Gone?
General Thaddeus Ross peered through the monitors and couldn't find any trace of Leon Ragnell.
But a crawling chill ran up Ross's spine the very next second.
The U.S. Seventh Fleet?
Leon had said he was going to destroy the Seventh Fleet.
What kind of sick joke was that?
Ross didn't dare hide anything. Almost immediately, he reported the threat straight to the Department of Defense.
At first, the Pentagon assumed Ross was joking.
But when more detailed intel came in, the entire department went cold.
What kind of man could, with a flick of his fingers, scour a radius of kilometers to bare earth?
What kind of man could tear the Iron Monger apart, fire off jagged energy disks, and swap techniques at will?
Not to mention the Abomination Ross had engineered—Hulk himself got ground into the dirt.
This was…
Power beyond reason.
Could someone like that really wipe out the Seventh Fleet?
"Inform the Seventh Fleet at once!"
President Matthew Ellis barked, barely keeping his voice steady. "Tell them to go to full alert. The second they identify a suspicious target—open fire!"
He paused, then added, "Get me the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. I want this man's entire file."
Right now, Ellis felt like he was losing his mind.
Moments later, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director—Alexander Pierce, a HYDRA plant operating in the shadows—came up on secure video.
"Can we stop him? Or failing that… can we eliminate him?" Ellis asked bluntly.
"Mr. President, frankly speaking, that will be exceedingly difficult."
Pierce didn't mince words. "We first picked up his trail four months ago."
Ellis frowned. "Why was I not told?"
"Mr. President, we did brief you," Pierce replied.
Ellis froze.
As President, he processed a mountain of issues every day. Missing something that wasn't marked as red-alert urgent… wasn't exactly unheard of.
"Give me your assessment," Ellis said, dropping the point.
"We evaluated his capabilities," Pierce continued. "His body stores an extraordinarily dense energy. We've also examined his cells—capable of stockpiling energy and self-replicating. In short, he may look human, but he's more like a… unique life-form."
"Is he carbon-based?" Ellis asked.
Pierce hesitated, then said, "He should still be carbon-based."
"If he truly can destroy the Seventh Fleet," Ellis said coldly, "ready the nukes. I'll handle the global explanation afterward."
...
...
Meanwhile, in the Western Pacific, the Seventh Fleet was already at battle stations.
Their opponent… was one man.
What a joke.
Admiral John M. Bird, fleet commander, found it unbelievable.
Who would attack the Seventh Fleet—alone?
For context, the Seventh Fleet fields roughly 50–60 ships, 350 aircraft, and about 20,000 personnel. Its core combat strength centers on the nuclear-powered carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge. Its area of operations spans roughly 134.68 million square kilometers across the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, making it America's largest forward-deployed force, tasked with deterrence, alliance support, and expeditionary missions.
Administratively, it's structured in three tiers: headquarters, groups, and squadrons. Surface warfare commands oversee 7–9 groups; the submarine force commands 3–4 sub groups.
Bird ordered every radar lit and sweeping hard, hunting for the incoming threat.
At the same time, S.H.I.E.L.D. went all-in—satellites, patrol aircraft, every sensor they could bring to bear—trying to pin down Leon's location.
"Got him," Nick Fury said at last.
Every eye snapped to Fury. He pointed at a flare on the scope. "Here. Massive energy accumulation."
The feed switched.
Leon appeared on screen.
Agent Maria Hill's eyes widened. "He's over the Seventh Fleet—right above them!"
Fury drew a slow breath. "Relay to the fleet. Now."
Hearing the update, Bird jolted, lifted a thousand-power scope, and craned up—finally spotting Leon.
A lone man hovered in the sky.
His hands overlapped—right hand laid atop the left. Right pinky touched left pinky, thumbs pressed together, framing a small opening. That "frame" was aimed squarely at the Seventh Fleet.
"Launch the aircraft!" Bird ordered.
"Five minutes," Leon said with a faint smile. "Time's up. Tri-Beam Cannon."
BOOM!
In an instant, a cataclysmic torrent of energy erupted from Leon's hands—
—and washed over the entire Seventh Fleet.
The Seventh Fleet… was erased.
(End of Chapter)
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