Coulson clutched at his already thinning hair, feeling his fate was mirroring his scalp.
"Officer, there's an anomalous energy signature, located in Hell's Kitchen," a technician quickly reported to Coulson.
"Transmit the exact location to the ops channel. Technicians, keep tracking this energy source. The rest of you, prepare for combat."
Coulson turned to Hawkeye and said, "Clint, this won't be a drill!"
Hawkeye Barton slung his custom compound bow onto his back and replied, "Once the arrow is drawn, there's no turning back. My arrow has been on the string from the start!"
"The location is 43rd Street in Hell's Kitchen," the anomalous energy location was sent to Coulson's device.
"What's its movement?" Coulson asked.
After some rapid operations, the technician said, "The energy source is moving towards Times Square, very fast."
"Times Square? That direction seems to be Fisk Tower." Realizing this, Coulson immediately gave the order, "Clint, you take Team B to set up an ambush around Fisk Tower. The Hand's target is very likely Fisk Tower. I'll take my people to the anomalous energy location."
"I'm going with you!"
Danny Rand, the Iron Fist, who had been with Coulson ever since he woke up, walked over, wanting to join the S.H.I.E.L.D. team.
"Mr. Rand, this is a S.H.I.E.L.D. operation. Although we saved you, this shouldn't have anything to do with you, should it?"
In Coulson's memory, which had been altered by Makima, Danny Rand was kidnapped by The Hand because his appearance allowed Rand Corporation to escape The Hand's control, and they wanted to eliminate him.
"No, The Hand's business has a huge connection to me. I am the Iron Fist, and it is my duty to capture the traitors of K'un-Lun. Moreover, they controlled Rand Corporation for so many years; I should be the one to deal with it. Most importantly, without me, you are no match for that demon."
After speaking, Danny Rand extended his fist, concentrated, and his fist was enveloped in a layer of dazzling golden light.
Coulson's eyebrows raised, then quickly settled. He didn't take the last sentence to heart and chuckled:
"A glowing fist, that looks really cool. Then you can come with us, but you must follow orders. This is not a joke!"
"I have more experience than you!" Danny Rand retorted.
"Everyone's ready. Let's move."
Ignoring Danny Rand's dissatisfaction, the S.H.I.E.L.D. team quickly moved again.
Inside the Chevrolet Suburban, Coulson received new information: hundreds of citizens had simultaneously and inexplicably turned into desiccated corpses. The Director suspected it was related to The Hand's conspiracy.
"What is this? A new type of virus?"
Coulson couldn't understand how so many people could turn into desiccated corpses at the same time. Even a virus couldn't take effect simultaneously.
Danny Rand leaned over and saw the images on Coulson's tablet.
He frowned deeply and said, "They've been cursed, a very powerful curse that instantly burned their souls."
"You know about this phenomenon?" Coulson began to take this man, who claimed to be the Iron Fist of K'un-Lun, a bit more seriously.
Danny Rand said, "Ancient texts of K'un-Lun describe powerful demons that can cast curses from a distance through blood or other bodily tissues. The fate of these people is very similar to what's described; their souls must have been forcibly extracted by a demon."
"Demons? Related to The Hand? It also happened at the time of the anomalous energy. It must be the effect of them summoning a demon. Was collecting blood for this purpose?"
Coulson fell into a brainstorm.
"Officer, the energy source has been lost. The last known location was 23rd Street."
Coulson received another piece of bad news. After quickly replaying the map of Hell's Kitchen in his mind, Coulson roughly guessed where the target was heading.
He opened his walkie-talkie and ordered, "Clint, the target should be heading your way. Observe and be vigilant!"
Hawkeye Barton's voice came through the walkie-talkie: "No need to observe, I already see it. It's quite a commotion."
An Agent sent the situation from Hawkeye's side to Coulson's tablet.
"Quite a commotion, is the demon driving a tank?"
Coulson clicked on the video, and when he saw the scene, his eyes involuntarily widened.
The footage was slightly blurry, indicating it was shot from a great distance. In the center of the frame was a creature barely recognizable as humanoid, though it could only be said to resemble a human.
At this moment, Elektra was completely enveloped in black demonic energy, her body half again taller than a normal person, with serrated bone blades protruding from her joints, like a killing machine forcibly pieced together. Whether human or vehicle, anything entering the black domain would be dissolved; humans turned into desiccated corpses, metal creations corroded into scrap. Each step she took was like the gates of hell tearing open a rift in the human world.
Elektra's body, transformed by the power of the Beast, was changing into a demonic creature.
"What the hell is that thing? Do you know?"
Coulson could only direct the question to the only person present who might know the situation, Danny Rand, who claimed to be the Iron Fist.
Danny Rand had watched the video, his entire face creased into a grid, and with his bushy face, he looked like an ape that had transformed into a human.
"I..."
Coulson nervously awaited Danny Rand's answer; it looked like something terrifying.
"I don't know either."
Coulson almost choked. If you didn't know, why did you pause for so long?
"It looks like some kind of monster," Danny Rand added.
"I know it's a monster!"
Coulson gave up on Danny Rand and reported directly to Fury:
"Officer, we may need backup. The Hand's demon might be more powerful than we anticipated."
"Hawkeye has already informed me of the situation. General Ross's Military is in New York. If you can't handle it, the Military will intervene. I've also sent another team with special weapons and armed helicopters to support you. Phil, listen to me carefully: you must control casualties and damage to the city. I don't want that bastard Ross causing trouble for me, understood?"
"Yes, Officer!" Coulson hung up the phone.
Hawkeye Barton watched the approaching, grotesque demon and commanded:
"Notify the New York Police Department to speed up the evacuation of citizens here."
When Hawkeye's team arrived, they had already notified the New York Police Department to help evacuate the crowd, but New York citizens loved to watch the excitement too much, so the evacuation was very slow.
"Snipers, prepare. Let's test this monster's abilities."
The snipers were already ready. In their scopes, the demonized Elektra swept her hand across the panicked pedestrians fleeing opposite her. Instantly, the pedestrians turned into desiccated corpses. Seeing this, the sniper swallowed, silently praying that their firearms would work.
"Fire!" Hawkeye ordered.
Three snipers from different positions aimed at Elektra's head, chest, and thigh, firing simultaneously. Three bullets, without any particular order, struck Elektra at the same time.
At this moment, Elektra had lost her consciousness and was acting purely on instinct. When the bullets came, she seemed to sense them, but she neither defended nor dodged.
The bullets accurately hit Elektra's head, chest, and thigh, but had no effect. It was as if they had hit a cloud of smoke; the bullets passed through Elektra's body and struck the ground behind her.
The pierced locations did not bleed; they dispersed like smoke and then quickly gathered and reformed.