"About that..." Harvey said sheepishly, "My mental detection is strong, but I can't cover the entire planet yet."
"And silicon lifeforms are essentially walking high-energy reaction sources."
"Since Iron Man has sold so many Arc Reactors around the world, I honestly can't pick out one hidden robot from a sea of humanity."
Hermione glanced at the innocent-looking Harvey and offered a suggestion.
"Then pass this intel to the Avengers. Let the whole world look for it. There's strength in numbers."
Harvey mulled it over, his expression turning grave. "Once certain secrets get out, some idiots might try to be clever."
"If Alexander Pierce gets this info, he'll definitely try to sabotage us."
Hermione crossed her arms and shrugged indifferently. "It's the end of the world. If humanity still wants to engage in infighting, then these Muggles deserve to die."
"By the way, can you send my parents back to our original world? I'm worried they'll get caught in the fallout."
Harvey nodded, agreeing to the request.
"Whether we survive this depends on if these Muggles can actually unite for once."
"Have Wanda deliver the intel to the Avengers. I'm heading to London to drop off your parents."
Once Harvey stepped through the portal, Hermione felt a weight lift from her heart.
She pulled out her smartphone to contact Wanda, only to find the signal was dead.
With America severely hit, the power grid and communication networks in the New York area had completely collapsed.
She drew her wand and changed into her traveling wizard robes, intending to find Wanda personally.
...
After suffering a Magnitude 9.7 earthquake, central Manhattan was in ruins. High-rise buildings leaned at precarious angles or had been leveled entirely.
The wails of injured civilians echoed through every corner of the city.
With the stratosphere choked by volcanic ash, the leaden sky and the debris-strewn streets of New York looked like a vision of the apocalypse.
Yet, amidst the despair, a flicker of light remained.
Since the disaster began, the members of the Defenders had been tirelessly traversing every corner of the city, doing their utmost to pull survivors from the wreckage.
Many hidden mutants and street-level heroes had also stepped up in this critical moment, contributing what little strength they had.
But as multiple aftershocks struck, many heroes working in the streets were unfortunately killed.
Those who sacrificed themselves to save others became rare beacons of humanity in the darkness.
On New York's Fifth Avenue, Wanda—clad in her high-collared red leather outfit—looked like an angel to the victims.
Standing in the center of the street, her hands glowed with scarlet light. She used her telekinesis to lift hundreds of tons of stacked architectural debris.
She then signaled Jessica Jones to pull the desperate civilians trapped deep within the ruins.
Working together, they saved thousands of people in just one hour.
In this catastrophe, their deeds were sung by the survivors, and the name of the "Crimson Angel" spread far and wide.
But Wanda had been wielding her Chaos Magic at high intensity for so long that she was physically and mentally drained.
There were at least ten million victims in New York; saving a few thousand was barely a drop in the bucket.
After rescuing another few hundred trapped civilians, amidst the people's cries of gratitude, Wanda and Jessica finally finished clearing the street and decided to take a short break.
The exhausted Wanda sat on the rooftop railing of a half-collapsed building, recovering her strength while maintaining a high vantage point to watch for aftershocks.
With an indignant expression, she sought confirmation from Jessica.
"The White House and the military really decided to abandon the rescue efforts for New York?"
Jessica's voice was full of bitterness. "Those selfish military bastards are treating the army as their personal militia."
"In a disaster like this, various military bases are taking the chance to establish their own little fiefdoms."
"To the high-ranking officers, having soldiers makes them kings. They won't even look after ordinary officials now, let alone give a damn about the lives of civilians."
"As for that coward of a President?" Jessica let out a disdainful sneer.
"To save his own hide, he not only took his cabinet and fled to Canada to form a government-in-exile, but he also had the gall to publicly claim the government has no responsibility to save the people!"
"He said the American people need to learn self-reliance and that the government's resources are needed for 'more important things'."
"Counting on that useless President is worse than counting on God to stop the apocalypse!"
Listening to Jessica's rant, Wanda felt a profound sense of weariness. More terrifying than an enemy was a teammate who pulled you down.
She offered a helpless, self-deprecating smile. "The American people sure are lucky to have such a President..."
Just then, a familiar figure stepped through a portal, appearing before Wanda and Jessica.
"Sister Hermione? What are you doing here?"
Clad in her wizard robes, Hermione unhurriedly waved her wand to close the portal.
"Wanda, I need you to deliver intelligence to the Avengers. A piece of intelligence that might actually save the world."
Hearing this, Wanda and Jessica exchanged a look, a flicker of hope rising in their desperate hearts.
A minute later.
The three split up. Jessica continued the rescue work, while Hermione took Wanda through a portal to the Avengers headquarters on the banks of the Potomac.
Due to the massive influx of refugees, the area within thirty kilometers of the HQ was overcrowded, with hundreds of thousands of temporary tents pitched.
Every available patch of empty ground was packed with people.
After all, in the eyes of ordinary citizens, the Avengers were their saviors.
Hermione led Wanda to the vicinity of the headquarters' main gate.
The armed agents maintaining order immediately aimed their weapons at the two women.
These were agents Nick Fury had brought over from S.H.I.E.L.D.; their psychological profiles of the Scarlet Witch and the Flame Witch were "Chaotic Neutral."
Therefore, the agents were extremely vigilant.
"Halt! Are you here to assassinate General Ross?"
Hermione couldn't be bothered with these small fry. She flicked her wand and cast a Confundus Charm, leading Wanda through the main gates in broad daylight.
The agents, their minds clouded by the charm, were powerless to stop them.
The gap between a wizard and an ordinary human was simply too vast.
Wanda had intended to just lead the way to the HQ and go back to saving people, but hearing that a high-ranking military official was hiding here...
She could no longer suppress the rage in her heart and decisively followed Hermione inside.
Those useless generals who did nothing for the people deserved to die; their deaths might actually help the chaotic situation.
With time running short, Hermione used the Confundus Charm to clear a path, bypassing the New York State government officials and their families who crowded the lobby.
These state legislators hadn't been important enough to flee with the White House, but they were among the first to receive word when the super-earthquake hit.
They used what remained of the rescue forces to commandeer helicopters, bringing themselves and their families to the Avengers HQ to demand sanctuary.