A New Candidate for a Follower, with the Right to Refuse Combat Missions

"Gentlemen, you should get inside quickly. It'll be hard to breathe out here soon," Natasha said.

As soon as she finished speaking, the deck began to tremble slightly, while the roar of engines rose from the sides of the warship.

"Is this a submarine?" Steve asked uncertainly.

"They want me to stay inside a sealed, pressurized metal can underwater?" Banner joked, though in his view, S.H.I.E.L.D. was fully capable of doing something like that to guard against the Hulk.

"Probably not." Aaron pointed at the aircraft on the deck. "Unless those fighters can operate underwater, or S.H.I.E.L.D. plans to abandon them."

The three of them walked to the edge of the deck and looked down together.

The seawater churned violently into a massive whirlpool, caused by an enormous turbine spinning rapidly along the side of the ship.

The turbine engines supplied tremendous power, and the entire warship slowly began to rise.

Air currents carrying seawater slapped against their faces, tossing their clothes about.

"No, this is worse," Banner said.

"Do you think Hulk likes free-falling?" Aaron teased.

"I don't know. Depends how high this giant ship can fly."

"Staying on the deck right now isn't a wise choice," Natasha said. "Come with me. Fury is waiting for you in the command center!"

The three exchanged glances, then followed Natasha.

When they arrived at the command center, Nick Fury stood with his back to them atop the main command platform. Below him were dozens of uniformed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, most seated before computers controlling the Helicarrier's operations.

"Damn... they're loaded," Aaron remarked. "Was ten million too little?"

"Ten million?" Banner's mouth fell open in surprise. "S.H.I.E.L.D. pays? Natasha never told me."

"Doctor Banner, you... didn't even ask for compensation?" Aaron looked him up and down. "How strange. Do unpaid volunteers really still