The first thing that caught everyone's eye was Stark Tower. Iron Man, with his feet blazing with flames, circled the tower once.
Finally, he stopped in the air at a certain spot.
He performed a visual scan of Stark Tower, and an elevator and a line of sight immediately appeared.
"Alright, Captain. The Scepter is in the elevator, just passed the eightieth floor," Iron Man said to Captain America over the comms. He was just hovering in the air.
This surprised everyone present. They hadn't expected Iron Man to be involved.
It looked like a "joint operation" between Iron Man and Captain America.
"Understood!"
The camera shifted to an elevator entrance. Captain America responded over the comms, "Prepare for the lobby!"
"Understood, we'll meet you there!" Iron Man's voice immediately crackled back.
The camera cut again, this time inside the elevator, revealing a group of people.
It was Jasper Sitwell, Crossbones Rumlow, and several other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
Hawkeye Barton's guess was correct; it was the standard configuration for transporting important items: a commander plus a rapid response team.
"Cap, have you noticed something?" Tony Stark remarked, clearly amused, "The people in the elevator are the same ones who attacked you in the elevator last time! How interesting."
During the incident where Nick Fury was "killed," Captain America was ambushed in an elevator at the Triskelion.
Those very people were now in Stark Tower!
This is just too coincidental.
"Really, Captain?" Black Widow couldn't help but glance at Captain America, sighing softly, "This really does feel like fate."
Captain America was just staring at the big screen and didn't say anything.
"The evidence has been secured, we're going to find Dr. Lister!" Jasper Sitwell's voice came from the elevator, where he was on the phone. "No, no surprises, Mr. Secretary."
Mr. Secretary!
Those two words caused everyone present to slightly change their expressions.
Considering Jasper Sitwell's identity, there was a high probability that this Mr. Secretary was Alexander Pierce.
Then a basic judgment emerged: Sitwell was ostensibly a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and he should be responsible to Nick Fury, not Pierce!
Was Nick Fury already dead, or was Pierce also a member of HYDRA?
With this question in mind, everyone continued to watch how things would unfold.
With a loud clatter, the elevator doors suddenly opened just as Sitwell hung up the phone, revealing Captain America.
Sitwell and the others visibly changed their expressions.
They clearly hadn't expected Captain America to appear and were caught off guard.
"Captain, I thought you were coordinating the search and rescue operation," Sitwell cautiously asked Captain America.
"The plan has changed!"
Captain America responded calmly, as if he hadn't noticed the strange atmosphere, and strode directly into the elevator.
"Hey, Cap!" Crossbones Rumlow greeted Captain America in a somewhat formal manner.
"Rumlow," Captain America replied curtly.
Silence then fell over the elevator, and the atmosphere became noticeably tense.
Some of the quick reaction force operatives subtly placed their hands on their sidearms, appearing ready to move against Captain America at any moment.
The scene was a stark reminder of the "ambush" Captain America had faced in the Triskelion.
It was a perfect recreation of that event.
"Before we take action, does anyone want to leave?"
Tony Stark instinctively expected Captain America to utter those very words next.
But this time, Captain America didn't try to show off.
He took in the subtle movements of everyone present, then calmly said, "I just received a call from the Director. I'm in charge of the Scepter."
"Sir, I don't understand." Jasper Sitwell wasn't a fool, and immediately cast a suspicious glance at Captain America.
"We received information that someone might try to steal it!" Captain America explained to Sitwell.
"I'm sorry, Captain, but we can't hand over the Scepter to you," Crossbones said, his face serious.
"I need to call the Director!" Sitwell pulled out his phone and immediately prepared to make a verification call.
"It's okay, trust me," Captain America said meaningfully, then leaned his head close to Sitwell's face and whispered, "Hail HYDRA!"
A look of surprise flashed across Sitwell's face; he clearly hadn't expected Captain America to be a member of HYDRA as well.
Crossbones Rumlow was also slightly taken aback, then a smirk appeared on his face, as if he was excited to know that Captain America was among his team.
Clang!
The elevator doors then opened.
Captain America walked out, carrying a large箱子.
It was obvious that the箱子 contained the so-called Scepter.
Clang!
The elevator doors closed again, and a smile couldn't help but appear on Captain America's face.
The scene froze on Captain America's smiling face.
"Captain, I'm a little surprised to see you using tactics. I have to say, it's unexpected," Black Widow said with a glance at Captain America.
Captain America's image had always been one of bravery, justice, forward momentum, and self-sacrifice – all those glorious and righteous things.
This sudden "tricking HYDRA" move really shattered everyone's usual perception of him.
But that video just now also cleared up the doubts surrounding Captain America.
Anyone who wasn't blind or mentally challenged could see at a glance that Captain America said "Hail HYDRA" only to trick Sitwell into handing over the Scepter, nothing more.
"Now we need to focus on two key issues," Captain America said, not responding to Black Widow's teasing, but instead summing things up with a serious expression.
"The minister Sitwell contacted is most likely Alexander Pierce, right?"
Although he used the word "right," Captain America's tone was actually quite certain.
Since he started participating in the quiz and cooperating with Nick Fury, Captain America had gained a considerable understanding of S.H.I.E.L.D., including its personnel structure.
S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't have a minister-level position. The only one who could be called a minister was the minister of the World Security Council.
Of course, there wasn't just one minister in the World Security Council, but only one minister was permanently stationed at S.H.I.E.L.D., responsible for coordinating between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the World Security Council.
Alexander Pierce.
So, it was obvious that the person Sitwell was contacting was definitely Pierce.
"Although this is hard to accept... but if Sitwell is also HYDRA, then there's a high probability that Pierce is also HYDRA," Hawkeye Barton couldn't help but say.
"According to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s procedures, Sitwell should report to the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. It's not in line with procedures for him to directly contact the minister."
"However, there may have been some special circumstances, so I can accept Sitwell directly communicating with the minister."
"But we all saw it. Sitwell was reporting to Pierce privately, but in front of the Captain, he said he was going to call the Director."
"Why?"
"It shows that this matter should have been the Director's responsibility, not the Secretary! That's why he called the Director in front of an outsider, the Captain."
"Sounds reasonable!" Thor nodded in agreement. "And for S.H.I.E.L.D. to be infiltrated like this, there must be HYDRA members at the highest levels, very, very high."
Black Widow and Captain America were silent. Based on the content shown in this video, Pierce indeed had a high probability of being involved.
"Besides the problem with Pierce, there's something else we need to pay attention to, the Scepter." Captain America spoke again.
"That thing is being fought over by HYDRA, me, and Stark. Whatever it is, it must be very important."
"We can't let HYDRA get it."
Everyone naturally agreed with this.
HYDRA was an evil organization, the same in nature as the Nazis of old, a public enemy.
Deserving of universal condemnation.
Whatever HYDRA wanted to obtain, they naturally needed to stop without hesitation.
"It's just a pity that the Scepter has been kept in a box from beginning to end, and we don't know what kind of Scepter it is."
Dr. Banner said with a hint of regret.
A Scepter is a general term for a type of item, a kind of "staff" used by ancient emperors to symbolize royal power and authority.
Knowing only the name "Scepter" but not any other relevant information, there was no way to conduct any analysis.
"So what we need to look out for is an antique?" Hawkeye Barton shrugged.
"Or a weapon," Thor added.
But as soon as he finished speaking, he saw that everyone was looking at him strangely.
"What's wrong? Isn't the Scepter a weapon to you all? Loki used the Scepter, maybe some magicians on your Earth use it too," Thor asked, glancing at everyone.
"Makes sense!" Captain America pondered for a moment and nodded, "After experiencing so much and knowing so much, we really can't think about things the old way anymore."
[Question: Among the Avengers, many were controlled by Scarlet Witch's Mind Magic. Which of the following characters were NOT included?] [A. Thor] [B. Hawkeye Barton]
[C. Ant-Man, Scott Lang]
[D. Spider-Man, Peter Parker]
[Friendly Reminder: Those who answer correctly will receive the Line-of-Sight Demon Eye skill; Those who answer incorrectly will have one of their attributes randomly deducted, including but not limited to knowledge, experience, skills, possessions, etc...]
After the new question appeared, everyone temporarily stopped discussing and refocused their attention on the big screen.
The character presented in this question was someone everyone found quite interesting.
"Scarlet Witch, the witch who appeared in Civil War, Wanda Maximoff, a powerful mage," Black Widow said first, giving a brief introduction to Dr. Banner and Hawkeye Barton.
"So, mages really exist? I always thought they were just things in movies and novels," Hawkeye Barton said with a surprised look on his face.
"Barton, you need to open your eyes and see the world anew," Tony Stark said seriously to Hawkeye Barton.
"By the way, Stark, did you find anything about Scarlet Witch?"
Following that, Black Widow couldn't help but turn and ask Tony Stark.
During the previous round of answering questions, Black Widow not only used the Sharingan to copy Scarlet Witch's appearance, but they also learned her name.
Wanda Maximoff.
They didn't know if she had a middle name.
But for Tony Stark, who had Jarvis, it should be very simple to find someone once he knew their appearance and a name to this extent.
"I found dozens of Wanda Maximoffs across the entire United States, but none of them fit the description."
Tony Stark shrugged. "Either the timing is off, Wanda Maximoff is still a child, or she's hiding somewhere completely off the grid, with no internet access."
In short, they couldn't find her.
"Stark, we can't give up," Captain America said seriously to Tony Stark. "This Scarlet Witch is far more dangerous than we thought."
Originally, the Scarlet Witch had only shown a fraction of her abilities during the Civil War. But now, the prompt stated that many Avengers had been controlled by the Scarlet Witch.
And the Avengers were a group of enhanced individuals, not just ordinary people!
The Scarlet Witch's strength was therefore considerable.
And "Mind Magic," just from the name, sounded like some incredibly powerful magic.
"Also, her stance is unknown," Black Widow added.
Although Black Widow fought alongside Captain America in the Civil War, that single battle didn't mean much. Everyone still maintained their vigilance.
And didn't the question mention that Scarlet Witch had attacked more than one Avenger? No one could guarantee that all her attacks stemmed from the Civil War.
"Jarvis is constantly monitoring the network; I'll know the instant anything happens," Tony Stark told them.
"Everyone, isn't this question too easy?" Thor said, smiling at the question, giving a strong hint. "I think everyone should know the answer, right?"
Happy holidays, everyone!
-------------
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