Hearing T'Challa's words, Wanda suddenly lifted her head, her eyes filled with shock. Not just her—even Carl hadn't expected T'Challa to say something like that.
"Shuri analyzed the trajectory of that bullet in the footage," T'Challa continued. "She determined that the bullet didn't actually come from where we thought. The one Steve blocked shattered the moment it hit the vibranium shield."
He swiped his bracelet, projecting a trajectory reconstruction analyzed by Shuri. Sure enough, based on the video replay, although the bullet appeared to ricochet off Steve's shield, its origin wasn't the Hydra agent at all—it came from another direction.
Unfortunately, the footage didn't capture the shooter's location. Everything was derived from Shuri's calculations.
Clearly, while Shuri's conclusion had been accepted by the council elders, King T'Chaka couldn't publicly reveal this truth. To the outside world, Wakanda was still a backward agricultural nation—how could they possibly possess the technology to reconstruct bullet trajectories?
So publicly, T'Chaka could only issue condemnation. Privately, however, he sent T'Challa to Carl, asking for help in finding the real culprit and bringing them to justice. And he wasn't worried Carl would refuse—after all, the girl at the center of the incident was one of Carl's people. No matter how you looked at it, Carl had every reason to help.
"No problem. I'm in."
As expected, Carl agreed without hesitation. This wasn't even manipulation on T'Chaka's part—the reality was that Wanda had accidentally caused those deaths. Morally speaking, Carl couldn't ignore it.
"Did only you and King T'Chaka come this time?" Carl asked.
A thought had just crossed his mind—something resembling a movie from his previous life: Captain America: Civil War. He hadn't actually watched it back then; Batman v Superman had overshadowed it, and he never got around to it. He only vaguely remembered that the United Nations meeting was bombed, killing T'Chaka and allowing T'Challa to become king.
There was also a mastermind behind it—but Carl couldn't even recall the name, let alone the full plot. He just knew the Avengers split into factions and fought each other before eventually breaking apart.
So now he needed to confirm something important—if only T'Challa and T'Chaka were here, then T'Challa needed to return immediately. The UN headquarters was right here in New York.
"Erik came too. He's with my father right now," T'Challa replied.
Carl nodded, relieved. Erik Killmonger, as a former elite soldier, would definitely be far more vigilant than T'Chaka alone.
Afterward, Carl shared everything he knew with T'Challa—especially the possibility that the mastermind might target the UN meeting.
T'Challa's expression grew serious. Attacking a UN summit would be outrageously bold. Concerned for his father's safety, he gave a few instructions before leaving, also asking Carl to contact Tony and Steve to see if they had any leads.
---
While Carl and T'Challa were talking, an uninvited guest arrived at the Avengers Base.
A helicopter landed on the rooftop. An elderly man in a suit stepped out, accompanied by several burly bodyguards.
Nick Fury had already received a call from the Security Council, instructing him to welcome the U.S. Secretary of State, whose aircraft was about to arrive.
Fury knew exactly who that was.
So instead of going himself, he sent Coulson—while he stayed comfortably in his office. The last thing he wanted was to see that man's face.
When Coulson arrived at the rooftop, he froze for a moment upon seeing the visitor.
"Welcome, Secretary Ross," he said with a polite smile.
No wonder Fury had sent him instead.
That's right—this Secretary of State Ross was none other than General Ross, the same man obsessed with capturing the Hulk.
"Well, this isn't good…" Coulson thought to himself.
Back in the day, S.H.I.E.L.D. had constantly clashed with Ross and his faction within the military. Later, Ross had been sidelined after the Hulk incident—but who would've thought he'd climb his way back up to become Secretary of State—the second most powerful man in the United States?
"Agent Coulson. You haven't changed a bit all these years," Ross said perfunctorily before getting straight to the point.
"Gather all the Avengers immediately. And tell Fury to meet me in the conference room."
With that, Ross pushed open the door and strode inside.
Coulson gave a wry smile and followed, subtly tapping twice on his earpiece.
He'd been connected to comms the entire time—Fury had heard everything.
The two taps were a silent question: What now?
"Call everyone in," Fury replied. "He's here for trouble."
Fury didn't have many options. Rank mattered—and Ross, as Secretary of State, was technically above him.
Soon, Steve and the other Avengers still present at the base gathered in the conference room.
After taking his seat, Ross swept his gaze across the room.
"Where's Tony Stark? And that brat Carl—why isn't he here? And his three little girlfriends too—get them over here!"
His tone was domineering.
After all, he was no longer the general constantly checked by the Avengers. Now he was the U.S. Secretary of State—second only to the president.
"Stark's on his way," Fury replied calmly. "But are you sure you want Carl here? Aren't you afraid he'll cut your head off the moment he sees you?"
Ross froze.
Fury wasn't wrong. Carl had nearly killed him during the Hulk incident. If that guy showed up now…
"…Forget it. We'll talk when Stark gets here."
Ross sat down stiffly, clearly deflated.
Around the room, several Avengers suppressed their amusement. Ross might be powerful—but even he had people he feared. Carl was one of them.
About ten minutes later, Tony walked in wearing a suit. He scanned the room—and immediately spotted Ross seated at the head of the table.
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