April smiled, took a deep breath, and let the previous subject drop. She held up the data chip and said, "We need to talk." Her gaze swept over Hawk and the four Turtles. "About these photos, about Shredder, and about that damn 'Wild Can.'"
Her eyes locked back onto Hawk, driven by the reporter's instinct to unearth the truth. "Mr. Hawk, I apologize if this is rude, but I have to ask: are those abilities—the one that absorbs explosion energy, the other that shoots lasers from your eyes—also the result of some kind of human experimentation?"
The air instantly froze. The four Turtles' eyes shifted over as well. Michelangelo broke the brief silence with a silent whistle. "Whoa, the lady reporter goes straight for the throat."
Raphael impatiently stabbed the wall with his sai hilt, kicking up sparks. "Listen, sweetheart, this isn't the time for a press conference. Shredder's goons could be on our tails any second!"
"Calm down, Raph!" Leonardo admonished him firmly, his blue bandana fluttering slightly in the wind. He turned to April. "April, we understand your shock and your questions. Hawk saved all of us, including you," he said, pointing to the data chip.
Hawk didn't immediately answer April's question. He waved a dismissive hand, indicating it was fine. "I believe Ms. O'Neil meant nothing by it, just plain curiosity, and I can satisfy that curiosity: no, they're not."
April nodded. A certain tension seemed to ease slightly. Whether or not it was true would require further investigation, but at least with the Lane family reputation, his words carried some weight.
"In the years I've been operating as the King in Brooklyn, I've frequently dealt with the Foot Clan, The Hand, and other criminal organizations. Trust me, any evidence you have won't bring them down for good." He pointed at the data chip in her hand. "The most it can do is expose them and stop them temporarily."
Hawk knew all too well how resilient these kinds of villains were. Even when Shredder in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles canon was finally thrown in jail, he inevitably escaped and even let the alien Krang loose. And his ultimate fate? Being taken out by Krang! This deeply underscored the most effective way to deal with such boss-level villains: physical elimination! Pure, unadulterated violence!
Just then, a large truck approached from the distance, its headlights shining directly on the resting group. The four Turtles instantly drew their weapons, ready to engage. The two women also stood up nervously, retreating backward. Everyone assumed it was more Foot Clan reinforcements.
But Hawk waved his hand, signaling them to calm down.
As the truck drew closer, they saw that the driver was an Asian girl who looked to be barely twenty.
"You're fast," Hawk complimented the girl, Goo Ja-yoon, who looked half-asleep.
Goo Ja-yoon rolled her eyes, but when her gaze fell upon the four huge Turtle-people beside Hawk, her sleepiness instantly vanished, and her jaw nearly hit the floor. Pointing at the four Turtles, her eyes wide, she stammered, "Wha… Wha… Wha… What are those?"
The Turtles, seemingly used to this reaction or perhaps expecting it, didn't seem to mind. The most outwardly energetic one, Michelangelo, stepped forward gallantly. "My dear lady, I'm called…"
"Knock it off."
Before he could finish, Leonardo, the leader, punched him on the arm. "Time to go. No talking." He then turned to Goo Ja-yoon and said, "Apologies. We call ourselves the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We regret any inconvenience we've caused you this late."
Goo Ja-yoon's mouth twitched. She waved her hands dismissively, then shot a strange look at Hawk, as if to say: No wonder you told me to drive a truck. What are all these things?
....
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, The Triskelion - December 27th, 1:00 AM.
A jarring alarm ripped through the tranquility of the Triskelion headquarters.
Deep within the underground command center, Nick Fury's single eye was glued to the central giant satellite monitoring screen. The feed was shared from a SWORD satellite channel. On the screen, a coordinate flashed a dangerous red light, next to it a waterfall of complex energy signature analysis data scrolling by.
"Energy signature match results?" Fury's voice was a low thunder, laced with unquestionable authority.
"Analysis complete, sir," a technical agent's voice came through, edged with disbelief. "It's… highly consistent with the core explosion remnants detected in Busan! Match confidence over 92%!"
Fury slammed his fist on the console, letting out a muffled thump.
"Hawk!" The name was ground out from between his teeth, filled with long-suppressed fury. "What have you done this time, huh? Whatever it is, I'm going to catch you red-handed this time!"
"Target coordinates locked!" Fury ordered without hesitation, his voice echoing through the command center. "All airborne Quinjets on standby, proceed immediately! Simultaneously deploy ground rapid response forces! Code name: Operation Iron Curtain, objective: The Traveler!"
The command was swiftly delivered, like a cold tide. The base instantly came alive. The roar of engines grew from distant to near, and blinding searchlights tore through the night sky. Quinjets, like black harbingers of death, swooped toward the incident site. Heavy armored vehicles and fully-armed S.H.I.E.L.D. teams followed on the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.
Inside the cabin of one of the Quinjets, Natasha Romanoff—the Black Widow, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top operative—checked her gear with an impassive expression. But her peripheral vision was fixed on the touchscreen of her personal encrypted communicator, clearly struggling with a fierce internal debate.
A moment later, she made her decision. Her finger rapidly tapped the screen, and a concise message was instantly transmitted:
[Satellite lock. Withdraw.]
[I.O.U. +1.]
The recipient of the message was none other than Hawk, currently S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top priority target.
A few seconds later, Natasha's encrypted channel quietly blinked, and a reply arrived:
[Copy that, Smith Squat Enthusiast. Debt noted.]
[You can earn another one. Check this for me: Where's the Foot Clan HQ? Which company is it fronting as on the surface?]
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