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Sharon looked up at the gaping hole in the ceiling above her, then at the brilliant sonic boom cloud in the sky. Her expression went blank all over again.
The next moment—
Snapping back to reality and remembering what Hawk had just said, Sharon quickly pulled out her phone and dialed back to headquarters.
At that exact moment, the alarms at the New York SHIELD Operations Command Center went off—triggered the instant the sonic boom appeared over Empire State University.
"Satellite detecting superhuman energy signature."
"Running match."
"Got it. It's Phoenix."
"Visual confirmed. Phoenix is breaking through the atmosphere."
"Is today his scheduled fight with Thor?"
"No way. Thor's with Jane Foster at some conference in New Mexico, isn't he?"
"Trajectory prediction complete."
"Where's he headed?"
"Africa. Wakanda!"
With the seamless coordination of the SHIELD agents, the command center's main screen quickly split in two. One half displayed the satellite feed of Hawk rapidly breaking through the atmosphere. The other showed a global satellite map, with dotted lines connecting across it, all converging on a single destination: Wakanda, Africa.
Commander Victoria Hand stood with her arms crossed, eyebrows raised as she stared at the projected destination calculated by SHIELD's latest research project—Insight.
Just then, Sharon's call came through.
"Sharon, what happened at Empire State? Phoenix just—"
"Commander, three people from Wakanda just tried to assassinate Gwen."
"..."
The calm expression on Commander Victoria Hand's face vanished. Hearing that someone had tried to kill the demon king's chains, she immediately demanded, "How is Gwen now? Is she hurt?"
Sharon glanced over at Gwen, who was helping MJ lift Flash Thompson—who'd been thrown across the room moments earlier—back to his feet. "No. She's fine."
Commander Victoria Hand at the Operations Center let out a relieved breath.
And then—
She processed what Sharon had just reported.
"Their communications and transportation have been completely locked down. How the hell did they get out? And how did they make it all the way to New York City?"
Victoria Hand now understood why Hawk had broken through the atmosphere and headed straight for Wakanda. But she still couldn't wrap her head around how Wakandans had made it to New York.
Right under their noses.
The lockdown on Wakanda had been a joint operation by the Big Five. Total, around-the-clock, 360-degree coverage with zero blind spots.
It had been nearly thirteen months since Wakanda was exposed.
And over the past year, Wakanda's information had been sealed up tight.
Back when Wakanda could still show up at the UN to beg for aid, they'd at least had some visibility.
But now? Wakanda didn't even have the chance to surface. If you grabbed a random person off the street right now, they probably wouldn't even know Wakanda existed.
And yet, under a joint lockdown by the Big Five, three Wakandans had somehow appeared in New York City. Right under SHIELD's nose. And they'd tried to assassinate Gwen—the woman they'd dubbed the demon king's chains.
How could this be allowed?
"Find out!"
"Immediately investigate how those three got to New York."
After snapping back to attention, Commander Victoria Hand issued the order, then confirmed with Sharon, "Have their identities been verified?"
Sharon glanced at the three corpses lying on the ground after Hawk had left. "No doubt about it. Bald, built like tanks, pitch-black skin, Vibranium weapons. No one else fits that description but Wakanda. And even if they weren't from Wakanda, it wouldn't matter—because Hawk's already decided Wakanda's responsible."
Sharon's pupils contracted as she remembered the urgent matter she needed to report. She quickly continued, "Commander, Hawk's already on his way to Wakanda. Before he left, he told me to contact Commander Hill and said we'd better pull everyone we have in Wakanda out immediately."
Victoria's body stiffened at the New York SHIELD Command Center.
"Hawk said that?"
"Yes. He said, 'After tonight, Wakanda will be no more.'"
"SHIT."
Hearing Sharon relay those exact words, Victoria sucked in a sharp breath. She immediately looked up at the SHIELD agent. "Connect me to Commander Hill right now. How long until Phoenix reaches Wakanda?"
One SHIELD agent immediately started connecting to Maria Hill.
Another agent quickly reported.
"Phoenix has slowed down. At his current speed, he'll reach Wakanda airspace in approximately thirty minutes."
"He's only giving us thirty minutes."
Victoria immediately understood. The moment she heard Hawk had slowed his speed, she realized those thirty minutes were the window Hawk was giving them.
After all—
Given Hawk's ability to make a round trip to Mars in a single day, if he went full speed, he wouldn't need anywhere close to thirty minutes to reach Wakanda.
Obviously—
Those thirty minutes weren't for Wakanda's sake.
They were for SHIELD's.
"Sir, Commander Hill's comms are connected."
"Patch her through immediately!"
...
"...Victoria?"
It was currently 7 a.m. in the Wakanda region.
Maria Hill, seated in Wakanda's conference hall alongside Security Council Representative Alexander Pierce and other Council members for the thirty-sixth round of negotiations, saw the emergency-coded communication come through. She stood, excused herself from the conference room, and stepped outside to answer.
"What's happened?" Maria Hill's voice came through clearly at the New York SHIELD Operations Center.
Victoria didn't waste time.
Time was short.
"Commander, Wakanda sent operatives to assassinate Gwen Stacy. The attempt failed. Hawk is furious. He'll reach Wakanda in approximately thirty minutes. He's ordered us to evacuate all our people immediately. He informed us—after tonight, Wakanda will be no more."
"???"
Question marks popped up one after another in Hill's mind as Victoria's rapid-fire report came through.
But no matter how many questions she had, now wasn't the time to ask them.
Hill reacted almost the instant Victoria finished speaking, turning to the assistant who had followed her out and speaking in a low voice. "Put out the word immediately. SHIELD transport planes start up now. Notify all SHIELD personnel—evacuate Wakanda immediately. Relocate to... the Hell Gate."
The so-called Hell Gate was the impossibly deep crater Hawk and Demon Hulk had blasted into the grassland during their battle last year.
SHIELD had spent six full months pulling Demon Hulk's corpse out of that pit. That's how the Hell Gate got its name.
The assistant nodded immediately and left.
After hanging up, Hill immediately turned around and walked back into the Wakandan Palace conference room.
Her orders only applied to SHIELD operatives. She had no authority over the coalition forces' soldiers. Those guys wouldn't listen to her.
That required Alexander Pierce to issue the order.
At that moment, inside the conference room—
Wakanda's new king, T'Challa, along with the other tribal chiefs, was arguing forcefully with Alexander Pierce and the others, demanding everything that belonged to Wakanda.
It all came down to one thing.
The coalition forces had to leave Wakanda immediately.
Wakanda belonged to the Wakandan people. Not to the rest of the world.
At the same time, the new king T'Challa was demanding that the Security Council immediately hand over the culprit who had brought chaos to Wakanda. Hawk had to be held responsible for the incident.
Alexander Pierce, leading the negotiations, heard King T'Challa's demands and actually laughed.
Turns out, people really do laugh when they're at a loss for words.
Hand over Hawk.
Do you even hear yourself right now?
Just then, Hill walked back in from outside, sat down beside him, leaned over, and put her mouth near his ear, making sure only he could hear.
"Wakanda sent operatives to assassinate Hawk's fiancée, Gwen. The attempt failed. Hawk is on his way here. We only have twenty minutes to evacuate."
"Holy hell."
After Hill's words, Alexander Pierce's pupils contracted rapidly. At the same time, a chill shot through him. His eyes flicked toward T'Challa, seated across from him in his Black Panther suit.
Good God...
He'd thought these people launching a surprise attack on the Security Council was already their limit. Turns out, they had an even more insane move up their sleeves.
Whether it was Congress, SHIELD, Hydra within SHIELD, or the Security Council itself, everyone understood one thing very clearly.
Gwen Stacy—code-named the Demon King's Chains—was even more untouchable than the Demon King himself.
And these people hadn't just tried to touch her.
They'd tried to shatter the chains entirely.
Jesus, God, the Virgin Mary!
Alexander Pierce's mind was screaming internally. But as an accomplished politician, even though his insides were experiencing a magnitude-ten earthquake, his exterior remained perfectly calm.
The gray-haired man with glasses still maintained his gentle, cultured smile.
After Hill finished her report, Alexander coughed subtly, glanced at the Wakandans sitting across from him in their bizarre outfits—some of the chiefs even had giant rings hanging from their chins, looking like ridiculous forest clowns—then fixed his gaze on Black Panther T'Challa. "We'll need to return and consider your terms this time."
With that—
He didn't give the Wakandans time to react. He stood immediately and walked straight out of the conference room.
The other Security Council members participating in the negotiations froze for a moment, then quickly stood and followed Alexander Pierce out in a rush.
"MOVE!"
"Move fast! Put out the word—all personnel evacuate Wakanda immediately. Rendezvous at Hell Gate!"
"Understood!"
"..."
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