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The cameras immediately zoomed in.
Under the high-definition lenses, the contents of the files were shocking.
The files recorded in detail the abilities, weaknesses, and experimental data of every captured youth.
Whoosh—!
This time, things truly exploded.
The reporters, who were just silently wiping away tears for the children, turned into furious bulls.
"Nick Fury?!"
"The former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.?!"
"This was a S.H.I.E.L.D. project?! They sold these children to HYDRA?!"
"No, he was a HYDRA Director to begin with!"
A slightly older child, about sixteen or seventeen, was sitting on a stretcher; hearing that name, his body began to tremble violently.
A reporter keenly rushed over.
"Child, do you know this name? Nick Fury?"
The youth looked up, his eyes hollow.
"Yes..."
"It was about half a year ago, that Black man wearing an eye patch found me."
"He said I had talent, that I could become a hero like Captain America."
"He said S.H.I.E.L.D. would train me, protect me..."
The crowd erupted in an uproar.
"Damn that Fury!!"
"A demon! He's a demon!!"
...Tony Stark listened to the distant reporters' near-manic worshipful questions directed at Homelander and curled his lip impatiently.
"Well, nothing left for us to do here."
"Jarvis, initiate the auto-recovery sequence. Have the Iron Legion transport this pile of scrap metal back. Don't let the local scrap collectors pick it up; there are still several Stark Industries patented chips in there."
"We need to go." Natasha Romanoff walked over, supporting a weak Bruce Banner.
"The way those reporters are looking at us now, it's like they want to skin us alive." Natasha lowered her voice, her eyes warily scanning the distant crowd. "Especially after they discovered that godforsaken S.H.I.E.L.D. 'Human Experimentation List.' If we show our faces now, Tony, your PR team would probably jump off a building en masse."
"They're already jumping." Tony glanced at the communication list inside his faceplate; Pepper had already called him twelve times. "Let's go, while that 'Star-Spangled Savior' is still over there posing for photos and no one is paying attention to us."
Using the ruins as cover, the three of them bypassed the crowd and headed toward the aircraft's hidden location.
"Where's Clint?" Banner suddenly stopped, looking around somewhat confusedly. "Where did he go?"
"Relax, Banner." Natasha adjusted the blanket around Banner's shoulders. "While things were turning into a mess over there, Clint said over the comms that he already secured that stick. He should be on the plane waiting to pop the champagne by now."
The group quickly moved through the dust-filled streets, entered the woods, and boarded the aircraft's rear hatch.
Inside the cabin, the lights were dim.
Clint Barton was sitting in the co-pilot's seat with his back to everyone, seemingly adjusting the instrument panel.
The silver metal box with the radiation warning was at his feet, firmly secured by a seatbelt.
"Hey, Clint." Tony plopped down into the pilot's seat, reaching out to flick the overhead switches. "Where were you just now? I thought you'd been mind-controlled by Loki's back-scratcher again."
Hearing this, Clint Barton's fingers paused on the console for a second before he slowly turned his chair around.
"As if you guys haven't been controlled before?" Barton scoffed. "I saw it; that big guy Hulk almost tore the whole city apart."
"Don't mention it. If this happens a few more times, I'll go bankrupt."
"Bruce, are you okay?" Barton looked at Banner with a concerned gaze.
"Same as always." Banner found a corner to sit in, burying his head in his knees. "I just feel a bit like throwing up."
"There are barf bags over there, don't puke on my floor." Tony shouted from the cockpit. "Everyone, buckle up. We're getting out of this mess. Next stop, Avengers Tower. I desperately need a bottle of Romanée-Conti to calm my nerves."
"Vroom—"
The plane rose vertically, the airflow swirling the snow and fallen leaves on the ground.
As the altitude climbed, silence returned to the cabin.
Tony engaged the autopilot and leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes to rest.
Banner huddled in his blanket, his breathing gradually steadying. Natasha sat beside him, cleaning a scrape on her arm.
No one noticed the rear cabin.
Barton was still sitting next to that silver box.
He watched the clouds receding outside the window, his fingers rhythmically tapping the surface of the box.
"Tap, tap, tap."
He turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Tony and Banner.
The corners of his mouth curled slightly, forming a chilling smile... In Sokovia, a flag with a giant 'V' logo had been planted at the highest point of the ruins, fluttering in the wind.
Homelander stood before a row of stretchers as the rescued superpowered youths queued to board a Vought-specialized medical transport.
"Look at these children." He pointed to the thin figures behind him. "They have just gone through hell. What they need now isn't flashbulbs, but hot soup, a soft bed, and a safe home."
"Regarding the results of the investigation into the incident..."
Homelander paused, his expression becoming firm.
"We will hold a global press conference in New York at a later date. At that time, I will give the World an explanation."
"But for now..."
Homelander waved his hand, signaling the reporters to make way.
"Now, please give us some space. These children need rest."
Having said that, he turned away gracefully, leaving the World with a majestic view of his back as he strode into the cabin.
The hatch slowly closed, sealing out the noise of the outside World.
Inside the cabin, the temperature was pleasant, and soft music flowed.
Pietro lay on a specialized medical stretcher, his left leg in a cast and suspended in the air.
"Hiss... Is this painkiller expired?" Pietro grimaced, clutching the side railing. "Why does it still hurt so much?"
"Bear with it, Pietro."
Wanda sat beside him, holding a wet towel, carefully helping him wipe the dust from his face.
"Listen, Wanda."
Pietro took a deep breath, seemingly having made some kind of decision. He grabbed Wanda's hand, his eyes urgent.
"I want... I want to take you to Vought."
Pietro looked at his sister somewhat anxiously, fearing she would refuse.
"I know you hate Stark, hate those so-called superheroes. But... but it's really different there."
"Look, I have money now, I have a big house, you can see the ocean just by opening the window. And..."
Pietro swallowed, trying to organize his words to beautify that company full of freaks.
"...And the people there, though they're a bit weird, they're... very real."
"Wanda, come with me. We can start over, we can..."
"Okay."
A soft voice interrupted his incessant sales pitch.
Pietro was stunned, the bellyful of prepared arguments all stuck in his throat.
"Wh... What did you say?"
"I said, okay."
Wanda looked up, and in her beautiful eyes, there was none of the hesitation or resistance Pietro had expected.
"I'll go." Wanda said softly, looking at Homelander's back as he comforted a child in the cabin.
"As long as he is there."
Pietro blinked and followed Wanda's gaze.
Based on a man's intuition, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
"Uh... Wanda?" Pietro asked tentatively. "You aren't doing this because..."
"Because of what?" Wanda turned her head, her gaze clear and innocent.
"No... nothing." Pietro shrunk his neck.
Wanda nodded, taking one last look at the land where she was born.
Goodbye, Sokovia.
The roar of the massive engines drowned out everything.
Just as the plane began to climb.
In the ruins below, an invisible figure was running desperately.
"Hey!! Wait!!"
"I haven't boarded the plane yet!!!"
"Stop!! I'm Shabby!!"
"You forgot me!!!"
The aircraft's tail lights flashed once as it pierced through the clouds and disappeared completely.
Leaving only the dust kicked up by the massive airflow to cover Shabby's body.