"Um, I don't know." Well, Tohka really didn't know what was going on with those attacks. At least, she couldn't unleash something on the level Nick Fury was describing, so she could only look at him in confusion.
"Er, forget it. Pretend I didn't ask—just go." Seeing Tohka's confused little expression, Nick Fury rubbed his forehead and waved her off.
As the head of S.H.I.E.L.D., his ability to read people was top-notch, and he could tell that Tohka really didn't know anything.
After all, things like eye movements and expressions were impossible to fake unless you were professionally trained. And even trained people usually couldn't fool him.
In Fury's mind, Tohka definitely knew something, but her memory had been wiped—by Charles.
"Alright then, I'm leaving." Hearing Fury's words, Tohka smashed open a hole in the wall of the plane and flew out.
Instantly, a massive suction force roared in, but Nick Fury held onto his seat like a statue. Soon, that special material reappeared and sealed up the gap in the plane.
But Fury didn't leave immediately—he just silently stared at the crack, thinking about how to make Tony Stark pay for the repairs.
After all, Stark was rich, and this could be a good way to vent the frustration he'd just taken from Tohka.
"Wait a minute, that attack..."
While flying through the sky, Tohka suddenly remembered something—her earlier dream. Some people forget their dreams after waking up, and unfortunately, Tohka was one of them.
But after flying through the wind for a while, she finally recalled it. That attack was definitely beyond her, but if it were from her inversed self, then it would make sense.
What puzzled her was, since Inverse Tohka existed, why hadn't she contacted her yet?
"Ugh, the distance is a little too far. Oh well... I hope we meet again someday."
Sighing in the sky, Tohka understood that things were over for today. No matter what, she had no way of contacting Inverse Tohka again. As for that space... she didn't even know how to enter it.
How did she know that world was inside her? Because she could never mistake that World Tree. That kind of deep, bloodline-level connection was impossible to miss.
"You just let her go? Didn't even ask anything else?"
Back inside the plane, once balance was restored, the door opened. Coulson and Hill walked in, staring at the damaged wall with some confusion.
They didn't understand why Nick Fury had let Tohka go so easily, especially when the interrogation room was designed to suppress superpowers—but it hadn't worked on her at all.
"No need. I'm pretty sure her memories were erased by Professor Charles. No point in asking more. From our data, that professor at least has the ability to block or erase memories."
Glancing at his two lieutenants, Fury calmly explained the situation. They were his trusted aides, so there was no need to keep secrets from them.
"That doesn't seem likely. I remember reading that Professor Charles isn't the type to forcibly erase someone's memories." Thinking about the files she'd read on Charles, Hill found it hard to believe he'd do such a thing.
"Hmph." Hearing that, Fury gave a cold snort. "Wouldn't do it? Who knows. As long as he was discreet, how would any of you know? Besides, with their powers, tricking Tohka wouldn't be difficult."
"..."
Okay, so maybe Tohka had just forgotten due to slow mental processing. But Fury had already pinned the blame on Charles. Though it was kind of unfair—Charles couldn't even enter Tohka's mind, let alone mess with it.
"Whatever, I still have to go file a report. You two handle things here."
Fury turned to leave, but paused. "By the way, how's the research on the Tesseract going? Let Tohka give it a try when the time comes. Maybe she can figure out how to use it. Thor's hammer was off-limits due to Asgardian involvement, but the Tesseract? We need to find a way to harness its power—so move quickly."
He gave one last look to his two subordinates before walking off. The main villain had been dealt with, but the trouble was far from over. World peace sounded nice, but what would global leaders think?
Luckily, the damage had been massive—pyramids in Egypt were destroyed—so it would be easier to justify. But even so, he still had a lot of explaining to do.
"Understood. We should be done in a few days." Knowing Fury was getting impatient, the two agents in charge of the project immediately reported their progress.
"Good. And get in touch with that bastard Tony. The plane repair bill's going to him."
Fury gave the hole in the wall a final glance before leaving. Coulson and Hill exchanged helpless looks. Getting Tony to cough up the money wasn't going to be easy.
"We might have to disappear for a while. This incident caused way too much of a stir." Elsewhere, Charles was speaking with the X-Men.
"Why, Charles? Don't forget, we came out of this stronger than ever. Our fighting power has increased dramatically. Isn't now the best time to raise our status? Why go into hiding?"
Hearing Charles's words, Magneto was the first to speak up. In his view, with powerful mutants like Storm—who was on par with himself—and Jean Grey, whom Charles had clearly kept under wraps, they had the perfect opportunity.
"No. Right now we're at the center of everything. What we need is not influence—but silence."
It had to be said, mutants weren't the only powerful beings in this world. So, whether mutants were seen positively or negatively didn't matter as much—the world wouldn't keep watching them forever. If they laid low for a while, things would quiet down.