Let's not talk about the Fantastic Four, who had returned to treat their injuries, or the Red Hulk, who had been thrown into the sea and nearly drowned. For now, let's shift our focus to Shin and the Hulk—now Bruce Banner.
When Bruce Banner opened his eyes after recovering, he immediately felt a chill on his body. Glancing down, he realized he was wearing only a pair of loose shorts, lying on a quiet beach.
"You're awake?" Shin asked with a smile, sitting cross-legged atop a reef nearby.
"Ah..." Bruce let out a groggy sound, rubbing his head. Then, as fragments of memory surged forth, his expression darkened.
"Another big mess..." he muttered with a bitter smile.
Shin raised an eyebrow. "I figured that dating your girlfriend would eventually tip off her father and blow your cover, but seriously—wasn't that a little too fast?"
"How long has it even been? Did General Ross already catch your trail? How did they find you?"
Bruce wore a frustrated look. "I'm not sure if it was my phone or another tracking device, but I changed everything. Was the military's response really that quick?"
Bruce didn't know General Ross had bugged his own daughter, nor did Ross have the nerve to tell anyone about it. It sounded more than a little shameful.
"Forget it. I'll alter your appearance again," Shin said with a sigh. "In the meantime, don't contact your girlfriend."
"I have no other choice..." Bruce replied glumly.
At the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division—what would later become known as S.H.I.E.L.D..
"This is the investigation report on the incident," Hawkeye said in a flat tone, a bow strapped to his back as he handed the folder to Nick Fury, who sat behind his desk.
Fury flipped through the intel, frowning. The report contained detailed information, but the findings were mostly standard.
"You still haven't identified the mysterious figure at the end? Not even a suspect?" Fury voiced his dissatisfaction.
Hawkeye shrugged. "I suspect the target has either invisibility or teleportation capabilities. None of the surveillance caught a clear trace of him."
"And he could fly. Someone with so many abilities is either an Omega-level mutant, who can evolve multiple powers from a core ability, or a mage-type with an entirely different power system. Maybe even both. You know how hard it is to deal with people like that, Director."
Hawkeye kept his words concise. What exactly was an Omega mutant? S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't bother with complex metrics to classify mutant potential. Their definitions were direct and practical.
If someone could derive other powers from a primary ability, had no significant weaknesses, and possessed enough power to level a city—or if their sole ability could endanger all of humanity—S.H.I.E.L.D. classified them as Omega-level.
Magneto in the comics, for instance, could manipulate the Earth's magnetic field and generate wormholes. That was true Omega-level power.
[Note: Magnetor displayed this ability in Excalibur and Avengers Disassembled.]
In the films, however, Magneto could mostly just bend metal objects, repel metallic attacks, and was defenseless against other forms of attack like ceramics or plastic.
Unless someone could manipulate metallic elements in the Earth's core or mantle and bore a hole through the planet, metal control alone was typically Alpha-level at best.
"I don't need to hear how dangerous he is. I want to know who he is," Fury snapped. "Start by tracing Bruce Banner. It's clear someone performed plastic surgery on him."
"Track his movements after the procedure. Whoever did it is likely connected."
"Understood," Hawkeye replied, though clearly unenthusiastic. He was just an archer, why was he always tasked with tracking living nuclear warheads?
In the Avengers movies, Hawkeye has always been something of a background character. Truthfully, he'd wanted to retire and go home early on.
He couldn't be blamed. His teammates were all superhumans, while he was just an exceptionally skilled marksman. During any battle, even a stray shockwave could kill him. Naturally, he didn't feel much attachment to the Avengers.
Even Black Widow, nearly as ordinary as he was, had beauty and charisma, giving her a more prominent role in the team. Hawkeye, on the other hand, lacked status and barely made an impact in fights. Worse, he faced the highest risk in battle.
It was no wonder he didn't want this job.
It was the same now. Nick Fury had assigned him to investigate superhumans. If he failed to find anything, he'd get chewed out. But if he actually did find something, and the superhumans noticed him poking around, they could kill him with a snap of their fingers.
And even if he managed to bring back some intel, would it even be useful?
'Man, I really want to retire…' he thought.
But of course, Nick Fury would never agree to that. The Avengers hadn't officially formed yet, and S.H.I.E.L.D. only had a handful of top-tier field agents. If Hawkeye left, who would fill his shoes?
S.H.I.E.L.D. might be massive and technologically advanced, more than capable of dealing with ordinary superhumans—or even most mutants—but when it came to mutants on the level of Professor X or Magneto, things got tricky.
Thankfully, in this world, their power was closer to the movie versions. So, as long as S.H.I.E.L.D. brought the right mental shielding gear or switched to plastic and ceramic weapons, they could manage.
But "could" was only theoretical. In reality, ordinary agents had zero margin for error. It was better to send top-tier agents. Otherwise, it would just be human lives thrown into the grinder.
What made things worse was that if these enhanced individuals weren't taken down properly, they could go on a rampage and cause chaos—not just across America, but possibly wipe out humanity itself.
It was no surprise Hawkeye wanted out. He was just a normal human, forced to face these god-like beings every day. The pressure was immense.
Fortunately, for now, he didn't need to do the dirty work himself. Regular agents were tasked with tracking Bruce Banner's movements using surveillance footage and other monitoring tools.
In the information age, whether through phones, cameras, or satellites, a person's movements could be accurately mapped. They hadn't known Bruce's new face before, but now that they did, tracing his recent actions would be simple.
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