Nick stood by the window in the Helicarrier office, scratching his bald head in confusion. "Why is it thundering on such a clear day?"
Natasha walked into the office, set a stack of documents on the desk, and said, "Bad news, Director. None of the key figures are in New York. Agent Carter is on her annual leave, and the Captain went with her to Hawaii for a vacation."
"Stark Industries has shifted and expanded its business operations from New York to the entire country. Obadiah stayed behind at headquarters, Pepper went to other regions to develop business, and Tony Stark somehow followed her."
"Peter went to Los Angeles with his good friend Harry Osborn, while Matt accompanied Elektra home to visit her family."
Nick helplessly took the documents and laid them on the desk. "Either they all cram into New York, or none of them can be found. Did they plan this together?... Wait, they couldn't have actually planned this together, could they?"
Nick began pacing back and forth, thinking aloud. "All the important superheroes left New York at the same time for one reason or another. No matter how I look at it, that doesn't seem like a coincidence."
"The last time something like this happened was when Schiller established United Heaven. Important superheroes, myself included, all died once. One of the purposes was to make the Skrulls hidden among us believe that key positions were vacant, forcing them into the open."
"So the same thing is happening again. What fish is Schiller trying to hook this time?" Nick frowned, stopped by the window, and slowly looked outside. "What unresolved problems are still lurking within New York? What enemies are still hiding in the shadows?"
"Then should we investigate whether the superheroes who left New York had any