"I don't know… I guess you could say I did it on a whim," he said quietly. "Not because they deserved it. No Not really, Most of them stood by, did nothing. Some were just scared. Others were complicit by silence. But I've seen enough to know that just standing there and doing nothing doesn't mean you deserve to die."
His voice turned grim.
"What Magneto was doing… it wasn't just retaliation. It was escalation. If he did it here, the world would find another excuse to do it again elsewhere. Bigger. Louder and Bloodier and to those who wouldn't be able to defend themselves."
A pause.
"So yeah. I saved them. Not because they were right, Just because I wanted to and I wanted to prevent and escalation. That's all."
They pulled up to a large mobile command tent nestled in a park clearing several miles from the crater. Gojo stepped out, hands now in his pockets, and eyed the structure.
"Nice tent," he said dryly. "Missing a minibar, though."
Inside, Nick Fury stood with his arms crossed, eye narrowing when he saw Gojo.
"Where the fuck you been, muthafucka?" Fury growled.
Gojo smirked. "Finally got laid."
Fury paused… then slowly nodded. "Oh, Well. I definitely understand that."
He shifted into business mode.
"Alright. I'm cutting to the chase, kid. I want you to join the Avengers."
Gojo tilted his head. "Wow, straight to the point for once. I gotta say, hearing that sentence used to be like… what's the phrase 'comic book dream'."
He chuckled softly. "But… nah."
Fury blinked. "What?"
"It's all good and noble, sure. But I don't think I'll be joining the Avengers," Gojo said, brushing a white strand of hair from his face. "When you do need help though like really need it I'll be there. I'm not one of your soldiers, but I won't let the world burn either."
Fury studied him carefully. "Is this about your friends? The X-Men?"
Gojo shook his head. "No. Same arrangement I have with them you see I'm not a full member. I help when I can, when it matters. I don't wear anyone's badge."
A beat passed before Gojo added, his tone shifting:
"And tell your World Council this, they'll never control me. They can fear me all they want, but control? Not gonna happen."
Fury raised an eyebrow. "And how do you know they're trying?"
Gojo smirked. "Well… let's just say your agents need to watch their backs better."
Fury sighed. "Rumlow."
Gojo just nodded once.
"Muthafucka," Fury muttered.
Then, recovering, Fury gestured to the war-torn screens and maps inside the tent. "Other reason I called you here we need help fixing this. Can you repair the city?"
Gojo stared at him for a moment… then sighed.
"Fine, I was going to do it eventually."
He turned and stepped out of the tent, Coulson and Fury following close behind. The moment his foot hit the cracked floor, a golden glow emerged outward from his body soft at first, then expanding like a tidal wave of light.
SHIELD agents all across the ruined city lifted their weapons in panic, eyes wide as the energy pulsed outward in a dome. Fitz's tablet buzzed and glitched violently.
"Wha…what the hell!?" Fitz shouted, racing outside.
Jemma Simmons followed from their tent, eyes fixed on the glowing dome.
"Are you getting a read?!" she asked.
Fitz shook his head, staring in awe. "No… no match in any database. But if I had to guess this is… this is some kind of temporal regression."
All around them, Havelstadt began to heal.
The charred black earth shimmered and reversed its burns. Obsidian melted back into the soil, drawn downward like ink into water. Metal structures reassembled from raw atoms their form and function returning as twisted beams twisted back into walls, rooftops, and power lines.
Cars formed bit by bit, rubber, glass, upholstery, even keys in the ignition, each piece reconstituted and sliding into place like a film playing in reverse.
Trees in the park regrew, leaves reappearing in a burst of color. Benches, lamps, children's toys, grocery stands, everything the city was returning to the exact moment before it was torn apart.
Gojo stood still as golden light flowed around him like divine wind. His eyes closed. Then the light faded, and the city stood whole once more.
He opened his eyes, turned to Coulson and Fury, and said simply
"There. I'm done."
Coulson gawked, finally tapping his comm as a message came in causing him to look at Gojo. "You… didn't fix the crater."
Gojo looked back with a shrug. "Mmn. No. I'll leave it as a reminder."
He turned to walk off. "See you later, Fury."
He vanished, teleporting away to God knows where.
Fury stood still for a moment, then muttered:
"He didn't bring back the dead."
Coulson slowly nodded. "Maybe… maybe he can't."
Fury narrowed his eye, staring into the distance, mind already calculating a dozen new variables.
"Hmmmm…"
———————-
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