Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Anomaly Point (Middle)
"It seems I don't need to sneak around anymore." Returning quietly to his single room on the ship, Daniel Davis felt much more relaxed as he walked onto the deck. Currently, on Earth, the person he feared the most was Ancient One.
With Ancient One out of the picture, there was no one on Earth at this stage who could match him. Even Mordo and Wong, who had trained for many more years than him, were no exception.
Magic is miraculous, but science is equally amazing. For instance, Pym Particles could be considered a form of magic to some extent.
"The military has mobilized," Daniel said, looking up and understanding immediately as he heard the roaring sounds above. Fighter jets and a dozen helicopters were heading towards Terragrigia.
"It seems they're not planning to nuke the entire island. Is it because of that anomaly point?"
Just as Daniel thought, upon learning about the anomaly point that had always existed on the island, the higher-ups aimed to reclaim control of the island.
Anomaly points, according to scientists from ancient invasions, are past time periods of Earth. Changing events there could impact humanity's future. Therefore, the best way to deal with creatures from anomaly points is to send them back.
Unfortunately, this was just the scientists' opinion. For most people in power, anomaly points represented huge benefits. If an anomaly point might disappear at any time, it wouldn't matter. But a potentially permanent anomaly point contained undeveloped resources. As for the impact on the present and future, as long as it didn't affect them directly, they didn't care.
Humanity can cooperate sincerely under certain great disasters, but they can also kill each other under the same circumstances.
Like in "Avengers: Endgame," the superheroes saved the half of the population that had died before, yet not everyone appreciated the superheroes. These people were mostly those who hadn't died from the snap.
"I wonder what these people will think when they see the anomaly point disappear," Daniel mused with a slightly schadenfreude smile, imagining their reaction after fighting bloodily into the military base only to find the anomaly point gone.
"It's a pity about this island," he sighed. If the anomaly point still existed and the military stationed troops, Terragrigia might have a chance to prosper again over time.
Without the anomaly point, the military wouldn't stay, and few would want to live in a city that had experienced a bioterror incident.
"Are you alright?" Daniel asked with concern as he saw Rebecca, looking pale, walk onto the deck after waking up. Although she hadn't fought much earlier, going through something like Raccoon City again had awakened her STARS memories.
"I hope Chris and Jill are okay," Rebecca said worriedly, looking towards Terragrigia. Chris and Jill hadn't evacuated; they stayed on the island to clear out the monsters.
"Don't worry so much. I just saw the military mobilize. They'll be fine," Daniel reassured her.
This event was different from Raccoon City; it couldn't be hidden this time.
"You're a mutant," Rebecca said quietly after cautiously checking their surroundings and ensuring no one was around.
Powers weren't new to Rebecca, who worked for SHIELD, which had many such individuals in cold storage.
In the Marvel world, these individuals were common, mainly coming from Inhumans, various radiation mutations, and natural abnormalities.
As a biochemical expert for SHIELD, Rebecca had studied these cases. SHIELD had a list of mutants, officially called superhumans.
SHIELD had its own procedures for determining whether these superhumans were harmful or harmless. Harmful ones were captured and put in cold storage, while harmless ones were monitored and sometimes had to report to SHIELD regularly.
Such policies existed because most superhumans weren't harmless. Having some power often led to lawlessness.
Rebecca was careful due to these concerns, and also because, as a SHIELD agent, she had a responsibility to report any superhumans.
"I'm not a mutant. I was using magic," Daniel said, leaving Rebecca dumbfounded.
"Magic? You're a magician?" Rebecca finally responded after a long pause.
"More accurately, a sorcerer," Daniel said with a smile, raising his right index finger.
"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Rebecca said after another long pause.
"Not here," Daniel replied, indicating she should follow him to his room.
"Watch closely," Daniel said, bringing his hands together. A golden beam of light appeared before him, slowly forming into a shield.
Rebecca, shocked, tapped the shield gently to confirm its reality. With the shield real, Daniel's claim of being a sorcerer was also true.
"This isn't scientific," Rebecca said, voicing what most scientists would feel upon seeing magic for the first time.
"Magic is just science we haven't discovered yet," Daniel quoted a famous sci-fi author.
"I might need to report this," Rebecca said, conflicted, and explained SHIELD's regulations regarding superhumans.
Daniel had risked exposing his abilities to save her, yet she had to report him. It seemed ungrateful.
"Go ahead. Don't worry, I'll be fine. Remember, I'm not an ordinary person anymore," Daniel said with a smile.
He had anticipated this situation before acting, so he had prepared an explanation. Although exposing his abilities was early, it was acceptable.
In this world, to develop further, avoiding SHIELD was impossible. Only by engaging with SHIELD could he access more resources, like Thor from the future Avengers.
Having an official status was crucial. Without it, communicating with Thor would be difficult, let alone visiting Asgard.
To advance his magic, Asgard's magical system was a valuable resource.
"They found them," Natasha said, sliding down a rope from a Quinjet with Shuri onto a luxurious Queen ferry below, the base of the terrorist organization Greyhound.
"Something's off. Be careful," Natasha warned Shuri as they noticed no one came out despite the commotion. They armed themselves with various weapons from the Quinjet and entered the ship.
Meanwhile, at the military base, it was proven again that bioweapons couldn't match modern weaponry. After bombing and sweeping by a dozen helicopters, the base was quickly retaken.
"What did you say?" a military high-up almost smashed his communicator in anger, seeing the anomaly point had vanished.
Despite all the resources wasted, it was a futile effort. Even as a general, he couldn't bear the consequences, especially with SHIELD watching.
According to SHIELD's founding regulations, anomaly points were their responsibility. Officially, that is. In reality, unless exposed, no one handed them over to SHIELD.
But now he had to accept his bad luck, as the research report indicated the anomaly point had closed automatically.
"It's time for a good rest," Daniel thought. The Terragrigia incident shocked the world, interrupting his internship. Officially, it was declared a terrorist attack. But from Rebecca, Jill, and others, Daniel learned it was orchestrated by high-ups within the FBC.
The reason was simple: to consolidate power by creating an enemy.
SHIELD had the World Security Council's supervision. The newly formed FBC wasn't entirely SHIELD's, with a high-ranking UN official overseeing it.
Before the Raccoon City incident, the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance wasn't taken seriously. Bioterror incidents were rare, so their power and funding were less than other departments.
Like a certain country starting a war and only finding washing powder, many bioterror incidents were exaggerated pretexts.
But after the Raccoon City incident, the BSAA's power and funding skyrocketed.
To gain more power, someone orchestrated this event.
In a pure bioterror world, this would make sense. But in the Marvel world, that person was just a pawn, a scapegoat.
"Hello." As Daniel entered his room, a stranger's voice put him on guard. Recognizing the speaker, Daniel smiled inwardly.
At first, he thought it was someone from SHIELD. But seeing the person, he knew it wasn't.
In a sleek black suit and sunglasses, leisurely sitting on the couch, was Wesker.
Behind him stood Ada Wong, her face bandaged, indicating she was injured.
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