"Claude! Claude! What's wrong with you?... Help, someone! Claude has fainted!"
A cry rang out from the councilors' seats. An elderly man with white hair collapsed onto the floor, causing a loud "thud". The surrounding people were thrown into confusion and rushed towards the old councilor.
The seats were chaotic. The presiding councilor had to bang the table and ordered, "There's an emergency! Dismiss the meeting! Dismiss it immediately!"
"He's having a heart attack, call a doctor!"
At this point, Shiller yelled from the front, "I am a doctor! I am coming!"
"Wait!" Stark rushed over, blocking the excited Shiller. The two started to brawl on the spot.
Fearing that Stark would not be able to stop Shiller, and that Shiller might hang the old councilor on a lamppost, Steve had to pick up his shield and join Stark in stopping Shiller.
"Spider Man! Come help me. I need to get up there and save him!" Shiller shouted as he fought.
Peter was confused. He had been dozing off when Shiller and Stark had been arguing, only waking when someone called for a doctor. He thought, since someone was calling for a doctor and Shiller was a doctor, why not let him go and save the person?
So, hearing Shiller's call, Peter directly rushed up, and Stark and Steve began to shake people around. Just as Steve was about to throw his shield, Stark shouted, "We're on Capitol Hill, we can't use superpowers here, it will bring the building down!"
Steve was frustrated, but with no other option, he resorted to his fists. Thus, the group of superheroes, like a street brawl, began tearing into each other.
"Stop fighting, all of you stop! This is the Congress chamber!" Someone from below yelled.
But by this point, the stage was a battlefield, and nobody could hear anybody else. With a loud "bang", Peter collided with the rostrum, sending the presiding councilor scrambling down.
The thrown rostrum hit a wall, bounced back and fell onto the seats, causing all the people at the impact site to flee in terror.
Soon, the few who could fly began to take to the air, trading punches in midair.
One minute, Shiller had Stark pinned down, the next Stark had Shiller on the ground. After the commotion, the destruction in the Congress hall could cover half a year's budget, by a conservative estimate.
And so, this all-over-the-place meeting ended with the bewildering brawl of the superheroes and the intermittent screams of the councilors. However, this incident was far from over.
The first thing the supporters of the registration bill did was investigate the Moon Knight Shiller who had suddenly gone berserk today.
No matter how they looked into it, Shiller Rodriguez was a heavyweight.
Just a few days ago, he had been taken for an investigation by the Central Intelligence Agency for alleged espionage activities. As it turned out, he and the agent investigating him had both mysteriously disappeared. What, they had been converted?!!
Then there was his academic prowess. World-renowned psychologists were either his classmates, alumni, or teachers.
Also, his circle of friends. All the famous superheroes were either his patients or friends.
Most importantly, they asked Professor Charles X to confirm whether Shiller really had this superpower—because of Charles' special mind-reading ability, he knows very well about everyone's special abilities.
But the answer was even more horrifying. This is what Charles said:
"He indeed possesses a mind-reading technique similar to mine. Furthermore, he is the world's top expert in the exploration of consciousness and dreams. A few days ago, I even benefited from his help on a piece of academic research that I had been stuck on for a long time. Not joking, he's stronger than me."
Charles had a habit of understatement, so his words needed to be taken with a grain of salt. But even when taken with a grain of salt, it was clear that Shiller was at least on par with him, right?
Actually, all the ruling classes in this world have imagined that if Professor X suddenly launched his mind-control on the whole human race, what would they do?
After decades of consideration, they realized they wouldn't be able to do anything.
They had to rely on Professor X's noble morality and extreme self-control. There were no other alternatives.
They had also imagined what would happen if someone without such high morals and self-control appeared.
What's happening now is even scarier than that.
Shiller is not only a communist but also a radical leftist.
The aging Congressmen all knew, the extreme leftists were a minority even within the Soviet Union and were extremely difficult to deal with, second only to the stones in a cesspool in terms of quantity.
You could say they drew a losing hand. A man with abilities identical to those of Professor X now holds the most headache-inducing position — a S.H.I.E.L.D. psychologist.
Is there any point in keeping this S.H.I.E.L.D?!
As they had presumed before, how would you handle Professor X?
The answer is: you can't. All you can do is appease him. Allow this time bomb who can manipulate the entire human race to roam around the Earth, hoping he doesn't go insane on a bad day.
Any anger at the situation can only manifest as impotent rage. No one even dares to approach him, much less discuss countermeasures.
Now, the situation with Shiller is the same. Besides Charles' corroboration, Iron Man and Captain America have also confirmed Shiller's abilities.
Iron Man, who once peeked into the cosmos, knows for sure that Shiller possesses the ability to read minds. Although its intensity is unknown, considering his usual heart-piercing remarks, it must be significant.
As for Captain America, he deduced the reason why Shiller always seems to stab him in the heart. Given that the man is a master of mind-reading, he invariably hits the mark.
To some extent, Shiller is even more frightening than Professor X. He doesn't have the burden of a mutant school and he doesn't have enemies like Magneto. Without any holdbacks or adversaries, he is pretty much invulnerable.
At this phase of the development, the plan to handle Shiller has shifted from eliminating or controlling him to appeasing him so that he does not go insane.
They are well-versed in such tactics. Over the years, America has dispatched numerous sugarcoated shells. Wasn't the Soviet Union, once both so great and resolute, mostly corrupted by them?
Give Shiller what he wants, let him do what he desires, and create vulnerabilities to hold onto. They can wait.
Then, they received shocking news from Iron Man-
Shiller wants to resurrect the Soviet Union.
Three of the Congressmen, all over 80, fainted on the spot.
They should have thought about this earlier. What else could such extreme left fanatic desire other than making the world red again?
In a secret meeting room, an elderly man in a suit with graying temples handed his oxygen cylinder to a secretary who had just entered. He then removed the mask from his face, took a deep breath, and sat down on a chair, clutching his chest.
On another chair, a slightly younger man, dressed as a general, sighed. He said, "I don't understand. He's got both the capability and the belief. So why are we still able to sit here safely and consciously?"
The old man across him sighed. He said, "If, as S.H.I.E.L.D claims, he managed to live from the Soviet era till now and was a KGB member, then perhaps he, too, once felt disillusioned with that country."
"Then why does he now suddenly…"
The elderly man cut him off as he shook his head. "You still don't get it? His openly revealing his identity indicates that he does not wish to resort to such extreme measures immediately, or perhaps brainwashing the entire world doesn't come without a price."
"He is using this as a bargaining chip to negotiate with us. But we do not have any matching chips, so no matter what terms he proposes, we could only accept."
"What price do you think he'll ask?" The young general inquired.
"I hope he could ask for a sky-high price, even higher than Gorbachev's, several times over. Just not…"
Just then, the harsh sound of the phone rang. An assistant walked in with a secure phone in hand. The old man reached over and picked up the ringing phone. The voice on the other side conveyed:
"Vice president Sir, we have established communication with Mr. Rodriguez."
"What does he demand? If he wants money, power, or someone's life, we can provide…"
"No, he says..."
Upon hearing the answer from the other side, the hand of the man referred to as Vice president began to shake uncontrollably. The young general looked at him and saw a sense of resigned acceptance and complexity in his eyes.
"What does he want?" The young general asked.
"He said, he wants a brighter lighthouse."