SHIELD Headquarters, the Trident Building.
The atmosphere in the Director’s office was so heavy it felt like it could condense into liquid.
Nick Fury’s iconic one-eyed, dark face was exceptionally grim at the moment.
He stared fixedly at an urgent report on his desk, his fingers tapping a rhythmic beat against the wood.
“So, what you’re telling me is that a biochemical crisis occurred in an abandoned hospital in Hell’s Kitchen last night?” Fury looked up at Agent Phil Coulson standing before him.
Coulson maintained his standard “nice guy” smile, but a hint of exhaustion and confusion lingered in his eyes.
“Director, as crazy as it sounds, the results of the site investigation confirm it.” Coulson laid several photos on the desk.
They showed corpses riddled with bullets—the very zombies that had been “cured” by 049.
“Preliminary autopsy reports from the Medical Examiner and SHIELD’s Tech Division show that these individuals were all homeless people who frequented Hell’s Kitchen.
But the bizarre part is that their cellular activity maintained an incredibly high metabolic rate even after death, and…” Coulson paused, pointing to a close-up of one of the bodies.
“Their bodies underwent some very crude yet extremely precise surgical suturing.
Their internals were filled with unknown herbs and chemical substances.
This technique…
doesn’t look like modern medicine.
It’s more like medieval alchemy.” “Medieval alchemy?” Fury snorted.
“Are you trying to tell me there’s a mad ancient witch doctor running biochemical experiments in the middle of New York?” “If we don’t account for that mysterious organization, that would be the most logical explanation.” Coulson pulled out an evidence bag containing a shell casing.
“We found a large number of 5.56mm casings at the scene.
Ballistic analysis shows they are military-grade, but there are no batch numbers or manufacturer marks on them.
It’s as if…
they were manifested out of thin air.” “And then there’s this.” Coulson pulled up a grainy piece of surveillance footage.
It was from a convenience store near the abandoned hospital.
The footage showed a heavy black anti-riot armored vehicle speeding through the night; the vehicle also bore no markings.
“The model of this vehicle isn’t on any known procurement list for the military or law enforcement.
Its engine technology is more advanced than some of the prototypes coming out of Stark Industries.” Fury’s single eye narrowed.
An unknown faction, advanced equipment, biochemical experiments, and…
extremely professional operational efficiency.
“The scene was cleaned very thoroughly.
If our people hadn’t gotten there quickly, we might not have found these bodies at all,” Coulson added.
“Furthermore, we found specific traces suggesting that someone—or something—was forcibly taken away.” “You’re saying they didn’t just solve the problem, they packed up the source of the trouble and took it with them?” Fury caught the key point instantly.
“Highly likely.” “Any witnesses?” “That area is a gathering spot for the homeless; most of them aren’t exactly lucid.
We couldn’t get much.
However…” Coulson hesitated.
“We found a broken cane at the scene.
Material analysis confirms it’s a specialized alloy.” “A cane?” Fury’s frown deepened.
“That blind vigilante hopping around Hell’s Kitchen?” “Yes, Daredevil.
It seems he intervened and likely suffered a major setback.” Fury was silent for a moment, then stood up abruptly and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the bustling New York skyline.
“New York is getting too chaotic lately.
Tony is missing, the military is pushing that Super Soldier reboot project, and now a mysterious organization pops up…
Mark this case as Level 8 Clearance.
Codename: Doctor.
Coulson, I want you personally in charge of investigating this group.
I want to know who they are, what they want, and…
if they are a threat.” “Understood, Director.” Just as Coulson was about to turn and leave, a piercing alarm suddenly blared in the office.
“Warning!
Warning!
High-energy object detected entering the atmosphere!
Projected impact site: Queens, New York!” “What?!” Fury and Coulson’s expressions changed simultaneously.
On the large screen, satellite monitoring footage automatically popped up.
A humanoid object enveloped in raging flames was slicing through the night sky at staggering speeds, heading straight for the ground like an angry meteor.
“What is that?
A missile?
A meteorite?” Coulson asked in shock.
“No…” Fury stared intently at the humanoid silhouette within the flames.
As it fell, the thing seemed to be struggling and twisting in agony.
“That’s a person.” *** Site-01 Base, Command Center.
Levi held a cup of freshly brewed instant coffee, watching the satellite broadcast on the main screen with great interest.
“Tsk, tsk.
This is making a bigger splash than I expected.” “Sir, what exactly is that?” Ada Wong stood behind Levi, her expression unusually solemn as she watched the falling fire-man.
Even after surviving the biochemical horrors of Raccoon City, she had never seen something like this.
“It looks like the Human Torch from the Fantastic Four, but…
the color of his flames is wrong.” Levi set down his coffee and pulled up the scanning analysis report provided by the system.
[High-risk anomalous energy fluctuation detected!] [Entity identified: Brand (The Burning Vengeance)] This was an intelligent entity composed of fire.
It wasn’t just made of fire; it craved burning, hungering to consume fuel to empower itself.
“Brand…” Levi whispered the name.
This wasn’t some mutant who could just toss fireballs; this was a living disaster driven by the instinct to destroy and incinerate.
If it found enough fuel after landing, it could evolve into a firestorm that would swallow New York or even the entire United States in minutes.
“Sir, do we need to deploy immediately?” Ada’s hand was already on the grip of the pistol at her waist.
“No rush.” Levi waved a hand, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips.
“The people at SHIELD are definitely more anxious than we are.
That ‘Black Braised Egg’ Director is probably cursing up a storm right now.” “Our current equipment is a bit lacking for dealing with elemental-type SCPs.
I need to plan this out.” Levi dipped his consciousness into his mind and opened the system shop.
His eyes quickly locked onto several specialized items.
[High-Efficiency Fire-Retardant Gel Sprayer (Foundation Special Edition): 50 points/unit.] [Portable Oxygen-Stripping Force Field Generator (Small): 300 points.] [D-class Personnel Expansion Pack (10 people): 100 points.] “Bought.” Levi emptied his cart without hesitation.
Dealing with Brand with bullets was useless; he needed high-tech solutions.
“Ada, notify all C-class personnel to gear up with the new equipment.
We aren’t going in as a strike team this time—we’re going in as firefighters.” Levi watched the falling fireball on the screen and the SHIELD Quinjets racing toward the impact site.
“As for now…
let the SHIELD agents pave the way.
After all, there’s no harm in a little comparison to show who’s better, right?” *BOOM!!!* With an earth-shattering explosion, Brand slammed into an abandoned industrial park in Queens.
In an instant, flames shot into the sky and a massive heatwave rolled outward, looking like the arrival of the apocalypse!