Chapter 44: Blowing Bubbles, Q!

The weather was clear, with no wind.

“Commander, the warehouse ahead matches the intelligence reports. The target is likely inside. However, the thermal imaging seems to be malfunctioning; we can’t get a read on what’s inside.”

A block away from the warehouse, several cargo vans were parked. Inside, more than thirty S.H.I.E.L.D. field agents sat armed and ready. They carried live ammunition, wore helmets, some wielded stun guns and riot shields. Their uniforms and gear bore no insignia, save for a shield-shaped badge on their arms, emblazoned with a winged eagle.

Both squads obeyed Director Fury’s orders, taking their cues from Agent May and preparing to support whatever action she took next.

“Stay here and stand by. I’ll try to make contact with the target first,” Agent May said, leaping out of the van.

“Yes, ma’am.”

The squad leader immediately signaled his team, dispersing them to their positions, each ready to ambush.

Agent May wore a black tactical suit made from Kevlar-like fibers. On each thigh, she holstered two custom pistols.

As she approached the warehouse door, she drew her pistols and tucked them behind her waist.

Then she knocked on the warehouse door. “Is anyone there?”

The AI alarm system had already alerted Luke to their arrival. Watching the surveillance feed, he recognized the familiar Asian face. “Ming-Na Wen? No, that’s Agent May.”

Luke rested his chin in thought, then suddenly gave a sly smile.

The warehouse door swung open, revealing a young Asian boy with short black hair. He looked up at Agent May, innocence radiating from his face. “Who are you looking for?”

Agent May, poised and ready to act, was momentarily stunned: a child?

She subtly relaxed her grip on her pistol at her waist.

Could the intel have been wrong? Or had she come to the wrong place? Doubt flickered across Agent May’s mind.

Standing before her was Luke, once again employing the innocent act.

Since crossing over, he’d found this trick unfailingly effective. People's minds are rigid; no one pays special attention to a child.

Especially one as cute, innocent, and lovable as he was—a little darling, the kind that made hearts melt.

Anyone who saw him would have their hostility cut by two-thirds.

“Where’s your guardian? I’d like to speak with them,” Agent May forced a smile, addressing Luke. Smiling was not her strong suit.

After more than a year of playing the obedient child in front of his adoptive parents, Luke had mastered the art of feigning ignorance. His acting was impeccable; he asked with a childlike wariness, “Who are you?”

“I… I’m just passing by. My car broke down,” May gestured to a parked Chevrolet. “Can I speak with your guardian?”

“I’m the only one here,” Luke replied.

“And the adults?”

“They’re not here right now. Is there anything I can help you with, ma’am?”

Agent May smiled again, thinking for a moment. “I wanted to ask, have you noticed anything unusual lately?”

“Unusual?” Luke echoed.

Agent May nodded.

Luke pretended to ponder deeply, then replied, surprisingly earnest, “Yesterday I saw a cat desperately riding a dog. Would that count as unusual?”

“That… yes, I suppose it does,” Agent May said, embarrassed.

Was the intelligence really wrong?

Agent May considered searching the nearby area instead.

Just then, faint sounds came from within the warehouse behind the boy, noises that seemed suspicious. Agent May’s sharp senses caught them instantly.

“What was that sound just now?” she asked, watching Luke closely.

Luke’s innocent face broke into a sunny smile. “Nothing, really. Two squirrels snuck in a few days ago, and I’ve been feeding them. There are lots of squirrels here in America. They come into my house uninvited all the time.”

In his mind, he thought: Soon, there’ll be three squirrels.

May’s expression remained unchanged, but her years of field experience made her increasingly suspicious.

She contemplated quietly for a moment.

“Is it just you in this warehouse?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Could I have some water? I’ve walked a long way,” May smiled at Luke.

Luke shrugged. “Of course. Please wait here. I’ll go get some.”

Agent May nodded, smiling. “Thank you.”

Luke turned into the warehouse.

As he turned away, the corners of his mouth curled up in an odd, sly smile.

Behind him, Agent May’s smile vanished instantly.

She lowered her head slightly, whispering a command into her earpiece, “All units, stand by for action. If possible, avoid gunfire.”

“Copy, Wild Goose,” came the reply.

Without hesitation, Agent May stepped forward, entering the dimly-lit warehouse.

The scene shifted as the light faded.

Agent May stopped in her tracks, caught off guard by what she saw.

This was less a derelict warehouse and more an active engineering workshop: massive lathes and assembly lines, cables and sockets scattered everywhere, a long row of computers, and most striking of all, a half-completed giant mechanical construct.

All of it was unexpected.

No, perhaps this was exactly what she should have expected. So, what about that child...

At that moment, Agent May spotted the transparent glass cell in the warehouse, and inside it, two people: Black Widow and Hawkeye.

Within the cell, Black Widow was frantically signaling her, urging her to turn around.

Stunned, Agent May had only just drawn her pistol from her waist, not yet turned.

The ground thundered; a silver-white mech, 1.2 meters tall, surged toward her from behind.

Luke’s voice boomed through the speakers, “Drop your weapon, hands on your head, kneel down.”

Luke had brought out the Typhoon.

Four high-speed machine guns, each capable of firing hundreds of rounds per second, trained on Agent May. “This thing has taken down a Dassault Rafale before.”

Agent May rolled her eyes.

Without a word, she dropped her gun and raised her hands in surrender.

In American war culture, there’s no such thing as stubborn resistance or death before dishonor. If you’re caught, you accept it. Surrender honestly.

Luke maneuvered the mech to Agent May's side, frisked her for another hidden gun, then thoroughly searched her from head to toe. Finally, the four machine guns pointed her toward the cell, and she walked herself into it, locked up with the others.

One more captured...

Strange—why say "one more"?

The mech’s hatch opened upward. Luke nimbly jumped out.

Watching the boy who had just flashed her a sunny smile now leap from the mech, Agent May stood frozen in the cell, stunned for a long moment.

After a while, she rolled her eyes dramatically, then gritted her teeth and cursed, “Phil Coulson, fuck you!”