— Sky Carrier Control Center
"Warning! Power is rapidly declining! Energy at 30%!"
"What's going on?"
"Not sure! The anomaly lasted for about 30 seconds, then returned to normal."
"Returned to normal? What's happening here?"
"Maybe a short circuit? A power surge? Anyway, it's not surprising—this ship is a prototype, it's normal for things like this to happen."
"…"
———————————————————————
— Hangar
[Puppet Replica: Activating]
The recently charged auxiliary core's energy rapidly dropped from 100% to 0%.
A faint blue energy network spread across the body of Kagura Hitomi, sweeping through her clothing and equipment.
Moments later, sparkling blue lights flew out from her body, swirling around her, gathering together to gradually form a human figure identical to hers.
Golden eyes slowly opened, and silver-white hair drifted lightly.
The Puppet Replica skill was one of Kagura's core abilities.
Kagura's research on her body was still in its early stages; she didn't dare to dissect herself yet.
But skills like this—core skills—were clearly powerful, like a "special move."
Unlike the concept skills formed by actively scanning and combining memories, these four core skills seemed to be generated by the infinite concept system inside her, based on all of Kagura's memories.
The Puppet Replica skill used Kagura herself as a blueprint to create a human-like figure.
The replica had the exact same appearance as Kagura, powered by the 100% energy consumed by the auxiliary core.
The core energy of the Puppet Replica could not be replenished, and it couldn't use Kagura's concept skills, but it could operate any equipment that required core energy.
Notably, when the Puppet Replica was created, it would replicate Kagura's clothes and equipment, even perfectly recreating the "White Moon" battle suit.
However, the copy of the "White Moon" couldn't be removed for Kagura's personal use, since once the Puppet Replica skill failed, everything it created would vanish.
Kagura leaned in closer, admiring the Puppet Replica that looked exactly like her.
"Hmm, looking at it this way, I'm so cute! Hehe." She reached out to pinch the replica's cheek. "Ah, the texture is perfect, hehe."
Then, Kagura's gaze wandered to the replica's chest.
"Uh...cough, maybe not."
Am I being inappropriate with myself?
That idea alone was a little…exciting, huh?
After the Puppet Replica was created, Kagura's holographic UI displayed extra windows.
She could control the replica's actions at any time, syncing her consciousness with it.
Of course, when she didn't have the energy to operate the replica herself, she could simply issue commands and let it act on its own.
The Puppet Replica had its own consciousness and could perform various tasks.
Its behavior would exactly mimic Kagura's habits and personality, so there was no need to worry about identity being exposed.
To tell the difference, the only way was to fight it or force it to use concept skills.
"Go on, little cutie." Kagura rubbed the replica's cheek. "Nick Fury is calling everyone to the bridge. Make sure to perform well."
"Don't worry, no one will be able to tell the difference."
The Puppet Replica smiled sweetly. "Go ahead and do whatever you want, my lovely original body!"
Aww, I'm just too cute!
…
On the side of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Sky Carrier, Kagura, dressed in the "White Moon" battle suit, stood at the edge of the hovering warship.
The wind whipped through her beautiful long hair, and her graceful figure painted an elegant image against the vast blue sky.
This mission's target was Loki and the Chitauri army.
Loki was currently bound and locked in a secure cargo hold, while the Chitauri were still hiding in the dark corners of the universe.
Without the Tesseract to open a portal, the Chitauri couldn't reach Earth.
So, as long as they got their hands on the Tesseract and Thor brought Loki back to Asgard, this mission would be successfully concluded.
So far, the situation seemed to be going smoothly.
But Kagura wasn't about to let her guard down.
Loki was the God of Mischief—who knew what kind of strange tricks he might pull to turn things around?
Moreover, this was the Avengers' first joint operation, and without proper teamwork, all kinds of conflicts and misunderstandings were bound to emerge.
In contrast, Griffin Security, supported by Rhode Island Industrial, had been operating for years.
Its members were familiar with each other, had completed many missions, and were clearly far more stable and efficient than the Avengers.
Thus, Kagura was convinced that for the unpredictable complications ahead, Griffin was a more reliable force to reclaim the Tesseract.
"Cortana, report on the crossing time."
"The 'Halo' transport will enter the crossing zone in 28 seconds. Jump window: 3.7 seconds. Optical camouflage sync frequency: 330.91."
"Okay, starting countdown."
As she spoke, a 28-second countdown appeared on Kagura's visor, with 3.7 seconds of transfer time below it.
Leaving the Sky Carrier was a delicate task.
Kagura didn't want Nick Fury to realize she was leaving alone, nor did she want the 'Halo' transport to land openly on the Sky Carrier's deck.
Explaining Griffin's operations to Nick Fury would be a hassle.
Kagura certainly didn't want Fury's anxiety to trigger something chaotic, like launching a nuclear bomb at New York.
Well, no time to think about that. The moment had almost come.
As the countdown reached zero, Kagura raised her arms and leaped off.
Her figure, graceful and delicate like a willow leaf, silently fell out of the Sky Carrier's blind spot, vanishing into the vast sky.
[Full Spectrum Electromagnetic Invisibility: Activated]
Kagura's figure gradually disappeared, leaving no trace in the sky.
Meanwhile, the Puppet Replica had reached the bridge, participating in the Avengers' meeting organized by Nick Fury, pretending to discuss the location of the Tesseract with Tony Stark and Bruce Banner.
"Activate optical camouflage sync, frequency 330.91, display target on sensors."
The wind roared in her ears as Kagura fell quickly through the air, controlling her flight posture to maintain a perfect intercept trajectory with the approaching 'Halo' transport.
"Approaching jump window. 'Halo' transport's automatic posture control system activated. Top hatch ready."
3, 2, 1.
Whoosh—!
The camouflaged 'Halo' transport sped past the Sky Carrier below without leaving a trace on its sensors or radar.
At the exact moment of intercept, Kagura activated the one-time ion thruster on her "White Moon" battle suit, propelling herself toward the transport's top hatch, grabbing the handrail inside to avoid being thrown off by the speed difference.
Thud—
She landed smoothly inside the transport, which continued without slowing, leaving the Sky Carrier behind.
Next stop: New York!