Alien invasion? Luckily, I'm Superman.

Sure enough, there are some inexplicably powerful beings in the Marvel Universe. Su Mo sighed inwardly, his gaze falling on the unconscious Wanda at his feet. Thankfully, this Scarlet Witch is the early movie version, not the later, more tragic one. Or perhaps it would be the comic book version.

He withdrew his fist, which had reached Wanda's forehead. This was his future team, Su Mo thought to himself. He decided to create his own power base in this universe. He couldn't be in this world all the time; with power, he could help gather intelligence, acquire resources, and conduct research even when Wanda wasn't around. No matter how strong one person was, they couldn't handle so many things.

Moreover, Scarlet Witch, with her formidable fighting power, could absolutely help him defeat his enemies. Not to mention anything far off, dealing with Thanos would require her. If Su Mo nurtured Wanda based on the comics he'd read in his previous life, Wanda might be enough to defeat Thanos, and Su Mo could simply pick up the pieces and take all of Thanos's power and resources. Thinking of this, a slight smile appeared on Su Mo's lips.

While Su Mo was pondering, Captain America and Black Widow escorted the unconscious Baron Strucker over. Neither of them looked well.

Steve's lips were pressed tightly together; Bucky's scream as he plummeted off the cliff in the hallucination still echoed in his ears. Natasha's knuckles were white, her fingers unconsciously rubbing against the hilt of her knife. (The Red Room arc won't be explored in much detail after this; it'll only be briefly mentioned, though that's not certain.)

Su Mo looked at them and guessed why they were in a bad mood. Steve must be Bucky, and Natasha must be the Red Room. He thought for a moment and then spoke.

"Hey, Captain, don't worry too much. After Natasha interrogates Strucker, we can try to rescue your friend Bucky."

Steve glanced at him, nodded, and relaxed slightly. Su Mo pondered how to comfort Natasha. Since he wanted to build his power base, he had to poach some of Nick Fury's agents. After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. was full of Hydra agents and would eventually be destroyed and disbanded; it was better to let Su Mo take over. Natasha and Clint were both top-tier agents, and Steve was their spiritual leader. If he could win them over, his power would have a solid framework. (A classic example of building power in Marvel: poaching Nick Fury's agents)

Tony also landed from the sky. With Jarvis piloting the Jaeger while he was unconscious, he was naturally unharmed. Tony walked over, lifted his mask, and his face still bore the pallor of the hallucination.

"Su Mo." He walked up to Su Mo and uttered these words, his tone less sarcastic and more serious than usual, "Perhaps we could consider the faster-than-light travel technology you mentioned."

Su Mo raised an eyebrow, looking at Tony. The illusion had intensified Tony's desire to build a global defense force. Su Mo nodded in agreement. All he had to do was make sure Tony didn't create Ultron later.

Next, Su Mo and his group, along with Wanda and Pietro, left Baron Strucker's secret base and departed Sokovia. The Quinjet's engines roared low in the night sky as it disappeared below the clouds.

As for battlefield management, S.H.I.E.L.D. will handle it. Although Su Mo said that S.H.I.E.L.D. is entirely Hydra, it's not actually that exaggerated. It's true that they're deeply infiltrated, but not to the point that every agent is a Hydra agent.

Wanda woke up on the way back to New York.

The moment she opened her eyes, a red light flashed in the cabin. Her gaze quickly swept across the cabin, seeing Pietro lying on the seat next to her, his legs in a splint, his eyes closed but his chest rising and falling steadily. She saw Su Mo sitting opposite her, arms crossed, quietly watching her.

"Calm down," Su Mo said. "Your brother is fine, he just fainted."

Wanda's gaze lingered on Su Mo's face for about two seconds. She could tell whether someone was lying from their emotional fluctuations. Su Mo's emotions were calm, without hostility, and even carried a hint of goodwill. Wanda slowly withdrew her energy, and after confirming that her brother was indeed alright, she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

The scepter was no longer in Baron Strucker's hands; the thing that had been controlling her had vanished. Moreover, she was a very powerful psychic, so the external mental control had naturally subsided.

The tense atmosphere on the Quinjet was eased.

Although Wanda and Pietro joined Hydra voluntarily, Hydra hadn't yet caused any innocent deaths. Their hatred only needed to be dispelled. The siblings' hatred for Tony stemmed from a lack of proper upbringing. Regardless of whether Stark Industries sold weapons or not, war would break out in Sokovia, and with Baron Strucker there, Su Mo believed Hydra was definitely involved in igniting the conflict. That area was traditionally Hydra's sphere of influence; war and turmoil provided them with perfect cover.

Su Mo looked into Wanda's eyes and spoke.

"You two will now join us. Hydra has definitely shared your data, and you'll be constantly harassed by them. Join us, and we can protect you."

Wanda's pupils contracted slightly. She knew he was right. Having been with Hydra for so long, she knew their methods all too well.

"I..." Wanda hesitated for a moment, her gaze falling on Pietro. After their parents' death, she had been raising her younger brother alone, and joining Hydra was primarily for his sake. The older Wanda also understood that the war in Sokovia had nothing to do with Tony. Those shells bore the Stark name, but it was the Sokovians themselves who pulled the triggers. Moreover, Tony had long since shut down Stark Industries' weapons division. In truth, they hadn't initially harbored such hatred towards Tony; it was Hydra's constant experimentation and brainwashing that had fueled that hatred.

She didn't want herself and her brother to become globally wanted criminals. That wasn't the life she wanted.

"Okay, I agree." Her voice was firm. "But you must guarantee Pietro's safety."

Su Mo nodded.

Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver join the team.

On the other side, S.H.I.E.L.D.

Nick Fury stealthily bypassed the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, avoiding the surveillance of every camera in the corridor. He moved silently in the darkness, his black tactical uniform and dark skin making him almost blend into the shadows.

He infiltrated a nearly completed space carrier. Three colossal ships hovered in the dock, like three sleeping beasts. Fury climbed up the maintenance tunnel to the core compartment of the middle carrier, where Project Insight's data center was located.

He pulled an encrypted data disk from the inside pocket of his tactical uniform, plugged it into the server's interface, and copied the underlying system of Project Insight—all the algorithms, all the target lists. He copied it all.

Why did he do this? Because he discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D. might have been infiltrated by Hydra. After Black Widow told him about Hydra's involvement with AIM, he immediately realized something was wrong.

The clues had always been there; he just hadn't connected them before. He told his trusted deputy, Agent Hill, about his plan, and then disappeared.

He appears here now, stealing his organization's top secret.

The copying was complete. Fury unplugged the data disk, stuffed it back into the inner bag, and retreated along the same route.

Unbeknownst to him, at the very moment he copied the data, Alexander Pierce, the highest-ranking leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, also sensed something was amiss and immediately issued a global warrant for Nick Fury's arrest.

Pierce leaned back in his chair, silent. Then he picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number.

"Nick Fury has defected." His voice was calm. "The plan has been moved up."

He hung up and dialed another number. This time it was Washington, the White House.

"Project Insight needs to be brought forward." His tone changed, carrying the urgency and decisiveness of a responsible senior executive facing a crisis. "Frey has defected. He has access to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s core secrets. If we don't launch Project Insight as soon as possible, our national security will face an unprecedented threat."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a hesitant voice.

"Over at the World Security Council—"

"We don't have time," Pierce interrupted, his tone leaving no room for argument.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a sigh.

"All right."

Pierce hung up the phone, a slight smile playing on his lips.