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*****
Although he was highly displeased that Fini hadn't notified him immediately upon returning, Nick Fury managed to suppress his irritation. Considering the request he was about to make, he kept his voice steady and said deeply over the line:
"I need your help."
Fini had been away from Earth for nearly five months. During such a long stretch of time, Nick Fury naturally hadn't just been sitting on his hands.
Though Fini's initial warning had kept him from launching a loud, overt investigation, Fury had used every covert method at his disposal to quietly fish out the Hydra cell lurking within his organization.
It was only after months of grueling, shadow-whispering effort that he realized Fini's warning hadn't been an exaggeration in the slightest. Had he actually dared to launch an open, official investigation, he likely wouldn't have survived to see the following morning.
The sheer scale of the infiltration left Nick Fury profoundly shaken, but more than that, deeply anxious. He had never anticipated the rot would run this deep.
This staggering reality was the exact reason why, despite spending months preparing, he still lacked the absolute confidence required to cleanly excise these internal "allies."
It was also this massive distraction that had prevented him from catching wind of Fini's return the exact moment he touched down. It took a few days for the intelligence to cross his desk, alerting him that Fini was back.
Nevertheless, Fini's sudden reappearance was undeniably spectacular news for a man currently balanced on a knife's edge of anxiety. It instantly injected a few much-needed degrees of confidence into his grim outlook.
"Such as...?"
Hearing Nick Fury cut straight to the chase, Fini was slightly surprised. He asked the question with a hint of genuine amusement, even though his stance remained unchanged—he still had absolutely no desire to entangle himself in the petty civil war between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra.
"A phone line isn't secure enough for this. Where are you right now?"
To ensure absolute operational security, Fury refused to discuss the matter over an unencrypted cellular network. He intended to hash things out face-to-face. Furthermore, he wanted to personally gauge what Fini had been up to during his long absence, and see if the boy had changed.
"At home. Are you coming over?"
As his personal strength continued to skyrocket into absurd realms, Fini cared less and less about the potential risks of exposing his civilian life.
After all, even if his identity were laid bare to the world tomorrow, if anyone actually possessed the suicidal bravery to come knocking on his door looking for trouble, Fini would gladly teach them the meaning of a point of no return.
"Give me thirty minutes," Fury replied decisively, hanging up the phone the second the words left his mouth.
Glancing down at his darkened screen, Fini let out a soft sigh. He picked up the remote, clicked on the television, and settled in to watch a show while he waited for the Director's arrival.
---
Nick Fury didn't make Fini wait the full thirty minutes. Exactly twenty-one minutes later, his imposing figure materialized right at Fini's front doorstep. He was wrapped in that same timeless black leather trench coat, his face bearing an expression that practically screamed for everyone to stay far away.
"Aren't you boiling in that thing?"
Inviting Fury inside, Fini couldn't help but ask the question. Given the current weather in New York, a heavy leather coat was by no means normal attire.
"The coat is manufactured from a proprietary composite material and features a specialized design. The ventilation is excellent," Fury countered smoothly, his single remaining eye narrowing as it thoroughly scanned Fini from head to toe.
Despite not seeing each other for nearly five months, Fini didn't appear to have changed physically at a glance. Yet, Fury could distinctly sense a shift in the teenager's demeanor compared to before his departure.
He seemed entirely more casual, radiating an aura of absolute nonchalance.
Fury had no way of knowing that this shift was merely the psychological byproduct of Fini's ever-growing pool of cosmic power. Rather than jumping straight into the grim topic of Hydra, the Director chose to open with a casual inquiry about the boy's travels:
"How was Asgard?"
"It was alright, I guess," Fini replied with a careless shrug.
"Did you see Thor? Has he ascended to the throne as King of Asgard yet? And how did they end up handling that brother of his, Loki?"
Fini eyed Fury, who was sitting on the sofa pretending to just casually shoot the breeze. "I saw him, yeah. But he's still just the Prince of Asgard. As for Loki, they threw him in the dungeons. It's basically a life sentence without parole."
"Have you been stationed in Asgard this entire time?"
Seeing right through Fury's roundabout attempts to fish for cosmic intelligence, Fini didn't bother lying to him. "No, I took a tour through a few of the other realms as well. I ended up helping them put down a few rebellions along the way."
"Rebellions?" Fury's interest piqued instantly.
"The Bifrost was shattered a while back, which meant Asgard couldn't enforce its usual governance over the territories. A few factions across the other realms took advantage of the power vacuum to stir up chaos."
Hearing Fini's explanation, Fury's curiosity was visibly set ablaze. He pressed further, "What was their military strength like? Specifically, how do they stack up against Earth?"
"How should I put it..." Fini pondered for a brief moment before offering an honest assessment. "If we're strictly comparing the advanced nature of their weaponry, they definitely hold the upper hand. But honestly, it's not lightyears ahead of us. If an actual war broke out, Earth would still have a fighting chance."
Fury nodded slowly, his single eye clouding over as he sank deep into thought, his mind spinning with unknown calculations.
Seeing that Fury was content to beat around the bush indefinitely without bringing up the elephant in the room, Fini took the initiative and asked point-blank: "You still haven't told me what exactly you want my help with."
---
The moment Fini threw down the gauntlet, Fury's expression hardened into a mask of grim severity.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has suffered a massive internal compromise," Fury stated heavily. "According to the paper trails I've uncovered, right around the time S.H.I.E.L.D. was initially founded, there was a program called Operation Paperclip..."
Fini, of course, already knew every single historical detail of how Hydra had parasitized S.H.I.E.L.D. from its very inception. He cut Fury off with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You don't need to lecture me on the history lesson. Just tell me what you want me to do."
"Join S.H.I.E.L.D."
Fury laid his cards on the table without a shred of hesitation. "I will personally establish a highly specialized black-ops division under your sole command. Your mandate will be to help me hunt down and purge every single embedded Hydra operative within the infrastructure."
Had Fini received an invitation like this back when he had first unlocked Incursio, he probably would have leapt at the opportunity. After all, back then, every single enemy agent represented a precious walking bag of experience points.
But for the current Fini? Forcing himself to engage in active combat with ordinary human operatives would likely yield less experience than he could make by simply practicing his skills alone in an empty room.
Consequently, the moment he heard Fury's grand proposal, any lingering trace of interest evaporated. He slumped back against the cushions of the sofa, looking thoroughly underwhelmed. "Is that all? Forget it. I have no interest in bullying ordinary humans."
Seeing Fini's utterly dismissive reaction, a wave of profound bewilderment washed over Fury. He straightened his spine, his face twisting into an expression of utmost gravity as he barked:
"They are Hydra!"
"They are a fanatical terrorist organization whose singular, driving directive is the absolute subjugation of the entire globe! If we fail to stop them, the moment they seize complete, unchecked control over S.H.I.E.L.D.'s assets, the consequences will be utterly catastrophic."
Hearing Fury's passionate lecture, Fini simply rolled his eyes toward the ceiling.
In the privacy of his own thoughts, he couldn't help but muse that even if Hydra actually succeeded in conquering the world, it wouldn't really affect him much. After all, he still technically held a supreme identity as a Hydra leader. Coupled with his terrifying level of personal might, he doubted anyone in their ranks would possess the spine to defy his word.
That being said, Fini still fundamentally preferred a quiet, peaceful life. He was already too lazy to manage a simple corporate laboratory partnership; if he actually had to step up as the Supreme Leader of Hydra and govern the entire planet, this fragile little rock called Earth would undoubtedly be bound to crash and burn in no time under his lazy rule.
---
"Joining S.H.I.E.L.D. is out of the question," Fini stated firmly, pivoting back to his original plan. "However, I can lend you a pair of hands to help carry the load."
Fini decided it was time to introduce Pietro and Wanda to Nick Fury. Even though the Maximoff twins had suffered a catastrophic, utterly humiliating defeat when facing him, their superhuman capabilities against ordinary human operatives would amount to an absolute, unmitigated slaughter.
Wanda, in particular, with her profound telepathic abilities, would serve as the ultimate asset for Fury, allowing the Director to instantly discern exactly who within his ranks was truly loyal and who was a traitorous mole.
Hearing Fini's unexpected counter-offer, Fury's brow furrowed deeply. A surge of intense curiosity gripped his mind as he began to frantically speculate on the identities of the two mysterious individuals Fini was offering to field.
(End of Chapter)