Tony and Captain America's public stances thoroughly raised the curtain on the grand drama Peter had orchestrated. Under Peter's implicit direction, more and more "actors" began to take the stage in full makeup.
About an hour later, a headline from a tabloid completely detonated social media:
Spotted! Superheroes "Black Widow" Natasha Romanoff and "Hawkeye" Clint Barton of the secret organization SHIELD hold a late-night meeting with high-level military officials. Rumored to have reached a consensus regarding the Registration Act!
The report dedicated a massive amount of coverage to detailing the origins of SHIELD, as well as the past dossiers of Black Widow and Hawkeye.
The netizens found the read incredibly thrilling, and Black Widow's flawless appearance earned her countless new followers on the spot.
But before this report could even finish circulating, another heavyweight bombshell was dropped.
The citizens' good neighbor, "Ghost Spider," posted a public video directly on her official social media account. In the video, she was clad in her suit, swinging through the streets of New York, her voice weary yet unyielding:
"I will never accept the Registration Act. I can face danger to protect the citizens of New York, but I will never allow my family and my loved ones to be harassed because of my identity."
Beneath this video, an endless torrent of supporters and opposition instantly flooded in, turning the comment section directly into an absolute warzone.
And the move that pushed this entire performance to its absolute climax came from Ghost Spider's best friend—"Nightingale"—who had been fighting side-by-side with her for a very long time and was dubbed by countless people as one half of the "Superhero Sister Duo."
She accepted a media interview and stated:
"If the Registration Act can accelerate the construction of the defensive installations, then I am willing to sacrifice my own privacy to protect more people. If Ghost Spider is unwilling to accept the Registration Act, then perhaps our friendship... should end right here."
Oh my goodness!
The moment they saw this news, the nationwide audience hopped around with excitement like a pack of badgers in a melon patch.
The trending tag
#GhostSpiderNightingaleBFFBreakup shot directly to the number three spot on the hot search list, sitting right behind the video statements of Tony and Cap.
First, the two massive superhero titans stood in public opposition, and now the new-generation best-friend heroes turned on each other as bitter enemies—this plot progression was far more stimulating than any Hollywood blockbuster!
In an instant, the populace fractured completely into three distinct factions: the "Registration Faction" supporting the bill, the "Liberal Faction" opposing it, and the "Melon-Eating Faction" whose baseline stance was, "Boring, I want to see a bloodbath."
The three sides didn't just limit their fierce arguments to the internet; they wouldn't stay quiet in reality, either
. Looking across America, disciples of the three factions could be seen tearing into each other practically everywhere, and some of the more militarily adept individuals had already begun using actual fists to do the talking.
Inside the White House, the President and the collection of politicians looked at the updates popping up one after another, laughing so hard their mouths couldn't even close.
Entrapped in their own narrative, they didn't feel the progression of events was abnormally fast at all; they simply assumed the various vocal channels they directed to exert pressure were performing flawlessly.
Consequently, they laughed uproariously, going so far as to pop open the half-time champagne. Not only did they throw a massive, grand scale impart, but they even loudly bellowed across the banquet tables:
"A mere rabble, entirely incapable of withstanding a single blow!"
"Add more fuel to the fire! Organize larger-scale marches! Head to the Arbiter Square! Go to Stark Tower! Go to every single location associated with them! We must ensure they enter a total civil war before we call it a day!"
Mar-Vell's Near-Earth Orbit Laboratory.
Inside a dimly lit subterranean space, a group of green-skinned, pointy-eared extraterrestrials stared unblinkingly at the Earth news broadcasting on the screens. These individuals were precisely the Skrulls, who had been lurking on Earth for many years.
Looking at the layered images on the television, the Skrulls grew incredibly ecstatic. A few younger Skrulls couldn't help but speak up toward the individual leading them:
"General Talos! Our opportunity has arrived!"
"The Earthlings are in a state of internal strife! Their guardians are fighting amongst themselves, and absolutely no one will notice us! Right now is our absolute best window to replace those politicians and seize control of this nation!"
"Exactly! As long as we take this opportunity to completely control their high-level politicians without leaving a trace, we can subtly make the Earthlings acquiesce to our existence in the future, and even turn them into our slaves!"
Within the underground space, more than half of the Skrulls felt this was an absolute godsend of an opportunity.
However, Talos, whom they referred to as General, remained entirely unmoved. Not only was he unmoved, but his brow had knitted tightly into a deep furrow. As an outside observer, he keenly detected the utter abnormality of the event's trajectory.
It was too smooth—or rather, too chaotic. The speed was so fast it resembled a giant, invisible hand silently manipulating everything from behind the scenes.
Realizing that something was amiss, Talos frowned and contemplated for a brief moment before speaking up:
"Bring that Earthling over."
The Skrulls looked at one another, but ultimately chose to obey the General's order, bringing up a tightly bound, black, shiny egg—none other than Nick Fury, who hadn't shown his face in a very long time.
"Nick, regarding the current situation on Earth, what is your view?" Talos looked at the shiny egg with his eyes half-squinted, as if trying to peer into his truest internal thoughts.
Nick Fury looked at the chaos on the television screen for a moment, and then the corner of his mouth suddenly hooked into an ambiguous arc:
"Respected General Talos, please believe me—this is absolutely that guy Peter Parker playing tricks behind the scenes!"
Why else was it said that your opponent often understands you far better than your lover? As the unfortunate bastard who was utilized by Peter throughout the entire process until he completely lost his position as Director, Fury could guarantee ten thousand percent that Peter was absolutely the mastermind behind all of this.
Based on his understanding of Peter, that kid was a pure master manipulator; he couldn't execute such a foolish blunder.
He took a deep breath and warned Talos with an exceptionally grave face:
"If you choose to take action at this exact time, not only will you fail to secure the results you desire, but you are highly likely to alert the snake, causing Peter to discover your existence.
That guy is not a pacifist like me. When the time comes, everyone present here will, at best, be exiled from Earth, and at worst..."
He didn't finish his words, but Talos fully comprehended his meaning. Thus, without any hesitation, Talos commanded:
"Before the matter becomes clear, no one is permitted to act rashly! We will act as members of the audience, quietly watching the performance play out."
"But Chief..."
"This is an order!"
The Skrulls departed listlessly, and Nick Fury was escorted back to his holding cell by the Skrulls beside him once more.
Returning to his cell, Nick Fury closed his eyes, recalling everything he had witnessed on the monitor screen. He couldn't help but silently mutter in his heart:
"Peter Parker, I don't believe that after seeing the dossiers I left behind at SHIELD, you remain entirely ignorant of this place. This time, I've done you a massive favor... You'd better give me an opportunity to turn over a new leaf."
But what Nick Fury didn't know was that after he departed, a bizarre light flashed within Talos's eyes. His thoughts aligned with Fury's, believing the current situation was far from simple.
However, what transpired right now served as a massive wake-up call to him—perhaps in the future, they could instigate a similar dispute, thereby securing the right for their Skrull populace to live freely on this planet without having to hide like fugitives anymore.
Almost at the exact same moment, the Skrulls resolved to maintain their positions and bide their time, directly above Times Square in New York...
The sky there, without a single shred of prior warning, cracked open into countless crimson fissures, resembling a sheet of shattered glass!
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