Let us rewind time a little.
Back when Captain America, Hawkeye, and the rest of the Avengers were jolted awake by Professor X's telepathy, the massive S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier was still mid-air, dutifully carrying out the mission ordered by Loki.
Then, a silent wave of psychic power rippled through the air.
One by one, the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. blinked awake.
"Huh?"
"What happened?"
"Wait... why does everything feel off?"
"Goddammit—what the hell were we just doing?!"
The Mind Stone's influence, channeled through Loki's scepter, never erased memories—it merely suppressed and twisted the will. Now fully conscious, every agent began recalling what they had done during that control.
And instantly, cold sweat broke across every forehead.
Their eyes snapped to the screen.
There, red blinking dots—each representing a jet fighter—closed in on various coordinates, ready to unleash their deadly payload. The primary target: the capital building of Luguo.
The White House would take the first hit.
S.H.I.E.L.D., an organization under the authority of the World Security Council, had access to strategic launch data and attack protocols across multiple nations. Loki had made full use of that.
If the plan succeeded, the entire global command network would collapse in minutes. The alien Chitauri army would swarm in over the smoking ruins with no one to coordinate a defense.
"Callsign 7-A-1-1, abort mission now!"
"Callsign 7-A-1-760-2, cancel attack immediately!"
"Callsign 7-A-1-3, stand down and return to base!"
Hill's voice trembled with urgency as she barked into the comms. The pilots—now awake and panicked—immediately responded.
"Roger that!"
"Affirmative!"
"Mission aborted! Returning!"
The six aircraft reversed course, their pilots shaken by what they had nearly done. Each one had come a whisper away from becoming a historical villain.
Hill exhaled shakily. "Get me Director Fury. Now."
But before she could issue another command, an emergency transmission blared across the top-secret channel.
Hill's expression tensed.
"The Council?"
She didn't question the timing. It was only natural that the World Security Council would try to reestablish contact after losing touch with the Helicarrier for so long.
What she didn't expect—what sent a jolt through her spine—was what came next.
Dozens of heads appeared on the screen. Presidents, Prime Ministers, and high-ranking global officials.
"Commander Maria Hill of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier," a voice rang out.
It wasn't Alexander Pierce, the Council Secretary.
It was President Matthew Ellis himself.
"What is the current position of the Helicarrier?"
Before Hill could respond, another voice chimed in—this one from the Prime Minister of a Pacific nation.
"Where are the nukes?"
Hill froze.
"N-Nuclear bombs? Did I hear that right?"
"Yes. Bombs," the translated voice snapped coldly. "Under the current threat, what else can we do to destroy that goddamn space portal besides nukes?"
"Your Excellency, Twisting City—New York—has over eight million residents!"
Hill's voice cracked with disbelief. "A nuclear bomb would wipe out millions! And who's to say a nuke would even destroy the portal created by the Tesseract? We don't know enough yet!"
"It's your failure that brought us here in the first place!" another leader barked. "Our countries invested heavily in S.H.I.E.L.D. to prevent this very thing. And now? Aliens are invading, and your top brass is MIA!"
"We don't even know if Director Nick Fury is dead or alive," another voice snapped.
Hill's mouth opened, but no words came out.
The cacophony of accusations swirled around her—until someone muttered something that froze the entire room.
"Drop the nukes—not just because of the Chitauri—but also because of... the Mutants."
Hill's breath hitched.
Her voice became brittle. "It's their power, isn't it? It's far beyond what we imagined…"
No one denied it.
Silence hung heavy in the channel.
"That's not your concern, Commander Hill," one of the leaders said flatly. "You are to answer only one question: can we destroy the portal in time, or do we launch the nukes?"
President Ellis suddenly cut in with a disturbing suggestion.
"If we're launching nukes, we don't stop at one."
The other members were stunned.
"The main portal is in New York," one said. "Destroy that and the other gates will collapse. One nuke is enough."
"No," Ellis replied firmly. "This isn't just about the aliens anymore. The Mutants have revealed a power that even the Chitauri can't withstand. They've clearly been hiding their true strength from us. If they succeed in repelling the aliens…"
"Then we'll never control them again."
"Exactly. We must strike now. Simultaneous launches in five cities. That's the only way to wipe out the X-Men elite. Cut their numbers by half, maybe more. Force them back into the shadows—where they belong."
No one was even trying to sugarcoat it anymore.
Hill's head was spinning. These were the highest-ranking politicians on Earth. And yet, at the very edge of human extinction, they were playing a game of thrones.
Power.
Control.
They saw an opportunity to kill two birds with one bomb—literally.
"This is madness!" she burst out. "If New York is the core of the problem, then why should other cities pay the price?"
Four other council members, whose cities were now suddenly in the blast radius, erupted in outrage.
"Our cities have nothing to do with this!"
"If you launch a nuke on my soil, that's an act of war!"
Matthew Ellis's next words chilled the blood of everyone present.
"If you refuse... then we'll consider retaliatory nuclear war once this crisis is over."
Silence again.
A grim, silent agreement passed between them.
Five cities. Five bombs. Five million lives—at least.
"You're insane!" Hill shouted.
Her voice was raw, trembling with fury. "Just to eliminate the X-Men, you're willing to sacrifice tens of millions?!"
A stern voice cut through. "Commander Hill, you know the stakes. If the X-Men fail and the Chitauri pour through the portal, the entire Earth will burn. Billions will die. This is the cost of preserving our species."
And then—suddenly—Nick Fury's voice echoed over the comms.
"Enough!"
He appeared on the screen, battered and bloodied, with streaks of soot and blood across his trench coat. He looked like he had barely survived an ambush.
"My people are doing everything they can to destroy that portal," he said grimly. "And according to our latest intelligence, the Mutants don't want war. They've summoned an army, yes—but only to stop the Chitauri."
Ellis cut him off.
"They summoned an army. An army that beat the Chitauri back. Meanwhile, our military can barely hold the line. And you think they don't want war?"
Fury's expression didn't change.
He had expected this. Known this moment would come.
"These politicians," he thought, "never cared about peace—only control."
"If that's your choice," he said, "then I'll tell you this: according to our investigation, I'm 70% certain that not even a nuclear bomb can destroy the elite X-Men."
Gasps echoed in the channel.
Then laughter.
Sneers.
Ridicule.
"No being is immune to a nuclear bomb," someone spat.
Fury smirked coldly. "Then you haven't met the right kind of Mutant."
"If you launch those nukes," he warned, "pray you're right. Pray they don't survive."
Because if they do, then the Council won't be hunting Mutants anymore.
The Mutants will be hunting you.
Hill's face was ghostly pale.
In that moment, everything snapped into clarity.
S.H.I.E.L.D may have been created to defend Earth.
But it answered to the World Security Council—a council of politicians.
And politicians, when power is on the table?
They'll gamble with everything.
Even the end of the world.
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