chest as his racing heart finally calmed down.

Eddie sank into a chair, feeling a sense of relief that Venom hadn't joined the chaos; otherwise, things might have escalated into a full-blown fight.

"You were all under a mental spell," Caesar said with a faint smile. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and tossed the yellow gem inside like a piece of candy.

Everyone was stunned. Fury's face turned pale as he rushed forward, grabbing Caesar's small legs and flipping him upside down, shaking him frantically. "Caesar! That's not something you can eat! Spit it out!"

Caesar clamped his hands over his mouth and, with a gulp, swallowed the gem without hesitation.

Fury's dark face grew even paler as he carefully set Caesar down, his usual composure replaced with anxiety. "Are you alright? Do you feel anything?"

Caesar patted Fury's shoulder reassuringly, chuckling. "Relax, Fury. It's safe with me. Instead of worrying about me, you should be concerned about the safety of the Helicarrier."

"The Helicarrier's safety?" Fury was puzzled.

"Particle matching complete! Match rate 99%!"

Hearing the announcement, Dr. Banner put his glasses back on and stared at the virtual display, exclaiming, "We found the Tesseract! It's less than a hundred meters from the Helicarrier!"

'Thud, thud, thud!'

At the same time, footsteps echoed from the corridor, and Natasha's urgent voice called out, "I found Loki's plan. He wants to use Banner to destroy this Helicarrier completely..."

Before she could finish, the Helicarrier suddenly shook violently and began tilting to one side. Workstations, computers, and documents were scattered everywhere, causing everyone in the room to fall to the floor.

Having anticipated this, Caesar floated up, hovering like a balloon and casually blasting a workbench that flew towards him out of the way.

Fury scrambled to his feet and spoke into his communicator. "What's happening?"

The personnel in the control room immediately reported back, "Director, we're under attack by a jet. The third engine's turbine is damaged and needs immediate repair, or the Helicarrier will crash from ten thousand meters!"

"Listen up, get all agents ready to fight and protect the control room. Redirect the Helicarrier towards the ocean!" Fury made a quick decision, considering the worst-case scenario of a crash, then looked at the heroes who were getting up. "I need someone to repair the third engine turbine."

"I'll go… It looks like it's up to me," Caesar said, shrugging. Without waiting for a response, he flew towards the corridor filled with thick smoke.

With Iron Man absent, Caesar was the only one who knew mechanical engineering and could fly.

As he reached the corridor's corner, Caesar turned back, giving Banner and Eddie a meaningful look. "Behave yourselves."

"I'll do my best to control it," Banner replied.

Eddie added, "I'll try, but make sure you get that engine fixed!"

Banner lay prone on the ground, gritting his teeth in response. Natasha, who had just returned to the lab, quickly rushed over to help him up.

"I'll go assist Caesar," Steve said, grabbing his shield and heading down the same corridor Caesar had disappeared into.

"I'm checking the detention room! Loki must not escape!" Thor picked up Mjolnir and hurried towards the detention area.

Fury and the other SHIELD personnel made their way to the main control room. No one noticed Eddie sitting motionless in the corner, his eyes dull and devoid of any emotion.

"Following your command, Loki. It's time to act," Eddie muttered to himself.

A bit of dark, viscous liquid began to ooze from Eddie's feet, crawling across the floor towards Dr. Banner, who was being supported by Natasha. 

During the earlier battle outside the church, when Loki and Eddie faced off, it seemed as though Loki was entirely subdued. Few knew that Eddie had been carelessly touched by the magic staff on his chest. While Eddie's mind wasn't controlled, Venom wasn't as lucky.

Loki had planted Venom as a sleeper agent, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Now was that moment.

The liquid crept halfway across the floor before springing up and, to Natasha's astonishment, leaped onto Dr. Banner. Before anyone could react, Venom vanished beneath Banner's clothes.

Eddie, regaining awareness and seeing Venom enter Banner, gasped in horror, "My God!"

### In the Detention Room

"This is checkmate, SHIELD, and the Avengers," Loki said, slowly opening his eyes and spreading his arms in delight. The automatic doors of his glass cell mysteriously opened.

"Wait, where's my magic staff?" Loki frowned, unable to sense the mind staff's presence.

### Meanwhile

High above the outskirts of New York, the Helicarrier, powered by only three engines, struggled to stay afloat. With one engine severely damaged, it began to slowly descend, black smoke billowing from the wreckage.

"This is truly a disaster. Hawkeye didn't hold back at all," Caesar said, hovering at the end of a corridor, surveying the extensively damaged third engine.

"Caesar, we need to put out the fire first!" Steve caught up from behind, holding a fire extinguisher he'd grabbed from somewhere, looking somewhat embarrassed at the raging flames.

"The fire does need to be put out, but your extinguisher alone won't cut it," Caesar said with a smile.

He cupped his hands into a makeshift funnel, took a deep breath, his cheeks and stomach swelling, and then blew forcefully into the funnel.

'Whoosh!'

A swift and powerful gust formed a small cyclone, sweeping through the burning engine area. The flames were instantly extinguished, and the thick black smoke dissipated into the wind.

"That's one problem solved," Caesar said, landing next to Steve, who looked at him with a mixture of awe and relief.

...

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