"Alex, do you have any explanation?" Fury's eyes locked onto him with a sharp edge.
"If I say I was framed, would you believe it?" Alex's gaze swept across Fury calmly.
"Whether we believe it or not is our business. Whether you're willing to tell the truth is yours."
Fury stared at Alex intently. As SHIELD's director and a man who'd lived in the shadows of conspiracies for decades, trust didn't come easily—not even to his own agents, let alone someone like Alex.
Even though he had invited Alex into the Avengers' circle, Fury knew better than to place blind faith in anyone. Likewise, even though soldiers claimed Alex tried to steal from the warehouse, he wasn't ready to believe that either. Suspicion was second nature to him.
Fury's words weren't just wise—they were a warning.
Alex nodded. "Just now, someone said you wanted to see me, so I followed. Then these people attacked me. I think they were Hydra. Before dying, a few of them even shouted 'Long live Hydra.'"
At the mention of Hydra, silence fell like a stormcloud.
Even the seasoned SHIELD agents stiffened, and both Tony Stark and Captain America visibly tensed.
Especially Steve Rogers. He had fought Hydra before—had seen firsthand the chaos they could unleash.
Fury's voice dropped an octave. "I reserve judgment on your innocence for now. But I need time to investigate. Until then, you're to stay put—rest and cooperate."
Alex frowned. That sounded like a protective measure—but it was a subtle way of saying house arrest.
He couldn't afford that.
Not when he knew someone high up in SHIELD wanted him gone. Locking him up meant putting his life in someone else's hands—and that was something he'd never do again.
"I object," Tony said flatly, stepping forward before Alex could speak. "You don't cage a man without proof. That's how you treat criminals—not allies."
"I agree. I believe in Alex," Captain America said firmly, standing beside Tony.
Alex blinked.
Their support… it wasn't loud or dramatic—but it was real.
"Don't be so impulsive. Commander Fury's decision isn't without reason," Natasha Romanoff stepped forward, her tone calm but firm, trying to ease the mood before things escalated. "We're not locking him up—we're just asking him to stay and rest until we have all the facts. Once things are clear, he'll be free to go."
Bruce Banner, who had been silently observing, finally spoke, his voice carrying the weight of logic rather than emotion. "That's all fine, but I'm still wondering—if Alex really came here to steal something, what would his motive be? And more importantly, why does the possibility of him being here make everyone so tense?"
There was a pause. No one answered immediately, and that silence said more than words.
Tony didn't bother waiting for anyone's approval. He turned on his heel and walked straight into the warehouse, ignoring Fury's glance. Inside, rows of half-assembled weapons powered by the energy of the Tesseract stretched out before him—Rubik's Cube energy weapons, unmistakably dangerous, and unmistakably derived from the same designs Hydra had once used.
His expression shifted the moment he laid eyes on them. There was disappointment, but also something like betrayal.
Turning back to the others, Tony spoke flatly, "These are the same kind of weapons Hydra made, aren't they? I thought we were supposed to be different."
Captain America, standing beside him, looked at the weapons with a furrowed brow, his voice steady but cold. "Back then, Red Skull used the Cube's energy to build weapons like these. I fought against those. Seeing SHIELD doing the same thing now… it doesn't sit right."
The divide was becoming more visible with every passing minute.
On one side were Alex, Tony, and Steve—three people who had seen too much and trusted too little. On the other stood Fury, Natasha, and Hill, who were defending what they saw as necessary actions in a dangerous world. Neither side wanted to admit it, but their definitions of "protecting Earth" were starting to drift apart.
The conversation turned into a quiet argument, voices overlapping, each side questioning the other's judgment. No one raised their voice outright, but the pressure in the room had started to build.
Fury, sensing that the situation was heading toward a serious breakdown, raised his hand slightly. The room quieted.
"I'll be honest," he said, looking around slowly, "we did explore the possibility of using the Cube to develop weapons. After what happened in Crestfall Town—after seeing how fragile our defenses really are—we couldn't afford not to. And yes, that decision wasn't perfect. But I'd rather be criticized for preparing too much than doing too little."
He paused for a second, allowing his words to settle.
"That said," his eyes met Alex's, "you don't agree with how we're handling things. So let's hear it, Alex. If you think there's a better way to resolve this, now's your chance to say it."
Fury's response, though not a complete concession, was clearly intended as a compromise for the sake of maintaining some unity among the group. His shift in tone helped ease the tension, at least slightly, and both Tony and Captain America refrained from continuing the argument. Instead, they turned toward Alex, waiting quietly to hear what he would say.
"Me?" Alex blinked, genuinely caught off guard. He hadn't expected Fury to turn the conversation over to him so directly.
In his heart, of course, he wished that the others would simply trust him—that this accusation would be dropped, and that the incident would be treated as nothing more than a misunderstanding. But Alex wasn't naïve. He understood how things worked in a place like SHIELD, and he knew there was no world in which they'd let him walk away without an investigation.
From a logical standpoint, he couldn't even blame them. Fury, despite being difficult and calculating, wasn't exactly wrong. Still, that didn't mean Alex would quietly accept being locked up or treated like a liability for the "greater good."
After a moment's pause, Alex finally spoke, his voice calm but resolute."I can't accept being detained. Not even temporarily. But I also understand that as long as this situation isn't fully investigated, there'll always be people here who won't trust me. That's just reality. So instead of staying here and making everyone uncomfortable, it's better if I leave for now."
The room fell silent.
Leave?The idea clearly caught everyone off guard.
Captain America took a half-step forward, clearly wanting to speak up—to convince Alex to stay. He understood how important team cohesion was, and Alex leaving now could complicate things further down the line. But before he could say anything, Bruce Banner gently put a hand on his arm and gave a slight shake of the head, quietly asking him not to interfere.
Tony, meanwhile, looked at Alex for a long second before nodding slowly."Well, if that's your decision… then I'll respect it. But listen—no matter what happens next, the door to Stark Industries is always open to you."
His tone was serious, and there was no trace of sarcasm or condescension in it. Just a simple truth.
Alex glanced at him and nodded.