"Where is he! How can you let him take Jiaying away!" The sound of pounding heartbeats reverberated in her ears; the mixed-blood girl refused to listen to any advice, as anger had long since ignited her emotions. Her eyes grew red, and her well-developed tear ducts still faithfully performed their duty. "Don't you know what he'll do to Jiaying, Coulson?" Skye felt her lips and nose go numb with cold, her nostrils repeatedly stung by tears, "He's a lunatic! You can't even imagine how he'd treat her!"
"Skye, you don't know what the situation was like at the time!"
Ever since Coulson had returned from the Immortal City, the S.H.I.E.L.D. director had grown increasingly silent; no one knew what secret Solomon had revealed to him. In response to Skye's accusations, Simmons hurriedly shut the glass door of the airborne research department, confining the argument to that one corner.
"Many agents died—Agent Hand even had to lead a rescue from the helicarrier. You were locked in your room then; if you had seen the corridors before they were cleaned, you wouldn't have suspected Agent Hand of anything nefarious." She continued, "In fact, Agent Weaver followed Agent Hand… and she was very disappointed in us. Agent Hand believed that our weakness cost Commander Gonzalez his life. We… we couldn't resist; the helicarrier was full of Solomon's agents, and you know they truly do kill. He had us bring Cal back, and he also said…"
"He also said what?"
"That he would guarantee a wonderful death for Jiaying." Coulson said in a cold, solemn tone, "For someone like Jiaying, that's a good enough ending. No matter what, she will never stop using Terrigen to transform humans into Inhumans—at the expense of those innocent lives…"
"But he could simply lock her up," Skye murmured, lowering her voice involuntarily. Before she had fully gathered her senses, several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had already perished because of Jiaying's conspiracies. She kept blaming herself, thinking that if she had uncovered Jiaying's plot sooner, perhaps those dutiful agents might have survived. "But the others… the others were incited by Jiaying's hatred; they believed that humans—or rather S.H.I.E.L.D.—were hostile to them."
"Solomon is a steadfast humanist; he's not concerned with right or wrong—only with survival." Although Simmons hadn't interacted with Solomon many times, she could still draw a rough conclusion, "To him, debating good and evil is meaningless. The greatest justice is for humanity to survive and for non-humans to perish. Now that the Inhumans are costing human lives, Solomon won't let go of this vengeance!"
"This isn't vengeance, Simmons—you underestimate Solomon. The reason he wants to take Jiaying and those Inhumans is simply that Jiaying holds the information he needs. Solomon wants to know how Jiaying discovered the unawakened Inhumans, how she acquired the technology to extract Terrigen. He believes there's a threat hidden behind 'Afterlife' that we don't yet understand—a threat that may be linked to aliens. Clearly, he knows things we can't access; otherwise, he wouldn't place so much importance on Jiaying."
Facing Skye, who cared for him as if she were his own daughter, Coulson finally couldn't hold back his emotions.
"I oppose this approach, but his determination is unyielding," he said. "The chief interrogator is Natasha Romanoff. I'm well aware of Black Widow's interrogation methods—she takes a long time, and she won't resort to brute force. But Jiaying is very likely to refuse to cooperate, so Solomon will have to employ extreme measures. He's also brought in Wanda Maximoff—the newly minted Avenger, who's said to be capable of disturbing minds… We have little understanding of magical interrogation techniques. It's highly possible that after the questioning, Jiaying's brain will be utterly destroyed. Only if Agent Romanoff can extract something will Solomon abandon magic... or perhaps you, Skye, if you can get Jiaying to say what Solomon wants. But we all know Jiaying's stance—it's impossible."
Skye was nearly overwhelmed by grief and anger. Looking at her heartbreaking state, Coulson let out a heavy sigh.
"But Solomon doesn't know," he suddenly said, "We can use this to buy some time, and then…"
"Sir?" Skye asked.
"It's time for the Avengers to know I'm still alive. I'm sure they have many questions to ask." Coulson smiled slightly. "I'll set up a meeting—only they can stop Solomon from committing such atrocities. Skye, perhaps you should join the Avengers, to make your mark on a bigger stage; you now have superpowers…"
"You know I'm not going anywhere, Coulson." Skye sniffled again. Simmons passed her a tissue, and Skye accepted it bashfully. She knew the mistakes she had made, and she also knew how precious the forbearance of Coulson and Melinda May was. "And you know who my family is. Not Jiaying, not Cal, but all of you."
"Oh! Come over here, little sweetheart!" Simmons said, gathering Skye's head in a hug and ruffling her thick, long hair. After a moment, she finally released the blushing Skye. "Sir, with Black Widow and the new Avengers now involved in the interrogation, will the other Avengers really help?"
"They will!" Coulson nodded. "At least, the one I know will!"
After repeated persuasion from Agent Coulson, Solomon finally agreed to slow down the interrogation process. However, Coulson's efforts weren't solely responsible; the more important issue was Wanda's psychological barrier. This apprentice disliked using brutal interrogation methods, and Solomon was prepared—he wanted to give Wanda more time to understand the origins of the Inhumans and the atrocities committed by the Kree against humanity. He was not a vengeful man; he simply hoped that Wanda would come to realize how crucial Jiaying's information might be.
The door to the interrogation room opened, and Natasha Romanoff stepped out. Shaking her head with an expression of profound resignation, she said, "She still refuses to cooperate. I feel like she might spit at me any moment."
"That's not surprising. After all, she was dissected alive by Whitehall. To observe the Inhumans' physiological traits, Whitehall would stop at nothing to keep her awake on the dissection table." Solomon looked at the expressionless woman behind the one-way glass. Under the glaring white light of the interrogation room, the woman suddenly lifted her head to stare at the glass; the burning hatred in her eyes nearly melted the pane. "No matter how deranged she is now, I wouldn't be surprised. Simple interrogation and coaxing cannot break her deeply ingrained hatred. I suspect even her soul might never speak."
"Perhaps time is too short. Every person has the desire to unburden themselves; given more time, I'll get her to say what you want to know." Natasha Romanoff recalled something Wanda had once confided in her. Wanda understood Solomon's ideals, yet she could hardly accept the harsh reality underlying those ideals. She claimed she would eventually come to terms with it, though it was difficult, and she believed that one day she might understand Solomon—an idea that infuriated Natasha, who felt Wanda didn't need to pander to Solomon, even if he was her teacher.
But then she thought of Kamar-Taj's spirit of self-sacrifice, and suddenly no words came out.
"A bunch of martyrs." That was how Natasha summed up Kamar-Taj, and Solomon was the most radical of these martyrs. "I will resolve this, Wanda," Natasha Romanoff comforted her, "I'm S.H.I.E.L.D.'s finest agent—trust me."
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Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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