Chapter 243: A Flying Nuke
However, just as Gordon's hand touched Tony and he was about to activate his ability, Tony's Iron Man suit suddenly burst out with a strong electric current, directly electrocuting Gordon on the spot, causing him to shake like he had Parkinson's before fainting.
"You probably don't know, but my suit has an automatic defense system!"
Looking at Gordon, who had collapsed from the shock, Tony said with a bit of pride.
This was a new function he had added to his suit— even if he was unconscious, the suit could respond under Jarvis's control and counterattack when danger was detected.
So even though he hadn't fully recovered from the shockwave just now, Gordon, who harbored ill intent, was knocked out instead.
"Gordon!"
Seeing Gordon get knocked out, Daisy immediately turned her shockwave to maximum power, blasting Tony straight back to Steve and Logan.
"This Quake girl is pretty capable!"
George, observing Quake's repeated key interventions below, couldn't help but comment.
He remembered that the Quake girl in the TV series didn't seem this strong.
However, he vaguely recalled hearing that in the comics, Quake had once defeated Magneto. He wasn't sure if it was true.
"Huh, the military's here too—and led by someone familiar."
At this moment, George noticed a large number of soldiers, tanks, and various military weapons approaching from a distance. Leading them was none other than General Ross, whom he had encountered once before.
"Pierce and all HYDRA members, immediately cease resistance, or we will launch a full-scale assault!"
General Ross shouted from a loudspeaker inside the command vehicle, warning loudly toward the S.H.I.E.L.D. building.
"These guys sure took their time."
Tony stood up—the previous attack hadn't hurt him; it had only pushed him back.
Because HYDRA's moles had been manipulating things, neither the World Security Council nor the U.S. government had been sure whether Nick Fury was telling the truth, so they hadn't intervened in the standoff.
But this time, the situation was clearly explosive. Nick Fury was dead, and Iron Man Tony had also testified and contacted high-level government officials, making everyone realize how serious the matter was.
The president urgently appointed General Ross to lead all stationed troops near Washington to the Triskelion to stop HYDRA's helicarriers from launching.
Seeing the army arrive in force, the remaining HYDRA robots, soldiers, and Inhumans all retreated to the building's entrance to form their final line of defense.
"I advise you not to continue your attack. The dozen or so agents who infiltrated here just now have all been captured by me.
And there are still many loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agents inside the building who we are holding hostage.
If you launch an attack, I will immediately execute them."
Pierce threatened everyone outside through the loudspeaker.
There was less than a minute left before the helicarriers launched—he didn't need the enemy to be truly deterred by his threat. He only needed to delay them just a little longer.
"Pierce, do you really think I'll be threatened by you?"
General Ross sneered coldly in the command vehicle and ordered his subordinates:
"Attack at full force, regardless of casualties—flatten the entire Triskelion and make sure those three helicarriers are completely destroyed!"
This was the absolute order he had received from the high command before coming here. They were to stop the helicarriers from launching at any cost. Not just the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents—even the surrounding civilians could be sacrificed if necessary.
As soon as General Ross gave the attack order, all military weapons were aimed at the Triskelion—tank barrels on the ground, rocket launchers on soldiers' shoulders, missiles from armed helicopters in the sky, and more.
If they all fired, the Triskelion would undoubtedly be reduced to rubble.
And all HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents inside would be buried with it.
"Daisy, stop them!"
Standing by the window of the director's office, Pierce wasn't surprised by Ross's decision, but he wasn't worried either, as he already had a countermeasure.
In front of the building, Daisy heard the order and pressed her hands firmly to the ground, activating her power at full force.
Her powers, which her mother Jiaying believed to be the strongest among the Inhumans in history, were not merely limited to releasing shockwave attacks.
"What's going on?"
Just after Ross gave the command, he realized something was wrong in the command vehicle.
Due to Daisy's powers, the ground under the army suddenly began to shake violently, and large cracks opened up one after another.
The tanks aiming at their targets and all the soldiers hadn't even fired before they fell into the fissures.
At that moment, the large lake next to the Triskelion suddenly split open, and three massive helicarriers slowly rose from the lakebed.
"Attack the helicarriers!"
Seeing this, Ross immediately ordered the unaffected armed helicopters to redirect their attacks toward the helicarriers.
Unfortunately, before the helicopters could lock onto their targets, the energy cannons on the three helicarriers activated. Dense volleys of energy blasts erupted from them.
The helicopters in the sky were instantly wiped out, and the ground forces, still unsteady from the quake, were scattered and completely lost their ability to fight back.
"Tony, fly us up there!"
Realizing the situation, Steve quickly said to Tony.
From Pierce's threat using hostages, to General Ross's ruthless decision to open fire, to now the complete destruction of the army—all of it happened in barely a minute.
The three of them hadn't even had time to fully discuss whether to stop General Ross or rescue the hostages first.
Captain America advocated saving the hostages first—sacrificing a few to save the many was not his style, especially since one of the hostages was his good friend Bucky.
Tony was conflicted—rationally, he agreed with Ross's approach, but emotionally, he couldn't accept it.
Logan hadn't even caught up mentally—things had happened too fast.
"Alright!"
Tony instantly understood Steve's intent. Given the current situation, there was no time to hesitate. He would carry the two of them to catch up with the three helicarriers, and each of them would infiltrate one to see if they could bring them down.
But just then, a voice suddenly interrupted the three of them.
"No need to go up. I'll handle it."
The three turned their heads and saw George had appeared behind them without them noticing.
"George, you're here! That's great!"
Seeing George, the three of them immediately lit up.
"I was worried you couldn't handle it, so I came to check. I didn't expect things to escalate this far."
George spread his wings, preparing to fly up and take down the helicarriers.
At this point, the World Security Council must have understood the threat posed by the helicarriers, and it would be most effective if he handled this personally.
However, at that moment, Tony's face suddenly changed:
"Rhodey just said a nuclear missile is heading this way—the World Security Council believes the situation here is out of control and has decided to use a nuke directly!"
(End of this chapter)