The explosions came in rapid succession—Boom! Boom!! Boom!!! Three missiles struck the riverbank with pinpoint accuracy, vaporizing both the headless corpse and all traces of the earlier battle. The fighter jet's engines cut out immediately after firing, sending it spiraling downward to crash directly into the heart of the blast.
The shockwave fanned the flames, engulfing buildings hundreds of meters away. Though the river still flowed, dead fish surfaced belly-up within seconds. Burning debris continued smoldering even underwater, as if determined to boil the entire river into some grotesque fish stew.
With the battlefield cleared, Hong Fei donned his iron armor again. Rifle in hand, he hovered midair, surveying the devastation. There wasn't a single untouched district left in the city—even the royal palace's outer buildings had crumbled into rubble.
War cared nothing for status or identity. It devoured everything in its path with indiscriminate brutality. Arthur's voice crackled in his ear: "Sir, incoming call from Maria Hill. Shall I connect?"
"Patch her through."
Hill's urgent tone came through immediately.
"Hong, are you in London?"
"Yes."
"Thank god! Can you get to Buckingham Palace? We've got hostiles breaching the perimeter. Traffic's gridlocked, reinforcements can't move, and our jets are holding fire to avoid collateral damage."
Hong Fei turned toward the palace, spotting the skirmish between humans and Dark Elves.
"Interesting," he mused, scratching his back absently. "But I've got thousands of unarmed civilians sheltering in a warehouse here. If I leave, they'll be slaughtered."
Hill hesitated only briefly.
"Our drones spotted two other armored figures—are they yours?"
"Obviously."
"Just two?"
"What did you expect?"
"I... wasn't sure."
"They're all in New York. Don't tell me you've lost track of the alien movements."
"We're tracking your White Dragon. It's moving fast—why's it heading for New York?"
"Because that's where the Avengers are, and where I've deployed my team."
"But we could redirect forces to London—"
"Let's pretend you didn't say that."
Hong Fei's voice turned dry.
"By the time you mobilize, this city will be dust. Unless someone decides to nuke it first—assuming they've got decent fallout shelters."
Hill exhaled sharply.
"Then what are these creatures after? Can we lure them somewhere uninhabited? The Arctic? Antarctica?"
"You want to run my dragon to death?"
"Then what do you suggest?"
"Stop worrying about their objective—you can't control it anyway. They're Dark Elves seeking an artifact from Thor. Something that'll fulfill their grand ambition."
"Which is?"
"Plunging the universe into eternal darkness."
Hong Fei's tone hardened.
"And yes, the artifact can actually do that. So nobody gets to sit this one out unless they want the whole world ending with them. Goodbye."
"Wait! If you won't go, at least send your two operatives!"
"You think they're sunbathing right now?"
"That's not what I—"
"Then what exactly did you mean?"
"You want me—or my people—to abandon the civilians behind us just to turn around and protect some old lady? Oh, wait, let me guess—those fat-cat politicians are probably hiding just like her right now. But Hill, you know exactly what's happening here. So tell me straight: are you really asking this? If you say yes, I'll go right now without another word. You know I can fly. And I'm damn fast."
Hill stayed silent. Hong Fei waited a beat before snapping, "Speak!"
"No, I—I'm sorry. I was wrong. Go ahead. I'll tell them to figure it out themselves."
Another voice cut in abruptly: "I'm already aware of the situation. Redirect your White Dragon immediately, and I'll have the Avengers and military standing by at the new location."
Hong Fei's eyebrow twitched.
"Who the hell are you?"
"The U.S. Secretary of—"
"Get lost!"
Hong Fei didn't let him finish.
"The White Dragon goes to New York. Only New York. London to New York across the Atlantic—how long does a plane take? I'm giving you three hours. Can't you set up a defensive line in three goddamn hours?"
Hill interjected, "Mr. Hong, three hours is impossible without prior—"
"This was a last-minute decision."
The other voice spoke again: "Why not choose somewhere else?"
"Are you brain-dead? The Avengers are in New York!"
Hong Fei heard the man's angry retort: "The Avengers could redeploy elsewhere in that time—"
"Redeploy where? Your backyard? Canada? Cuba? Or should I just swing this thing around to Russia?"
"Hmph. You're being unreasonable!"
"You're being an idiot!"
Hill jumped in to mediate: "Mr. Hong, please don't escalate—"
"Tell that moron to stay the hell away. I don't want his stupidity rubbing off on me."
After a pause, Hill tried again: "Mr. Hong, we need to discuss this. Could you reconsider sending the dragon elsewhere?"
"I told you—the route's set. It's a living creature, not some machine. Even machines have limits!"
That voice returned, dripping with condescension: "If it unfortunately perishes, we'll carve its likeness onto the Washington War Memorial."
Hong Fei went dead silent.
Hill sounded panicked now: "Sir, you need to leave. Those remarks are only provoking him!"
"He provoked me first! He dragged those aliens here to force us into this war!"
"But the aliens' objective—"
"You're taking his word for it? I now firmly believe this entire situation is his orchestrated scheme—a deliberate escalation to embroil us in larger conflict!"
Hill's voice sharpened: "Mr. Secretary! That's a dangerous accusation!"
"I don't care how it sounds, and I won't retract it! Listen closely: I suspect he's manufacturing and expanding this war to pull the United States into a quagmire. This is a provocation—an act of aggression against our nation!"
"You—"
"Hill."
Hong Fei's voice cut through like ice.
She answered instantly: "Mr. Hong, I'm here. Please ignore—"
"No."
His tone left no room for argument.
"I won't ignore it. Because this isn't just about me. In fact, it never had to involve me at all. If Earth exploded tomorrow, I could take everyone I care about and live on another planet in this universe."
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Hong, this is my—"
"You did nothing wrong. That idiot actually made a good point."
"I suddenly realize that even if I actively join the battlefield and even change the course of the battle, someone will still accuse me of committing a crime—whether it's the U.S. or Britain or both. So tell me: how should I handle that?"
Hill seemed to anticipate his next words. Urgently, she pleaded: "No, Mr.—"
"Hong, I promise your concerns won't come to pass. Let me represent S.H.I.E.L.D. in negotiations—you can trust me."
"I'd love to," Hong shot back, "but S.H.I.E.L.D.'s off the table. If you're serious, go chat with Steve Rogers about what your organization really stands for. You know Thor's identity—him and his girlfriend are the Dark Elves' targets."
"Listen—I'm pulling White Dragon out now. My people are leaving New York too. I don't give a damn where Thor goes next. Save him, attack him, chase him out of the city—do whatever you want. Goodbye!"
The call ended, leaving Hill frozen in place, shell-shocked. Moments later, an agent monitoring drone feeds gasped.
"White Dragon just threw Thor's woman off and turned away! Thor recovered her midair—he's still coming this way!"
The Secretary of State barked, "Make him turn! Now! He cannot reach New York!"
"Shut your mouth!"
Hill's roar silenced the entire room. Every eye locked onto her like she'd just descended from Olympus. She jabbed a furious finger toward the exit.
"This is S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Not your goddamn office. Get out. Now. Or I'll have you removed."
Even the Secretary's thick skin couldn't withstand that. He glowered at Hill before storming out. Coulson emerged from his corner, rubbing his temples.
"Director... he'll come after us for this."
"What's there to fear? S.H.I.E.L.D. answers to the world, not just the U.S. government."
Coulson winced. Hill's voice turned icy.
"If this were merely America's S.H.I.E.L.D., I'd resign today."
"Of course not," Coulson backpedaled. "It couldn't be."
An agent suddenly called out, "Director! Multiple armored units ascending in formation—heading east toward Europe."
Hill's face drained of color. The Avengers were walking into disaster.
Meanwhile, Hong Fei patched through to Xu Wenwu and Big Head.
"Both of you—shake surveillance and double back. Wait for my arrival."
Big Head blinked.
"I thought we were withdrawing?"
Xu Wenwu chuckled.
"Let them off that easy?"
"Now that's what I call understanding!"
Hong crowed. Big Head groaned internally. Hong's voice crackled with barely contained excitement.
"This wasn't the original plan, but when someone shoves an opportunity in your face? You take it. This time, I'll make them kneel, beg, and sob my name. Or I'm not Hong!"
"Oh right—I also have to peel off that idiot's scalp and hang it on the White House!"