Tony froze for a moment before finally catching on to Henry's intentions.
He glanced at Wanda, then at a nervous Pietro sitting beside her, and let out a helpless sigh.
"Fuck… not this again. How is it that as a CEO, I'm starting to feel more like a kindergarten principal?"
"Suit yourself," Henry muttered, clearly not thrilled with Tony's complaint.
"Just know this—if she messes up, I'll dock both of their salaries entirely."
Pietro and Wanda exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly.
They knew Tony was all talk. His words sounded harsh, but in reality, he always prepared equipment and support for them quietly.
With the plan set, the aircraft surged back into high-speed flight.
This time, the cabin atmosphere was no longer tense or awkward. With everyone aligned on their goal, there was a sense of shared excitement.
Banner and Blonsky were poring over schematics of the logistics base, discussing the angles that would maximize their explosive impact. Pietro ran simulations of the strike teams' assault routes in his armor, aiming to neutralize the enemy squads in the shortest possible time.
Meanwhile, Henry had taken Wanda to a relatively quiet corner at the rear of the aircraft.
"Ready?" he asked.
Wanda inhaled deeply and nodded.
"Remember what I taught you," Henry's voice was calm.
"Control your power, don't let it control you. Imagine it as part of your body—like your hands, your feet. Feel it, guide it, don't just release it."
He extended his hand, palm up.
"Here, try it."
Wanda hesitated for a moment, then slowly extended her hand toward his.
A faint energy trickled from her fingers, carefully wrapping around Henry's.
The sensation was strange, almost surreal.
It was like touching the world for the first time.
She could feel the warmth of his palm, the texture of his skin, even the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
Her power was no longer wild and destructive—it had become a bridge, a connection.
"Good," Henry said, sensing the weak but stable energy. He smiled in approval.
"Remember this feeling."
Wanda's breathing quickened as she drew in a deep breath.
This aircraft is terrible… why is it so… hot?
Just then—
BANG!
A sudden crash shattered the delicate atmosphere.
Wanda pulled her hand back instantly, and the gentle energy vanished.
She looked down, embarrassed, trying to cool herself, stealing glances at Henry.
Henry's smile froze. He slowly turned his head, fixing his gaze on the source of the sound.
Pietro, the foolish boy, stood at the other end of the cabin, looking innocent. He had tested his new armor's speed, failed to brake, and crashed headfirst into a weapon rack bolted to the wall.
"Uh…" Pietro looked between Henry's almost murderous glare and his sister's guilty expression.
Only then did he realize he had interrupted something important.
"Oh shit, I swear, I didn't mean it!" Pietro internally wailed.
He just wanted to test his armor's top speed. Who knew the aircraft corners were so sharp?
But their earlier interaction had been… weird. Wanda's face was unusually flushed.
"Pietro," Henry gritted his teeth, slowly articulating each word.
"Yes!" Pietro snapped to attention, like a soldier ready for a lecture.
"Your training quota today…" Henry's eyes narrowed, a stern smile forming.
"Double it."
Pietro: ...…
He felt his life plunge into darkness once again.
"So this is what you call education through love?"
In the cockpit, Tony and Banner had witnessed the entire rear-cabin scene.
Tony, holding a cup of coffee, watched Henry walk up, a little irritated, and couldn't help teasing.
"I have to say, your teaching methods are… unique. A mix of psychological guidance and physical contact. Planning to show her how to give you a full-body massage with telekinesis next?"
"Shut up, Tony," Henry shot him a glare and plopped into the co-pilot seat.
"I'm teaching her control over her power. Your arithmetic brain wouldn't understand this level of sophistication."
Henry was such a tsundere.
He could clearly see Wanda's progress, but still had to pretend to be gruff.
Indeed, Wanda had made real progress. Letting go of her hatred had been the first correct step.
Chaos magic was all about rhythm and mental state, the first one to explode is always yourself.
"Really?" Tony raised an eyebrow and pulled up Wanda's energy analysis chart.
"All I see is that if she loses control, she could punch a hole straight through this plane. Without the reinforced energy shields we installed, we'd be doing unprotected high-altitude skydiving right now."
"That wouldn't happen, Tony." Henry rolled his eyes.
"And the result is positive, isn't it? She now knows how to feel her power instead of just releasing it blindly."
"Alright, alright, you win." Tony grumbled. He knew he'd never get the upper hand in a verbal sparring with this guy.
He waved, switching the screen to the map of Europe.
"To the rest of you—Banner, Blonsky—time's almost up."
He pointed at a red dot on the map in Germany.
"That's the location we were talking about. Remember it."
"Finally, it's about to begin…" Henry looked at the others, a smile playing on his lips.
The Centipede Project had caused plenty of trouble for Coulson and his team originally.
Now, however, with him knowing about it, the plan was effectively doomed before it even began.
"Why are you grinning like that?" Tony noticed Henry's expression and asked, wary.
"I thought you'd be bored by this minor scene. Surely a superhuman like you shouldn't be amused."
"No," Henry shook his finger.
"Abusing weaklings is one of the most satisfying activities in this world. Especially when it's a bunch of self-important morons."
While the two were debating the most "artistic" way to take down Garrett, Jarvis suddenly spoke.
"Sir Tony, Sir Henry,"
"What is it, Jarvis?" Tony frowned.
"Per Sir Henry's prior instructions, I have been closely monitoring all S.H.I.E.L.D. internal communications and personnel movements via the global surveillance network." Jarvis reported.
"Just now, I detected a large gathering of personnel and equipment moving toward an unusual location."
"Unusual location?"
The holographic screen switched instantly to a satellite map of the American Southwest.
A small town deep in the New Mexico desert was highlighted with a massive red circle.
Blue dots representing S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel and vehicles were converging on that town steadily.
"New Mexico? The middle of nowhere," Tony scoffed.
"Is that one-eyed Bald egg planning a desert survival camp?"
Banner and Blonsky looked up, curious.
Henry, however, leaned in with interest. He had instructed Jarvis to monitor S.H.I.E.L.D. for this exact reason.
New Mexico. Desert. S.H.I.E.L.D.
To him, those keywords meant only one thing.
Yes—Thor's storyline was about to kick off.
Thor, the muscle-bound god, about to be dropped by his father?
Henry chuckled, imagining Thor's later portly form compared to his early muscular physique. What a contrast.
"Jarvis," Henry ordered.
"Zoom in on that area. I need a clearer view."
"Yes, Sir Henry."
The satellite images enlarged.
They could now clearly see a temporary S.H.I.E.L.D. base on the outskirts of the desert town.
And at the very center of the base, a hammer stood planted in the ground.
"What's that?" Tony's interest was piqued by the ancient-looking weapon.
"Looks like some old relic? Did a careless Viking drop his family heirloom through time or something?"
"This feels familiar," Banner adjusted his glasses, feeling like he had seen similar runes somewhere before.
Blonsky remained indifferent, uninterested in mystical artifacts.
Henry ignored everyone else's reactions. He focused solely on the hammer, thinking.
Thor's hammer, Mjolnir.
No doubt about it. Thor had arrived on Earth.
Whether he was still the muscle-only "Hammer Bro" at this point remained unknown.
But this was a great opportunity—to study Asgardian tech up close and maybe pick up some useful scraps.
Originally, he expected the next arc would just be chasing HYDRA across the globe with Tony.
But now, Asgardian family drama had started earlier than anticipated.
"Hey Henry, why are you grinning like that?" Tony noticed the strange expression.
"You're not thinking about that hammer inappropriately, are you? It doesn't even seem useful…"
"Tony," Henry cut him off and looked seriously at him.
"You're fine going after Garrett's lab, right?"
Tony froze.
"What? You actually have ideas about the hammer?!" He frowned.
This guy was scheming again. Every time he made that face, trouble was coming.
Tony shook his head but, seeing the unwavering look in Henry's eyes, knew this wasn't up for discussion.
"You guessed right," Henry nodded.
"I just realized something far more interesting—a chance to meet some… extraterrestrial friends ahead of time," Henry said, pointing at the small town on the screen, encircled by S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel.
"This one's on me," he said to Tony, each word deliberate.
"I'm going to check out the excitement. And maybe give that Baldy a little scare while I'm at it."
Tony looked at Henry's excited eyes and at the seemingly ordinary hammer on the screen. Confused, he ultimately chose to trust him.
Great. Once again, he was left to lead the team alone.
As CEO, Tony now truly felt like a babysitter—managing new employees, their family members, and now even being bossed around by his own brother.
But extraterrestrial friends? Did this guy even know the origin of that hammer?
Whatever. Let him go. He wouldn't likely get himself into real trouble.
They still needed to take care of Garrett first, which would also test Banner and the others' skills.
"Fine," Tony sighed, waving dismissively.
"Go ahead. But pay attention—if you, say, tear apart that town, don't expect me to clean up the mess. Repairs are on you!"
"Don't worry," Henry said with a smile.
He stood up.
"Everyone," his voice echoed through the cavernous cabin,
"carry on. Follow Tony's orders. And try not to drive him crazy while I'm gone."
Banner and Blonsky exchanged a confused glance. They had no idea what had just happened.
Judging by Henry's words, their future work might not be as easy as they had imagined.
Henry moved to the cabin door and signaled Jarvis to open it.
A gust of wind rushed in, whipping his hair around.
He turned back to the others, giving them a confident smile.
"And I'm going to visit an old friend."
With that, he leapt out of the aircraft, plummeting thousands of meters toward the distant desert below!
Inside the cabin, Henry's departure left a subtle shift in the atmosphere.
Tony watched the small dot vanish into the clouds on the screen and pursed his lips.
This bastard… always like this—dumping the mess on Tony and running off to play.
"Old friend," he muttered. "I didn't even know he had friends in the middle of nowhere New Mexico. Some bartender maybe?"
Tony shrugged, but quickly shook it off, regaining his captain-like composure.
He cleared his throat and faced the others in the cabin.
"Alright, showtime's over. Everyone, get focused. Without the guy who only uses brute force, our next operation requires precision."
He pointed to the map on the screen.
"Let's repeat it: Our target is Germany—John Garrett. Jarvis, calculate the optimal flight path and estimated arrival time."
"Calculating now," Jarvis responded. "Optimal flight path plotted. Estimated arrival above target in 4 hours and 37 minutes."
***
Read 20 Chapters early on P-atreon.com/Redestro666