Chapter 1140: Warship
In the outskirts of a lesser-known city in the northern USA, Stark Industry had secretly constructed an industrial base half a year ago. This facility was dedicated to producing advanced high-tech components for E-grade Aeros.p.a.ce Warship.
The defense of this industrial base was top-notch, and during the incident when Ant-Man Scott Lang had attempted to steal something, he barely escaped the deadly laser web. If it hadn’t been for Lin Rui’s timely communication with J.A.R.V.I.S to let Scott Lang off the hook, Ant-Man might not have survived.
After the inexplicable completion of the mission, Scott Lang had returned and showed Professor Pym some of the items he had captured. Pym was shocked because he could a.n.a.lyze from these small components that Stark was undertaking a major endeavor behind the scenes—something even more advanced than Iron Man.
Of course, Pym and his team had their own matters to attend to. Moreover, with the tight security at the base and their incomplete understanding of how to enter the Quantum Realm, they wouldn’t be visiting anytime soon.
Today, the defense of this secret base had been upgraded several levels beyond its original state. Tony had instructed J.A.R.V.I.S to activate all Iron Man suits, which were constantly monitoring the base and its surroundings.
The armed-to-the-teeth Winter Soldiers— now the Iron Man Corps— were stationed at the core of the base, in the same vein as SHIELD’s defense setup.
Like SHIELD, Tony had naturally trained a group of Soldiers capable of piloting the Aeros.p.a.ce Warship. Moreover, these soldiers were even more exceptional compared to SHIELD’s recruits.
Their innate physical prowess was already up to standard; what remained was learning how to operate and pilot high-tech instruments. For these talented Winter Soldiers, this learning curve posed no challenge. After six months of training and simulations, they were fully capable of the task.
Whoosh!
Just as the base’s defenses reached their peak, an Iron Man descended rapidly from the sky and swiftly entered the central location of the base. It was Tony. Upon receiving Lin Rui’s call, he had set off and had just arrived at the base.
Swoosh~
Tony, having dashed into the central location of the base, pa.s.sed through layers of heavily fortified isolation doors. He arrived at a ma.s.sive underground atrium on the third floor. Touching down smoothly, Tony’s Iron Man armor vanished rapidly, leaving him in his civilian attire.
He then raised his head to gaze at the center of the atrium. There, a s.p.a.ce Warship resembling Earth’s sixth-generation fighter jet but about half the size of SHIELD’s Helicarrier was parked.
While this E Grade s.p.a.ce Warship might not match SHIELD’s Helicarrier in size, its appearance was far more striking. Its streamlined design was perfectly suited for flight within and outside the atmosphere.
Anti-gravity engines and electromagnetic propulsion were installed at the rear of the vessel, giving it formidable burst power. Moreover, its interior concealed high-tech instruments exclusive to its blueprint— confidential components that could never be disclosed.
Boom~ Boom Boom~
As Tony landed on the underground atrium and observed the steadily a.s.sembling s.p.a.ce Warship before him, the ground beneath him trembled slightly. This cool and sleek s.p.a.ce Warship had been activated; it was in the pre-launch stage.
Since this s.p.a.ce Warship had already undergone multiple tests in this atrium, Tony had J.A.R.V.I.S initiate its startup. The Iron Man Corps had already boarded the vessel and were ready for action.
“Didn’t expect to deploy it this soon; thought we’d have to wait a bit longer…” As he looked at the s.p.a.ce Warship that he had a.s.sembled piece by piece, Tony was filled with emotion.
Swish~
Right after Tony finished his remark, a spatial rift appeared in the empty s.p.a.ce behind him. Before he could react, the rift instantly expanded into a Portal. Subsequently, Iceman Bobby Drake, followed by Professor Charles Xavier, emerged from it.
They were trailed by the African-American man, and finally, Blink and the Beast in his animal form walked through.
“Professor Xavier, you’ve arrived quite swiftly.” After Charles Xavier’s team had all exited the Portal, Tony had turned around and greeted them with a smile.
If Lin Rui hadn’t contacted Tony first and if Tony hadn’t immediately departed, he wouldn’t have been the first one to reach the base. After all, even Iron Man’s speed couldn’t surpa.s.s Blink’s Spatial Teleportation.
“Stark, do you have any additional information about the situation that Phantom Knight mentioned?” Charles Xavier nodded briefly at Tony and continued with his inquiry.
This attack by Dormammu on Earth was orchestrated by the sorcerers of Earth. Initially, Charles Xavier and his team were ready to take action to help, driven by respect for Lin Rui and their commitment to safeguarding Earth.
However, the att.i.tude of Sorcerers towards Lin Rui had left them quite upset, and their explicit refusal of a.s.sistance had led Charles and his team to decide against intervening.
However, the current situation puzzled Charles Xavier. Dormammu had not yet arrived on Earth, and the Sorcerers hadn’t made any move either. Yet now, Phantom Knight had a.s.sembled their elite forces to pilot an unseen-before s.p.a.ce Warship and confront Dormammu off Earth.
Charles Xavier found this plan rather unwise. While it was a better strategy to shift the battle away from Earth’s surface to protect the planet, their main force was still on Earth. Departing from Earth would leave them with a limited number of combat-ready individuals.
“Because… Phantom Knight’s friend is currently under attack by Dormammu outside of Earth and is in grave danger. You all should have heard of this friend before; it’s the Star-Lord guy they encountered when Phantom Knight and Deadpool inadvertently left Earth, stranded on an alien planet in the cosmos. Star-Lord is an Interstellar mercenary, hailing from Earth but wandering in the universe,” Tony quickly explained in response to Charles Xavier’s query.
“Star-Lord? So, the stories Deadpool mentioned back then were all true…” Upon hearing Tony’s explanation, Charles Xavier and Iceman were taken by surprise, along with the rest of the team.
However, amidst their astonishment, Charles Xavier and his team felt a sense of antic.i.p.ation for this mission. Charles was well aware of what Storm and Shadowcat were thinking.
While this mission was aimed at countering Dormammu, it was also an actual cosmic war. Perhaps, after this, Charles Xavier could help pave a brighter future for all the mutants on Earth.
Buzz~
Just about ten seconds after Charles Xavier and his team had arrived at the base, another surge of magical energy swept through the square. Then, a golden magical Portal materialized out of thin air, and Lin Rui and the others emerged from it one by one.
……
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