After obtaining approval from all sides of the President's office, Nick Fury breathed a sigh of relief.
He sensibly left the President's office, followed by Pierce.
They walked out of the White House and arrived at the roadside.
Standing by the roadside, Pierce shook his head: "I didn't expect you to bring up the Avengers plan so smoothly. Congratulations, Fury, your long-held idea has finally come to fruition."
"I should thank you for your support, Pierce."
Nick Fury's words were sincere. Although his previous statements and ideas had a certain success rate, Pierce's strong support was a major reason. After all, Pierce had a substantial network of connections behind him. In the President's office, Fury saw no fewer than four senior officials supporting him.
This was clearly at Pierce's behest.
"I just think this world is no longer very safe, and I'm not the only one; they feel the same." Pierce's insinuation was understood by Fury. It was precisely because of this sense of crisis that the senior officials quickly approved the Avengers proposal.
"But you must also know that while the Avengers plan has been approved, the key is to find the right Avengers members. The Avengers won't be facing ordinary opponents."
"They will face a bunch of extraordinary threats."
"Yes, but I believe there will always be unexpected heroes in this world, like the Hulk. Who could have imagined that a mishap in a biotechnology enhancement project would create such a powerful being? This suggests that in times of crisis, heroes who can turn the tide will emerge."
Fury did not take this lightly.
Pierce took off his glasses, gently wiped them with a cloth, and offered advice: "The biotechnology enhancement project has always been overseen by Ross. The other side has been hunting the Hulk and has purchased some equipment from Stark Industries, likely in preparation for capturing him."
"If you intend to recruit Bruce Banner, Ross won't give up."
Ross, known as Thunderbolt Ross, held the rank of lieutenant general and had an extensive network of interests supporting him. Otherwise, his biotechnology enhancement project couldn't have been carried out so smoothly, nor could he have hunted the Hulk worldwide for so many years without exposure.
The reason is that some people see the potential in Bruce Banner and hope to reverse-engineer the super-soldier serum by capturing him.
Ross and his backers will not abandon such a significant opportunity and profit.
Now that Nick Fury has proposed recruitment in the President's office, Ross did not openly oppose it, only because the situation made the senior officials feel a sense of crisis. However, regardless of the situation, Ross and his supporters will certainly take action.
This is a test for Nick Fury.
Although S.H.I.E.L.D. is a behemoth, so is the military, the nation's most violent machinery and institutions. Neither the CIA nor the FBI dares to provoke them. The only agency that might dare is the IRS, but even they would not openly investigate the military's taxes.
Both sides maintain a tacit understanding, which indicates the military's terrifying power in the U.S.
In any era, in any country, the military is always the most violent and difficult entity to deal with.
Even an enormous organization like S.H.I.E.L.D. cannot easily offend them, or else it might suffer losses.
Fury was well aware of this and remained composed, clearly having prepared for this.
Seeing Fury's demeanor, Pierce said no more. After exchanging farewells, Nick Fury got into his car and left.
Pierce, under the guidance of dedicated security personnel, boarded his vehicle. As the car drove down the road, Pierce closed his eyes in the back seat. Suddenly, the driver, who appeared to be a regular security guard, spoke up.
"Sir, should we continue with our previous plan?"
"Proceed as planned. Fury hasn't noticed us yet; he's more concerned with other matters."
"And us?"
Pierce frowned. As a high-ranking leader of Hydra, he originally thought Hydra was just a remnant historical organization, even a terrorist group. But Pierce joined because he believed the organization could fulfill many of his ambitions.
He also gained many unknown secrets, such as the fact that Hydra's predecessor was indeed an ancient alien entity called Hive.
Neither he nor other faction leaders cared about this. The so-called belief in Hydra was merely a brainwashing tactic. Who would care about an alien being and even regard it as their master? They wanted to be in charge themselves, not bow to a master.
Pierce knew another Hydra faction was single-mindedly searching for Hive, which he thought was foolish.
What truly concerned him was that this ancient evil entity, along with the emergence of demons and hell, suggested the Earth's era had become distorted.
This distortion no longer centered on humanity; instead, both humanity and Earth became contested territories.
This non-human crisis made Pierce uneasy. More unsettling was his recurring feeling that some force had influenced his mind. He often had fleeting, puzzling fragments of memory and visions of an unseen figure.
The figure appeared god-like, commanding immense reverence and fear.
Pierce did not dare to desecrate it and had no rebellious thoughts.
This made Pierce very uneasy. He even used Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mind-related devices to cleanse his mind. The cleansing was successful but also failed.
He forgot many things, but the figure became more entrenched in his mind, impossible to remove.
Pierce realized someone had used mind-altering abilities on him, perhaps to manipulate or read his memories.
This possibility infuriated Pierce.
He was a former S.H.I.E.L.D. director, now a member of the World Security Council, and soon to be a minister. Both openly and secretly, he was a powerful figure. The common traits of such leaders are suspicion and egocentrism.
Only Pierce could manipulate others; no one could manipulate him.
Therefore, not only did the president's people want to possess a private armed force with extraordinary powers, but he also needed one.
"Without alarming Fury, search the world for people with extraordinary powers, even mutants if necessary. I need a force absolutely loyal to me."
"Yes, sir."
"By the way, have you found the person I was looking for?"
"Yes, sir. She is hiding in Brazil."
"Brazil? What is she doing in a place like that?" Pierce was a bit surprised. According to the investigation, Brazil was never a place she had visited before.
"I'm sorry, sir, we haven't found the reason, but our analysis suggests she seems to be hiding from something."
"For one of the world's most powerful telepaths, the White Queen, to hide, she must be in considerable trouble. Tell her that if she cooperates with us, we can offer her the greatest help."
"Yes, sir."
...
Due to the Arctic Circle Hell's Gate incident, the global situation has become complicated. At this point, everyone has realized that Earth is no longer safe. The various weapons they developed seem ineffective against these extraordinary beings.
Humans always lack a sense of security, especially those with power and wealth.
However, what followed was a new round of arms races, not for defense against other countries or wars, but to deal with those terrifying demons and supernatural beings.
The developed equipment and weapons are all aimed at those powerful beings.
Various original concepts were revived through new proposals, such as electromagnetic pulse railguns, space-based weapons, and electromagnetic guns.
Of course, that's a story for another time.
On Greenland Island in the Arctic Circle, the atmosphere was eerie. The howling wind blew through, but instead of the unique cold of the Arctic, it felt somewhat scorching. The environment in this area had gradually changed, causing massive glacier melt.
In this setting,
Tony, the X-Men, and others seemed a bit anxious.
Tony, in his MK armor, sat on a large rock, discussing academic and technical matters with Beast Hank. Logan and Scott carefully guarded Jean, looking at her with gentle concern as her emotions seemed increasingly unstable.
Storm Ororo was in the distance, communicating with Professor X.
Due to the special nature of this area, Professor X's telepathic powers couldn't reach here; otherwise, they would be burned or even contaminated.
He had to rely on the most basic communication methods.
"Is that so? Then what should we do? Should we have Jean leave immediately? I feel her emotional changes are becoming more intense. What if she loses control?"
Storm asked worriedly.
The professor's voice came through the phone, heavy with age: "This matter no longer requires our involvement. Bring Jean back, but be sure not to provoke her. She may be battling that power."
"Alas, all of this is my fault. Long ago, I sensed that my approach was just a temporary solution, and now my fears have been confirmed."
"It's not your fault, Professor. At that time, there was no other way to suppress it, was there?" Storm comforted and then continued, "We will leave now."
After the conversation, Storm's expression looked grim.
She finally understood the reason for Jean's changes. She had never expected that her friend's body harbored such terrifying power and even nurtured a more dreadful personality.
Taking a deep breath, Storm walked up to Jean and said nonchalantly, using the tone from their previous conversation: "Jean, the professor has allowed us to leave. It's clear this is no longer something we can handle."
Jean turned her head, and when Storm met her gaze, she was startled. She saw the flickering flame-like red light in Jean's eyes.
She seemed to hear the echoes of a phoenix's cry.
At this moment, a strange fear surged in Storm's heart, a fear stemming from instinct, from the soul.
"Jean?" Storm swallowed and tried to call out.
But Jean did not respond. Instead, she continued to turn her head to look at the Hell's Gate. When no one was watching, a flash of madness and violence occasionally flickered in her eyes.
Jean's behavior caused Storm's heart to sink. She knew that things had become serious.
She quickly signaled to Logan and Scott with her eyes, leading them to a distance to discuss in low voices: "Jean's condition is getting worse. We need to take her away immediately."
"What exactly happened?" Logan asked.
Scott looked uncertain, as if he had remembered something. Although he had come to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters later than Jean, he had not forgotten some experiences from his youth.
He recalled a significant event from his youth when Jean had once gone on a rampage. At that time, the rampaging Jean was like a god, solving terrifying enemies effortlessly.
Thinking about it now, there seemed to be some connection.
Sure enough, Storm repeated to Scott and Logan some things the Professor had told her, making them fully understand why Jean had become this way.
"Damn it," Logan's eyes widened. He had not imagined that the woman he cared for had such a troubled past beneath her gentle exterior.
Moreover, compared to his own experiences, Jean's seemed even more dangerous.
"No, we need to take Jean away. I feel like Jean is becoming more and more unfamiliar, maybe..." Scott anxiously looked at Jean's back, which now exuded a strange and dangerous aura.
Cold, violent.
Does this mean that the mad persona is influencing Jean?
Thinking of this, Scott was about to step towards Jean, but after just two steps, Jean suddenly turned her head. The madness and violence in her eyes were no longer concealed, causing Scott to stop in his tracks.
"Jean?"
Scott, Logan, and Storm's faces changed immediately, a sense of foreboding rising in their hearts.
As they had feared, Jean suddenly began to laugh, but it was a terrifying laugh.
Buzz!
Jean's entire figure turned into a red light, flying in another direction—towards the ice mountain where Wanda and the others were.
"Jean..."
Scott and Logan shouted anxiously. Tony Stark and Hank, who had been conversing nearby, were also shocked. Seeing what was happening, they quickly came over, dumbfounded.
"What happened?" Hank asked, looking up at Jean flying away.
"Could it be?"
Hank reacted quickly, realizing that the mad persona was still affecting Jean. Scott was desperate. Not only had their trip to the Arctic Circle been perilous, but now it seemed his girlfriend was about to leave too.
"We need to catch up."
"No, it's best not to." Logan suddenly said.
Scott looked over disapprovingly. Logan shook his head at their confusion, his expression serious and earnest: "You know I have beast-like instincts. Just now, when Jean was about to leave, I wanted to stop her, but my instincts told me that if I moved…"
Logan's voice became hoarse and heavy: "Then Jean would attack us mercilessly."
"We would all die immediately."
"Jean is now like a ticking time bomb ready to explode at any moment. Any action from us could trigger her explosion. If her emotions are unleashed, Jean might truly disappear forever."
Logan's words were like a thorn in the hearts of the X-Men. Scott originally did not care about the dangers; he was not afraid of death and just wanted to find his girlfriend.
But Logan's final words made him calm down immediately.
"Why is this happening?" Storm asked rationally.
"Jean is at a critical point, being influenced by that mad persona. She and that persona are alternately controlling and resisting each other, which makes her current body affected by both. Any action from us might cause her to fail in resisting the mad persona."
Hank suddenly spoke: "We do not know how mad that persona is or if it will kill Jean after defeating her."
"This is why Logan stopped us."
"Damn, so we just have to watch?" Scott cursed under his breath, hating the feeling of powerlessness.
The others fell silent. Tony Stark, who had been watching quietly, guessed what was happening. He looked towards where Jean flew to Wanda, raising his eyebrows: "Maybe it is not as bad as you think."
"What?"
~~~
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— Completed (Chapter 277: Finale)