It wasn't surprising that Nick Fury was considering recruiting William.
At this point, he wasn't even the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. yet.
Tony Stark was still just a playboy arms dealer, more interested in partying than heroics.
Fury's plan wasn't bad, but he had completely overlooked one crucial fact—
William wasn't American.
He had zero interest in fighting for the U.S., let alone risking his life for them.
In fact, quite a few Americans were already on his bad side—or outright enemies.
Unless there was a personal benefit involved, or a global threat that directly affected his comfortable life,
why the hell would he help the U.S. solve their problems?
And the funniest part?
Almost all the upcoming disasters would be happening in the U.S. anyway.
Even if William knew about Fury's plan, he wouldn't have cared.
Fury's "first-generation" Avengers lineup?
Not impressive.
The strongest among them—Thor?
Before William obtained the Space Stone, he had already toyed with both Thor and Loki at the same time.
Sure, he wasn't as strong in direct melee combat as Thor wielding Mjolnir…
but who said fights had to be fair?
With the right tricks, even a god could be taken down effortlessly.
Then there was the Hulk.
William was 100% confident that he could take him down.
Why?
Because just yesterday, he had successfully tested soul extraction on a Skrull.
If he could pull a soul out with a single touch,
then the Hulk—regardless of how strong he was—would just be a mindless husk if his spirit was forcibly removed.
And even if he couldn't extract his soul, so what?
William's raw speed was nearly unmatched—
he could fly 140 meters per second.
No matter how fast the Hulk tried to lunge at him, he'd never catch him.
Hell, William wouldn't even need to attack.
He could just bait the Hulk into a Mirror Dimension trap and leave him stranded.
Or, if he was feeling cruel, he could use the Space Stone to exile him to some random planet.
Maybe even drop him into a star…
or dump him on Titan's moon, where temperatures drop to minus 180 degrees Celsius.
Let's see the Hulk "smash" his way out of that.
And if that Hulk could somehow survive and return?
Then he wasn't the movie version of the Hulk—he was the comic version.
And in that case, he could probably just slap Thanos to death, so problem solved.
---
And what about the rest of the Avengers?
Tony Stark?
Take away his suit, and he was just an ordinary guy.
Assassinating him wouldn't even be difficult.
Steve Rogers?
Against William, Captain America wouldn't last a single round.
That iconic shield of his?
Would probably end up in William's personal collection.
Black Widow and Hawkeye?
Not even worth discussing.
---
Meanwhile, at William's estate…
Black Widow stood behind Coulson, looking incredibly guilty as she faced an angry Abigail.
"Mr. Devonshire, Miss Chase, I sincerely apologize for Natasha deceiving you.
But we had no choice—"
"Stop. Stop. Stop."
Before Coulson could finish, William cut him off.
Coulson looked harmless enough,
but William knew better.
Nobody climbed the ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D. without being a ruthless operator.
Coulson's "harmless" look was just a disguise—a psychological weapon.
Just like how Black Widow's beauty was hers.
"Let's cut the crap," William said, waving dismissively.
"I don't care about your excuses.
Just tell me what you want."
Then, smirking, he added,
"As for your real identities…
if I wanted, I could expose them right now—
but I'd rather not give Alexander Pierce an excuse to try and extort me."
Hearing this, Coulson and Natasha felt a chill down their spines.
Not only did William know about Alexander Pierce,
but he clearly didn't respect him at all.
Instantly, they adjusted their assessment of William's threat level, ranking him even higher.
They repeated Nick Fury's message, and in response?
William threw them out of his estate.
---
After they left…
William was now consoling a pouting Abigail, whose eyes were still slightly red from anger.
"Come on, come on," William coaxed.
"I already told you about Natasha's real identity before.
Why are you still so upset?"
"Because for a while… I actually started treating her like a real assistant."
She crossed her arms. "It's hard to accept."
William nearly rolled his eyes.
Bullshit.
This woman was completely playing the victim right now.
William already knew, from Sunday's reports,
that Abigail had been on guard against Natasha the entire time.
Sure, she gave Natasha plenty of work,
but she never let her near anything truly important.
As far as Abigail was concerned, Natasha was just a tool—a convenient assistant for mundane business matters.
And Natasha, oblivious to this, had even nodded apologetically before leaving—
without realizing that she was the real one who had been played.
William, of course, didn't expose Abigail's little act.
Instead, he pulled her close, whispering sweet nothings in her ear—
making her giggle, blush, and playfully pinch his arm.
---
That evening…
With nothing better to do, William introduced the family to mahjong.
And, as expected…
women—regardless of nationality—could never resist mahjong once they started playing.
He handed out 100 Devonshire gold coins to each player,
then sat behind his mother, Lena, helping her learn the game.
Hours passed in an instant.
By the time they checked the clock, it was already 1 AM.
Just then, Sunday's voice rang in William's ear:
"Sir, the Mars-bound spaceship will arrive in one hour."
Feigning hunger, William conveniently excused himself.
Grabbing Selina's hand, he whispered,
"Let's grab a midnight snack. You coming?"
"Hmph. I knew you had something up your sleeve."
Selina shot him a glare, but still obediently followed him to the kitchen.
---
One hour later…
With a full stomach, William sat in his underground command center.
Selina, watching a holographic projection of the Skrull spaceship,
sipped her drink and mused,
"Welp… looks like some aliens are about to have a very bad day."
After giving William a quick peck, she grabbed her dishes and casually headed upstairs.
To her, the fate of the Skrulls was less important than spending time with Lena.
---
"Sir," Sunday reported.
"The Skrull prisoner in Yellowstone has been re-sealed in a stasis pod.
You may teleport them to Mars at any time."
William raised his hand.
A portal opened over Yellowstone National Park.
On the other side, battle droids dragged the frozen Skrull prisoner through the portal—
directly onto the Mars-bound spaceship.
(End of Chapter)
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