A certain American comic book's secondary profession master

Chapter 152 The Hand Returns.

Ava Starr is the villain in the future Ant-Man 2 storyline, known as "Ghost Agent".

However, this ghost agent is not a villain in the traditional sense.

Because her only goal has always been to survive.

In a way, Ava Starr is actually another Ivan Vanko.

The only difference is that the victim has changed from Howard Stark to another scientific luminary in the Marvel Universe, Pym Hank.

Her father, Elijah Starr, was a scientist at S.H.I.E.L.D., where he worked with Pym Hank, who was also working at S.H.I.E.L.D. at the time, researching the quantum realm.

However, during the research process, the two disagreed on the research direction.

Without a doubt, Pym Hank is a genius researcher who is no less talented than Howard Stark.

But as anyone who has seen the movie knows, this old guy has an even bigger temper than Howard Stark, and is extremely stubborn.

So the final result was that Pym Hank used his authority to not only kick Elysius Starr out of his research institute, but also kick him out of S.H.I.E.L.D.

This resulted in Elijah Starr not only losing his job, but also suffering severe damage to his reputation.

Elijah Starr, of course, was not going to let this go.

So he continued to devote all his energy to his research.

However, it cannot be denied that in scientific research, Elijah Starr was indeed inferior to his former boss, Pym Hank.

So he failed.

Not only did it fail to open the quantum channel, it also caused a massive explosion.

I'd rather die myself.

He also implicated his daughter, Ava Starr.

Although she didn't die, it was from that time that Ava entered a state of molecular instability.

She can alter her molecular structure to become untouchable, which allows her to pass through solid walls, evade attacks, and become invisible, among other abilities.

However, this ability comes at a great cost. Not only will she suffer immense pain, but over time, her body will become extremely unstable, eventually causing her to disappear completely from reality.

It was because of this ability that she remained on Levi's alliance's recruitment list.

He's just different from everyone else in the league.

Ava Starr's situation was discovered and brought under control by S.H.I.E.L.D. after the explosion.

Even under the guidance of Hydra members within S.H.I.E.L.D., S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to turn her into a "weapon".

They had been secretly training her all along.

However, in the original storyline, neither S.H.I.E.L.D. nor Hydra ever got to use this "weapon".

Before Ava Starr could fully grow up, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra were both dismantled by Captain America.

Ava Starr also left S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, and with the help of her adoptive father, Bill Foster, a scientist and agent who was also a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., she became a mercenary.

This explains why, in Ant-Man and the Wasp, Ghost constantly sabotages Ant-Man and the Wasp's plans in an attempt to open a quantum portal to obtain energy from the quantum realm in order to stabilize himself.

In the original storyline, Ava received quantum energy from Janet van Dyne, the original Wasp who had left the quantum realm, and stabilized her body.

After that, there were no further specific clues about this ghost agent.

However, before Li Wei traveled through time, there was a rumor that she would reappear in the "Thunder Special Forces" in later stages.

It was precisely because of her background that, without dealing with S.H.I.E.L.D., Levi was unable to recruit Ava in the same way he recruited other members of the Alliance.

In particular, Li Wei had not been entirely confident in controlling Ava's unstable physical condition.

Therefore, her recruitment plan has been put on hold.

Unexpectedly, Peggy Carter told her that Ava Starr had become the host of the Black Sky and had killed everyone at a S.H.I.E.L.D. research facility before escaping.

“That’s right. According to research by S.H.I.E.L.D. researchers, Blackspace is a pure energy being, and its energy has a corrosive and manipulative effect on humans. Several previous test subjects experienced organ failure after being parasitized, so someone mentioned Ava Starr, who also possesses an energy form.” Peggy Carter slowly recounted the events.

"After Ava Starr became the host of the Black Void, S.H.I.E.L.D. was pleasantly surprised to find that the two were very compatible. The energy of the Black Void stabilized Ava Starr's form, and while Ava Starr was being housed by the Black Void, she not only did not lose her original special abilities, but other aspects of her body were also greatly enhanced."

"This result has received a lot of attention from S.H.I.E.L.D. from the beginning. If there are no surprises, Ava Starr will become the most powerful agent in the history of S.H.I.E.L.D., even the former Captain America may not be able to match her."

"But S.H.I.E.L.D.'s joy didn't last long before things turned out this way. Taking advantage of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s negligence, Ava Starr killed everyone on the base and completely escaped S.H.I.E.L.D.'s control."

Peggy Carter was also quite saddened by what happened to S.H.I.E.L.D.

After all, she essentially created S.H.I.E.L.D.

But all of that is in the past.

If Ava Starr hadn't killed everyone at the research institute and escaped, her staff within S.H.I.E.L.D. would likely still be unaware of this.

After all, the base for researching Black Sky and Ava Starr is a new secret base that was only established in recent years.

Even among the current top executives of S.H.I.E.L.D., it's estimated that only a handful of people, such as Director Nick Fury and Alexander Pierce, know about it.

After listening to Peggy Carter's account, even Levi had to admire the ingenuity of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Based on Shakora's previous deductions, Black Void is undoubtedly a dimensional being, so its energy can indeed play a role similar to quantum energy in stabilizing Ava Starr's form.

Moreover, the Black Void itself can strengthen the host—as long as the host's body can withstand it.

In this respect, the combination of Ava Starr and Black Sky can indeed achieve a 1+1>3 effect.

The question is, where do S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra get their confidence that they can control Black Sky and Ava Starr?

Are you okay now?
The research findings have been lost.

They even wiped out an entire base.

The losses are enormous.

Nick Fury and Alexander Pierce must be heartbroken and breathless by now.

Just thinking about it makes me feel—it's something to celebrate.

"Do you guys think this is a good thing?" Peggy Carter asked, raising an eyebrow as she noticed the slight sarcasm on Levi and Tony's faces.

"No, no, how could that be? This is hardly a good thing for us." Although he wanted to laugh, Li Wei knew that this was actually not good news for them.

Why do you say that?

Of course, it's not because the losses suffered by S.H.I.E.L.D. would have any impact on them.

It was because of the black sky.

Don't forget which side the Black Sky originated from.

That's the Hand's faith!

Don't be fooled by the fact that the Hand has been almost completely destroyed by S.H.I.E.L.D. and Peggy Carter working together. They even took down the Hand in places like Japan.

However, aside from the unfortunate Bottom being taken down by the league early on.

None of the remaining fingers were caught.

Moreover, even a centipede, though dead, does not stiffen.

The Hand is an ancient organization that has existed for centuries.

Who knows how many hidden tricks or contingencies there are?

Therefore, it has never been completely cleaned up.

The biggest problem for the Hand right now is that it lacks high-end combat power that can rival Peggy Carter.

However, the emergence of the Black Hole Ghost Agent may fill this gap.

Yes.

When Peggy Carter told Levi that Ava Starr was missing, Levi had already begun to suspect that this Black Sky version of Ava Starr had probably already gone to the Hand's headquarters and was issuing orders to unify the Hand.

After all, the Hand's belief in the Black Sky is not a recent phenomenon.

It has been going on for at least several hundred years.

Moreover, this thing also has its own consciousness.

They must know many of the Hand's secret locations.

Now that he has such an excellent host as Ava Starr, it would be strange if he didn't go back to be the boss.

So Li Wei immediately voiced his guess.

“That’s right, that’s what I think too!” Peggy Carter nodded approvingly upon hearing Levi’s guess. “And it’s not just me, S.H.I.E.L.D. thinks so too.”

"Therefore, S.H.I.E.L.D. has recently intensified its efforts to search for the remaining forces of the Opposition."

“And I’m informing you of this to remind you, especially you, Tony!” Peggy Carter said, looking at Tony.

After eliminating the Hand, Stark Industries no longer kept its relationship with Carter Industries so secret.

Although it has not been fully disclosed that the two are actually parent and subsidiary companies.

However, the fact that almost all the construction teams and workers entering and leaving the Hell's Kitchen area were from Stark Industries already speaks volumes.

So if the Hand really does make a comeback, it's not impossible that they'll target Stark Industries.

"Heh, I wish they would dare to come. They're a bunch of pests that I can't kill, it's really annoying. I'd rather they just show themselves." However, Tony completely ignored Peggy Carter's warning.

After all, he and the league are not what they used to be.

What about the Hand, which they initially found somewhat troublesome?
Ha ha……

Even with the addition of Black Sky, it would be the same.

The original Shakora described Black Sky as a delicious dessert.

According to her estimation, it was at the level of a mid-level demon under her command.

To put it another way, they're actually about the same level as the three elemental demons under Blackheart's command that Li Wei dealt with.

With this level of strength, Li Wei wouldn't even need to borrow Shakora's power to handle it.

The only troublesome thing is Ava Starr's special abilities, which make her very difficult to capture.

But...

“Ms. Carter, we really don’t need to worry about this. Look at this!” Li Wei also took out a net-like object made of an unknown fabric and placed it on the table.

"What is this?" Peggy Carter asked, puzzled.

“This is called the Spirit Net, a magical net that, once thrown, can trap any target within a 25-meter radius. It's important to note that this control only prevents the target from moving; they can still retaliate. Even ghosts, I mean Ava's kind of ability, can't escape it. The only problem is that this net's duration is relatively short, only thirty seconds! So within those thirty seconds, the user must use other methods to completely control the opponent—I think you should find this useful if the Hand really makes a comeback.” Levi pushed three nets in front of Peggy Carter.

Prior to the spaceship transaction, after Li Wei requested Sif's help, Sif provided Li Wei with several batches of spirit cloth.

This led to the creation of the Spirit Pattern Net, a powerful tool for open-world PvP in the game.

Moreover, unlike in the game, the Spirit Net only has a three-second control time for the sake of balance.

In the real world, the control time of the Spirit Pattern Net reaches an astonishing thirty seconds.

But this is not surprising.

After all, in the game, Spiritweave Cloth is a very common fabric.

However, in the real world, this kind of fabric, which originated from the Vanir gods, is also a rare commodity in Asgard.

This is why Levi only gave Carter three shots.

Because the cost was too high, he couldn't bear to make too many.

Moreover, the control effect of the Spirit Pattern Net is not a hard control that renders the controlled person unable to do anything.

It simply traps the opponent in place, preventing them from moving, meaning their feet cannot move.

It is still possible to perform attack and defense actions.

So thirty seconds isn't exactly an incredible timeframe.

The reason for giving Peggy Carter the Spirit Pattern Net.

It was also because, compared to Tony, Levi believed that Peggy Carter, who had dealt a direct and devastating blow to the Hand, would be their primary target for revenge.

Moreover, Li Wei didn't think that the Hand, now with the strength to retaliate, wouldn't covet that dragon skeleton in Hell's Kitchen.

While Peggy Carter is quite strong and wouldn't be too afraid of Black Sky, she might lack the means to deal with the Ghost Agent's elusive abilities.

If you really run into one, you might end up losing out.

However, it's different if you have a spirit pattern net.

Thirty seconds is a lot of time for Peggy Carter right now.

“This is truly amazing! Thank you in advance!” After hearing Li Wei’s explanation, Peggy Carter readily accepted the gift.

……

It can only be said that great minds think alike.

Less than two weeks later, Levi and Tony received another message from Peggy Carter.

The excavation site of the keel was attacked by the Hand.

Ava Starr has appeared.

(End of this chapter)