"First, let's look at who among the options has the ability to do this!"
Captain America scanned the options on the big screen. "A, Stark. He can fly, so he could fly up and save people."
"But he can only save one, maybe two at a time!" Black Widow shrugged, adding, "He can't possibly save all thirteen people in that short amount of time."
Everyone agreed on this point. Iron Man could at most carry one person in each hand, two at most.
By the time he rescued those two and returned, the others would probably have fallen to their deaths.
"He can fly?" Thor glanced at Iron Man with a surprised expression. "However, Rogers is right. Flying isn't enough in this situation."
"So Stark is out?" Coulson made a final decision, then turned his gaze to Thor. "Thor, what about you? We don't know much about your abilities. Could you save all thirteen people in that situation?"
"Wait a minute!" Before Thor could answer, Iron Man suddenly jumped in. "You're dismissing me way too quickly, aren't you?"
"Stark, they're right. In that short amount of time, you could only save a few people. It's impossible to save everyone," Nick Fury chimed in, supporting the general consensus.
"You're all thinking too small. If it were me right now, yes, I couldn't save them all. But this is happening in the future!"
Iron Man stated firmly, correcting their assumptions. "And my armor is constantly being upgraded. No one knows what capabilities my future suits will have!"
"So, even though I don't know what kind of armor I'll create in the future, the possibility of saving thirteen people is definitely there!"
Everyone looked at each other, and for a moment, no one could come up with any counterarguments.
After all, Iron Man was a true genius. He wasn't the type to stop at one set of armor; he was constantly upgrading his suits.
That much was evident in the recordings.
The armor from the New York battle was obviously more advanced than the current one, and the armor from the Endgame battle was even more astonishing.
"Alright, Stark is TBD. Thor, what about you?" Black Widow turned her gaze back to Thor.
"I can't!" Thor shook his head. "I can only fly when I swing my hammer quickly, which means I only have one hand to save people."
"Then Thor is out. What about the remaining two?" Coulson turned his gaze to the remaining two options.
"Scarlet Witch, Wanda? She's the witch from the Civil War. Although we don't know exactly what abilities she has, she can control a falling car from a distance."
"For a witch who is proficient in magic like her, saving those thirteen people should be doable, right?"
Everyone agreed on this point.
In fact, they wouldn't be surprised if magic could do anything.
After all, magic itself is a thing that breaks the rules, breaks the established order.
"Ant-Man? If Ant-Man can shrink his body to the size of an ant, can he also enlarge his body to the size of a skyscraper?"
Iron Man finally gazed at option D, resting his chin on his hand.
He glanced at Nick Fury and asked, "Nick Fury, could the previous Ant-Man do this?"
"Hank Pym left S.H.I.E.L.D. many years ago, and I've only seen some of his file information by chance," Nick Fury replied thoughtfully. "I don't remember any such record in the files, but I agree with your point."
Not only Nick Fury, but everyone present also agreed.
After all, the Ant-Man suit could change the size of objects; since it could shrink, it should also be able to enlarge. Moreover, restoring a shrunk person to their original size is, in fact, a form of enlargement.
"If Ant-Man were to become the size of a skyscraper, he could also catch those thirteen people with his hands."
"So, of the four options, we've only eliminated Thor?"
Captain America glanced around, considering the problem. It seemed a little tricky.
"Captain, freefall is incredibly fast. If someone really did manage to save those thirteen people before they hit the water, whoever it was had to be nearby!"
After some thought, Coulson voiced his opinion.
The time from the plane to the ocean surface was incredibly short, so short that it was nearly impossible for any superhero to be notified and arrive from another location to perform a rescue.
There simply wasn't enough time.
Therefore, whoever the rescuer was, they had to be close to Air Force One.
As Coulson finished his analysis, everyone's eyes brightened slightly.
Although everyone hasn't seen any useful analysis results yet, at least the approach is open.
The analysis isn't hitting a dead end.
"Regarding this situation, I've considered three possibilities!"
Coulson continued, speaking slowly under everyone's gaze.
"Either, he just happened to be on a yacht party or something similar on a yacht near the sea;"
"Or, he knew in advance that Air Force One was going to be attacked, so he rushed over to help and encountered the thirteen passengers falling into the sea, so he saved them."
"Or..."
Coulson paused here before continuing, "That person was originally on Air Force One!"
"That makes sense!" Thor nodded, agreeing that the three hypotheses were reasonable.
"I think we can rule out the 'happened to be nearby' scenario. The odds of that are too low to consider."
Black Widow stated seriously, "The second hypothesis is too complex, so let's put it aside for now. Let's focus on the third: the rescuer is on Air Force One."
"Isn't this interesting, everyone?"
After Black Widow's comment, everyone felt like they were onto something.
Because Air Force One really is different from other planes. Anyone can get on other planes, but Air Force One is the Presidential Plane, and only specific authorized personnel are qualified to ride it.
This is a powerful screening condition.
"It is interesting." Iron Man shrugged. "So, this question becomes: of the four options, who is most likely to be on the Presidential Plane?"
Thanks for the tip from Changing Just a Name!
(End of Chapter)