Pamela manipulated the plants as Tim explained the current situation to her in more detail.
"The Federal Bureau of Investigation, S.H.I.E.L.D., and Hydra maintain a very delicate balance. On the surface, it seems that the FBI and S.H.I.E.L.D. are both obligated to fight against Hydra, and these two good organizations should stand together to combat evil."
"But the reality is not so simple. The FBI and S.H.I.E.L.D. are in serious competition for funding because their functions overlap. For cases that fall between superpower-related and non-superpower issues, there are too many gray areas to argue over."
"This leads to neither party being able to come down too hard on Hydra, nor can they afford not to act."
"They can't come down hard because if there are no rats in one's own territory, the cat's purpose isn't shown, and they can't not act because if the rats become a plague and climb onto the dining table, it shows the cat is useless."
"Both parties nibble at the edges—on one hand, they foster their own threats to justify their existence, and on the other, they make token efforts to accrue achievements. Whoever is more clever in controlling the limited Hydra resources to show more merit, gets more funding."
"Previously, some actions by the FBI cost S.H.I.E.L.D. funding. To recover its position, S.H.I.E.L.D. colluded with Hydra to first expel the FBI, which could also act against Hydra, from Los Angeles. Then, they caused a commotion in Los Angeles and had S.H.I.E.L.D. clean up afterward."
"The West Coast is FBI territory. This not only caused the FBI to lose face but also highlighted S.H.I.E.L.D.'s achievements."
"Not to mention, taking advantage of the FBI's defenses and causing a ruckus at a Congress member's gathering could drive a wedge between them and make the FBI lose face in Congress."
"Since time immemorial, partisan struggles have been thus: either the east wind prevails over the west wind or vice versa. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s prowess lies in their closer ties with Hydra; when necessary, it's no longer about fostering a threat for leverage, but using Hydra to strike the FBI with heavy blows."
"But does that mean S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra have a perfect, mutually trusting relationship? Obviously not—it's impossible for two individuals, much less two organizations, to be completely aligned in their interests."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra's interests align only in that S.H.I.E.L.D. relies on Hydra for funding, while Hydra relies on S.H.I.E.L.D. to conceal themselves and seek profits through evil deeds under their protection."
"Currently, S.H.I.E.L.D. needs Hydra, so they maintain a somewhat peaceful cooperation. However, once Hydra no longer has value, S.H.I.E.L.D. will look to suppress Hydra to prevent them from becoming a plague and showing their own inefficacy."
"In Shiller's original plan, he intended to entangle the FBI's main forces at the border, which would inevitably require deploying personnel and agents to battle. This is also what S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to see."
"On one hand, this benefits the mentioned funding campaign, and on the other, it allows weakening Hydra's strength. It's killing two birds with one stone."
Tim said this, then looked at Pamela and said, "But if we interfere, using superpowers to seal off the mountain, on one hand, it would make the FBI see no hope of victory, knowing the difficulty they would retreat, unable to keep their main forces here."
"On the other hand, if the FBI and Hydra can't fight, Hydra won't expend their manpower, so afterward, S.H.I.E.L.D. won't be able to give any more to Hydra. Otherwise, they risk becoming the tail that wags the dog, and they may even take action to suppress Hydra to prevent them from causing trouble."
"This would shatter the mutual interest coalition between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra. Regardless of whether Shiller truly belongs to Hydra or is just undercover, individual will does not change in struggles over fundamental interests."
"Nick would not insist on cooperating with Hydra because of Shiller's existence, nor would Shiller defy common sense and continue to follow S.H.I.E.L.D.'s orders because of Nick."
"Conversely, whether they genuinely consider the interests of their organizations or merely pretend to, they at least have to put on a show of a partnership breakdown and blame the other party for breach of faith."
"To restrain Hydra, S.H.I.E.L.D. might choose to join forces with the FBI. However, in this triangular relationship, if the two good powers ally, then they might become too strong and the balance could be broken in an instant."
"If Hydra has to face the pursuit of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the FBI alone, it's almost tantamount to being enemies with the entire American enforcement system, which is a very unfavorable situation for them."
"For survival, Hydra's only choice would be to cooperate with the FBI."
"At this time, Hydra's method of joining with the FBI to suppress S.H.I.E.L.D. is laid out before them: cause a superpower assassination at the Love Farm gathering. The congress members can then take advantage in Congress to accuse S.H.I.E.L.D. of negligence."
"And who is the closest superpower user? Pamela."
Pamela blinked. She actually understood because the logic was coherent and not that complicated.
In a triangle relationship, either one is close with two, two is close with three, or one is close with three—there are only these three scenarios, which leave an individual with just two choices.
If one and two fall out, one's only choice is three. Having chosen three, one must confront two, and what can be leveraged is precisely the biggest difference between three and two, which is whether or not they can handle superpower users.
Superpower users causing chaos doesn't concern the FBI, but S.H.I.E.L.D. cannot escape blame, making it the best way to suppress S.H.I.E.L.D.
Superpower users far away or just around the corner—it is Pamela.
This is the most basic element in factional struggles: using multi-sided checks and balances to create capital for oneself.
In partisan conflicts, the most important aspect is to understand the fundamental interests of each group. From there, one can infer their next move and then predict the other groups' responses to that move.
To some extent, the further one's predictions, the lower the accuracy. But if one can indeed predict accurately, it can create an impression of prophetic insight, like that of a great Seer.
Intelligent people can usually think five to six steps ahead, so Tim only thinking two steps ahead this time wasn't that amazing.
But Pamela still found it quite troublesome.
It was as if her brain lacked the hardware to think about such problems, this knowledge just didn't stick!
Pamela wasn't stupid either; Tim had explained it so clearly that, after following his train of thought, she too found no issues with the relationship between the three organizations, at least not logically.
She felt that even though Tim said that they would slip up sooner or later, the kid was clearly holding his breath, waiting to see who would make him slip up. More precisely, he wanted to see someone else slip up.
Although she didn't think that someone was Shiller, Tim obviously wasn't content with being at the bottom. With four powers present, if he couldn't be the boss, couldn't he at least be second or third?
As she pondered, Pamela had already completed the plants' blockade of the cliff. Now, the entire perimeter of the mountaintop was woven into layers of a vast net, and towering trees like pines had turned into tree warriors.
Just as Tim had predicted, lights began to flicker continuously on the beach and at the foot of the mountain; those were clearly the lights of standard-issue flashlights. Vague shadows moved between the trees, and the sound of footsteps rustled through the woods.
From the second floor, Tim could see more clearly; people were landing on the beach, and others were approaching from the path below. From their movements and equipment's silhouette, he could tell that it was the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
A tall figure was crouching behind the dense shrubs. He had just moved forward two steps when a hand grabbed his arm.
"Are you inexperienced with jungle combat?" Steve's blue eyes were also very clear in the night. Unlike Batman's blue eyes, his were lighter. When he turned to look around, they shone like beacons in the dark.
Jason shook his head and said, "I'd say I'm only good at street fighting."
"Well, that's not surprising, but don't go out there now. There's something off about the shadows of the trees ahead. See that mound... Yes, over there, don't you think the shape of the roots is a bit strange?"
Jason looked left and right but couldn't see anything remarkable. He indeed lacked such experiences. He was good at street brawls, but formal combat was another story.
"In the jungle, we use the direction of plant growth to determine the direction from which the sunlight comes. It's usually more obvious in herbaceous plants, but if the canopy is too dense and there's no distinction between day and night below, then we have to observe the trees."
"Moreover, sometimes the shape of tree roots can indicate the distribution of underground water systems. I once found drinkable fresh water in a tropical rainforest in South America by observing the direction in which the roots extended."
"The posture of that tree's roots on the mound is just wrong. We saw them when we came up; the exposure of the land there is caused by the high brine in the freshwater near the sea, leading to soil salinization and erosion. Theoretically, exposed roots are not surprising."
"But since it has become a mound, with half of the root system exposed, to maintain its balance, the other half of the roots should dig more firmly into the ground to hold onto the tilting trunk, though it would still be somewhat slanted."
"The posture of this tree doesn't look like it's been growing on this mound for a long time. Its exposed roots are too fresh, and they haven't developed more robust structures due to the changing mound. Theoretically, if the roots are in that state, the tree should have fallen by now, but it hasn't, which suggests there might be external support."
Jason took a closer look and didn't see any man-made supports, but as he was staring at the tree, it took off running.
Jason's eyes widened in shock, then he turned to look at Steve, who also looked astounded. Steve said, "What I meant to say was, some people put camouflage over explosives..."
Before they could recover from their shock, the pine trees in front of them uprooted themselves and ran, waving their massive branches, charging toward the faint flashlight beams.
Steve drew a sharp breath and shouted, "Get back, get back!!"
Screams of team members tumbling down the slope soon followed; Steve pulled Jason as they ran downhill, with Jason not forgetting to hoist a wounded comrade along.
"Wasn't this supposed to be a must-pass route for the assassins?! Damn it, have terrorists started turning pine trees too nowadays???"
Jason heard someone cursing, and Steve's face looked rather grim. Raising his Shield, he covered the retreat of the injured agents, while Jason acted as a porter, hoisting up several people, and the group embarrassingly fled to the foot of the mountain.
"Boss, there's misinformation. Wasn't it supposed to be a Hydra Assassin? What's with these tree spirits? I just got whipped by vines."
"Something wrapped around my leg too; I thought it was a snake, but when I looked down, it turned out to have leaves!"
"I was almost drowned in a tree hollow! What the hell is going on?!"
The young team members complained, and Steve waved them down, signaling them to stay calm.
Before long, rows upon rows of cars appeared on the nearby highway—the main forces of the Federal Bureau of Investigation had arrived.
The leading agent glanced at the bowed heads of his wounded men, then looked up at the aggressive tree spirits and, with a wave of his hand, the main forces of the Federal Bureau of Investigation left.
Shiller stood by the window and watched the Federal Bureau of Investigation's cars drive away, then turned to add more wood to the fireplace when another hand pressed on the wood he was about to pick up.
As he looked up, he saw Tim smiling at him.
The living room lights were off, only the gradually dimming light from the fireplace illuminated Tim's smile which was no different from when he had sat on the doorstep that night, always carrying an arrogance and a slyness hard to notice that his brothers lacked, full of youthful spirits.
Shiller grabbed the stick in his hand and struck Tim on the head with it.
"Ouch!" Tim cried out in pain, covering his head.
"Why would you hit someone?!" Tim said, sitting on the ground, eyes widened in anger.
"Was it you who caused this mess?" Shiller stood up, holding the stick, as Tim also scrambled to his feet, grimacing and holding the lump that had just been thumped on his head.
"Even if I did, you can't hit someone over it!"
Immediately, Tim's shoulder received another hit; he hurriedly ran towards the couch while shouting, "You're not following the rules! Weren't you supposed to sit me down and talk?! Stop hitting, you think I won't fight back?!"
Taking advantage of having a weapon in hand, Shiller didn't give Tim a chance to dodge and viciously struck him several times before finally speaking irritably, "Arrogant that's because he's patient, talk talk talk, what's there to talk about?!"
Tim stood on the other side of the couch, clutching his recently hit arm and gasping from the pain, while Shiller irritably said, "Did you think I'd give you a chance to proudly elaborate on your plan and display your cleverness? Do you think I'm stupid?"
"Then aren't you going to ask what I was planning?"
"Even if right now you wanted to pull down the moon, I wouldn't be surprised," Shiller rolled his eyes and said, "It's just that the homework was too little!"
Tim let his arms drop, sighed, and said, "It's hard to believe you and Professor are the same person. Yes, I was bored after finishing my homework, so what do you plan to do about it?"
Shiller, holding the stick and folding his arms, narrowed his eyes and said, "You used plants to seal this place, I can't get out, and neither can you, right?"
"Right, I can't get out, so what? You plan to kill me?"
"Are you stupid? Killing is illegal!"
Just as Tim was about to say something, Shiller shouted, "Pamela! 5 million dollars transfer into your cosmos account, tie this kid up!"
"Alright!" Pamela appeared in a flash.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh, vines stretched out from the corner of the room and hoisted Tim up; Shiller weighed the stick in his hand and said, "Your cosmos's methods won't work here, kid, don't meddle in adult business."
"I will meddle!" Tim shouted, "If you dare hit me, I'll expose you online!"
"You think I don't have friends in the media?!" Shiller snapped, "Just stay put. I'm stepping out."
Pamela let Tim down and he continued grimacing and rubbing his arm; Pamela rolled up his sleeve and saw a long red mark.
"Some kids really do get a thrashing," Pamela remarked, "Looks like you don't dodge enough."
"He ambushed me! And no one else has hit me before!"
"That's why I said you haven't been hit enough," Pamela let go of his sleeve and said, "Don't look at me like that, you think that just because I'm standing by your side, you can beat him?"
"Then why didn't you hang him up?"
"Do you not know plants are afraid of fire?" Pamela said somewhat exasperatedly, "Just now if I hadn't hung you up, he could've flipped the fireplace and set the house on fire, and we couldn't even escape this mountain."
Tim sighed through his nose and said, "Anyway, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has left now, there shouldn't be any more trouble in Los Angeles."
"Let's hope things go as you predict," Pamela said, "I have a hard time believing it."
They both walked towards the door, Tim asked, "Why?"
"Haven't you noticed? His actions are even more unpredictable than the Professor's," Pamela shook her head and said, "If anything, your dad resembles him more."
"The Professor is more stable," Tim rubbed the bump on his head again, gasping as he did, "I resemble him more."
Tim watched their rented red car being driven away, its taillights gradually vanishing on the dark road.
"You don't seem surprised," Pamela said.
"I knew your plant barrier wouldn't stop him, he has a ring that can teleport, otherwise how could he have gone to the town to buy firewood before?"
"Then you said kidnapping specifics weren't necessary."
"You could've tied him up just now, but you didn't."
"He paid."
"Is there a chance that in our cosmos I'm richer than he is?"
"Then make an offer!"
"5 million is too expensive, no way."
"You're so stingy!"
"You don't know how expensive it is to run a house!"
Ding dong, Tim's phone beeped with a new message; he took out his phone and opened the message interface to find that Jason had sent them a message.
"Are you now in Los Angeles? Is Pamela there?"
"You've been discovered by Jason," Tim turned to Pamela and said, "He said he was going to meet Captain America, so you must be on The Avengers' radar now."
"Who blame is that?" Pamela said irritably.
"The good news is that the Avengers probably didn't mobilize, or you're not worth their mobilization. The bad news is, having Captain America alone is troubling enough for us. Can you beat him?"
"It depends," Pamela said with some difficulty, "I encountered him before in a Battleworld replica. He isn't very strong, but I can't break through his defense either."
"Captain America is a considerable variable. The Federal Bureau of Investigation brought him over, perhaps to make him a witness in the assassination case. Although he is now a has-been internet celebrity, he still holds significant influence."
"In the original plan, the Senators and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were in cahoots, staging a faux scenario to embezzle funds. Having Captain America as a living witness made it all the more believable."
"But now the plan has changed. He should be heading to Los Angeles to quell the chaos, which isn't good."
"Why?"
"Didn't I mention it? Without rats, how can the importance of a cat be shown? The Federal Bureau of Investigation might not eradicate Hydra within its jurisdiction, but Captain America will. Hydra is an old enemy of his."
"True, and if Hydra in Los Angeles gets wiped out by him…"
"Then Hydra might actually become a protected asset, even S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Federal Bureau of Investigation might offer him support... wait, Shiller wouldn't have done this on purpose, would he?"
Tim's eyes darted around, indicating his brain was racing, and as they walked toward the seaside, he continued.
"Suppose he's not the real leader of Hydra, just an undercover agent, then bringing Captain America here to sweep through Hydra could significantly weaken Hydra's influence."
"But you said the Federal Bureau of Investigation and S.H.I.E.L.D. would support Hydra."
"Support is given, but who will end up with it?" Tim raised a critical question, "The real Hydra or Shiller's hands?"
"Are you saying he wants to have it both ways?"
"If I were him, I would too. Indeed, rather than cooperating with one side, using his essential existence as leverage to get both sides to support him would allow him to benefit more fully."
"Oh, I see," Pamela said, "On the surface, he wants to stir up trouble with Hydra in Los Angeles to demand funds from S.H.I.E.L.D."
"In reality, he had already covertly moved Captain America there to let him sweep through Hydra in Los Angeles while the Federal Bureau of Investigation was away, to prevent Captain America and the Avengers behind him from annihilating Hydra entirely, both sides would need to support him."
The two reached the seaside, where the Federal Bureau of Investigation's landing craft had not been taken away. Tim had seen from the window earlier that those who came by sea had also retreated with those on land, not taking the sea route anymore, so the boat came in handy for them.
Tim knew how to operate a speedboat, and as soon as the two stepped aboard, he started the speedboat, and they quickly headed toward Los Angeles.
"Do you think we might get caught by the Avengers as soon as we land?" Pamela asked, sounding a bit worried, "I think I can escape, but you might not be so lucky."
"That's not what you should be worried about right now."
"Then what should I be?"
"There are people much dumber than the Avengers," Tim said, glancing down at the speedboat's dashboard, pausing his gaze for a moment, but said nothing else.
The speedboat sped forward, unobstructed by the sea, and the direct distance wasn't far, so they soon saw the lights of Los Angeles.
The nearest dock approached, and as they jumped off the speedboat, countless lights turned on. Officers sporting FBI badges weaved between the squad cars like schools of fish, quickly forming a crossfire network, numerous gun muzzles aimed at them.
Tim quickly raised his hands, Pamela glanced at him and didn't resist either, raising her hands to show she was unarmed.
The police took them to separate police cars, and as Tim sat down, he saw the muscular man in the front passenger seat turn around with a pair of sparkling blue eyes.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Tim Drake."
"Looks like my dear brother sold out my information completely."
"He was just cooperating with the investigation."
"You left the speedboat because you thought if this attack succeeded, trapping the enemy in a tactical fight would only increase casualties, so you gave them an escape route, but put a tracking device on the speedboat. Yet weren't you afraid he'd head for Mexico?"
"No, because he feels he still has power in Los Angeles. I understand Hydra, they believe they still have a chance to turn the tables."
"Seeing is believing, Captain America."
"Flattery will get you nowhere. Since you found out, why didn't you head for Mexico?"
"I have my reasons," Tim grinned at him, then said, "Do you plan to take me to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for questioning?"
"If you were of age, yes."
"Do you know what answers you'll get?"
Steve looked back at him.
"I was kidnapped by Hydra, but I saw the true face of the leader who kidnapped me, none other than the famously notorious psychiatrist online—Shi..."
"You better think carefully about what you're about to say," Steve interrupted him firmly and said, "It's one thing to tell me, another to keep it all in the interrogation records. Do you plan to accuse him in court?"
"No." Tim's abrupt reply made Steve blink in surprise, but then he felt his brain was about to explode.
"I will accuse him online, then let all the netizens see what dirty tricks the Federal Bureau of Investigation, S.H.I.E.L.D., and Hydra are up to."
"Do you have evidence?"
"Does the internet need evidence?"
Steve now deeply understood why Jason had told him that only Tim could be called a "mad teenager."