Reborn as the God-Emperor in Marvel

In reality, Coulson didn't manage to find much useful information at the scene. The shoe prints left by Wong in the asphalt were impossible to trace because the shoes were custom-made by Kamar-Taj, designed as low-level magical items with some protective properties. All Coulson could deduce was how high the temperature must have been at the time, which only raised the threat level of the supposed mutant in his mind. The forensics team found some red fibers near the epicenter of the heat, but Coulson couldn't be sure they were directly related to the case.

His admiration for Nick Fury grew even stronger, especially because Coulson believed Fury had lost an eye fighting aliens (he had no idea it was actually due to a cat scratch).

Fury, the legendary director of S.H.I.E.L.D., had managed to accurately assess the threat level without even being at the scene, dispatching an agent of the appropriate rank, like Coulson, to handle it. But these thoughts were useless; there was no way Coulson could write such flattery into his report.

There was, however, some good news. Based on the height and body type comparison, Coulson concluded that the person who robbed the senator and the one who left the shoe print were the same. He was now convinced there were two mutants involved: one capable of generating intense heat and light, and another who possibly manipulated air or something similar. The signs of destruction didn't just appear in the suburbs but extended all the way from the town hall to the outskirts.

Coulson didn't believe in coincidences. It wasn't possible that two random mutants just happened to meet on the same day. This was clearly a coordinated operation.

This realization made Coulson sigh.

Some mutants, upon gaining powers, start doing things they never would have dared before—like storming into a company and taking out the boss who exploited them through grueling work hours. Others turn to crime, forming small gangs in back alleys to extort and bully. Even those mutants who live quietly are often tempted to go down antisocial paths, which is why S.H.I.E.L.D. monitors mutants who haven't committed any crimes yet.

This monitoring system is incredibly complex. Nobody wants to live next to a neighbor who can potentially wield weapons like machine guns or RPGs, even if that neighbor promises never to use them. Who could trust that? So, while many mutants desire peaceful lives, exposure of their powers often leads to being reported. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s surveillance methods are ruthless, frequently involving hidden cameras and bugs in homes. Few mutants can tolerate such constant invasion of privacy, and many lose their jobs as a result of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s scrutiny, leaving them little choice but to fight back. Still, the system is effective. Mutant crime rates plummet under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s watch, and when a mutant does act out, the response teams are often able to eliminate the threat early on.

Coulson suspected that the mutants he was investigating were impoverished, driven to crime out of desperation. Their choice of targets—capitalists, individuals of high social standing—suggested that. In particular, the White family, to which Senator Richie White belonged, had been involved in the Salem Witch Trials centuries ago. The two mutants probably hadn't had their powers for long and were still inexperienced, which explained why they fled to the suburbs to test their abilities. It was clear they didn't want to hurt anyone; otherwise, the senator and his bodyguards wouldn't still be alive.

With this realization, Coulson relaxed slightly. These were people in need of help, and he felt confident in his ability to deescalate the situation with them. The problem, however, was that S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't find them. The area was too remote—no surveillance cameras, no parked cars to check for dashcam footage.

Just as Coulson was feeling stuck, new information came in. Agent Sitwell had tracked down a waitress from a coffee shop across the street from the town hall. The brown-haired waitress vividly remembered two strange customers from the day before. One of them had a huge appetite, while the other was strikingly handsome.

The coffee shop's security footage had already been uploaded to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s system. Coulson, now at the café, took the tablet and looked at the footage.

"A kid?" The video was grainy, but after some technical adjustments, Coulson could see the height difference between Solomon and the others in the footage. Solomon's face confirmed his guess. He had been careful to cover his face at the robbery scene but had forgotten to do so in the café—though that was understandable, given that he hadn't anticipated the need for violence during the mission.

The brown-haired waitress nodded. "Looked about twelve or thirteen."

Coulson nodded too, relieved he hadn't brought Melinda May on this case. Facing a child mutant could easily trigger painful memories of the Bahrain incident for her. Although the nickname "The Cavalry" sounded cool, it only deepened Melinda's self-blame.

"What were they wearing?" Coulson pointed to the footage. "This big guy looks like he's dressed as a monk. I've seen those 'warrior monks' before. And the kid… a wizard?"

The waitress shrugged. As she mentioned earlier, Salem was a tourist town, and seeing someone dressed like a wizard wasn't particularly unusual. Solomon's red robe confirmed Coulson's suspicion that he was the one at the center of the heat blast.

"Alright, thank you for your help. We won't take up more of your time." After dismissing the waitress, Coulson turned to Sitwell.

"What?" Sitwell blinked, but the glare from his glasses made it hard for Coulson to read his expression.

"Request surveillance footage from the surrounding areas," Coulson sighed. He really didn't want to have to go after a child, but based on his deductions, these two mutants weren't hardened criminals. He was prepared to help them as much as he could within his authority.

Unfortunately, even after reviewing all the surveillance footage from Salem, S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't find any evidence of Solomon or Wong leaving the town. This led them to believe the pair were either locals or tourists who had driven into town in their own car since none of the long-distance buses carried their targets.

"We've completely run out of leads," Sitwell said. "Check the identity database. Let's run a facial recognition scan."

Coulson was silent for a moment as he sipped his coffee—why was this coffee even more bitter than instant? His brief distraction didn't interrupt his train of thought, though, and he eventually nodded in agreement. The danger posed by these mutants was too high. Coulson couldn't imagine what might happen if one of them lost control in a confined space like an elevator or a bus.

He had to find them quickly.

After about an hour, just as Coulson could no longer bear the grinning waitress serving him yet another bitter cup of coffee, Agent Sitwell approached with news. The target's identity had been found. Coulson, relieved, gratefully abandoned his seat.

"That's the target," Sitwell said, pointing to the screen. Coulson looked—and it was indeed the same face from the footage.

"Solomon Damonet. 

English, currently residing in London. 

Date of birth: December 25, 1995."

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