Lady Sif and the others ultimately left S.H.I.E.L.D. on their own.
Although their original intention was to come to Earth to bring Thor back, after understanding Thor's current situation and personal wishes, they expressed great understanding.
As it stands, Thor's most important task is indeed to remain on Earth, regain the qualification to wield his hammer, and restore his divine power.
While Loki is currently causing chaos in Asgard, turning it into a mess, all of this is temporary.
Once Odin awakens from the Odinsleep, Asgard will surely see the light of day again.
Loki won't be rampant for too long.
Bringing Thor back is not an urgent necessity.
The "Destroyer Battle" in New York still caused quite a stir.
This was the first battle between enhanced individuals to occur in public since Iron Man's fight against Iron Monger at Stark Industries.
Given the extremely limited exposure of Iron Man's battle, it's not an exaggeration to say that the Destroyer Battle was truly the first of its kind.
The impact it caused was predictable.
Nick Fury was absolutely swamped, with countless reports to file and numerous bigwigs to appease every day.
He spent an enormous amount of effort just to deal with all the various parties.
Of course, "various parties" here did not include the general public, mainly institutions like Congress, the White House, the military, and the World Security Council.
The general public?
Just control public opinion a bit, and it's done; it doesn't take much effort at all.
After all the messy affairs were settled, it was already a week later.
"Nick Fury, the surveillance drones you requested are ready!"
After a pile of frustrating matters, there was finally some good news. Nick Fury immediately perked up, wasting no time, and personally went to Stark Tower.
This showed just how much importance he placed on it.
"Nick Fury, you've arrived just in time!" Before he could even settle down, Tony Stark unceremoniously had J.A.R.V.I.S. project several figures. "These are the key members of the Ten Rings I've dug up during this time, most likely to know their leader."
"But none of them are in America, so..."
"So you want me to use my Clairvoyance to help you find them?" Nick Fury immediately understood Tony Stark's meaning.
"Exactly!" Tony Stark nodded emphatically.
"No problem." Nick Fury didn't hesitate and agreed immediately. "However, I've used up my Clairvoyance uses for today, so you'll just have to wait a bit."
"Seriously, Nick Fury, why do you only have one eye?" Tony Stark quipped.
Nick Fury "..."
You think I want to?
And the number of Clairvoyance uses has nothing to do with the number of eyes, okay?
Even if I had a hundred eyes, I could only use it once a day!
"Well then, let's not waste any more time. J.A.R.V.I.S., introduce the drone usage methods to Nick Fury. Nick Fury, sorry, I still have some things to attend to. Make yourself at home."
After "handing off" Nick Fury to J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony Stark went about his business, doing things Nick Fury couldn't understand.
Nick Fury was long used to Tony Stark's personality and didn't say much.
He began listening to J.A.R.V.I.S. introduce and demonstrate the surveillance drones to him.
"Sir, we have a problem."
But not long after he started, Coulson suddenly contacted him. "Something's happened in Colombia."
"That big guy's gone berserk again?" Nick Fury immediately reacted.
Since that earth-shattering battle, Dr. Banner had completely broken free from General Ross's control and fled to a secluded deep mountain in Colombia.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had actually been secretly keeping an eye on him.
They even secretly fended off the military and other organizations' attempts to capture the Hulk. S.H.I.E.L.D. can be said to have played an indispensable role in the Hulk's ability to truly live in seclusion.
"Yes, sir, the Hulk is currently venting his anger in the mountains, and we cannot let the situation escalate like this."
Coulson said gravely to Nick Fury.
It was fine if the Hulk just hid in the deep mountains to vent, but if he were to escape, it would lead to endless trouble.
"Understood, I'll have the Captain and the others go there." Nick Fury made a decision immediately.
After ending the call, Nick Fury wasted no words and immediately made several phone calls, notifying Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye.
He instructed them to rush to Colombia as quickly as possible to prevent the situation from worsening.
"Nick Fury, remember to close the door when you leave!"
Nick Fury had just finished his phone calls when Tony Stark completed his suit-up. After greeting Nick Fury, he began to walk out.
His destination was self-evident.
"Stark, I can handle this." Nick Fury said to Iron Man.
"What are you talking about? I'm Iron Man! I just said at the hearing a while ago that I'd take on world peace! Besides, Captain? Romanoff? Can they handle it?"
Iron Man said dismissively.
"Stark, this isn't a combat mission!" Nick Fury corrected Iron Man's view. "It's just to prevent the Hulk from leaving the mountains."
"Can they prevent him?" Iron Man dropped that line and said nothing more, whooshing off into the sky.
Nick Fury shook his head helplessly and could only let Iron Man fly away.
Colombia is approximately four thousand kilometers in a straight line from the United States, taking over four hours by commercial aircraft.
However, for Iron Man and the Quinjet, it would only take a little over an hour.
Both parties arrived in Colombia almost simultaneously, meeting at the deep mountain where Dr. Banner was secluded.
"Stark, I didn't expect you to be here too." Thor was still a bit surprised to see Iron Man and greeted him proactively.
In the battle against the Destroyer, Iron Man had left a very deep impression on Thor, subtly changing his attitude towards him.
"Thor? I didn't expect you to be here either." Iron Man spoke truthfully.
Iron Man was right there when Nick Fury made the call, and he remembered clearly that Nick Fury only asked Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye to come.
However, what Iron Man didn't know was that Thor was actually with Captain America at the time, discussing how to wield the hammer.
Captain America, having shared information, was also well aware of the Hulk's power level, so he borrowed the hammer from Thor just in case.
Thor was also very interested in the Hulk, so he followed along.
"I've come to see that big guy for myself, to see if he's really that powerful." Thor said with a smile.
"Stark!" Hawkeye and Iron Man met for the first time, and Hawkeye simply greeted Iron Man.
"You're Hawkeye, Clint Barton!" Iron Man stared at Hawkeye for a moment, then shook his head slightly. "Your eyes aren't sharp at all."
"I never said they were." Hawkeye Barton said blandly, then changed his tone, saying seriously, "Let's hurry up and find that big guy."
"No need, I've already found him."
Iron Man suddenly said.
When he arrived at this secluded mountain forest, he had already launched several small drones, having J.A.R.V.I.S. control them to scan the entire forest.
The efficiency was incredibly high.
"Stark, how bad is the situation?" Captain America immediately asked from the side upon hearing this.
"You'll all see for yourselves in a moment!" Iron Man dropped that line and said no more unnecessary words, turning and flying away directly.
"Stark, don't act on your own, we need to make a plan!" Captain America called out to Iron Man from behind.
"I have a plan: improvise!" Iron Man didn't pause in the slightest, simply dropping that line before flying out of sight.
"Thor, give me a ride!" Captain America said to Thor with a solemn expression.
Thor said nothing more, grabbing Captain America with one hand and chasing after Iron Man with the other, flying off.
"Stark!" Captain America yelled at Iron Man, "Our mission this time is just to ensure the Hulk stays in this mountain, not to reveal ourselves and provoke him!"
"Before the situation worsens, we'd best not show ourselves!"
"Being so passive isn't my style!" Iron Man, however, completely disregarded Captain America's words. "We need to find a way to deal with the Hulk right now!"
"If we can't stop him here, what if he really breaks out of the deep mountains? How will we stop him then?"
Captain America was slightly stunned; Iron Man's words actually made a lot of sense.
According to Nick Fury's orders, everyone was to silently observe and be prepared for anything, not revealing themselves to the Hulk, not provoking him.
But there was a prerequisite for this.
That was if the Hulk truly stayed in the deep mountains from beginning to end.
But what if the Hulk tried to break out of the deep mountains?
Who among them could stop him? If they couldn't stop him and the Hulk broke out, what then?
The consequences would truly be severe.
"Stark, even so, we can't act rashly!" Captain America called out to Iron Man again.
"You've never seen me when I'm truly reckless." Iron Man retorted directly.
Roar!
Just as Iron Man and Captain America were arguing, a thunderous roar suddenly echoed faintly from a distance.
It sounded like a raging beast.
Boom!
Then a green shadow streaked across the sky in the distance, followed by an explosion of fire. It turned out the Hulk had smashed the drone Iron Man had deployed.
Captain America's expression tightened slightly, and he no longer had time to say more to Iron Man, because the Hulk had already discovered them.
"Thor, split up with Stark!" Captain America immediately said to Thor.
Thor also knew that splitting up was the most reasonable choice in this situation, so he immediately changed direction, separating from Iron Man.
Boom, boom, boom!
Several sounds of heavy objects smashing into the ground echoed from afar; it was the Hulk, leaping several times, heading straight for Iron Man.
Finally, he soared dozens of meters high and slammed a powerful punch towards Iron Man.
Iron Man dodged with a leap, and the Hulk, like a giant boulder, crashed heavily onto the ground.
Roar!
The Hulk looked up at Iron Man in the sky, roaring at him, and casually pulled up a nearby tree, throwing it like a javelin at Iron Man.
It was incredibly exaggerated.
"How rude, Dr. Banner." Iron Man said with utmost calmness, then flew down from the sky towards the Hulk.
Clang!
But as soon as he got close to the Hulk, the Hulk swung a punch, and Iron Man was blasted away like a cannonball.
Several trees in a row were snapped by Iron Man's impact.
It was a truly horrific sight.
"Stark, I told you, that big guy would tear you apart." Black Widow, riding a motorcycle, weaved quickly through the complex mountain forest like a ghost.
She saw Iron Man's miserable state and couldn't help but tease him over the comms channel.
Whoosh!
Just then, an arrow suddenly shot from a tree, aimed directly at the Hulk, and struck him in the chest.
Boom!
Immediately after, the arrow exploded, and a large amount of white smoke enveloped the Hulk's head.
That was one of Hawkeye Barton's many arrows, containing a hallucinogenic smoke that could quickly induce unconsciousness.
However, when used on the Hulk... Roar!
The Hulk was completely unaffected. After a furious roar, he lunged dozens of meters, leaping towards the tree where Barton was hiding.
"Shit!"
Barton was startled and leaped down from the tree.
At that very moment, the tree was instantly smashed by the Hulk.
"Barton!"
Black Widow sped past Barton on her motorcycle, calling out to him and extending a hand.
Barton grabbed Black Widow's hand and nimbly swung onto the motorcycle.
Roar!
A roar echoed again from behind as the Hulk charged after the motorcycle, smashing and sending flying every tree that blocked his path with a single blow.
It was incredibly violent.
Just as the Hulk was about to catch up to Black Widow and Barton, at that critical moment, a hammer suddenly flew diagonally, striking the Hulk directly.
It knocked the Hulk off balance.
Captain America had arrived just in time.
Immediately after, Captain America extended a hand, and the hammer automatically flew back to him, successfully drawing the Hulk's attention.
The Hulk abandoned Black Widow and Barton and charged towards Captain America again, moving at an astonishing speed.
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Captain America, slamming a powerful punch towards him.
Captain America held his shield horizontally, and the Hulk's fist smashed against the shield.
Clang!
Amidst the sound of metal colliding, Captain America was directly sent flying.