"What are your plans? Are you going to work with Rogers' team?" Nick Fury asked, hoping Noah would join the squad to help retrieve the Tesseract.
"I'll go ahead; I move faster. You can catch up," Noah said, glancing at his mission panel, which hadn't updated yet. He decided to go after the enemy himself.
"What?" As soon as Fury started to speak, Noah vanished, leaving him and the others bewildered.
"Hey, Noah, wait for me!" Thor rushed after him, dragging Loki along.
Fury sighed heavily, realizing there was nothing he could do about these unpredictable individuals.
"Fury, it's time for us to move," Captain America said, ready for action, his shield strapped to his back.
"Yes, you can go."
As they were about to leave the bridge, Thor unexpectedly returned.
"Thor, why are you back?" Rogers asked, nearly bumping into him. He was sure Thor had left with Noah.
"Haha, that fool rushed off and then realized he didn't even know where to go. I didn't even see a flicker of his shadow. He could use a map to be a hero," Loki said with a smirk, enjoying the opportunity to tease his brother.
"Bzzz~"
"Hmm..." Thor chuckled awkwardly as Loki received a small electric shock.
Everyone saw Thor's embarrassment, but out of respect, they refrained from laughing out loud.
"Ahem, do you have a map? Noah hurried off and didn't wait for me," Thor asked, trying to justify himself.
"A map won't be much help. It's better to fly with us. He'll get there first anyway," Rogers said.
Thor considered this and agreed. Given Noah's power, he would likely finish the job before they arrived. He decided to fly with the team and, at the same time, talk to Black Widow about how to please women. He had asked Coulson about this before, and Coulson advised him to talk to Natasha, an expert in such matters. He decided that now would be a good time for this conversation.
The group split into three teams and boarded their respective Quinjets, heading towards the abandoned subway station in Paris. Fury, Coulson, and a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents flew in one Quinjet; Thor, Loki, Black Widow, and several other agents in another. Captain America, Hawkeye, and the remaining team members were in the third Quinjet. Thor specifically insisted on flying with Black Widow, which piqued the others' curiosity—they thought he might have developed a crush on her.
...
Immediately after saying he would go alone, Noah left the Helicarrier. He instantly accelerated, moved beyond the range of their sensors, opened a portal, and teleported from New York directly to Paris in mere seconds. That's why Thor couldn't keep up with him.
"Looks like I'm here," Noah looked around.
Below him was a dilapidated structure that looked like the entrance to an old subway station. The entrance was chained shut, and he realized that the enemy clearly hadn't entered through this passage.
People still lived near the building, and pedestrians walked along the street, so he remained cloaked. He sensed numerous human auras underground, where the enemy and the hostages were located.
"Time to go in," he decided, making sure the surroundings were clear. He was going to use his speed to infiltrate.
But at that moment, he sensed a surge of energy emanating from underground and paused.
"Huh? What's that?" Noah frowned, recognizing the familiar energy signature.
However, he didn't hesitate for long and instantly accelerated, plunging underground. Using the Ghost spell, he passed through the solid concrete surface like water, encountering no resistance.
He found himself inside the abandoned subway station, but instead of dilapidated walls and crumbling equipment, he saw a carefully organized temporary laboratory complex. The equipment that had previously disappeared from the research institute was now neatly arranged on the platform. People in white coats bustled around—the same scientists who had been abducted. Noah sensed a strange energy emanating from their souls, undoubtedly the influence of the Mind Stone.
But what interested him most wasn't this makeshift laboratory complex, but the device at its center, emanating an energy vibration. The familiar energy he sensed from outside was coming from the Tesseract. By the time he arrived, Corvus and his subordinates had already used the device for another spatial jump.
"Late again," he looked at the slowly deactivating device with annoyance.
Noah deactivated his cloaking and landed on the platform. The mind-controlled scientists immediately noticed him.
"It's the Storm Swordsman! Our master's enemy!"
It turned out that Corvus hadn't only abducted scientists, but also other institute personnel, including security guards. These armed individuals, also under mind control, opened fire upon seeing Noah.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bullets ricocheted harmlessly off his armor. Looking around at the assembled group and confirming they were ordinary humans, Noah raised his hand and used magic to incapacitate them, pinning them to the ground.
Those who had glared at him with hatred just a moment ago were now completely suppressed and unconscious from the intense pressure. Noah carefully examined them, recalling how Black Widow in the movie used physical force to bring Hawkeye back to his normal state. Not wanting to take any risks, he took out Mikael's Blessing and cast a mind-cleansing spell on everyone present.