Yang Ming's scalpel descended.
The blade sliced through the skin on Selvig's head, following the predetermined path into the cranial interface.
The ship was shaking.
The lights in the Power Chamber flickered, and the liquid inside the transparent chamber sloshed constantly. Every tremor threatened to throw the blade's tip off course.
One millimeter off, and Selvig would die.
If Selvig died, the flagship would lose its antigravity control.
If the flagship fell, Washington would be the first to disappear.
Yang Ming did not stop.
He opened the first of the Eight Gates, and the chakra in his body broke through his brain's limits. His perception expanded instantly, capturing the vibration frequency of every piece of metal in the ship.
The operating table shook.
His hands did not.
His fingers were as steady as if they had been bolted to a steel framework.
"Doctor, can you hear me?" Yang Ming asked.
Selvig's eyes turned toward him.
"The mothership... can't... let them..."
"Survive first. We can talk about universal peace later."
Yang Ming cut through the nerve tissue surrounding the interface.
The Chitauri Module was deeply fused with the cerebral cortex. Alien metal had grown along the nerve bundles, like a tangle of circuitry embedded in a human body.
Ordinary surgery could not deal with it.
Yang Ming could only peel it away bit by bit.
Tony's voice came through the communicator.
"Yang, the third mothership has come through the clouds."
"Where?"
"Over New York. Its main cannon is locking onto Hell's Kitchen."
Yang Ming did not look up.
"Hold it off."
"I'm trying. The problem is, this suit only has twelve percent power left."
JARVIS joined the channel.
"Sir, the backup armor has sustained sixty-four percent structural damage. Immediate evacuation from Mothership Three is advised."
Tony was silent for two seconds.