บท 288: Chapter: 288
"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..."
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