“Bring us around heading one eight zero!” Fury ordered. “We need to get over the water!” He couldn’t have the Helicarrier coming down over a populated area. Civilian casualties would be in the thousands.

“Navigation systems are still recalibrating after the explosion,” an officer said. “We—”

Fury pinned the officer with a one-eyed glare. “Is the sun coming up?”

“Yes . . . ”

“Then put it on the left!” he snapped, furious that his navigators couldn’t get their heads out of the machines long enough to figure out that if the sun was in the east, that made it simple to figure out which way was south. “Get us over water! One more turbine goes down, and we drop.”

The Helicarrier heeled around and accelerated south, as smoke poured from the shattered turbine housing. Over the intercoms, Fury heard gunshots. Loki’s team—almost certainly led by Clint Barton—had boarded the Helicarrier looking for their Asgardian leader.

Steve got to the edge of the turbine mount about the same time as Tony. “I’m here!” he called out.

“Good,” Tony said, dropping into view and hovering in the Iron Man armor to survey the wreckage. He had the suit on, and Steve could hear his voice through the earbud microphone all S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel wore. At least that channel was still intact; if they lost communications, they’d be done for.

The hole torn out of the Helicarrier was huge, seemingly fatal, but they were keeping it in the air. Fury’s staff said the turbine was just jammed and might hold together if they could get it started again. Most of the damage was to the structure holding it . . . and to the areas just inside the hull, including Bruce’s lab.

“Let’s see what we’ve got,” Tony said. He started muttering to himself, then called out to Steve. “I need you to get to that engine control panel and tell me which relays are in overload position.”

Steve jumped and swung across the thirty-thousand-foot drop, getting to the other side of the hole in the Helicarrier’s hull and pulling open the panel Tony had pointed at. He saw a lot of circuits. “What’s it look like in there?” Tony asked.

“It seems to run on some form of electricity,” Steve said.

Tony was shoving loose huge pieces of debris that prevented the turbine blades from rotating. “Well, you’re not wrong,” he said.

Steve fumed. He wasn’t here for technical support. But that was all he could do at the moment. He had to swallow his pride and do what Tony asked or they were all going to go down in flames. Literally. He looked at the panel and saw that none of the connections were broken and none of them had scorching that would mean they had shorted out.

“Okay,” Steve said, “the relays are intact. What’s our next move?”

Tony stood inside the turbine housing, looking at the blades. He’d cleared most of the debris jamming the rotors. “Even if I clear the rotors,” he said, “this thing won’t reengage without a jump. I’m going to have to get in there and push.”

“If that thing gets up to speed, you’ll get shredded,” Steve said.

“See that red lever?” Tony pointed at a control panel across a shattered part of the floor. Steve jumped and landed near it. “It’ll slow the blades down enough for me to get out. Stand by it and wait for my word.”

The Hulk stomped around the flight deck, roaring. He saw Thor and swung a fist twice the size of Thor’s head. Thor caught it in both hands, straining to hold both the Hulk’s arm and his attention. “We are not your enemies, Banner,” he grunted. “Try to think!”

In answer, the Hulk punched him through the wall.

Thor got up and watched the Hulk coming after him. Now this was a fight! He held out a hand, waiting for Mjolnir to return to him. Mjolnir smashed through another wall and reached Thor’s hand just as the charging Hulk came within striking distance.

Thor met the Hulk with a blow from Mjolnir that rattled his teeth. The Hulk flew backward into a jet plane, caving in its fuselage and tearing off part of its tail. Enraged, he threw part of the plane at Thor, who ducked and hurled Mjolnir at him.

The Hulk caught the hammer, and a fierce grin spread over his face . . . then he toppled backward and Mjolnir pinned him to the floor of the hangar.

None but I can lift Mjolnir, Thor thought. Not even this giant.

The plates of the floor buckled under the Hulk as he strained to get Mjolnir off the ground. Thor seized the opportunity—to seize Mjolnir! Then he jumped on the Hulk’s back, using Mjolnir’s handle to try to choke the Hulk into submission. He hoped that if the Hulk fell unconscious, Bruce would return.

Yet even his Asgardian strength was not enough to bring the Hulk down immediately. The great green creature thrashed around the hangar, destroying air-craft and machinery. Thor hung on grimly, knowing that at least he was keeping the Hulk’s attention away from those who would suffer much more than he would.

Maria Hill saw the battle between Thor and the Hulk via surveillance cameras. Everyone was occupied keeping the Helicarrier in the air and looking for the team that had boarded from the stolen Quinjet.

“We need a complete evac of the lower hangar level,” she said, and left the bridge to oversee it herself.

A clinking sound drew her attention downward . . . to see a concussion grenade rolling across the floor. “Grenade!” she shouted. A moment later, it went off.

The bridge was suddenly full of hostile soldiers. Hill and Fury were in the fight of their lives. Gunfire echoed throughout the bridge. Stray bullets cracked the heavy glass windows and chewed computer terminals apart in showers of sparks. Hill and Fury returned fire, trying to hold the attackers away from the command consoles. The evacuation of the lower hangar decks would have to take care of itself, Hill thought. A bullet ricocheted near her and a fragment of it cut her cheek. She had more pressing problems.

Downstairs, Coulson heard the alarm. Perimeter breach. Hostiles are wearing S.H.I.E.L.D. gear. Call-outs at every junction. He got to a secret locker and pressed his thumb against the security pad. Before it could open, the Hulk and Thor exploded up through the floor, tearing the security features apart.

So much for containment, Coulson thought.

“We have the Hulk and Thor on Level Four,” he said. “Levels Two and Three are dark.”

Maria Hill knew that if something didn’t distract the Hulk, he would tear the Helicarrier apart . . . which was, of course, exactly what Loki wanted. “Escort 6-0 Proceed to Wishbone,” she said. “Engage the big man. Get his attention. Don’t get too close.”

“Copy that,” came the pilot’s voice.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. escort fighter brought itself around to the location Hill specified. She heard the pilot say “Target acquired.” Glancing over at the instrument console on the bridge, she saw one of the monitors giving a feed from the escort. The Hulk was slamming Thor around like a rag doll.

“Target engaged,” the pilot said, and fired a long burst from a 20-millimeter rapid-fire cannon.

It got the Hulk’s attention, all right. Hill fired at one of the invading soldiers, dropping him, then looked back to see the Hulk, in a berserk fury, jumping out of the Helicarrier toward the jet! “Target angry! Target angry!” shouted the pilot.

The Hulk landed on the plane just behind the cockpit and started tearing pieces from its fuselage. “Mayday, Mayday,” the pilot called. He ejected, his parachute blooming in the sky below the Helicarrier.

The Hulk, and the wreckage of the plane, fell away toward the ground and disappeared. XssDLYZqhQBAvfwSjlcaJOnAFuuCqo0VRBTjMdnRyNtwJGn12JHuncBXDxbvUyHx