As the homeland and right next to the Washington D.C. Special Zone, Quantico Military Base is stationed with the army, navy, and air force, making it one of the top military bases on the mainland.
Numerous soldiers.
Numerous weapons.
And because it's on home soil, most soldiers never thought there would be a day when it would face an invasion.
So—
The moment the piercing alarm sounded above Quantico Military Base, all soldiers on patrol stopped in their tracks, then instinctively glanced at the red dot caught in their peripheral vision.
In sight!
High above the sky, a dark red spot was rapidly enlarging at a speed visible to the naked eye. It wasn't a plane, nor was it a missile, but a silent, burning meteorite that was swiftly plunging towards the tallest tower of the military base.
The next second.
Before they could understand why a meteorite appeared here, the burning meteorite precisely struck the top of the tower.
The moment of impact, time seemed to freeze for an instant!
Then—
Boom!
The command tower constructed of reinforced steel and concrete crumbled under the sound of an explosion and was accompanied by an expanding spherical shockwave that caused it to collapse with a mournful wail.
All the soldiers stared blankly at the soaring cloud of dust that kept changing shape dreadfully.
And the faintly visible figure beyond the dust cloud.
On the ruins of the collapsing tower in the blink of an eye, a figure slowly stood up from a half-crouched position and, under the watchful eyes of countless soldiers, gently touched the ground with his toes, then gradually ascended again from the dissipating smoke.
The blood-red and black woven battle armor tightly wrapped around Hawk's statue-like physique.
This was Wanda's doing.
After all, his suit had been torn to rags at the Mutant Underground Community.
Hawk initially planned to appear in the original version.
But Wanda didn't allow it, insisting on using the Crimson Chaos Power to conjure an alternative—a somewhat tight-fitting dark red battle armor.
It was genuinely tight.
If it weren't for the recent appearance, in full view, Hawk would have squatted down and tugged at the crotch.
If he guessed correctly, this was likely woven according to his size in 616.
Unfortunately.
His original size was somewhat larger than his 616 self.
So...
A bit too tight.
Forget it.
No thinking.
Hawk temporarily dismissed the thought of tugging at the crotch, suspended in mid-air as if a Demon God had descended, gazing down coldly at the terrified expressions of the Quantico Military Base personnel as they looked his way, and those shocked who quickly donned their gear. He finally directed his gaze onto the Joint Military Building of Quantico Military Base.
"I give you ten minutes to freely attack me."
"After ten minutes, if you don't want to die, bring William Stryker to me."
"Otherwise, you die!"
Hawk's voice echoed coldly and calmly in every corner of Quantico Military Base.
Once again.
His energy was temporarily absent, but his power remained.
Let me put it this way.
With his current Celestial God body, even if a Kryptonian Superman from the neighboring cosmos came, unless it was Silver Superman, he could beat Superman into submission.
"Tatatata"
Just as Hawk's words fell, three Apache helicopters that had reacted promptly and started up formed an attack formation and took off.
Then, without any hesitation.
The thirty-millimeter chain guns at the noses of the Apache helicopters spewed long tongues of fire, and the metal storm created by armor-piercing rounds instantly descended upon Hawk.
The next second.
Hawk was engulfed by the metal storm in an instant.
But...
Hawk stood in the metal storm, indestructible!
Bullets hit his body, creating a din of rain-like sound. Even Wanda's woven dark red battle armor couldn't be penetrated, let alone his body's defenses.
"Boom!"
Amid the sound of tread crushing the ground, two tanks emitting rolling thick smoke appeared below, swelling up their gun barrels aimed at Hawk in mid-air.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Accompanied by the tank bodies' vibration, two shells soared through the sky and exploded splendidly at the moment they hit Hawk.
The explosion smoke quickly dispersed.
Unscathed, Hawk had not moved an inch from his previous position.
But very soon.
More warplanes ascended to the sky, and more tanks appeared.
In an instant.
Armor-piercing rounds' metal storm.
The meteor shower of tank shells, and the sounds of rifles and machine guns frantically firing at Hawk formed a bizarre symphony.
It was called bizarre because whether from the Apaches' attack or tank shells, they weren't even qualified to make Hawk sway a bit.
Hawk hung in mid-air, allowing these soldiers to try every means to attack him.
In the base building, generals rushing to the operations center watched Hawk dangling in mid-air on the big screen, going crazy.
The same.
William Stryker, at the New York City Sentinel Special Service Bureau, also lost his mind.
Because...
He just heard Hawk's bold words when he notified Quantico Military Base.
This mutant, specifically identifying him?
And daring to fly above Quantico Military Base to demand him?
Jesus Christ.
Who do you think you are, Magneto, performing as a king...
Then Stryker also saw on the big screen Hawk standing motionless, withstanding the metallic storm of helicopters, tank shells, and various light and heavy weapons.
Soon.
Stryker reacted.
Likewise, the generals in the Quantico Base building also reacted.
One sentence.
This place is too dangerous, they must be stationed in a safe place before they can give orders.
Unfortunately.
Just as these generals were about to go downstairs, the ten-minute time was up.
Hawk kept his word.
If he said he would give Quantico ten minutes to fire freely, then ten minutes it was, not a second less.
Of course, not a second more either.
So—
Hawk's gaze swept over the Apache helicopters surrounding him in the air.
In the next second.
He moved.
Hawk disappeared instantly from the spot. After the temporary suppression of Extraordinary Energy, his physical body was the weapon.
And still the best weapon.
Bar none.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
...
Surrounding Hawk, the Apache helicopters that were frantically unleashing a Metal Storm exploded instantly as Hawk penetrated their form, transforming into brilliant fireballs blooming in the sky.
And in a ring no less.
Following that.
Hawk landed and appeared in front of a tank that had been hit by the earliest and most shells, then through the observation port of the tank, he grinned at the driver, whose expression twisted because of his arrival, and then his right hand formed a fist and punched directly at the tank before him.
Bang!
Boom!
The tank instantly transformed into a streak of light, like a soccer ball kicked out, whistling as it fell onto an open-air oil tank at the back.
An earth-shattering explosion erupted.
"Run, run, run!"
"Quick, quick!"
"Hurry!"
At this moment, the generals who had already run out from the base building almost desperately rushed towards the special vehicles parked at the entrance.
But right then.
Bang!
Right in front of the entrance to the base building, the roof of the deadly yellow SUV caved in with a crash.
Hawk landed on the roof, a brilliant smile on his face.
"Protect the executive…"
Bang!
Hawk looked at a black lieutenant colonel who spoke, instantly appearing in front of the black lieutenant colonel, ignoring the soldier beside him trying to kill him with a small handgun, and then reached out with both hands, one clenching the black lieutenant colonel's neck, the other his head, then yanked hard.
Pop!
Thunk!
Hawk dropped the trash in his hand, his voice icy: "If there is gunfire again in three seconds, I'll send you all to Hell."
As soon as the words fell.
The general being protected by the black lieutenant colonel roared instantly: "Cease fire, cease fire!"
The other generals also reacted and shouted angrily at their guards.
Three seconds later.
The gunfire ceased.
Hawk smiled, his gaze fell on the first general to speak.
He looked at the familiar-looking general before him, frowned slightly.
"Your name."
"Thaddeus Ross!"
"..."
Hawk raised an eyebrow: "General Ross, now, can we talk?"
It seemed that Thaddeus Ross, in the altered reality of the mutant Cosmos, General Ross, looked at the two-part guard under Hawk's feet, his peripheral vision focused on the burning helicopter wreckage and numerous tank remains as well as the open-air oil tank ablaze in the distance, took a deep breath, maintained the dignity of a Federation general, and looked at Hawk before him.
"Yes, we can talk."
"Good."
Upon hearing this, Hawk smiled slightly, then spoke calmly.
"I gave you ten minutes to fire freely at me, allowing you to attempt to eliminate me."
"This isn't because I fear you, it's because of my disposition."
"Because my wife told me to try being a good person, I always remembered, so I gave you this opportunity."
"Unfortunately, you couldn't eliminate me."
"Now it's my turn."
"There are only two paths before you, General Ross."
"First, war!"
Hawk stretched out a finger to General Ross before him: "Right here, right now, I go to war with you, you can even choose to use a nuclear bomb to eliminate me, frankly, I kind of like it when you use a nuclear bomb, because in my cosmos, after I completely destroyed Quantico, the Pentagon dared not use a nuclear bomb to see if they could eliminate me."
In my cosmos.
The destroyed Quantico.
The nuclear bomb not dared to be used.
General Ross's pupils contracted, extracting key information from Hawk's words, his tone low.
"What's the other option?"
"I want William Striker!"
"..."