Marvel: A Lazy-Ass Superman Chapter 736: S.H.I.E.L.D. Is a Step Too Late

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In the Thirteenth District of the Pine Barrens in New Jersey stood a secret base that had been decommissioned and sealed off.

Today, however, it once again welcomed the people who had once been stationed there.

Barbara Morse, who had risen to the rank of Level Five S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in just a few years, was the last to arrive.

Before her, several... bizarre monsters were already sitting in the conference room, along with a silver-haired old woman who, despite her advanced age, still looked remarkably spry.

Among those whose features could be clearly identified were a mummy wrapped from head to toe in bandages, a hairy werewolf, an amphibious humanoid with obvious fins, a monkey wearing a suit, and an octopus-headed monster that was barely humanoid, its body covered in flowers and vines.

There was also a relatively normal-looking man and woman, though both had faces as pale as people who had gotten completely wasted on drugs, with extremely prominent dark circles under their eyes.

Most of them were playing around with the ultraviolet rounds on the table.

Some loaded them into the specialized magazines for the firearms they were accustomed to using. Others simply examined the visible radiation glow emanating from the bullets.

Only the young woman looked at the weapons with disgust.

She was a particularly unusual individual. She carried a bloodline cursed by werewolves and had also been attacked by a vampire, becoming a unique hybrid who was both werewolf and vampire.

She could walk normally under sunlight.

But once night fell, the dual curses altered her physiology, giving her both vampiric and werewolf traits. She became incredibly strong and bloodthirsty while also gaining immunity to most of their respective weaknesses.

During a full moon, she would instead transform into a white wolf in animal form rather than a humanoid werewolf, with her behavior controlled by her primal instincts.

Her name was Nina Price, codenamed Vampire by Night.

Unlike the Reapers they had gathered to deal with this time, Reapers were almost completely immune to things such as garlic extract and silver. They only feared sunlight and intense ultraviolet radiation.

Vampire by Night, on the other hand, only feared silver and was unaffected by sunlight.

Even if ultraviolet light was shone on her at night, it would merely weaken her abilities rather than cause fatal injuries.

So, theoretically, ultraviolet rounds weren’t lethal to her either.

That didn’t mean she had any interest in taking a bullet just to see whether she would actually survive.

That was why she looked so disgusted.

When Barbara Morse entered the room, Vampire by Night could finally put aside her disgust and shift her attention elsewhere.

What she heard, however, was an apology.

"Sorry for notifying everyone so late. The mission has been canceled. I only received the message just now, and I came over immediately."

The silver-haired old woman, former S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Peggy Carter, looked puzzled.

Sitting upright in her chair, she asked, "What happened? Why was the mission canceled? It took me a great deal of effort to gather the surviving members of the disbanded Howling Commandos. Did those new vampires cause such a major incident that the government is preparing to deploy the military?"

"No, Director Carter. The new vampires in New York have already been eliminated."

Although she had retired, the former director still retained access to some intelligence. She frowned as she recalled the situation.

"If I remember correctly, yesterday was the day the Continental Hotel planned to raid the sewers, with the NYPD secretly providing support.

"But according to our assessment, we believed the Continental’s attack would fail, even if they had prepared sufficient ultraviolet ammunition.

"Are you saying they won?"

Barbara Morse handed the old woman the first-hand report, which hadn’t even been copied yet, and explained:

"According to intelligence from our assets, a third party intervened and joined forces against the new vampires in the New York sewers.

"The Continental Hotel also requested assistance from the High Table. They sent secret members of the Assassin Brotherhood, including an Elder.

"This force, which we have no control over, was the key to eliminating the vampires in the New York sewers."

Peggy Carter passed the report to the others after reading it.

The human man in the room studied it seriously, while the green monster squeezed its head beside him, also trying to see what was written on the paper.

Jack Russell could transform into a werewolf through sheer willpower without relying on the full moon. Codenamed Werewolf by Night, he was Nina Price’s uncle.

Both of them descended from the same werewolf-cursed bloodline.

He was also a friend of Man-Thing and one of the few people capable of understanding what the various unintelligible noises made by the monster—which had forgotten how to speak—actually meant.

At this moment, Jack Russell complained:

"Ted, can you even read anymore? And even if you can, why are you pushing that huge head of yours over here? Neither of us can read if you do that."

Man-Thing’s original name was Ted Sallis.

He had once been a scientist, but after accidentally misusing the Super-Soldier Serum he had modified himself, he had thoroughly screwed himself over and transformed into his current neither-human-nor-monster state.

After being scolded a few times, Man-Thing finally pulled his head back.

Only then could Jack Russell properly read the report in his hands.

After looking through it for a few moments, he chuckled.

"Is this stuff actually true?

"It says that besides the Assassin Brotherhood’s support, witnesses claim there was also a Donald Duck dressed like Robin Hood, a metal cat and a metal bear, a cartoon Minotaur, and Bugs Bunny helping the Continental Hotel attack the sewers!

"Is Disney teaming up with Warner Bros. to send their cartoon characters into the real world to slaughter their way through everything?

"I already thought a team consisting entirely of monsters like ours was fucking ridiculous enough.

"Now we’ve got a team consisting entirely of animals!

"Barbara, are you sure the person who wrote this report wasn’t completely high and just making shit up to cover for their incompetence at gathering reliable intelligence?"

The same report was passed around to the other members.

Jack Russell continued teasing the girl who was considerably younger than him, yet had advanced much further in her career.

Barbara Morse said seriously, "The report is considered credible. Besides our undercover personnel, several informants have provided similar accounts."

Peggy Carter asked, "Do we have any photographs?"

"No, ma’am. I wish they could’ve taken a group photo after successfully completing the operation. That would’ve made things much easier for us.

"Unfortunately, all we have are these verbal accounts."

Peggy Carter wanted to say something else, but stopped herself.

Having guessed what the former director was thinking, Barbara Morse spoke as though reassuring her:

"Director, Director Pierce has already ordered an investigation into this group. We’re doing everything we can to determine their identities."

"Mm."

Peggy Carter cautiously refrained from interfering with the new S.H.I.E.L.D., even if it was merely by offering advice.

Barbara Morse continued:

"Everyone, the main reason I came here today is to convey Director Pierce’s intentions.

"If everyone is willing to reform the Howling Commandos, he’ll provide the same level of support as before. They can even receive better treatment.

"Furthermore, although the crisis in the New York sewers has been resolved, the one in Los Angeles still exists.

"It’s just that the new vampires there aren’t hiding in the sewers as conspicuously as the ones in New York.

"We still have personnel in Los Angeles investigating the movements of these vampires.

"Once we locate the targets, we’ll still need everyone’s help to eliminate these creatures who have lost their minds."

Barbara Morse’s rapid rise in authority and rank within S.H.I.E.L.D. was due in large part to her role as one of the organization’s liaison officers with the other S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as being the only person capable of maintaining contact with the Howling Commandos.

Even Nick Fury, who had taken the lead in merging the two S.H.I.E.L.D. organizations and had subsequently been promoted to Level Eight, had failed to accomplish that.

Naturally, current Director Alexander Pierce wanted to gain control over the former strongest combat force within S.H.I.E.L.D.

Although several human members had already died after losing access to the Infinite Formula, the remaining members still possessed the ability to deal with supernatural incidents.

After all, they themselves were supernatural beings of one sort or another.

However, after the other S.H.I.E.L.D. was merged into theirs, the Howling Commandos were disbanded.

Until now, that is.

The vampire crisis in New York had become the opportunity to gather the team once again.

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