Chapter 352: Chapter: 352
At S.H.I.E.L.D., the current situation was one of distress due to the warning message sent by Mark. Although every piece of information and evidence mentioned in the file confirmed the credibility of the threat event Mark had pointed out.
However, the sole and also the most significant issue lay in the fact that all this information and evidence were rooted in speculation from a former brainwashed killing machine of Hydra.
In other words, even though the threat posed by this event was indeed high, even enough to trouble someone as substantial as Coulson, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., it wasn't enough for Coulson to merely believe in Mark's deductions.
To involve the entirety of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources, Coulson needed to convince the members of the World Security Council.
This was what truly gave Coulson a headache. Given the Avengers' current lack of credibility with the council members, Mark's proposed course of action, made under his name, would undoubtedly be met with refusal.
But if they simply followed the council's resolution and took no action, and if Green Goblin indeed turned the entirety of Europe into a living hell, then Coulson couldn't ignore the voice within himself that pursued justice, peace, and upheld Captain's ideals.
"May, submit the file to the council members, applying for S.H.I.E.L.D's authorization to act. Also, let's prepare for both scenarios. Inform Skye and others if they're willing to reform the team and work with me.
If the council ultimately rejects our application, we may have to provide support in a personal capacity. However, that might lead to us being pursued and hunted."
...
Now facing the potentially dire crisis Green Goblin might unleash, besides Mark's Avengers' small team, there was also Coulson's team of agents, working together to deal with this incident.
However, for Mark's team, Coulson's team was currently a distant source of help. After entering the interior of the Hydra base beneath the hill, Mark's team eventually confirmed a disappointing piece of news: the large-scale biochemical gas emitter sealed within this base had already been taken away by Green Goblin.
Not only that, due to the remote location of this Hydra base and the lack of surveillance cameras in the vicinity, Mark's team lost Green Goblin's trail and whereabouts.
Their operation had indeed fallen into a dilemma, and they were in a highly passive position. Unless Green Goblin voluntarily revealed his location, they had no idea what his next step would be.
In this situation, let alone the newcomers like Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, even Captain and Natasha who were seasoned crisis handlers, felt the complexity of the situation and were filled with extreme anxiety.
Only Mark alone, at this moment, could maintain a calm and composed state.
Regarding the elimination and concealment of his own trail, it had to be said that Green Goblin was truly cunning. He physically isolated himself, severing all connections of his electronic devices with the internet and communication networks.
Even with his existing, and arguably the most advanced technological means on Earth, Mark couldn't pinpoint Green Goblin's location.
However, there was a reason why Mark could remain so composed was because apart from scientific methods, Mark harbored a secret ace up his sleeve that not even his biological father, Tony Stark, knew about—magic!
The concealment from his Avengers comrades, even his dearest ones, prevented Green Goblin from having any way of knowing about Mark's profound mastery of magic.
Even if Green Goblin found out, facing an invisible and intangible network of magic, being a novice in magic, he had no way to defend against Mark's magical abilities.
While all the members were racking their brains over Green Goblin, Mark once again entered a soul projection state. Similar to how he previously located Tony and Rhodey, he used the ubiquitous dark energy fluctuations in space to search for Green Goblin's trail.
In order to obtain more precise location information, Mark even had Baymax connect his soul to the vast Veshanti's magic network that covered the entire Earth, thus enhancing his mental strength.
Covering the scope of the entire Vilnius and expanding his mental energy without reservation, Mark quickly pinpointed Green Goblin's current location.
"Get in the car, head to the Vilnius TV Tower. Green Goblin took the emitter there!"
Mark didn't offer any explanations. He just hurriedly said this and pulled Natasha back into the car, starting the engine.
However, the trust and understanding among the Avengers should never be doubted. This was the bond accumulated through long-term cooperation and companionship.
Even without any explanation, feeling the conviction in Mark's words, Captain immediately led the remaining few to get into the car and followed Mark toward the direction of the road.
"Pietro, Captain, you both have the fastest speed among us. I suggest you two go ahead and stop Green Goblin from completing his plan. If you can succeed, great. Even if you can't, it will buy us some time."
"Alright, Pietro and I will go ahead and buy you some time," Captain agreed with Mark's proposal with a nod.
Without asking Bucky, who was driving, to stop or slow down, Captain immediately unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the car door, jumping out.
With a push of his right hand and a forward roll, he dissipated the inertia of his movement. After regaining his balance, Captain wasted no time and smoothly accelerated, catching up with Quicksilver who had slowed down ahead of him. Together, they sprinted towards the Vilnius TV Tower's direction.
The Vilnius TV Tower was a landmark in Vilnius, and also the tallest building in the country, standing at a height of 326.5 meters.
Mark could guess some of the reasons why Green Goblin chose the Vilnius TV Tower as the final step to execute his plan. First, compared to the open and defenseless wilderness, the Vilnius TV Tower was a vertical structure that was easy to defend and difficult to attack. For Green Goblin, who was obviously outnumbered, it was indeed a good choice.
Second, leveraging the height of the Vilnius TV Tower itself would save a lot of time for the emitter to reach the required altitude. Even in a dire situation, initiating the device on-site would ensure there was enough height to complete the entire release process, enabling Green Goblin's biochemical weapon to cover the entire continent of Europe.
Green Goblin's meticulous and rigorous planning, combined with his formidable execution abilities, made his plan impeccable from start to finish, with no apparent weaknesses.
Sitting in the driver's seat of the Ferrari, all Mark could do was pray that Captain and the others would arrive in time to stop Green Goblin. Otherwise, even if he revealed his trump card of magic, he had to prevent Green Goblin's plan from succeeding.
Mark's plan was that if they truly couldn't stop Green Goblin from activating the emitter in time, he would use a spatial portal to appear next to the emitter at the last moment and then transport the entire device into the Mirror Dimension to lock it away.
...
"Pietro, we can already see the shadow of the Vilnius TV Tower ahead. Let's proceed through the river channel, aiming to arrive a step ahead!"
On the roads of Vilnius, as Captain and Quicksilver continued moving forward, they were getting closer to the location of the TV tower in the city center.
Due to Vilnius's flat terrain and well-preserved medieval architecture, there were no obstacles to block the view of the tower, which stood as the tallest building. Thus, even from a distance, Captain and Quicksilver could already see the Vilnius TV Tower.
However, as they got closer to the city center, the road became busier with vehicles and pedestrians, making it challenging to maintain high-speed travel.
In order to increase their speed and avoid causing harm to ordinary civilians due to sonic booms generated by supersonic speeds, Captain suggested changing their route and taking to the waterways.
With their speed, even on the river, they could run at high speed using the tension of the water's surface, just like walking on solid ground, without the fear of falling into the water.
Conveniently, Vilnius was located at the confluence of the Vilnia River and the Neris River, both of which flowed through the city, creating a high-speed route leading to their destination, the Vilnius TV Tower.
Given the environmental constraints and feeling of being restricted while running, he readily agreed to Captain's suggestion. After nodding in agreement, without waiting for Captain's response, he excitedly changed direction, heading into the river.
As a result, the residents on both sides of the Vilnia River witnessed a bizarre scene: on the previously calm and waveless river, suddenly, a loud sound echoed, followed by curious residents peering through their windows and they saw two white lines resembling giant dragons emerging on the water's surface.
Water splashed high into the air, rising nearly ten meters above the river's surface, only to fall back onto the water. This continuous phenomenon progressed toward the direction of the TV tower, resembling two playful dragons frolicking on the water's surface, truly awe-inspiring.
Utilizing this shortcut on the river's surface saved them a considerable amount of time. Captain and Quicksilver finally reached the base of the TV tower. Being in close proximity allowed them to observe that the Vilnius TV Tower was even more spectacular up close than it had appeared from a distance.
Resembling a mythical pillar that shot straight into the heavens, the tower made them wish they could tour it leisurely if the situation weren't so urgent.
At the base of the tower, Captain quickly rushed into the tower to investigate the situation. As expected, Green Goblin had already sabotaged the elevator and stairs leading to the top. Thankfully, he hadn't harmed the tower's staff; he had simply trapped them inside, preventing them from leaving.
For Captain and Quicksilver, in order to reach the location where Green Goblin was setting up the large-scale emitter, their only option, apart from flying straight up, was to climb along the exterior walls of the building.
"We should have brought Falcon or Mark with us. Both of their equipment allows for flight and could carry us up. Now, we have no choice but to rely on our own hands and feet to climb up," said Captain as he emerged from the ground floor lobby, looking somewhat helpless while gazing up at the 326.5-meter-tall tower.
However, Quicksilver had a different idea. Playing by the rules wasn't his style. Rather than adhering to a grounded climb as Captain suggested, he'd rather challenge himself and push beyond conventional limits.
Looking up at the tower's tip, which had already disappeared into the clouds, a slight smirk formed on Quicksilver's lips. He turned to Captain and said, "That's not necessarily true. Maybe there's a shortcut this time as well?"
With that, Quicksilver started stepping backward, increasing the distance between him and the TV tower.
Captain quickly understood Quicksilver's plan. He intended to use his speed to attempt to break through the pull of gravity and rush straight to the top of the TV tower.
If this attempt succeeds, it will undoubtedly save them a significant amount of time, and in their current situation, time is everything.
After retreating nearly 100 meters, Quicksilver finally came to a stop. Then, under Captain's watchful gaze, he began an accelerating sprint and reached his maximum speed at the moment he reached the base of the tower. He lifted his foot and pushed off, using momentum to start running along the nearly vertical exterior of the building, heading upwards.
However, surpassing a vertical height of over 300 meters and attempting to reach the summit through sprinting was not an easy task. Quicksilver's speed was already impressive, but ultimately, he only reached approximately halfway up the TV tower.
Due to the tower's design with an elevated observation platform interruption, after reaching this point, Quicksilver experienced unnecessary energy consumption, leading to his ultimate failure.
Losing his initial momentum and having no leverage for propulsion in midair, Quicksilver could only succumb to the pull of gravity and fall downward.
Thud—twist!
Quicksilver fell to the ground heavily, like a projectile, creating a semicircular deep crater upon impact. If he hadn't switched to his vibranium nano-battle suit mid-air, this straight fall would have turned even Quicksilver, an enhanced individual, into minced meat.
Although he was fortunate not to be turned into minced meat, Quicksilver emerged from the crater with a somewhat downcast mood, "I thought I could make it to the top."
He pouted slightly; despite his reluctance to accept it, Quicksilver had to face the reality that he still had over half the distance to the tower's peak to cover. He swallowed the bitter pill of failure.
However, just as Quicksilver was feeling a bit dejected, Captain, having witnessed Quicksilver's failed attempt, had a glint in his eye, as if he had discovered a rare treasure.
"No, Pietro! You haven't failed; in fact, failure is the mother of success! I believe I've found a shortcut to quickly reach the summit…"
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