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The massive command hall was a scene of controlled pandemonium. Red lights pulsed, alarms screamed, and monitors flashed damage reports. "Engine number three is down! We're losing stability!" Maria Hill's voice, usually a model of calm, was tight with anxiety. "If the primary stabilizers go, we're all going down, Fury!"
Fury's face was dark. He slammed his hand on the console. "Stark, get to Engine Three! Now! Stop the catastrophic failure!"
Meanwhile, a more visceral war had erupted on the third deck. The explosion had torn a section of the hull open, exposing the high-altitude air. Dr. Banner, overcome by the Mind Stone's influence and the general terror, had transformed. The Hulk's terrible roar tore through the comms.
Thor, now facing the raging monster, struggled to hold the beast back. "Banner! We are not your enemies!" he bellowed, his voice straining against the roar.
"No Banner!" the Hulk snarled back, a primal hatred in his voice. He punched Thor with a blow that sent the God of Thunder skidding dozens of meters across the deck.
Natasha, her face grim, activated the magical bracelet Hermione had given her. With a faint shimmer, she became a ripple in the air, vanishing from sight. The sight of her escape only seemed to enrage the Hulk further, and he turned his full, monstrous fury back onto Thor. The battle escalated into a brutal, unequal brawl.
Hermione, arriving at the scene, casually surveyed the carnage. Thor is still operating at a low power level, she observed, tapping her chin with her wand. Too reliant on the hammer. He's about to be crushed.
Suddenly, the Hulk caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye. The sight of the small, black-robed figure sent a wave of paralyzing, psychological terror through his immense body. He remembered the slugs. He remembered the humiliation. He remembered the cold, terrifying competence of the tiny witch.
"No slugs! No slugs!" the Hulk growled, the words a desperate, broken mantra that completely overrode his rage. He turned tail and, with a massive leap that shook the very deck, launched himself thousands of feet out into the open sky.
Hermione watched him go, a slow, bored smile on her face. Works every time.
At Engine Three, the situation was critical. Tony, his Mark VI armor already heavily damaged, was working feverishly, trying to realign the massive rotor blades that were violently grinding against the housing. The metal shrieked in protest, sparks flying everywhere.
"Captain! I need you to pull the manual brake rod! Now!" Tony's voice was strained over the comms, laced with the metallic static of his suit grinding against the blades. "If the blades keep turning, I'll be crushed!"
Steve Rogers, holding a standard S.H.I.E.L.D. rifle, was providing cover, firing bursts at the advancing enemy agents. He grimaced, his training failing him. The agents were equipped with advanced body armor, and his shots were missing wide.
"My shooting skills are terrible!" Hermione's voice, cool and superior, suddenly cut through the comms, making Steve jump. "Honestly, Captain, if you fail to hit the target again, Tony will become very expensive dumpling stuffing!"
Steve didn't flinch at the danger, but he was furious at the judgment. He fired another volley, the bullets hitting the far wall instead of the enemy.
"Captain, I know you're trying to use honor and fair play, but you're fighting HYDRA," Hermione sighed. "In the way."
She raised her wand. A torrent of searing, white-hot flame erupted from the tip, a blazing line that swept down the corridor and instantly vaporized the attacking agents' weapons and armor. A cloud of acrid smoke and ozone filled the confined space.
"Arresto Momentum!" she snapped, pointing her wand directly at the colossal, grinding rotor.
The rapidly spinning blades instantly groaned, slowed, and came to a complete stop. The violent grinding ceased.
"I'm out!" Tony yelled, and a red blur was instantly pulled by a Levitation Charm from the wreckage, falling heavily onto the deck beside Steve. The Mark VI was a mangled mess.
Steve looked from the defeated agents to the still-smoking entrance, then back at Hermione. "You saved him," he breathed, his face alight with awe.
"Of course I saved him," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "But he's heavy. And now we have a problem."
A low, terrible groaning sound filled the air. The massive deck beneath their feet began to tilt violently. Both Tony and Steve staggered, struggling to keep their balance.
Fury's voice, a static-laced scream, erupted over the comms. "Stark! Barton just hit Engine Two! We're losing lift! The Helicarrier is falling! If you don't fix it, we're all feeding the sharks!"
Tony looked at the smoking, stationary turbine blades. Then, he looked at Hermione, who was giving him a bewildered shrug.
"You… you stopped it," Tony realized, his voice trembling with horror. "You stopped the blades. But the inertia… the stability was dependent on the counter-rotation! You just killed the momentum of a multi-ton engine! You saved me from being crushed, Hermione, but you just guaranteed we're going to fall out of the sky!"