"Knock knock!"
"Come in!"
Maria Hill, who was sitting in her office handling documents, heard the knock and replied without looking up.
The door opened.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Commander Victoria Hand walked in from outside, her expression a mix of inexplicable glee and nervousness.
"Hill, Hawk is back."
"..."
Maria Hill, who was handling documents, instinctively looked up upon hearing this and placed her pen aside.
"Back to New York?"
"No, according to the trajectory calculation, his destination is Washington."
"...Washington?"
Maria Hill raised an eyebrow.
Victoria Hand then recounted the events of the new Commander's visit to the New York S.H.I.E.L.D, being vaporized by Hawk, and the fifty-plus S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents in West View Town being turned into fireworks by Hawk, who was now flying high in the sky straight towards Washington without any cover.
When it came to the new Commander in New York, Victoria Hand had nothing good to say.
No.
Even this Commander's mother, the current mixed-blood Councilor of the Federation, had no good impression.
The reason was simple.
As soon as this new commander took office, he messed up the well-ordered New York S.H.I.E.L.D. that Sharon had been maintaining.
His mother was like mother, like son.
Put it this way.
This so-called "Superhero Bill of the Security Council" was concocted after this new Federation Councilor David Harris took office.
David Harris's bill and its real target were all too clear.
After all...
Which Security Councilor wasn't an elite among their nation's elites, a talent among talents, an ancient fox among foxes?
Okay.
The other three might not be.
But the one from Tokyo University was undoubtedly one who fought his way through countless others, so was naturally aware of what David Harris, a once Wall Street capitalist but now nominated by the president as a federation councilor, wanted to accomplish.
However!
With S.P.E.A.R. at Tokyo University and the Defense Bureau of the Russian Bear, even though they knew what David Harris wanted to do, they abstained as usual.
After all, no matter how it was, the chaos was in the West.
So David Harris, under the abstinence of Tokyo University and the Russian Bear, roped in Paris and London, found 114 small countries, and claimed that 117 countries passed the Superhero Bill.
Requiring all active superheroes on Earth to register and simultaneously accept regulation by the Security Council.
But her real target was Hawk.
In David Harris's words.
Hawk's danger is too great and must be controlled in our hands.
As to why it wasn't managed earlier, it's because she didn't know.
But now she knows.
So...
The reason seemed righteous.
But in reality?
"The squids on Wall Street think the wind has stopped, and they've regained their footing. Are they looking to steal Hawk's development of a spaceship by launching Harris and seeing if they can grab it?"
"There's no way around it, Hawk used to be a loner with no weaknesses."
Victoria Hand listened to Hill's head-shaking rant and chuckled, "It's different now, Hawk has parents, a sister, a wife, and children, so they think Hawk can be threatened."
Maria Hill laughed.
"From which damn angle do they think Hawk can be threatened?"
"Is it from the ruins of Quantico?"
"Or from the white land of Wakanda?"
"Or from the failed Hydra?"
"Or perhaps from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean?"
"They might think it's worth a try. If they can threaten, they gain a lot; if they can't threaten, Harris is there to take the hit."
"Ha."
Maria Hill looked at the serious Victoria Hand, "That was what Alexander Pierce thought then."
Victoria Hand shrugged, "It's not related to us anyway. After Sharon was set up as a traitor by her, she was the one who promoted the separation of New York S.H.I.E.L.D. from our headquarters."
Indeed.
New York S.H.I.E.L.D. and S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters have gone separate ways.
Although New York S.H.I.E.L.D. still holds the plaque of New York S.H.I.E.L.D. Central, the new plaque 'Security Control Bureau' pushed by Harris has already spent fifty million US Dollars and is custom-made for replacement.
"Sharon..."
Maria Hill thought of Sharon and frowned, "Still haven't found Sharon?"
Victoria Hand shrugged without speaking.
Maria Hill raised an eyebrow.
"Found her?"
"I don't know."
"..."
Maria Hill listened to her commander's reply, fell silent for a moment, then shook her head and laughed, "It's fine, just being able to contact her when needed is good enough."
As she spoke, Hill seemed to think of something and looked at Hand.
"You just said S.H.I.E.L.D. Satellite photographed Hawk flying towards Washington?"
"Yes."
"Expected location?"
"You won't like hearing this answer."
"...Right."
Hill listened to the words, acknowledged Hand's expression, and nodded, "It seems like I haven't taken a vacation yet this month. Never mind, I'll take a day off today."
This time, it was Hand's turn to raise an eyebrow.
She looked at Hill, who intended to leave right away, and opened her mouth.
"Wait, if you run away, what about me?"
"You can run too."
Maria Hill put on her jacket and gave Victoria Hand a slight smile, "Just bring Sharon back, I'll go first."
After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. belongs to the Security Council, not any individual.
So...
As long as there's no threat to world safety, not even God Himself could call her to cancel an alert today.
Maria left quickly.
As she walked out of the office and onto the deck of the Aerospace Carrier, she saw a golden streak piercing the clouds in the distance.
"Hiss!"
Maria swiftly turned off her phone and ran towards the S.H.I.E.L.D. Fighter ready and waiting for her.
Boom!
This wasn't the sound of a S.H.I.E.L.D. Fighter breaking the sound barrier.
It was the sound of the White House's dome seemingly being smashed through by a meteorite.
In an instant.
A piercing alarm blared through the entire White House.
Approximately 4.27 kilometers away from the White House, the Pentagonal Building, which would take a nine-minute drive, immediately entered emergency response mode.
The Minister of Defense promptly entered the operations center, where a series of Anglo-Saxon dignitaries stood up quickly to greet the entering figure.
"Minister!"
"Sit."
"What's going on?"
"The White Room has been breached."
"Hiss!"
The Minister, who had just been napping in his office, felt his scalp tingle intensely upon hearing this news.
"National Guard..."
"I am already here."
Just as an Anglo-Saxon presenter reported the National Guard's arrival, a sudden voice echoed in the tense operations center.
The next second.
Hawk appeared holding a mixed-race person emotionlessly in the eyes of many military leaders.
The next second.
Snap!
Accompanied by a crisp sound of bones cracking, many military leaders looked in disbelief at the mixed-race person in Hawk's hand, whose throat had just been crushed.
"The big boss..."
"He's dead, bring another one."
Thud!
Hawk interrupted coldly as one of the military personnel was about to wail, then swung his right hand, tossing the dead body onto their operations command table, and looked at the Minister with a fixed gaze.
"You have two choices now."
"First!"
"I give you three hours, but within one hour, I want to see David Harris, bring her here alive."
"Then, in the second hour, I want to see the repeal of the Superhero Bill."
"Afterward, in the third hour, bring me the heads of those behind David Harris."
"I will not tolerate any form of delay or so-called suicides."
"Of course, if you can't accept this, you can choose the second option."
"Go to war with me."
"Believe me, don't choose this, and don't think I'm bluffing, I've destroyed Quantico, slaughtered Wakanda, and erased the Vatican from Earth's face, if you think you can handle me, be my guest."
"But I advise you not to."
"Now!"
"Timing starts."
After finishing his words, Hawk ignored the armed soldiers who barged in upon hearing the noise while he was speaking, calmly closing his eyes.
The Minister shouted loudly at the soldiers who rushed in.
"Don't shoot, don't shoot!"
The other military leaders, especially those who had survived Quantico, repeatedly shouted angrily, fearing a soldier might pull the trigger inappropriately.
Soon enough.
The scene stabilized, and amidst the Minister's and the military leaders' shouts, the soldiers who rushed in were pushed out without understanding what was happening.
As the operations command door closed once more.
The gray-haired Minister, seeing the body flung onto the table, which just this morning was energetic and now lay like a dead dog, shakily took a towel from his pocket to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
His mind was racing furiously at the moment.
The Minister knew about David Harris and her so-called Superhero Bill.
But he was merely a minister, and David Harris had been pushed to prominence by her powerful backers, so even if he thought this bill might bring some trouble, there was no way to stop it.
But now...
Trouble had indeed come.
Yet...
Looking at Hawk, who had spoken and then closed his eyes, the Minister swallowed hard.
"Mr. Phoenix, I assure you, my building certainly doesn't have..."
"I know."
Before the Minister could finish, Hawk opened his eyes, looking calmly at the Minister.
"I know it wasn't you provoking me."
"But alas, the ones who provoked me felt confident only because they had your military as a backing."
"So..."
"I only come to you, no need to bother another entity."
"I need David Harris alive, the Superhero Bill repealed, and the heads of the masterminds behind it all."
"You have two hours and fifty minutes remaining."
"..."