Episode Title:
Hikaru, Tainted By Evil.
Episode Description:
Hikaru, Thor, and their S.H.I.E.L.D. escort discover that the next base is below ground. As they head inside, Hikaru receives a call from Pepper, who assures him that Akira is fine. Before she has a chance to tell Hikaru about Falcon's fate, however, the older Akatsuki brother travels too far under ground and his phone loses the signal. Though Thor tries to assure Hikaru that Akira will be safe with Iron Man, the Thunderer's partner remains worried. In the caves, Hikaru, Thor, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents find Graviton protecting the last Anchor. After a brief battle, Hikaru uses the Build Up Plate to increase Thor's power. The two then easily defeat Graviton and destroy the Anchor. Hikaru D-Secures the villain and, when the world doesn't end, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents cheer in triumph. Back at his base, Red Skull seethes with fury over the Avengers' victory, then realizes that there may be another way he can win. When Hikaru and Thor go to study shards of a smaller Dimension Sphere that was powering the Gaia Anchor they destroyed, Red Skull arrives. The villain knocks out the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and traps Hikaru in the cavern. He then threatens to injure Hikaru, wondering what the world would think of an Avenger who was unable to protect a child under his care, since Thor has returned to his DISK. Finding the threat does not faze Hikaru, the Skull then threatens to hunt down Akira, which infuriates the boy. Red Skull leaves and Hikaru falls to pieces with fear. In a blind panic, Hikaru looks to the shards of the smaller Dimension Sphere. Realizing what he intends to do, Thor warns Hikaru that the Sphere will corrupt him, but Hikaru shuts down his hologram and puts a shard of the mini-Sphere in his heart.
