In the President's view, although Hawking had saved the world and defeated the arrogant Apocalypse and Magneto, who could reverse the planet's magnetic field, back then—
That battle had been between Hawking and two mutants. It looked impressive, but it was hard to gauge exactly how powerful they were. There had been no particular standard by which to measure it.
Mainly because, as an ordinary person, he simply could not understand it.
Not until he saw Hawking catch sniper rifle bullets barehanded in the video, shoot down an armed helicopter instantly with lasers from his eyes, bring down a building with a flick of his tail, and capture an entire army by clapping his hands together—
Did he truly understand just how terrifying Hawking was.
He was practically as invincible as Superman from the comics. And unlike the comic-book Superman, this Saiyan Superman was not so easily fooled. If someone truly offended him, he would kill.
"Right, isn't there also S.H.I.E.L.D.? What did Nick Fury say?"
At that moment, the President suddenly remembered S.H.I.E.L.D., the organization that specialized in handling such matters.
The Minister of Defense gave a bitter smile.
"Regarding Hawking, I contacted Director Fury long ago.
"He said that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s strength had been severely damaged because of Hydra. Even if Captain Marvel, Captain Carter, and his agents joined forces, they were not confident they could deal with Hawking.
"And Hawking has quite a few powerful ability users under him as well.
"He hoped the government could increase S.H.I.E.L.D.'s budget so it could quickly recover its strength. Only then would it have the capability to deal with someone as powerful as Hawking."
"More funding? Isn't the funding we give them already enough?
"The CIA and FBI's annual budgets combined are lower than S.H.I.E.L.D.'s, and doesn't he receive funding from