“Alright, in the coming days, I’ll send you the collected relevant intel, including the locations of each target,” Nick Fury said, relieved as Hawking agreed.
If it weren’t for the short-sighted members of the Security Council, Fury would have preferred a more conciliatory approach to stabilize Hawking before gradually making moves. But the Council had issued an ultimatum, demanding the resolution of the Hawking issue, or else S.H.I.E.L.D.’s funding would be cut.
Knowing that even with all of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s resources, they couldn’t match Hawking and the X-Men head-on, Fury weighed the options. He concluded that the best course of action was to collaborate with Hawking to eliminate the obstructive Security Council members.
This way, even though it meant Hawking wouldn’t be restrained, S.H.I.E.L.D. could enter a period of rapid development without hindrances. It was a move for the safety and stability of humanity and Earth, sacrificing a few selfish politicians for the greater good.
Fury believed that in a few years, with the progress of the Avengers Initiative, they might have a chance to contend with Hawking again. This incident could also demonstrate to global leaders the importance of S.H.I.E.L.D., establishing that only they could handle threats like Hawking.
“Actually, I think this could have been easily accomplished with the help of your wife instead of involving me,” Hawking remarked with a smile.
He couldn’t completely guess Fury’s thoughts but had a pretty good idea. Since they couldn’t deal with him directly, they planned to use him to eliminate their enemies, achieving their goals in the process.
Hawking didn’t mind since he intended to deal with those people anyway.
Fury believed that S.H.I.E.L.D. would develop rapidly without restrictions, but he didn’t realize that Hawking’s growth rate would be even faster. By the time Fury felt S.H.I.E.L.D. could challenge Hawking, his power might have increased a hundredfold.
“She wouldn’t do it; she’s different from us,” Fury replied, shaking his head.
Maria was the epitome of kindness. She would save and help people, but she would never agree to kill high-ranking officials due to political disagreements. She was still angry with him over the previous day’s events.
After their discussion, Hawking got out of the car with several documents in hand. “Director Fury, I hope you’re not deceiving me. If I handle all the targets on your list and still face government trouble in the future, I’ll hold you accountable as well.”
“Don’t worry, you and your company won’t have any problems for at least five years,” Fury assured him.
He didn’t need Hawking to eliminate all dissenters, just a few to scare the rest. Then, he could stop supplying names, making everyone believe it was due to his intervention that Hawking was stopped. S.H.I.E.L.D. would gain increased funding and influence as a result.
“Five years, good, no problem.”
Five years of stable development was more than enough for Hawking.
Returning home, Hawking created a few shadow clones and handed them the documents. The clones took the documents, looked them over, and flew out of the house using their flying techniques.
With shadow clones and transformation techniques combined with various magic spells, he had countless ways to make those high-ranking officials die in accidents without leaving any evidence pointing to him, the superhero who had just saved the Earth.
Even if those in power weren’t foolish, they would still guess he was behind it.
The aftermath was Fury’s problem. Hawking was just responsible for the eliminations.
A week after the Apocalypse incident, the Christmas holidays ended.
Wanda, Pietro, and Hawking said goodbye to Oleg and Elena and returned to the mutant school.
“You two seem to be in good spirits,” Hawking remarked, pushing open the door to the headmaster’s office to find Professor X and Magneto playing chess.
Professor X beamed at Hawking, “I saw in the news that the presence of mutant heroes from the Hero Alliance has greatly changed public opinion about mutants. Ororo and the others even have many human admirers now. The relationship between humans and mutants has taken a big step forward. Thank you, Hawking.”
“Though I’m not a mutant, I’m still a student of this school. I told you I wouldn’t make you regret your decision back then,” Hawking replied with a smile, stepping forward.
Magneto looked up at Hawking, “I still don’t believe your approach can solve the fundamental issue. Human selfishness and arrogance will eventually turn against you. But if you ever need to release my restraints, I’ll be more than willing to help.”
“No need for your help. Spend your remaining years here playing chess with the Professor,” Hawking replied dismissively before discussing future plans for mutant students joining the Hero Alliance.
The professors had their duties at school and couldn’t frequently visit the company like Peter and Jessica. They would only appear on special occasions.
The Hero Alliance International Company recruits would be recent graduates like Colossus, Shadowcat, and Iceman.
Hawking found this preferable. Younger recruits were easier to manage than older, more troublesome ones.
“Let’s proceed as you’ve suggested. The Xavier family will fully support the development of the Hero Alliance Company. Funds, venues, and talent—you can draw from the family resources as needed. The future is in your hands, Hawking. I’ll stay here, teaching and enjoying my retirement,” Professor X said as their discussion concluded.
Leaving the headmaster’s office with a smile, Hawking felt assured. Seeing the dawn of harmonious coexistence between humans and mutants, Professor X had completely entrusted Hawking with the future, offering the full support of the Xavier family to expand the company.
Hawking naturally accepted. Expanding the Hero Alliance Company required substantial funds and talent. He aimed to create a superhero company as influential as Vought International.
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