Chapter 124: Failed Rescue

"Hoo... hoo..."

Banner gasped for breath and shook his head vigorously.

With Oaks's spiritual reassurance, he finally stabilized his mental connection with the Hulk.

"It seems our training is not enough."

He smiled bitterly, looking at the relieved Oaks and sighed:

"Thank goodness, you are here."

"Now everything is fine, but it's still not suitable for the Hulk to come out on the Helicarrier."

Oaks glanced at the Mind Scepter lying on the ground, thrown away by the explosion, and furrowed his brow. He walked over and picked it up.

"It seems that my Nature magic seems to overly excite this thing. I can't sustain casting spells while holding it, so I can only..."

His "Forest Heart Battle Robe" appeared on his body, and Oaks inserted the Mind Scepter into the clasp on his back, carrying it behind him, transforming directly into a cheetah form.

Banner rubbed his eyes.

"Am I seeing things? Did Scepter just disappear?!"

The transformed cheetah still looked like a cheetah and didn't have the staff on its back.

"...Although I can't explain it in detail, that's indeed what happened. You should know that it has always been a headache for Druids."

The cheetah grinned, revealing sharp teeth.

"Bruce, leave the fighting to me. You hurry to the command center if..."

"Boom!"

The Helicarrier shook violently, and the hull began to tilt!

"It looks like trouble. Let's go!"

Oaks disappeared, and Banner immediately headed for the command center.

Oaks silently tore apart the infiltrators with his ability to detect living creatures and sense hostile targets based on life force—breaking their necks was a merciful act.

Just as Barton's hacking arrow had shut down the Helicarrier's No. 1 engine, Banner arrived and immediately started repairing the engine control panel.

Stark and Steve joined forces to repair the damage to the No. 3 engine, with Tony primarily responsible for the repairs while Steve dealt with the incoming enemies.

Natasha was the first to find Barton, who was planning the next tactical target. The two highly skilled agents, entangled by fate, engaged in another battle after Budapest.

However, as an elite thief, Natasha easily outmatched Barton, a hunter, in close combat and confined spaces.

If it were a survival hunt, there could have been a back-and-forth struggle, but unfortunately, Hawkeye was a shooting hunter and had chosen the path of a lone wolf without a partner.

Lastly, there was the cage guarded by Thor, where Loki was held.

Without the disruption of the Hulk, Thor firmly guarded the area, preventing any intruders from getting close to the control console.

"Impossible! How can that beast still not have appeared by now!"

Loki couldn't believe it and shouted in anger. He wanted to punch the glass wall, but since the bottom passage was not open, touching the glass wouldn't trigger the cell's ejection program.

But in reality, Loki was still tightly bound by Oaks's vines, making it difficult for him to even move, let alone reach out to hit the wall.

Thor couldn't help but find his little brother's bound state somewhat amusing, but he forcibly held back his laughter and shook Mjolnir in his hand.

"Brother, it seems you miscalculated this time. Oaks can suppress Banner's transformation. Although you have witnessed his bravery in the battle against the Destroyer, the normal Banner can't even swat a fly."

"Miscalculated... hmph, perhaps."

Loki looked steadily at Thor, feeling a little unnerved by the towering figure.

"What are you looking at?"

"I admit, I miscalculated to some extent, but it doesn't affect my plan. Just like that Druid said, I'm just... unable to let go. I would be unable to witness this war that would allow me to ascend to the throne with my own eyes."

Loki squinted his eyes, revealing his signature evil smile once again.

"But the outcome won't change. Earth will eventually be under the control of my army, becoming my possession..."

"If I kill you, everything you've done will be meaningless!"

Thor's roar only made Loki laugh even more recklessly.

"Then come and kill me!"

He sighed in a cheerful and melodious tone.

"Thor, the heir to Asgard, only you personally killing me can avoid a massive interstellar conflict.

All the people on Earth, even if they know I am wicked to the core, even if they dare to use torture against me...

They would never dare to kill me!"

Loki's mocking gaze left Thor speechless with rage but unable to say a word.

"So, dear brother, can you... do it?"

Thor glanced at Oaks, who had already appeared at the entrance, carrying the Scepter and wearing the Forest Heart Battle Robe, and grinned.

"Inept rage, dear brother, hahaha... Just quietly watch as Earth is engulfed and collapses under my army, then bear the name of a failure, watching the Earth you want to protect being played with in the palm of my hand!"

"Damn it! Loki, you bastard!"

"Thor!"

Oaks's voice made Thor's hammer stop in mid-air just as it was about to hit the glass wall.

"He's provoking you."

"..."

Thor looked at his brother with complex eyes, tightly gripping the handle of his hammer.

"Oaks... Is the situation resolved?"

"Yes, but there is some bad news. We are temporarily trapped in mid-air. Although we have Bruce, it will still take some time to restore communication and navigation."

Oaks walked to Thor's side, glanced at Loki, who was bound in an odd manner, and waved his hand to release the vines, leaving only the ones in his hand.

"It seems we need to have another talk with Loki."

The Mind Stone could cause problems anywhere, so Oaks could only hold onto it himself. Although it affected his spellcasting ability, who knew what might happen if it was left elsewhere.

"What happened? Was it because of the earlier tremor?"

Thor glanced at Loki, who had been freed.

"I can fly, are the coordinates of the Cosmic Cube still available? I can go and retrieve it directly."

"Flying is not a problem. Tony and I can both fly, and S.H.I.E.L.D. also has combat aircraft that can fly. But the explosion earlier destroyed the laboratory, and the data has been lost. Dr. Banner... We were just a few seconds away from seeing the coordinates."

Oaks looked at Loki, who was smirking and moving his body with a crooked mouth.

"In other words, we now need to use a more forceful method to get Loki to talk."

After a pause, Oaks took off the Mind Stone from his back.

"When necessary, I will use this."

Loki's expression remained unchanged, as Thor immediately refused.

"No, Oaks. Loki is a member of the Asgardian royal family, he is still my brother. I cannot allow him to be mentally controlled, even by you!"

"He has already killed eighty people before, and he wants to kill even more. Have you considered how many lives will be lost on Earth if we don't stop him—"

"And if he cooperates, I won't resort to this unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Alright... he is an adopted brother, I... trust your character."

"..."

Loki's expression turned ugly.

Oaks once again looked meaningfully at Loki.

"Then come with us to the control center. Everyone wants to see you."

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