Chapter 229: Evacuation Plan
"Never see you again?"
"That's fantastic!"
For someone clearly harboring ill intentions towards him, Clark's instinctive reaction was to stay away, whether it was with respect or fear.
Had it not been for the other party's relentless pestering and the demand to personally kill Ava and Hill, do you think Clark was looking for trouble, insisting on a showdown with her?
Now that she was willing to retreat on her own, Clark was more than happy to send her off.
To prevent her from coming back, he even gave up his initial plan of releasing a video to the media for promoting his new movie.
Taking out the Tesseract, Clark casually drew a portal to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Just as he was about to step in, Hill greeted him anxiously, "Clark, what exactly happened just now?"
Clark shrugged nonchalantly and vaguely replied, "I just encountered an extremely terrifying entity in the universe."
He didn't want to explain too much about the matter of death. Spreading such news, whether for Clark himself or the listeners, wouldn't be a good thing.
According to normal logic, their worlds were dimensions apart, with no possibility of intersection.
As long as he let them know the seriousness of the matter, that was enough. Details like the Cosmic Creation Gods, Eternity, and Death would do more harm than good if shared. Best left unmentioned.
Hearing Clark's words, Hank Pym, sitting on the side, suddenly frowned and asked, "To hear the word 'terrifying' from your mouth, the situation must be extremely dire. Could you perhaps describe just how terrifying this entity is?"
"With my strength, compared to them, I am like a small thug on the streets of New York against Captain America."
Hank Pym was startled by this analogy, but Clark continued, "We have definitely offended them. The good news is that Captain America can't act personally, and it's awkward for him to ask other Avengers for help... So, there is danger, but it's not insurmountable."
Although Clark's comparison might not be the most fitting, upon closer thought, it did explain the current situation.
If Clark used Hank Pym as an example, there would be nothing to discuss, as Hank Pym could easily eliminate a small thug, even Coulson could.
But Captain America, despite his status and influence, lacks the power to mobilize forces beyond the Avengers.
Of course, it's not that Captain America has no means at all, but the thugs might not be entirely helpless against them.
Like Death, her power is undoubtedly immense, but in the universe, there are only a few powerful beings she can command, with Thanos being the only significant one.
But would Thanos dare to cause trouble on Earth now? If he did, Odin and the Ancient One would not hesitate to use their last strength to keep this mad Titan on Earth forever!
After all, Thanos's notoriety is too great, and without intervention, no one can guarantee he won't blow up the Earth.
But if only Thanos's minions came, Clark was confident he could handle one or two of them easily; more would require more effort. Furthermore, if Thanos dared to send all his minions, who could assure Odin and the Ancient One wouldn't react?
Even these powerful beings would struggle against Thanos, let alone his minions.
Now Odin and the Ancient One, being in their twilight years, wouldn't mind pulling a few down with them... Think about it.
If we talk about other cosmic beings like the Star Eater, despite his miserable existence among the cosmic gods, if he truly wanted to kill Clark, sending one or two of his messengers would be enough to overwhelm the current Clark!
Hank Pym seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation from Clark's description and sighed, "If that's the case, we can discuss handling this later. For now, dealing with the alien invasion takes precedence."
Clark nodded, feeling that the threat from Death wasn't imminent.
At least for now, the Chitauri, strictly speaking, could be considered Death's forces, and until this power failed, she wouldn't think of using other means.
Moreover, if it involved Earth, even Death wouldn't dare to go too far, at least not if she didn't want to fight Eternity to the death, and thus wouldn't use any power that could obliterate the Earth.
"If Loki's words are true, we can deduce two important pieces of information," Clark said seriously. "Firstly, the aliens have chosen New York City as their battlefield. This probably won't change, and our first task should be to evacuate the civilians."
Clark had no better reason for this; major battles in New York were just too common.
It seemed lackluster anywhere else.
Hearing Clark's words, Hank Pym and Hill both looked troubled.
Many people believe they're untouchable Americans, first in the world.
The war hasn't even started yet. Convincing those who are accustomed to peace and arrogance to willingly bear the economic loss of evacuation?
Easier said than done!
Especially for a major city like New York, where one small move affects the whole body. It's not just the citizens who are reluctant to move, but even the top brass may not cooperate with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s orders.
In the original story, senators rushed to drop a nuclear bomb on New York, but that was after the war had started, with New York possibly falling and becoming a springboard for an alien invasion of America.
After witnessing the terror and cruelty of the aliens, the public (excluding those in New York City) would support this final solution for safety.
Dropping a bomb on New York is disastrous for its people, but it minimally impacts other areas' citizens and senators.
But if the government dares to order civilians to abandon their homes for refuge in relatively peaceful times, the public would protest.
Even if such voices are temporarily suppressed, what about afterward? If aliens truly come, the government's orders would have saved everyone. But if they don't, and some refuse to relocate or take advantage of the situation, people will think all losses are caused by the government's rash orders.
They're just wasting taxpayers' money, even harming their interests.
Then, who bears the consequences? S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Do civilians even know what S.H.I.E.L.D. does? Not even Tony Stark knew of its existence before meeting Coulson.
Expecting a virtually unknown department to take the blame is absurd. Even if S.H.I.E.L.D. is responsible, someone else must also be found to appease public anger.
So, who will it be? Whoever supports S.H.I.E.L.D.'s plan will bear the burden!
"I'll take the lead in proposing this," Clark said almost without hesitation. "My senator status should be enough to bear the consequences. With me at the forefront, other senators can vote with confidence. But I don't have the time or energy to communicate with each one; that's up to you."
This issue was Clark's idea from the start, including the news of the alien invasion. If he doesn't step up now, who will?
Moreover, if things go as expected, this isn't just about risk, but also an opportunity to elevate his prestige.
Though for Clark now, such prestige is no longer that important.
Hank Pym appreciated Clark's words and immediately agreed to handle communication with other senators.
Then Clark added, "The other key piece of information is about the Inhuman named Sain. Don't think handing him over will solve everything; it's far from simple. And if this gets out, many fools will think handing him over is the solution…"
Hank Pym nodded again, understanding the logic.
After confirming these two matters, Clark discussed related details with Hank Pym, then opened another portal to leave.
He needed to find Sain for a serious talk, but first, he had to understand some things.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Temporary Base Training Ground.
When Clark inquired about last night's situation, Daisy showed a pained expression again but knew he wouldn't reopen her wounds without a serious reason.
After careful recollection, she said, "During the battle, I heard Super Giant mention that she was ordered by someone named Thanos to kill Sain."
Thanos targeting Sain was intriguing.
Logically, Sain's powers had just awakened; what merit did he have to be considered a thorn in Thanos's side, needing urgent removal?
Daisy continued, "Super Giant also conveyed a strange message from Thanos to Sain. The exact words were…"
After a moment of thought, Daisy said, "Only your blood can cleanse the filth on me!"
"Only your blood can cleanse the filth on me?" Clark repeated the words several times, then suddenly had an epiphany, "Do you know where Sain is now?"
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