Washington D.C., The Triskelion.
In the World Security Council office on the top floor, a remote video conference was in progress.
Representatives of the five permanent members of the WSC were attending via hologram. Standing before them were S.H.I.E.L.D.'s current Director, Hill, and Secretary Alexander.
The atmosphere in the conference room was tense. If they could, none of them would want to be having this meeting.
Alexander was holding a communicator, which displayed Jason's current flight path in real-time.
"Jason has seen through Fury's plan and is heading straight for the Triskelion. Gentlemen, you should probably think of a plan."
Hearing this, Hill looked up and said resolutely, "I recommend abandoning headquarters and evacuating our agents immediately."
The moment she finished, the council members erupted in anger.
"Impossible!"
"Are you crazy!"
"The Triskelion is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s public face."
"That's right. No matter the cost, headquarters must not fall!"
Hill's face darkened. In her mind, she was cursing these five old fools.
What time is this to be worrying about face? Since it's not your children dying, you don't feel the pain, is that it?
She clenched her fists, slowly exhaled her frustration, and said calmly, "Councilmen, Nick Fury made it very clear."
"Jason's power has surged again. With S.H.I.E.L.D.'s current armaments, we simply cannot stop him."
"Are you just going to stand by and watch the thousands of agents in the Triskelion be slaughtered by Jason?"
As she finished, the resentment Hill had been holding back finally exploded.
The five councilmen were all high-society VIPs. Being so rudely challenged by Hill, their expressions instantly changed.
"You..."
"Councilmen!" Alexander quickly stepped in to mediate. "Director... Hill is worried about her subordinates, so she's a bit emotional. Please forgive her."
The councilmen could give Hill a hard time, but Alexander's status was special. He had powerful backing, so they had to give him some face.
The councilmen's expressions softened slightly. They looked at Hill and snorted, "What a stupid question. These agents are the foundation of S.H.I.E.L.D. How could we abandon them? Listen up! The following is an order from the World Security Council!"
"First: Immediately evacuate all non-combat personnel!"
"Second: Assemble all combat personnel in headquarters. Rescind all weapon restrictions!"
"Third: We have already requested military assistance. You will immediately send someone to liaise with the military and jointly defend against the Joker organization's attack!"
"Fourth: The Triskelion is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s public face. It must be protected!"
Hearing these four orders, Hill's brow furrowed. She was still deeply dissatisfied.
Evacuating administrative and research staff, leaving only combat personnel. This was tantamount to sending these people to their deaths, and dragging a bunch of soldiers down with them.
Hill felt these councilmen were either senile or simply didn't understand Jason's power.
Energy Absorption was a nearly unbeatable superpower. The only way was to completely obliterate Jason with firepower that exceeded his limits.
But the ability was static, the person was not. Jason wouldn't just stand there and take it, so achieving this was extremely difficult.
Hill wanted to argue, but the councilmen had lost interest.
"The order has been given. Just follow it."
With that, the five councilmen log off simultaneously. The light from the holograms faded.
"Damn it, a bunch of old stubborn fools!" Hill angrily slammed her fist on the table.
Alexander walked over and consoled her, "We are not the decision-makers, we are the implementers. Just follow the Council's orders."
"I understand." Hill nodded, her face dark, and quickly left the conference room.
.........
Stanfield ended the call and sat back down at his desk.
He was wondering what excuse he could use to leave the Triskelion when a piercing alarm suddenly blared through the building.
"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"
All the agents stopped their work and looked at each other, confused.
Hill's urgent voice came over the intercom: "All personnel in the Triskelion, please be advised! A dangerous incident is occurring. I am declaring an immediate state of Emergency Combat Readiness."
Hearing the words "Emergency Combat Readiness," the agents' expressions turned serious.
Every agent received training before joining S.H.I.E.L.D., and this was part of it.
Declaring "Emergency Combat Readiness" meant S.H.I.E.L.D. was under a severe attack.
Non-combat personnel must evacuate in the shortest possible time. Combat personnel were to rescind weapon restrictions and were authorized to use all heavy weaponry.
But since S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founding, this state had only been declared a handful of times. Many veteran employees hadn't experienced it.
After a brief panic, all personnel immediately stopped work and began an orderly evacuation of the office building.
Hill's voice came over the intercom again: "All ground combat personnel, proceed to the armory to receive equipment! All air combat personnel, assemble at the airfield!"
Stanfield smiled. This "Emergency Combat Readiness" was a big help, as he was also S.H.I.E.L.D. administrative staff.
S.H.I.E.L.D. reacts fast, though. I just got off the phone with boss, and they're already responding.
Stanfield followed the flow of people, preparing to leave the building, but his arm was suddenly grabbed.
He looked and saw it's Alexander's assistant Sitwell.
"What's wrong?"
"The Secretary needs to see you."
"But..."
"Don't worry. After you talk, the Secretary will arrange for your departure."
"Alright, then."
The two pushed through the crowd, got in an elevator, and went to the World Security Council office on the top floor.
Alexander was sitting alone at his desk, thinking.
Seeing Stanfield enter, he immediately smiled and walked over to greet him.
"Stan, haven't seen you in a while. How's work?"
"Not bad. In just over a year, I've been promoted to Level 6. It's administrative, but I'm quite happy."
"Good, good. Come, sit."
After some pleasantries, the two sat on the sofa.
Alexander got straight to the point. "Time is short, so I won't waste words. I called you here to talk about Jason."
"I am indeed very responsible for the destruction of the Los Angeles branch. But you know, Fury is a deep one. He hides many things from me, so the intel I could get was limited."
Stanfield smiled. "Don't worry. The boss knows who to blame. He's not an unreasonable person. But, swords have no eyes. I suggest you pull your special forces team out, quickly."
Alexander waved his hand dismissively. "One must see the play through. If I pull my team now, the World Security Council will be investigating me tomorrow. Besides, losing a few men is well within my acceptable losses."
Hearing this, Stanfield was confused. "Then why did you call me here?"
Alexander's smile faded. He said seriously, "Project Insight!"
As a partner of the Joker organization, Alexander had not hidden Project Insight from Jason. Besides, with Stanfield here, he couldn't hide it anyway. It was better to just say it.
Project Insight involved S.H.I.E.L.D. building three massive Helicarriers. When the three carriers flew into the sky and linked with satellites, their cannon range could cover the globe.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had developed a special algorithm that could predict a person's future based on their current data.
Once the algorithm identified someone as a future criminal, they would be completely eliminated by the Helicarrier's cannons.
Though this method was cruel, in the eyes of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Council, this move could wipe out all Joker organization members, as well as criminals lurking around the world. Ultimately, the benefits outweighed the costs.
Afterward, they just needed to find a scapegoat to punish to appease the public, and all public outcry would eventually fade.
The Helicarrier construction bay was hidden a hundred meters beneath the Triskelion. It was currently at least a year from completion.
Alexander was worried Jason would overdo it and destroy the construction bay, so he specifically called Stanfield to explain the situation.
"Oh, I get it!" Stanfield understood. He nodded. "I'll tell the boss to take it a little easy."
Hearing this, Alexander smiled and stood up. "Excellent! Then let's leave quickly. The helicopter is ready on the roof."
.
.
.
.
You can read advance chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.
pat reon.com/GreenBlue17
500 power stones.
Top 100. All time.