To hell with the air conditioning system being normal!
The officer cursed silently and immediately ordered a squad to head out for repairs.
Meanwhile.
At the base entrance, Peter and Steve charged deeper inside without slowing down.
Steve clutched his head. He was still dizzy, his skull feeling like it had taken a direct hit from Thor's hammer.
"Peter, promise me you'll never use that armor inside a city…"
"I wouldn't dare anymore."
Peter covered his face as he spoke.
Then he turned his complaint on Karen. "Karen, why didn't you tell me the sonic cannon packed that much punch? Good thing I aimed it at the Hydra base door this time. If I'd fired it in New York, I would've wiped out an entire block!"
"I told you the sonic cannon had enough power to blast through the ten-centimeter metal door right in front of you."
Karen replied, Plymouth Technology, kid!
"Fine, my bad."
Peter said, still covering his face.
The Iron Spider-Man armor was simply too powerful. Unless he was fighting Hydra, Peter resolved never to use it again.
"Also, I've already released signal interference across most of the base's electronic systems. You can move in safely," Karen added.
"Nice work!" Peter pumped his fist, then glanced at the Captain.
"Cap, let's charge ahead without worry!"
Underground base, S.H.I.E.L.D. facility.
A massive helicarrier lay before Bant like an enormous island.
Tony, suited up in his Iron Armor, flew back and forth. He sliced through metal with precision lasers, studied the modified blueprints for a long time, and worked with Jarvis to calculate the anti-gravity system data.
Even for a genius like him, it was a serious challenge.
As for Bant, without the ability to transform into the small troopers, he could not really contribute to such high-level technical work right now.
Fortunately, Eunice's algorithmic support kept him from looking like dead weight and prevented any slips.
Besides, Bant had not come here for the anti-gravity system in the first place.
Following the model Eunice had provided, he finished tweaking the turbines, then used the excuse of testing the startup sequence to reach the main control room. There, he slipped a chip into the helicarrier's console.
In an instant, the chip's black-green patterns spread like ink, infecting every control panel at once.
This was the electronic virus Bant had developed based on the traits of the Gavin Star shapeshifters.
Under normal conditions it looked completely harmless, but once Bant shifted into his shapeshifter form, he could remotely access the chip's core and take control of the entire colossal vessel without ever touching it.
With that done, the most crucial step of the plan codenamed Counter-Insight was complete.
Bant relaxed and decided to see if the base held any other treasures.
Night fell.
While everyone slept, a semi-transparent shadow phased through walls and drifted through the facility.
It was Ghost Shadow, naturally.
"The Cosmic Cube isn't here."
Bant had searched the entire base and found no trace of it.
Obviously, Nick Fury had stashed something this important somewhere else. In fact, aside from the helicarrier itself, this base contained almost nothing else of value.
"The Cube isn't on the helicarrier and it isn't in this base. Looks like Nick Fury has already begun researching it again," Bant thought, sharp claws pinching his jaw.
He said "again" because S.H.I.E.L.D. had once run a project on the Cosmic Cube called the Pegasus Project, which had ultimately produced the powerful hero known as Captain Marvel.
This search had turned up nothing, proving that Nick Fury understood the wisdom of never putting all his eggs in one basket, or even a few.
Bant was not disappointed.
He had never felt any strong desire for the Infinity Stones anyway.
After all, the most mysterious treasure in this world had always rested on his own wrist.
He returned to his temporary quarters in the base and reverted to his original appearance.
He planned to head back to Queens first and let events unfold at their own pace. Besides, he still had another arrangement for this operation.
When he reached Queens, Uncle Ben and Aunt May had already gone to bed.
"Feels like it's been ages since I last came home…"
Bant scratched his head. So much had happened lately that even he felt a little worn out.
To Uncle Ben and Aunt May, he had always claimed he was doing research at Plymouth Technology.
The next morning, Aunt May was making breakfast when Bant walked out of his room. She could not hide her surprise.
"Little Bant?"
"When did you get home?"
"Last night," Bant said, sitting down at the table and picking up a fried egg. "You two were already asleep, so I didn't want to wake you. As for Peter, he might need a few more days. His experiment just hit a breakthrough."
"I don't understand all that lab stuff, but no matter how busy you boys get, don't forget to eat."
Aunt May slid another fried egg onto Bant's plate, then planted her hands on her hips. "It's starting to get colder now. Aren't you going to wear a jacket?"
"The company has air conditioning."
"See you later, Aunt May. I'm going to find Harry." Bant mumbled through a mouthful, jumped up from his seat, called out a goodbye, and headed out the door.
Before long he arrived at the Osborn residence.
This time the butler did not even ask him to wait and ushered him straight inside.
"Good morning, little Bant."
Norman saw him and smiled warmly as he walked over, then put on a reproachful look.
"Harry told me everything. I never imagined you and Peter were actually Spider-Man."
He sounded like he was scolding Bant for keeping such an important secret, yet worry flickered in his eyes.
Not worry for Bant, mainly for Peter.
"I always wondered how that kid kept snapping photos of Spider-Man. Turns out he is Spider-Man. It's just a shame that even though he keeps doing good, people don't always understand him." Norman sighed and pulled Bant down to sit.
"The people he's saved will stand behind him," Bant said with a smile.
He was confident about that.
Norman nodded, then asked, "What about you? What's your plan?"
He had noticed that Bant was not the type to drop by without reason. If nothing big was happening, the boy would not suddenly show up.
"You guessed?" Bant looked a little surprised.
Norman smiled and raised a finger.
"The moment Harry told me your secret identity, I knew you had to have some kind of plan. Harry isn't the kind of person who betrays a friend. The only reason he would share that secret with me is because you asked him to."
Clearly, Norman knew Bant well.
He was like a truly caring elder who understood the personalities of Harry, Bant, and Peter inside and out.
"Tell me about it. Let's see how I can help."
Truthfully, Norman was pleased that Bant had come to him. It meant that even in the eyes of someone as brilliant as Bant, he, as an elder, could still be useful.
It was validation of his own worth.
And it showed a younger generation genuinely relying on him.
For Norman, who had neglected Harry for so long as a less-than-ideal father, this felt like another kind of redemption.
"I do have a plan."
Bant sat up straighter. "I'm sure you've heard of S.H.I.E.L.D., right?"
"Of course. It's secret to ordinary people, but for people in our position it's hardly a mystery."
Norman replied.
Not just because of money. The Osborn Group's projects often involved military contracts, so contact with S.H.I.E.L.D. was only natural.
Especially after the self-healing serum had been released, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s interest in him had only grown.
"Does your plan involve S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Norman frowned, concern showing on his face. "That organization's background isn't simple. I've tried digging into it, but I didn't get far."
Compared to the well-known FBI or CIA, S.H.I.E.L.D. was far more mysterious, and that meant far more dangerous.
So Norman could not help worrying that once Bant got involved, he might not be able to get out.
Honestly, he did not want Bant dealing with these people too soon. One wrong step and the boy could end up as a pawn in the hands of the powerful, a tragic sacrifice.
But Bant shook his head.
"I'm not going to be anyone's pawn."
"You want to be the player?"
"No. I want to be the one who draws the board and writes the rules." Bant smiled faintly. Then he recounted everything that had happened these past few days and the current state of S.H.I.E.L.D., explaining it all from beginning to end.
After listening, Norman felt dizzy.
Even someone like him could not help feeling a chill when he learned that Hydra had already quietly eroded the very center of the nation's power.
If that day really came and the entire country fell under Hydra's control, who would be left to stop them?
"Since S.H.I.E.L.D. is no longer the shield protecting this nation, then let it be destroyed together with Hydra!" Bant said slowly.
"But a shield can break, and people cannot be left defenseless."
"We need to hold another weapon in our hands. That way, when we face threats from other worlds or the dangers of the universe, humanity will have a sense of security."
Norman nodded at first, then said, "So you established the Heavenly Guild. You plan to have the Heavenly Guild replace S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
He thought he had figured out Bant's idea, but Bant shook his head.
"No."
"The one replacing S.H.I.E.L.D. will not be the Heavenly Guild, and it cannot be the Heavenly Guild."
"Why not?"
The reason was actually very simple.
"Right now, every force that knows about the Heavenly Guild believes it was built by aliens. How can the heavy responsibility of protecting Earth fall into alien hands?"
Hearing that, Norman understood at once.
It was not that aliens could not protect Earth, but the leadership could not belong to them.
Otherwise Earth would become nothing more than a giant version of Japan or Korea, forced to watch the faces of alien soldiers for every decision.
To put it bluntly, even if it was Superman, he first had to be the son of a Kansas farmer. Even if it was Ultraman, he still needed a human host. Otherwise he would have to become human and think and act like one.
So the Heavenly Guild was fine.
But the Heavenly Guild becoming the world's sole dominant superhuman organization? Absolutely not.
Not only would America never allow it, no country on Earth would. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s legacy could not fall into the Heavenly Guild's hands.
Therefore Bant needed another organization, one that belonged completely to humanity.
And that was when he thought of the Thunderbolt Bureau from the comics, the one established by Norman Osborn.
/-\
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