Chapter 902: Red Sea Fury (Part 1) (Patreon)

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"God, I really didn't expect you to come back," Schiller and Captain America embraced, his face filled with sadness as he said, "I thought you died at the hands of your own people, and all I could do was seek revenge for you..."

Afterward, he turned his head to look at Nick, his tone sincere, "Director, I never imagined that in such a dire situation, you would have additional measures to turn the tide. Without you, I might never have seen them again..."

Nick stepped forward, patting Schiller's shoulder, saying, "This is the responsibility of the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm not like those who resort to covert tactics. Remember what I said? This is humanity's only chance to venture into the cosmic ocean; we must seize this opportunity."

"What on earth is going on?!" Iron Man donned his Mech armor and raised his voice, saying, "Our deaths couldn't have been accidental! Who is behind all of this?!"

Nick shook his head and said, "Tony, don't dwell on these matters now. We need to unite; we can't be distracted by these minor issues."

"I must know who's responsible for this! If we can't expose them, humanity will never know peace! Even if we can reach space, they will still be a hindrance!" Iron Man declared firmly.

"Tony, we should consider the bigger picture," Captain America stepped forward, standing between Nick and Iron Man. He said, "Whoever did this, we've all been resurrected, haven't we? We should focus on doing something constructive."

"Yeah, yeah..." Iron Man shrugged, saying, "You're the best at forgiving those who have hurt you or wanted to kill you. You're the greatest Captain America in the world."

Iron Man looked at Captain America and said, "Are you trying to impose your moral standards on me, just like you asked me to forgive that assassin?!"

Nick sighed in exasperation, "You two, stop arguing! That's all in the past; we should focus on the present. You've been away for a long time, and you must have a lot of work piled up. Go handle your personal matters first..."

However, at that moment, Nick's phone suddenly rang. He picked it up and said, "Hello? Hill, what's going on? You said what? The largest warehouse in Pennsylvania exploded?! What's happening?"

Nick hung up the phone, frowned, and waved to the three of them, saying, "Let's head back to the main base; something's gone wrong. Oh, Dr. Schiller, I'll need you to come along as well."

As Nick walked away, he turned his head to Schiller, who was beside him, and said, "Resurrection doesn't come without consequences; memory damage is the mildest condition. Lately, I'll need you to keep an eye on the Avengers. After all, in case they cause trouble due to these aftereffects, it could be a massive mess."

Schiller nodded, saying, "No problem. I had planned to stay at the Avengers' base for a while anyway. We all know those covert agents are still out there, and once they find out about the Superheroes' resurrection, they might try their old tricks again. I can provide early warnings."

Nick nodded and continued walking forward, with the other three following him. When they returned to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s main base, Nick looked at Hill with a serious expression and asked, "What's going on? Why did the warehouse explode?"

Hill rubbed her forehead and said, "Natasha is injured, and there are traces of mutants in the vicinity. The situation is very complicated; you'd better go see for yourself."

Nick's face darkened, and he glanced at the three of them, saying, "I'm sorry, but there's no time for a welcome party. Get ready to leave, everyone."

Nick, Coulson, Captain America, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Schiller boarded a S.H.I.E.L.D. specialized aircraft and quickly headed to the origin point in Pennsylvania.

This location was in the northern part of Pennsylvania, a considerable distance from New York. However, by flying in an aircraft at top speed, they arrived in just over an hour. And as they landed, the first person they saw was Natasha.

At that moment, Hawkeye Barton was bandaging Natasha's wounds. Nick approached and took a look at Natasha.

She had a wound on her shoulder, appearing as if she had been slashed, running from her neck to her back, with a significant amount of blood. The bandages that had been replaced were all stained red, and the new ones were still seeping blood.

"How... how did you get such a serious injury, Natasha? Who attacked the warehouse?" Nick asked with anger in his voice.

Natasha's complexion was slightly pale, but her expression remained resolute. Female agents never showed weakness. She spoke, "I was ambushed; the other party must have been well-prepared."

She sighed softly and began her account:

"Recently, S.H.I.E.L.D. confiscated a batch of equipment from a military base in violation of regulations. In the previous orders, Barton and I were responsible for delivering this equipment to a designated warehouse."

"Hill informed me that Director Nick Fury had been resurrected. I initially wanted to rush to S.H.I.E.L.D. immediately, but this equipment was vital, and I had to keep an eye on it. Later, Hill asked for the list of warehouse supplies, so I planned to complete the inventory before returning."

"But during my entry into the warehouse, for a period of time, I lost consciousness and memory, experiencing fragments. However, I didn't realize it at the time. Instead, I followed the plan to enter the warehouse and register the equipment."

"Somebody used their telepathic abilities to interfere with me as I entered the warehouse, causing me not to check whether the warehouse door was properly closed. Just as I finished registering the majority of the equipment and was preparing to leave with the inventory list, someone triggered a massive explosion."

"I'm not sure what type of bomb they used, but it had tremendous power. During the consecutive detonations, I heard the first bomb go off, so I immediately chose to move away, but it was already too late."

"The door was closing, and I didn't have the certainty to escape within a few seconds. If I were trapped inside, I would surely have died. So, I chose to exit through the emergency passage."

"The intense explosion affected the structure of the building. When I exited through the emergency passage, I was hit by falling debris."

Natasha sighed and said, "Fortunately, I reacted in time, escaped, and brought out the inventory list I had registered earlier."

Natasha took a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Nick. When Nick saw the list of equipment written on the paper, his pupils slightly narrowed.

"Near-Earth orbit weapons, space-based weapons, star detonation devices..." Nick murmured these names of devices in disbelief, then looked up at the warehouse, which had been reduced to ruins.

If he weren't a composed person, his facial expression should have undergone significant changes at this moment. Nonetheless, he continued to walk toward the entrance of the warehouse with a hint of disbelief.

The massive entrance that could accommodate a Helicarrier had collapsed halfway. The beam supporting the right side of the trapezoidal entrance had fallen down, and a row of supporting columns on the side had toppled forward. Nick circled around these columns and looked at the gigantic devices that had been destroyed.

He turned his head and looked at Iron Man, who had also flown in from above, and asked, "Tony, can you tell what these devices are?"

Iron Man landed and squinted at a large fragment in front of him. He said, "These are casings made of molten steel, possibly part of some weapons rocket launching system..."

After that, he continued to walk inside, looking at the scattered components of various devices. He said, "These devices are all made from new materials, probably recently developed aerospace equipment. And these gigantic machines were most likely used for mining but could also be used as weapons..."

"Isn't the Solar System development plan under your jurisdiction? Don't you have any records of these devices?" Nick asked in a calm tone.

Iron Man slowly shook his head. At that moment, Barton walked up and said, "These military bases were raided by us during routine maintenance, mostly from some radical factions within the military. They have ample military funding, so scientific research progresses rapidly. As soon as the new materials reached Earth, they acquired and started using them."

Barton looked at the wreckage in front of him and said, "When we transported these things here, they were still in a semi-finished state, just lacking assembly and power. If they could be assembled, they might be immediately usable. But sadly..."

"Who could have done this?!" Nick's tone was now filled with anger. He turned his head to look at Natasha and asked, "Hill said there were traces of mutants nearby. What's going on?"

"This is just my speculation," Natasha stepped forward and said, "As I mentioned, there was a period when my memory was hazy while I was walking into the warehouse, possibly due to someone mentally controlling me. I suspect this might be a mutant ability."

"You mean Professor X?" Nick immediately became more alert.

Natasha shook her head, saying, "It shouldn't be him. If Professor X had intervened, he wouldn't have let me detect it. He can subtly modify anyone's memory without being noticed. But I could distinctly feel the gaps in my memory, which suggests a more crude method."

"I'm not certain, but during that time, I might have had hallucinations. I saw two figures with golden hair, possibly one male and one female. They entered the warehouse after me."

"Also..." Natasha turned her head to look at the wreckage and said, "I suspect this might not be a bomb made using human science and technology. Otherwise, to achieve this level of explosion, I wouldn't have survived."

Iron Man tapped his face mask as if receiving information from JARVIS. He then spoke, "Correct. According to JARVIS's analysis, if it were indeed an explosive of this magnitude, the entire mountain would have been blown into the sky upon detonation, not just the devices inside the warehouse."

Natasha lowered her head and said, "From what I know, mutants have several members who are proficient in explosives. Their explosions often involve air compression or magnetic force, providing precise control, great destructive power, and incendiary effects, much like what we see here."

Following her words, Nick looked at the charred ground around, saying, "Mutants... what are they planning?"

"We need to talk to Professor X. He must take responsibility for this," Natasha stepped forward, looking at Nick. "Regardless of the circumstances, mutants fall under his jurisdiction, and he shouldn't allow his companions to damage S.H.I.E.L.D.'s property. This is also a valuable asset for humanity."

"Director, you need to talk to him," Barton added. "While our relationship with Professor X has always been good, this time they've gone too far. Even the Brotherhood should be warned by Professor X..."

However, at that moment, Nick's expression, originally filled with anger and seriousness, turned somewhat embarrassed and hesitant. This change in his demeanor lasted only a moment, and then he spoke again:

"Do you... don't you find this situation a bit suspicious?"

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 903: Red Sea Fury (Part I)