"Whoosh!" With a swoop, Luke's claws aimed for Melinda's head, in a critical moment that could have ended her life, but Hawkeye Barton intervened, shooting an arrow straight at Luke's head. The gesture implied that if Luke dared to make another move, he would ensure both he and Melinda would perish together!
Facing a life-and-death crisis, Luke's pupils dilated rapidly. He could no longer afford to focus on attacking Melinda, especially since he, as a werewolf, wasn't as powerful as other werewolves, and definitely not as formidable as those animal warriors created from monkey talisman experiments. An arrow through his head would mean death for him as well.
"Swish!" With another sound, Luke dodged the arrow, and Melinda also missed her chance to counterattack. She knew her attacks weren't strong enough to take down Luke the werewolf, so she quickly moved out of the way.
Moreover, Melinda knew well that Hawkeye Barton's arrows were no ordinary projectiles but products of high technology. Luke avoiding the physical arrow didn't mean he was out of danger.
"Boom!" Just as Melinda had dodged, a terrifying explosion erupted, engulfing Luke's figure on the spot and stunning Jocelyn, who watched nearby. The blast even flung Melinda, who had just evaded, through the air.
"Damn it! What have you all done?!" Jocelyn snapped back to reality and exploded in rage. A wave of invisible force burst from her body and slammed towards Hawkeye Barton so swiftly that he couldn't react in time, his body smashing into a nearby wall.
Jocelyn, no longer the shadow hunter she once was, had not lost her abilities, but her long disuse and physical degradation had significantly weakened her combat effectiveness...
As Jocelyn gasped for air, she didn't even glance at the flung-away Hawkeye Barton. Instead, she anxiously looked toward the smoke where Luke had been, not noticing that Coulson, who had always been by her side, had taken out a device and pressed it against her.
A current-like force acted on Jocelyn, causing her to roll her eyes back and collapse, convulsing on the ground.
"Why did you have to engage?" Coulson sighed as Jocelyn lay on the ground, turning to Melinda, "You'll have to explain to the director why it went down like this when we get back. I won't be speaking for you."
"Who would have thought he'd come out of nowhere, ready to attack us?" Melinda glanced at the dispersing smoke, shaking her head, "We'll have to have words with the intelligence department. They've been monitoring for days, and they didn't notice he was a werewolf? Be careful!"
As Melinda spoke, her expression suddenly changed. She had no time to retrieve her dropped baton and instead pulled out her handgun. Not caring that she was on a busy street, she aimed into the remnants of the smoke and fired several shots.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
With each gunshot, Luke's gradually visible form dodged, until finally, when the smoke completely cleared, Luke turned and shot a cold look at Melinda and Coulson, before setting his sights on Jocelyn and fleeing in the opposite direction.
"Should we pursue?" Melinda frowned at Luke's direction and the blood on the ground.
"Let him go. It's already created enough of a scene. We're here for Jocelyn, think about how we're going to explain this to the director. His recent attempts at diplomacy might have been for nothing..." Coulson hesitated, then shook his head, looking back at Melinda and then to Hawkeye Barton, who was climbing out of the wall debris.
"How are you holding up? Need to contact medical to check you over?"
"I'll manage, no serious harm done!" Hawkeye Barton maintained his composure, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth and looking toward the unconscious Jocelyn, "I had no idea she was so powerful. Though she seems unpracticed, the extraordinary still surpasses the likes of me, who's been enhanced with the super soldier serum..."
"Times have changed. We used to see extraordinary items, but who knew there were so many extraordinary people in the world?" Coulson shook his head, carrying Jocelyn to the car, "Her abilities have limitations, though. If you're prepared, dealing with her isn't too hard..."
"Her strength wouldn't be considered formidable in the extraordinary world!" As the car started, Hawkeye Barton looked at the still unconscious Jocelyn, "Unprepared, we struggle against such extraordinary individuals, let alone the likes of Saiyans or Superman..."
"No wonder the director changed his mind, from solely focusing on assembling the Avengers to now gathering a force of effective fighters first."
"Just so you know,
this group of extraordinary individuals isn't the Avengers!" Coulson smiled at Hawkeye Barton, "Only when Iron Man, Superman, and the Saiyans join can it truly be called the Avengers..."
"As much as I hate to dampen the director's confidence, I think he's dreaming!" Hawkeye Barton shook his head, bluntly stating.
"One must have dreams, right? What if they come true?" Coulson shrugged lightly, "Like my dream is to find a beautiful place to enjoy life before I go bald, and I'm working toward that..."
"That's why you're losing your hair even faster!" Melinda quipped, glancing at Coulson's receding hairline.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicle moved swiftly and stably towards a base, as Nick Fury had decided not to meet his sister Jocelyn at the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
Meanwhile, Luke's escape was clumsy and staggering. He didn't know where to run but knew staying would result in death at the hands of Coulson and the others.
Even if Luke didn't know exactly who Coulson and his team were, if he died there, no one could relay the message to save Jocelyn!
But the more Luke ran, the weaker his breath became. First, the technologically advanced arrow from Hawkeye Barton wounded him, and then bullets from Melinda's gun hit him. Although Luke had dodged vital hits, his werewolf lineage's healing ability was extremely poor. If a human's physical condition could reach Luke's level, their healing would be just as inadequate...
With a final howl, Luke collapsed, unconscious.
Soon, several werewolves appeared around Luke, their presence even feebler than his, showing Luke was still their leader.
"Luke! Luke!" As they found Luke unconscious, the werewolves panicked, managing to wake him briefly.
"Go, find Constantine..." With those weak words, Luke passed out again.
Fortunately, the werewolves were quick both in speed and gathering information, as Constantine's shadow hunters were widespread. Sharing information was simple.
Thus, with the opening of a portal, Luke and several werewolves entered Constantine's current magic base, where Claire and other shadow hunters were present. Especially Claire, who was shocked to see Luke in trouble, as he and her mother Jocelyn were living together. Luke's predicament meant Jocelyn might be in trouble too!
Although Claire's relationship with Jocelyn had stiffened a bit due to past events involving the Holy Grail, Claire still cared deeply for Jocelyn. Otherwise, she wouldn't have recklessly entered the extraordinary world when Jocelyn was captured.
Even now, Claire somewhat regretted it. Although she had entered the extraordinary world, with the portal, there was no need to avoid Jocelyn entirely. She could have visited home occasionally, especially since if she had been home today, Jocelyn would not have been in danger...
"Buzz!" In Claire's worried gaze, the Guardian was casting spells to heal Luke. This scene seemed familiar; the last time Luke was severely injured by touching the magic academy's array, it was the Guardian who healed him. Now, the Guardian seemed somewhat dazed.
However, compared to the previous magical power of the array, this time's injuries were actually lighter, mostly external wounds. For such injuries, the Guardian found it easier to heal, although it couldn't match the effects of Robert's healing spells, yet it gradually stabilized Luke's condition.
"Uh~" After a while, Luke's injuries stabilized, and he slowly opened his eyes, looking around in confusion at first, then gradually regaining consciousness.
"Luke! What happened? Where's Mom?" Claire asked anxiously as Luke woke up.
"She was taken. I was just coming back from the market when I saw Jocelyn being held by three people. I rushed over immediately. The woman handling her was skilled but seemed like a regular person..." Luke's gaze flickered as he quietly recounted the events.
"But there was someone with a bow and arrow. I think his arrows had some kind of technological power. They exploded on impact, injuring me on the spot. Just as I struggled to get up, I was hit by bullets..."
"I knew I couldn't save Jocelyn with my own strength, so I dragged my injured body away. Fortunately, I managed to contact you guys..."
"Who are they? Valentine is dead, and the Grail has been destroyed. You haven't exposed your abilities, so why would someone target Jocelyn and you? Even angels shouldn't be targeting you both..." Claire frowned, puzzled. With Valentine dead and the Grail gone, she couldn't understand why enemies would target Jocelyn and Luke, who were living ordinary lives. There seemed no reason for angels to target them either.
"I think they were only after Jocelyn. They wouldn't have been so harsh on me otherwise, but they only approached and held her
..." Luke hesitated, then added softly.
"Claire, can you track down where Jocelyn is?" Unable to figure it out, Claire turned to Constantine, who looked expectantly back at her.
"Uh..." Constantine paused. Honestly, he didn't want to use tracking magic. He had managed to offload the debt associated with tracking magic to Robert and was enjoying the relief from that burden.
But now, as the shadow hunters were aiding Constantine, expecting them to work without support was unreasonable.
And, considering Jocelyn's strength wasn't particularly strong, Constantine felt he could handle the cost.
"Alright!" Constantine finally nodded. Under Claire's grateful gaze, he began to use the tracking magic. Having met Jocelyn before, he could track her location.
"Ding-ding!" However, just as Constantine had paid the price to find Jocelyn, Claire's phone rang, prompting a foreboding feeling in Constantine.
"Nick Fury?" Claire froze when she saw the phone number, having no fondness for its owner.
When Jocelyn had disappeared before, Claire had called Nick Fury for help, but he had shown no interest in assisting. Now, mysteriously, Nick Fury was reaching out...
"Could it be?" A thought flashed through Claire's mind. She didn't leave to answer the call but turned to Constantine and the Guardian, "You guys go through the portal and check on Jocelyn's situation, see what's going on..."
"Buzz!" As the Guardian and Constantine exchanged glances, the Guardian's portal began to open. Suddenly, a pale blue light severed the portal's power on the spot, leaving the Guardian looking bewildered.
"There's trouble. I'll contact Robert!" Seeing this, Constantine's expression darkened.
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