Thanks to the astonishing speed of the construction crew, Solomon and the witches were finally able to move into the fully renovated estate.
The entrance hall, reception room, living room, study, kitchen, dining room, and indoor pool had all been restored to their former glory, no longer bearing the dilapidation that had lingered since 1898. The game room's billiards table had been replaced with an enormous plush sofa and a game console. The once-empty wine cellar was now stocked with wine, whiskey, and brandy. The parking area had undergone a complete overhaul, with a helipad installed, and the three-bedroom butler's cottage had been handed over to Dana, to serve as a rest area and armory for her and the patrol squad she led.
There were many reasons Solomon had fled New York for Oxfordshire, one of the less obvious being that his upcoming coursework would require a great deal of time. But the real reason was the fallout from the Pym Technologies explosion—it had finally come knocking. Anyone digging into it would find evidence that Solomon had been in contact with Dr. Hank Pym before the blast.
The intelligence department protected Solomon's information with extreme diligence, even controlling nearby surveillance cameras in real-time. But in the Internet of Things era, even a dashcam could become a surveillance device. And against Vision—the ultimate AI created by another AI, with data-mining capabilities far exceeding those of Harold Finch's invention—no digital footprint was safe. Any smartphone camera could be used as evidence. The intel department simply couldn't hack into every civilian device that might have caught a glimpse of Solomon. The workload would be astronomical—utterly unfeasible—unless Solomon carried subroutines and mobile firewalls with him at all times.
In fact, the Sisterhood had already begun communications training internally, with plans to establish a specialized comms unit to disrupt enemy transmissions and ensure information security around Solomon. Equipment development proposals had been submitted to the Ministry of the Interior, awaiting only final implementation by the Mars Foundry or Sorei's lab.
Shortly after Solomon presented the jewelry he had purchased to the witches, the Witches' Apartment received an uninvited guest.
"We need to talk," said Agent Maria Hill, dressed not in her usual field gear but a sharp women's suit. Behind her, Sisterhood artificial soldiers wielding buzzing chainsaw swords and explosive guns stood in tense standoff with two heavily armed escorts. The chainsaw's fuel exhaust filled the hallway with a burnt, acrid stench. The two agents wearing black armbands hesitated—they clearly had no desire to clash with the Sisterhood's security squad. They didn't believe their body armor and Kevlar would hold up against high-caliber explosive rounds, and they certainly didn't want to find out what being slashed by a chainsaw sword felt like.
"You broke the agreement, Maria," Solomon said softly, leaning against the doorframe.
"What agreement?" Hill met the arcanist's dangerous stare without fear. "If there ever was an agreement, you broke it first. We need to talk—about the Pym Technologies explosion, and your increasingly lawless methods. Don't deny it. Your suppression of the riot didn't go unnoticed. Superheroes without restraint…"
The buzzing of the chainsaw sword drowned out her righteous speech. The plasma weapon's glowing blue coils began to charge, ready to heat air to solar flare temperatures at any moment.
"Unless you want a war," Solomon said, annoyed, "I suggest you shut up. I don't want anyone knowing this address—and yet here you are, bringing guests."
Though Solomon was unarmed, the look in his eyes made both agents' scalps crawl, as if they were prey caught in the gaze of an apex predator. If not for rigorous psychological conditioning, those war-hardened veterans of the Middle East might have already drawn their weapons due to PTSD.
In the Avengers, psychological support was handled by Vision. Though he couldn't fully use the Mind Stone's powers, he could still adjust stress responses. Hill had contingency plans for Vision's psychic capabilities—she feared he might exhibit the same brainwashing abilities Loki used during the Battle of New York. She couldn't be certain Vision wasn't disguising some deeper manipulation, like those AI villains in sci-fi who intentionally fail the Turing Test.
Her suspicion of Vision was no less than that of Solomon.
"I'm not here to cause trouble, Solomon. I'm here with a warning." Hill gestured for the guards to lower their weapons, hoping to defuse the situation. One stray shot and she knew she wouldn't make it out alive. "I just came back from Washington. A lot of people there have their eyes on Pym Technologies' tech reserves—just like they did with Stark Industries before Tony became Iron Man. This is the will of a nation, not something personal you can resist. Keep going down this path and one day, you'll be on the wrong side of everyone. No matter how strained your ties with the Avengers are, both Captain Rogers and Stark still see you the same way—"
She continued, "—as a protector. Someone fighting to safeguard the world. They might turn a blind eye. Or they might get dragged down with you. I can't promise what will happen. I just hope that next time you do something like this, you'll think about the consequences."
From her veiled warning, Solomon understood Washington's true stance toward the Avengers.
All they needed was a single excuse and a whole legislative package to restrict the Avengers would be ready for proposal. That draft was likely already written—only waiting for a title before it could pass both chambers of Congress. Neither Democrat nor Republican, liberal nor conservative, wanted to see a rogue Avengers team acting without oversight—unless, of course, they were operating under banners like diversity, Christianity, or patriotism. But anyone with half a brain knew that would never happen.
Washington's proposed legislation wasn't baseless.
The federal government's authority was too weak to reach every corner of society. Managing powered individuals had become a problem on par with racial discrimination, gender diversity, feminism, and environmentalism. America's only recourse was grassroots monitoring or piecemeal state legislation—but even that wasn't enough. Virtually every social issue that seemed trivial elsewhere had a way of exploding in the U.S.
Religion. Transgender rights. Racism.
There were even reports of rural American churches recruiting powered individuals to push a modern crusade—spreading doomsday rhetoric, alien visitation theories, and penance-based theology. They urged believers to cling to faith in God to be reborn in the coming apocalypse. Even Kamar-Taj, usually indifferent to worldly affairs, took notice. After confirming the priest hadn't received any actual visions—nor any help from extradimensional beings—they left the absurd movement alone, albeit with visible exasperation.
Agent Hill's position was clear: she wanted Solomon to keep a low profile until the legislation passed.
Though Solomon's name wasn't yet public, that didn't mean it would stay hidden forever. (The Avengers lacked the airtight secrecy S.H.I.E.L.D. once had—if not for Hydra, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s information control would still be world-class.) Once discovered, his identity could easily become a target for retaliation. Sensing the coming shift in the political landscape, Solomon ordered the construction crew to accelerate their work and even purchased a large collection of art from his adoptive mother to decorate the estate.
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I Am Zeus, KING OF GODS (Chapter 79)
Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 391)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 471)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 677)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 1059)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1418)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1422)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1452)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1504)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld!(Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 703)
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