Alien invasion? Luckily, I'm Superman.

The Quinjet landed at the Avengers headquarters on the banks of the Hudson River in upstate New York.

The cabin door opened, and everyone disembarked. Natasha walked at the front, her expression grim. She stopped, turned around, and faced the others.

"Gentlemen, I'm afraid we can't rest yet," she began. "Hydra, the agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., has begun its operation. It seems our attack on Baron Strucker has prompted Hydra to accelerate their global domination plan. Nick Fury is wanted and we can't contact him."

Su Mo frowned. Why was the intensity of events in this universe so high? He'd only been here three days, and already everyone was jumping out at once? Killian, Extremis, Baron Strucker, the Mind Stone, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and now Hydra's Insight Project. He had a feeling that the plot of this universe was accelerating, and he was standing right in the middle of that accelerating trajectory.

"We must stop Hydra's evil plan." Steve stepped forward, his voice steady and inspiring. His gaze swept over everyone present, lingering for a moment on their weary faces, before he continued, his tone firm, "Su Mo, you should know about their plan, shouldn't you?"

"Hmm." Su Mo recalled the plot he had seen in a movie in his previous life, and organized his thoughts, "Hydra is preparing to use three space carriers to implement Project Insight. Based on big data, they will check if a person is hindering Hydra's goal of ruling the Earth, and then eliminate any counter-revolutionary forces on a global scale."

He didn't go into too much detail, but the meaning was clear. Globally, three space carriers hovered at the top of the atmosphere, and any vessel deemed "a threat to Hydra" by the Zola algorithm would be destroyed.

No one else asked Su Mo why he knew these things. Tony, based on his identity as a "visitor from another universe," guessed that Su Mo might have traveled to a parallel universe's future and knew this information. (Additional note)

"Looks like we'll have to go fight S.H.I.E.L.D." Tony's voice carried a clear weariness. As the person with the most average physical abilities among those present, the prolonged high-intensity combat had pushed his body to its limits. Steve had the super serum, Natasha and Clint were top-tier agents, and Su Mo was Superman. And he, Tony Stark, was just an ordinary human wearing a tin can.

Su Mo looked at Tony's pale face, then at the weariness in Steve and Natasha's eyes, and shook her head.

"Tony, go and rest for a bit. The launch of Project Insight will also take time."

Everyone should go and take a rest.

No one disagreed; they did indeed need a rest.

Su Mo turned to look at Dr. Banner, who had been standing beside the cabin. He hadn't participated in the battle in Sokovia, and the Hulk hadn't appeared at all, so Banner was happy to have some peace and quiet. He never liked fighting, and he especially disliked becoming that green monster.

"Dr. Banner, come with me."

Banner hesitated for a moment, but still followed Su Mo. The two walked through the corridor, passed through several security doors, and, guided by Jarvis's voice, arrived at Tony's laboratory.

Su Mo took out Loki's scepter from his waist and placed it on the mechanical arm Jarvis handed him. The scepter gleamed a dim gold under the white light, and something was slowly flowing inside the Mind Stone at its tip.

"Doctor, this is the Mind Stone. It contains a complete framework of intelligence." Su Mo looked at Banner, his tone serious. "I hope you can use it as a template to create artificial intelligence life."

Banner adjusted his glasses, walked to the worktable, and looked down at the gemstone's internal structure through the instruments. His expression shifted from surprise to focus, and then to a kind of excitement.

"The upcoming battle isn't suitable for Hulk to appear," Su Mo continued. "I'm sure you don't like the feeling of being out of control either."

Banner's fingers danced across the screen. He didn't like it. He disliked it terribly. Every time he transformed into the Hulk, it felt like being trapped in a nightmare from which he couldn't wake. When he finally awoke, all that remained were ruins and terrified eyes.

"By the way, when creating artificial intelligence, remember to include the Laws of Robotics. Don't let it get out of control. We create it to protect humanity." (I won't go into the details of the Three Laws of Robotics and the Zero Law here.)

Banner nodded, his gaze never leaving the gem.

"Okay, I understand."

He adjusted his glasses, sat down at the workbench, and began typing, lines of code scrolling rapidly across the screen. As one of the world's greatest physicists, Banner preferred the quiet research of the lab to battling villains outside. Creating artificial intelligence—that task held far more appeal for him than fighting a hundred Extremis soldiers.

Su Mo watched Banner's retreating figure for a while, then turned and left the lab. He returned to the first floor, crossed the lobby, and walked to the sofa in the rest area, preparing to sit down and rest. Just as his body was about to touch the sofa...

boom!

The window shattered. A dark figure tumbled in through the broken window, landing curled up in a ball, then quickly unfolded, kneeling on one knee, one hand supporting himself on the ground, the other pressed against his chest. Black tactical uniform, black trench coat, and a bleeding wound on his bald head.

Nick Fury.

Su Mo squinted for two seconds, then recognized the face. She hadn't seen it clearly before because the other person's face was so dark; she hadn't recognized him at first glance. Fury's chest heaved violently, his breathing heavy and labored. His right hand was pressed against his left rib, the blood seeping between his fingers a deep red, almost invisible against his black tactical uniform, but the drops of blood on the ground betrayed him.

Su Mo's gaze passed over Fury and looked out the window. A tall figure was striding towards them. Long, dark brown hair fluttered in the night wind, and the most striking feature was the figure's left arm—a silver-gray metal arm that gleamed with a cold metallic luster under the light.

Is that Bucky?

Rapid footsteps echoed down the corridor. Captain America burst from his room, still in his combat suit, shield already strapped to his arm. Black Widow emerged from the other side of the corridor, phone in hand, screen still displaying a message from Fury. She knew Fury was coming. Clint and Tony didn't appear. Su Mo glanced at the direction of the stairs, assessed their room's location, and decided there was no need to disturb their rest.

"Jarvis, don't disturb them. Let them sleep, Tony is tired," Su Mo said to the air. A short confirmation tone came from the ceiling speaker.

Fury stood up, his steps unsteady. Natasha quickly went over, took his arm, and led him to a chair. She tore open Fury's trench coat to examine the wound on his left rib. A gunshot wound, a penetrating wound; the bullet had entered through his ribs and exited near his shoulder blade, without remaining inside his body. That was a good thing. Natasha rummaged through a first-aid kit in the corner and found gauze and a tourniquet, beginning to bandage Fury.

Steve stood in the center of the hall, his gaze fixed on the approaching figure outside the window. His shield was raised in front of him. His eyes were only on that person, his brother.

Bucky burst through the window. His metal arm reached in first, fingers gripping the window frame, and he pulled hard. He landed with his knees slightly bent, then quickly straightened up, his gaze sweeping rapidly across the room like a machine. He had been brainwashed and controlled by Hydra for a long time. As Hydra's secret assassin, the "Winter Soldier," he was unaware that this was the Avengers' base. His communication with the Hydra agent had been temporarily severed amidst the chaos at S.H.I.E.L.D. Now, Bucky had no additional external commands; he was simply acting instinctively based on the orders given to him after being unfrozen.

"Bucky!" Steve's voice echoed in the empty hall, filled with emotion. "It's me, Steve! Bucky, do you remember the times we fought together?"

Bucky paused for a moment. His head tilted slightly, as if recalling something. But that pause lasted less than a second. His expression turned cold again, his metal arm rose, fingers spread, and he reached for Steve's throat.

"Alright, Captain, it's no use." Su Mo shook his head. "Bucky has been brainwashed by Hydra. Let's control him first, then Wanda can break the Hydra's brainwashing. It's quite simple for a psychic to break Hydra's control over Bucky."

Su Mo moved. Bucky's metal arm stopped less than ten centimeters from Steve's throat. Su Mo's hand gripped his wrist. Five fingers dug into the joints of the metal arm. Bucky's metal arm made a screeching sound as it tried to break free, but Su Mo's hand remained unmoved.

Steve realized what was happening, circled around Bucky from the side, and locked Bucky's neck from behind with his left arm. He had no intention of harming Bucky, only of restricting his movements.

Bucky struggled a few times under their control. The metal arm creaked in Su Mo's hands.

After treating Fury's wounds, Natasha took out an anesthetic from the first-aid kit. She walked over to Bucky, located the carotid artery on the side of his neck, inserted the needle into the skin, and injected the anesthetic.

The drug took effect within seconds, and Bucky's gaze went from unfocused to blurred. His body went limp, the hydraulic system of the metal arm released pressure with a final hiss, and then all was quiet.

Steve slowly released his grip and gently placed Bucky on the ground. He squatted down beside Bucky, looking at the face covered in stubble and dust, and remained silent for a long time. His fingers paused on Bucky's wrist, feeling the pulse, before withdrawing them.

Su Mo stood to the side, watching Steve's expression, without saying a word. The hall was so quiet that only Fury's heavy breathing could be heard.

"Avengers, Hydra..." Nick Fury said, forcing himself to speak despite the pain.

"Yes, Project Insight. We know that S.H.I.E.L.D. is full of Hydra." Su Mo interrupted Nick, whose dark face was filled with surprise.