Natasha didn't react to Filippo Todd's mockery.
She had expected it.
When Todd and the other two senior officials looked at her with open disdain, she remained composed.
"You don't have to ridicule me, Minister Todd," she said evenly. "You've seen what he can do."
Her voice stayed calm, but the meaning was sharp.
"Even if the three of you engage him personally, you're not certain you can win. The fact that you requested SHIELD assistance already proves that."
Todd's jaw tightened.
"And you know as well as I do whether Richard and his father are criminals in the traditional sense. If you insist on escalating this to the end, then I sincerely wish you luck."
She turned to Fury.
"I won't participate in this operation."
Without waiting for approval, she moved toward the door.
Basque Mayor stepped directly into her path.
"Agent Romanoff," he said coldly, "are you underestimating the Department of Mutant Affairs?"
Natasha met his gaze without flinching.
"Director Mayor, instead of threatening me, you might consider returning to your headquarters. He's waiting for you."
Her eyes flicked toward the drone footage screen.
"Unless you're afraid you can't defeat him."
Mayor's expression darkened. His body tensed.
Banner stepped forward calmly.
"Director Mayor," Banner said quietly, "please move. Natasha and I are leaving."
Mayor held his stare for a long second.
Then he stepped aside.
"I'll remember this," he said flatly.
Natasha and Banner exited without looking back.
Inside, Fury exhaled subtly.
He understood one thing clearly: if Todd and his lieutenants survived, they would not forget Natasha's words.
…
At the shattered headquarters, Richard waited.
Ten minutes had passed.
No SHIELD response. No Minister Todd.
Only police barricades and forced evacuation.
Inefficient.
Before killing the last eighteen helmeted agents, he had briefly scanned the minds of several. Todd, Lambert, and Mayor had gone to SHIELD for coordination.
The Triskelion wasn't far.
They should have been here already.
He considered teleporting to SHIELD personally.
Then he saw them.
Three Quinjets approached at high speed.
Finally.
Richard stood, pulling the Authentic Blade from the fractured ledge.
He raised his right hand.
Thunder rolled overhead.
A second later, three thick bolts of silver-white lightning tore downward.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Two Quinjets exploded midair, erupting in fire and debris.
The central jet did not.
The lightning that struck it vanished—absorbed.
Richard's eyes narrowed slightly.
Winston Lambert.
Energy control.
Lambert could absorb and redirect common energy forms—electricity, heat, wind. Not as versatile as Shaw's absorption, but specialized and effective.
The surviving Quinjet descended over the ruined plaza.
The rear hatch opened.
Three figures jumped without parachutes.
Mayor fell like a meteor.
Todd hovered midair, flight activated.
Lambert converted stored electrical energy into wind propulsion, suspending himself.
Mayor impacted first.
Boom.
The ground cracked beneath him as he landed in a classic crouched impact stance.
His body had changed.
Red skin. Curved horns. Massive musculature. Arms thicker than steel beams.
Demonization.
The Quinjet landed nearby.
Two more figures exited.
Captain America Rogers.
Clint Barton.
Only them?
Richard's gaze lingered.
He had anticipated more—perhaps Stark or Banner. Thor's presence was unlikely, but the core Avengers seemed probable.
Instead, only Rogers and Barton.
Both wore black helmets.
Telepathic shielding.
Todd and Lambert wore similar devices.
SHIELD modifications, most likely.
Richard dismissed concern.
Telepathy was merely one of many tools.
His focus shifted to Mayor.
The demon-form mutant radiated heat and aggression. Richard tested a minor telepathic probe.
Resistance.
As expected.
Mayor roared, summoning a whip of molten magma in his right hand. The superheated lash cracked through the air.
Richard began charging.
FS Dimensional Slash.
He locked onto Mayor as the charging cycle completed—one, two seconds.
Mayor swung.
Richard released.
The Authentic Blade carved through the air with blinding speed.
Space distorted violently.
Within a five-meter radius centered on Mayor, reality folded and twisted. Black fissures—manifestations of torn space—flickered around the demon's massive frame.
FS Dimensional Slash.
Even as the magma whip descended, Richard already knew.
Mayor could not withstand this.
.....
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