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Ch. 163 Plan
🕑 Added 2023-11-22 16:02:01 +0000 UTCAs Russell and Reed were talking, Coulson, Captain America Rogers, and others in the distance were watching them.
Although they were renowned superheroes, in Coulson and the others' eyes, they were civilians. Even with superhuman abilities, they were still civilians.
After a few seconds of contemplation, Coulson, the team leader, walked over to them.
"Do you think he's going to ask us to leave or to join them?" Russell asked Reed.
"There's no need to think about it; he's definitely going to ask us to leave," Reed quickly replied.
It didn't take long for Coulson to arrive with Captain America and the others.
After removing his sunglasses, Coulson, whose receding hairline was becoming more apparent, said to Russell and Reed, "We'll handle things here with our S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agency. You don't need to get involved."
Coulson's tone was polite, but his words carried an underlying lack of politeness.
Russell completely disregarded Coulson's intentions and looked at Captain America Rogers, who was holding his vibranium shield.
Although he had seen Rogers on TV and online, seeing him in person made Russell realize that Rogers exuded even more righteousness in person.
As Russell observed Rogers, Rogers was also sizing him up.
"There's no need to get involved; we'll make our own judgments and don't need others to tell us what to do," Reed said to Coulson.
Although Reed appeared mild-mannered, he could be just as firm as anyone when necessary.
"This is an official operation, and if unofficial individuals get involved, it may cause unnecessary complications. I believe, Mr. Richards, that you can understand this," Coulson replied, not paying much attention to Reed's assertiveness.
"Official or not, this is the United States, and we can go wherever we please. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s has no authority to command us!"
While Reed hadn't spoken yet, Human Torch Johnny's voice suddenly rang out.
After speaking, Johnny turned to Kara with a well-practiced sunny smile.
If it were any other woman, seeing Johnny's smile at this moment might have caused a fluttering of hearts. After all, Johnny was good-looking and a well-known superhero.
However, Kara was no ordinary woman. Upon seeing Johnny's smile, she rolled her eyes and walked directly to Russell's side, hooking her arm through his right hand.
Um...
Kara's action made Johnny even more displeased with Russell.
Russell noticed Johnny's irritated gaze, but he didn't pay it any mind. If Johnny's flames were something special like hellfire or the eternal flame, he might have taken him more seriously. Unfortunately, Johnny could only generate ordinary flames. Even if he could reach a temperature of a million degrees Fahrenheit and cause explosions like a nova, Russell wouldn't be too concerned.
Ordinary flames had too many limitations. With the right approach, dealing with Johnny would be similar to dealing with an ordinary person.
Johnny glared at Russell in annoyance, while Coulson and Captain America Rogers looked displeased as well.
While S.H.I.E.L.D.'s didn't have the authority to command the Fantastic Four, being countered with such a tone by Johnny was something that anyone would find irksome.
If it weren't for Coulson and the others having good temperaments, they might have started arguing with Johnny.
After a few seconds of silence, Coulson looked back at Russell and Reed and said, "We may not have the authority to command you, but individual actions can easily lead to harm to innocent civilians."
"We've all come here to address this unexpected event. If possible, I still hope that we can cooperate instead of going our separate ways."
Coulson continued, no longer requesting Russell and Reed to leave but suggesting that they work together.
Just as Coulson finished speaking, both Russell and Reed simultaneously declined.
Seeing that Russell and Reed were unyielding, Coulson didn't waste any more time and left with Captain America and the others.
After they left, Reed began instructing The Thing to unload equipment from the aircraft.
While Reed had indeed come for the MUTO, his goals were slightly different from Russell, Coulson, and the others.
In addition to preventing the MUTO from harming innocent civilians, he was also quite interested in the life form of this prehistoric giant.
If possible, he wouldn't mind capturing the MUTO alive or bringing back its corpse for a thorough study.
"Hulk, you should help too," Russell said to the Hulk as The Thing headed toward the aircraft.
"Okay!"
The Hulk put down the keg he was holding and ran over to assist The Thing.
Once both The Thing and the Hulk had left, Reed turned to Russell and said, "This mission might not be as easy as we think. We don't know S.H.I.E.L.D.'s true intentions for being here."
"With them around, unexpected situations may arise."
Reed reminded Russell indirectly.
Russell didn't need Reed to tell him that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s presence was trouble. While S.H.I.E.L.D.'s strength wasn't exceptionally high, it couldn't be denied that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s was a government agency with official support.
Whether it was the Justice League or the Fantastic Four, they were ultimately civilian organizations. If anything went wrong, they would be the ones to take the blame, not S.H.I.E.L.D.'s.
"It's okay; let them do their thing while we do ours," Russell said calmly.
"Everyone, I have a plan now!"
Human Torch Johnny suddenly approached Russell and Reed, his expression serious.
"What plan?" Reed asked with some exasperation as he looked at Johnny.
"It's simple! S.H.I.E.L.D.'s is afraid that our involvement might lead to harm to innocent civilians, right? So all we need to do is keep the monster away from the city."
"Kara and I can fly, so we can lead the monster away."
"As long as the monster doesn't enter the city, we can handle it without worrying about injuring others."
Johnny said confidently.
"And how do you plan to lead the monster away?" Susan Storm, the Invisible Woman, asked with a furrowed brow.
Johnny hesitated for a moment and didn't know how to respond.
Seeing his expression, it was clear that he didn't have a detailed plan.
"All right, stop it!" Just as Susan was about to pull Johnny away, Russell suddenly spoke up. "I think Johnny's plan might actually work."
Johnny looked at Russell in disbelief. He hadn't expected Russell to say such a thing.
"How do we do it?" Reed asked Russell.
"Just as Johnny said, we only need to keep the monster away from the city and the people."
"As for how to lead it away, do you all remember where this monster came from?"
Upon hearing Russell's words, Reed and Susan immediately realized the answer.
An abandoned nuclear power plant!
The monster had come from an abandoned nuclear power plant!
