At this moment, the situation was quite different from what Rumlow had initially suspected. Like Nick Fury, Rumlow had pointed the finger at Clark. However, with the new intel coming through his earpiece, Rumlow started to question his assumptions.
"Many people? How many exactly?" Nick Fury sensed something was off and asked Rumlow with a deep frown.
"I'm not entirely sure. They're sending over the footage now..." Rumlow shook his head slowly. As he spoke, the office door swung open, and in walked none other than Coulson.
Given that the study of the Spider-Men was a top priority at S.H.I.E.L.D., both Rumlow and Coulson were closely monitoring any new information. Coulson had been frequently out in the field, employing his more diplomatic approach compared to other S.H.I.E.L.D. members. He would often persuade the Spider-Men and their families by suggesting their condition posed a greater threat to themselves and their loved ones, and that a check-up was necessary for safety.
Of course, if they didn't buy into his story, Coulson wouldn't hesitate to have his team forcibly take them in. Still, he always maintained a polite demeanor, which was more than could be said for many of his colleagues. Even Nick Fury would feel a bit more at ease seeing Coulson's unwavering smile.
Now, Coulson entered the room with the latest footage, having not been summoned by Rumlow but rushing over on his own after noticing discrepancies in the situation.
"Director, here's the latest video footage." Without glancing at Rumlow, Coulson handed his laptop to Fury. Rumlow's expression remained unchanged, seemingly unfazed by Coulson's assertive behavior.
"So many people?" Fury didn't comment on Coulson's behavior. His eyes flickered as he started watching the footage. However, his frown deepened as he saw the video. The number of rescuers was far more than expected, and none of them resembled Clark, any members of the Avengers, or any other known superheroes.
Despite the stringent measures Tony Stark and JARVIS had taken to protect the identities of the Avengers, along with the specialized equipment Stark provided to maintain their confidentiality, the capabilities and identities of the Avengers were still fairly well-known among various powers.
Notably, Clark, Robert, and Kara were not officially listed as Avengers. They were described by the Avengers as like-minded individuals dealing with extraordinary events but not actual members of the team.
In the footage, Fury couldn't identify any known Avengers or anyone resembling Clark, Robert, or Kara. This puzzled him greatly. He couldn't understand how so many unfamiliar superhumans could suddenly appear without any prior trace.
"Have you analyzed the data? Is there any record or trace of these people?" Fury looked up at Coulson and Rumlow, not directing his question to either one specifically but indicating that whoever found information on these unknown superhumans would gain significant recognition.
Both Coulson and Rumlow fell silent. Neither was eager to take on Fury's task, knowing how challenging it would be to track down these superhumans.
For Rumlow, this task was even more complex. Coulson only had access to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database, where it wasn't unusual not to find information on these superhumans since S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't cover everything.
Rumlow, however, was different. As a Hydra agent, he had access to a vast network of data, far surpassing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reach. Hydra's resources included everything S.H.I.E.L.D. had and more. Yet, despite Hydra's extensive network, they had also failed to identify any of these superhumans from the footage.
This wasn't surprising since the so-called superhumans were all Robert's creations using his transformation abilities. Robert cleverly transformed into nondescript characters from the "Dragon Ball" universe—characters who didn't exist in this world, thereby leaving no traceable records.
Robert wasn't foolish. Despite traveling extensively and encountering many people, he kept his interactions minimal. Real people would inevitably leave traces that official agencies could potentially track. He knew better than to risk that kind of exposure.
Transforming into characters from the "Dragon Ball" universe eliminated these risks. The diverse appearances in "Dragon Ball," including various humanoid and beast forms, allowed Robert to distract the officials effectively. He even went as far as to transform into beast-like characters to further mislead the agencies. The footage featuring these transformations had not yet reached the official agencies, but when it did, it was bound to draw significant attention away from the Spider-Men.
Just as Robert had planned, when the agencies received the footage of these supposed superhumans, they launched intensive investigations to determine their origins. Unfortunately for them, neither S.H.I.E.L.D. nor other agencies, nor Hydra lurking behind them, could find any useful information.
To gather more intel on these mysterious superhumans, the agencies doubled down on capturing the already freed Spider-Men, hoping that Robert and his allies would come to their rescue again. This was a chance to observe and collect more data on these rescuers.
Some agencies even set traps in their bases, aiming to capture Robert directly. These traps varied, from direct confrontations to agents hidden among the captives to launch surprise attacks on Robert.
However, these efforts proved futile. Anyone who dared to attack Robert was swiftly and ruthlessly dealt with, whether they were agency personnel or Spider-Men bribed to betray him.
After several confrontations, the agencies realized that their extraordinary measures were no match for these supposed superhumans. They suffered significant losses and still couldn't match their power. They remained unaware that these diverse superhumans were all just Robert in disguise.
Luckily, the agencies soon received footage of Robert transforming into a beast-like form. This new information caused a frenzy. Robert had deliberately left footage of his transformation from a human to a beast, successfully misleading the agencies and diverting their focus.
"Beastmen? Could it be that they're rescuing the Spider-Men because they see them as fellow Beastmen? But according to our research, we haven't found any anomalies in these people's bodies. Did we miss something?" This new discovery sparked widespread discussion among the agencies.
Unaware of the Naxia phenomenon, these agencies had no concept of dimensional beings. The appearance of beast-like entities led them to a new hypothesis: the Beastmen might be behind the Spider-Men incident. They speculated that these creatures possessed the power to transform ordinary people into Beastmen.
Robert's tactic successfully diverted the agencies' attention. They turned their focus to investigating every possible aspect of the Beastmen, leaving the Spider-Men relatively unbothered.
From the agencies' perspective, they already had extensive data on the Spider-Men. Their numbers were too large to simply vanish, making them less of a priority. Finding traces of the Beastmen became more urgent.
Especially since the agencies had found nothing unusual in the Spider-Men's biology, they shifted their resources to explore the possibility that the Beastmen held the key to understanding these transformations.
In their quest to uncover information about the Beastmen, the agencies dug deep into existing lore. Werewolves and vampires were real in this world, with strongholds primarily in Europe, and even deep-rooted connections with various European powers. Although some agencies wanted to link the Beastmen to these creatures, they had to proceed cautiously due to the complex relations involved.
Besides the more traditional werewolves and vampires, the agencies also revisited the Animal Warriors from Hydra's earlier experiments under leaders like Viper and Baron Strucker.
Hydra insiders knew about the Animal Warriors' origins with Baron Strucker, the true pioneer of those experiments. Though Viper had briefly dominated the Animal Warriors' scene, it was Strucker who laid the groundwork, and he had continued his research in secrecy after retreating from public view.
Connecting these dots, Hydra and its branches, including Alexander Pierce, realized that this whole scenario might very well involve their own kind once again.
This wouldn't be the first time Hydra found itself at the center of such a mystery. Hydra's decentralized structure often led to rogue elements acting independently under the Hydra name. Pierce could imagine why the Beastmen would rescue the Spider-Men—to avoid wasting experimental subjects and to keep their secrets from falling into the hands of other agencies.
Robert's strategy had inadvertently created a perfect misunderstanding. As for whether Hydra or the agencies would eventually trace this back to Baron Strucker, Robert didn't yet know. But for now, thanks to his actions, the Spider-Men were no longer heavily targeted. Only a few private organizations continued to pursue them, and dealing with them was a simple task for Robert, Kara, and Clark.
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