As Hermione and Wanda passed through the crowd in the lobby, they saw many polished, elegant ladies even feeding gourmet pastries to their pet dogs.
Meanwhile, many of the refugees outside didn't even have enough to eat.
The saying "While the rich wine and dine behind vermilion gates, the poor freeze to death on the roadside" was vividly on display here.
Hermione ignored these Muggles. Using Legilimency, she located Nick Fury's office and took the elevator to the 15th floor.
They met no resistance along the way; every agent they encountered was ensnared by the Confundus Charm.
Standing before the office door.
Hermione pointed the Wand of Watoomb at the lock and whispered, "Alohomora."
With a click, the lock opened.
Wanda followed Hermione into the minimalist office.
Nick Fury was currently debating with General Thaddeus Ross on how to handle the massive refugee problem surrounding the headquarters.
Hearing the commotion, both men turned simultaneously.
"Who allowed you in here?" General Ross, nearly sixty years old, questioned them expressionlessly.
Nick Fury recognized the two mainstays of the Defenders instantly.
"The Flame Witch and the Scarlet Witch?"
"Are you here to join the Avengers?"
Before Hermione could speak, Wanda spotted the old man sitting across the desk from Fury, wearing the uniform of a five-star general.
Clearly, this was the military's General Ross.
At the thought, the fire in Wanda's heart finally boiled over. Without a word, she unleashed her telekinesis, seizing General Ross and hurling him violently toward the floor-to-ceiling window.
"CRASH—!"
The tempered glass shattered as Ross smashed through it. Amidst an incredibly desperate scream, the General plummeted from the 15th floor, sixty meters up.
He was likely destined to become a meat pancake.
Seeing his old friend suddenly enveloped in red light and flung out the window, Nick Fury stood up in shock and rage, drawing a compact pistol and aiming it at the two women.
"Motherfucker! Why did you just assassinate General Ross?"
After dealing with Ross, Wanda's anger had not subsided. She glared at Nick Fury and spat:
"The military generals are all scum. When the apocalypse came, they contributed nothing, and even took the lead in raiding food warehouses!"
"Litter like him doesn't deserve mercy, even after ten thousand deaths!"
Fury knew a small handgun was no threat to such superhumans, but he had already covertly notified Dr. Banner in the lab.
Now, he had to stall for time until the invincible Hulk arrived to save him.
So, Fury utilized his linguistic charm, attempting to reason with them.
"I don't deny that many high-ranking officers are morally bankrupt, but General Ross was at least willing to deploy soldiers to assist the refugees. You just killed a rare good man..."
Before Fury could finish, Hermione interrupted with a cold sneer. "Don't think no one knows about your filthy secrets."
"You wanted to use the refugees for mass human experimentation, creating more Hulks to perfect the Super-Hulk Serum."
"You even planned to force a thousand refugees into the program. It would advance the experiment while saving on food stores—a win-win cooperation, right?"
Fury's face changed instantly. How did this woman know? Did all sorcerers have mind-reading abilities?
Hermione confirmed his suspicion immediately.
"Stop guessing. I can read minds!"
Faced with her direct admission, Fury's expression turned grim. He didn't know how to salvage the situation.
Even though the "Hulk Soldier" project was exposed, he felt no regret; it was the end of the world, after all, and certain lines had to be lowered.
He was primarily worried that his own death would diminish the hope of saving the world.
The atmosphere in the office was suffocating.
Hearing that Fury had such dark baggage, Wanda's hands glowed red again, intending to send the Black Egghead to join Ross.
But just then, a whistling roar sounded from outside the window.
Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers, flew back through the two-meter hole in the glass, carrying a terrified, unconscious General Ross.
"Nick, did you throw this guy out? Or was it an accident?"
Carol tossed the fainted old man onto the sofa like a piece of luggage, her curious gaze landing on Wanda and Hermione.
Seeing that Ross was alive, Fury breathed a sigh of relief; at least there was still a chance to fix this.
He wiped the gloom from his face and put on a friendly, "good guy" smile as he made the introductions.
"Carol, these two are the Flame Witch and the Scarlet Witch, members of the Defenders."
"And this is Ms. Carol Danvers. She usually operates in deep space but rushed back specifically to help when she heard Earth was in trouble."
Hermione's gaze was heavy as she looked at Carol. Her sharp senses told her this woman was strong—stronger than her.
Seeing that Ross hadn't died, Wanda's receding anger flared up again. Red light blazed in her eyes as she said:
"Why did you save this scum? This general intended to abuse his power to force refugees into human experiments. He deserves to die a thousand deaths!"
Carol looked at Fury in shock. Seeing him remain silent, she realized the woman was likely telling the truth.
"Nick, you didn't actually conspire with this unconscious general, did you?"
Fury, unable to voice his grievances, turned pale. "Heh... you think I wanted to do this? Do you have any idea how many refugees are gathered outside?"
"At least three hundred thousand!"
"And the numbers are climbing rapidly. Food and basic supplies are in extreme shortage."
"If I don't lower my standards, do you think the meager food stores at headquarters can fill 300,000 bellies?"
Hermione said coldly, "That is no excuse to feel justified in forcing refugees into experiments."
"Right is right, and wrong is wrong."
"You want to play the victim? Your inability to find food is your own incompetence. You can't blame us for that."
Carol snapped out of it. "She's right. No matter the difficulty, it isn't an excuse to play the victim to justify such acts."
Being accused by Hermione from the moral high ground, Nick Fury finally tasted the bitterness of pure frustration.
He used to be the one judging others from that height; now that the tables were turned, he finally understood how excruciating it felt.
He couldn't curse, and he couldn't rebut.
Flushing red to the ears with suppressed rage, Fury finally regained his rhythm for debate.
"I'll state only one problem: the food reserves at headquarters will only last two days. Without supplies, those refugees will starve."
"Disasters are striking everywhere right now; there aren't even channels left to purchase grain."
"Why don't you take over as Acting Director of the Avengers and solve the survival problem of 300,000 refugees?"
"If you can do it, I'll pack my bags and leave. I'll even rot in a jail cell and accept the full weight of the law!"
The Black Egghead had laid his cards on the table. Faced with Hermione's moral high ground, his only response was this "take it or leave it" gambit of complete resignation.