S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters
Nick Fury sat in his office, a deep frown etched on his face.
The reason? Two top-priority assignments he'd issued not long ago had both stalled without any progress.
These two tasks were tied to Carl and Tony—aka Superman and Iron Man.
To be fair, the task he gave to Coulson—dealing with Tony Stark—was indeed extremely important. Stark wasn't just a public figure; his father had been one of the founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D.
But the mission assigned to Natasha? Not so much.
After all, her task was simply to investigate the cause of Obadiah's death.
On paper, it looked like a routine mission. Obadiah wasn't exactly a global-level threat.
Nick had assumed it would be wrapped up quickly.
He never expected things to spiral like this.
First, the mission failed.
They discovered that Carl possessed extraordinary, almost unnatural powers.
And Natasha had been directly threatened by him.
Before Fury could even come up with a proper plan for dealing with Carl...
An even bigger shock exploded from Tony Stark's side.
Actually, make that two—no, three bombshells.
Tony not only admitted he was Iron Man…
He also publicly revealed Carl's identity as Superman.
Their open admission effectively confirmed the existence of Hulk and Abomination as well.
Which directly contradicted the official narrative claiming it had all been movie footage.
This revelation was bound to spike public anxiety.
Fortunately, for now, the media's focus remained on Superman and Iron Man.
But it was only a matter of time before people turned their attention to Hulk and Abomination.
When that happened, mass panic was inevitable.
Criminal activity might even spike in response.
And to top it off, both missions remained incomplete—utterly unacceptable.
Nick knew he had to move quickly: establish contact with Tony Stark, and at the same time, attempt to reach Carl Smith.
After all, these so-called superheroes were anything but predictable.
Carl had even killed a public figure.
Fury knew it was essential to understand their motives.
What did they want from the world? How did they see ordinary people?
At least with Tony Stark, things seemed manageable.
Sure, he was flashy and had killed—but his targets were warlords and arms dealers. In fact, he'd saved many lives.
But Carl…
He killed Obadiah.
To be fair, S.H.I.E.L.D. had some evidence showing Obadiah wasn't clean either. He'd been selling weapons under the table, possibly dealing with terrorists.
There were even suspicions he'd been behind Tony's kidnapping.
Still, Carl had executed him in broad daylight.
And a few security guards were caught in the crossfire. That was far too reckless.
What concerned Fury even more was Carl's attitude toward them.
It was as if he had seen right through Natasha from the beginning.
Worse, he made it clear he didn't consider S.H.I.E.L.D. a threat.
He even dared to threaten them.
And this was after Natasha had identified herself and her purpose.
Carl's dismissiveness was infuriating.
Even someone as composed as Nick Fury found it hard to swallow.
Yes, Carl had Superman-level power—but Fury had been through plenty of storms.
And he had his own trump cards.
After mulling it over, Nick picked up his communicator, adjusted the frequency, and spoke:
『Nick Fury』: Natasha, report to my office.
『Natasha Romanoff』: On my way.
—
A few minutes later, Natasha stepped into the room, clad in her leather uniform.
『Natasha Romanoff』: What is it?
Nick leaned back and said slowly:
『Nick Fury』: About that mission I gave you earlier—
He didn't finish before Natasha cut in:
『Natasha Romanoff』: Please, I really don't want to be sent back on that assignment.
『Natasha Romanoff』: You don't know what kind of power that man has.
『Natasha Romanoff』: I still don't even know how he got me from the stairs to the park in an instant.
『Natasha Romanoff』: And now Tony Stark's confirmed he's Superman too.
『Natasha Romanoff』: I find that pretty convincing. Maybe we should just leave Carl alone.
As one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agents—arguably one of the best in the world—Natasha had always completed her missions flawlessly.
But the assignment involving Carl had rendered her completely powerless.
Every step of her plan failed.
In the end, she got beaten and directly threatened.
She still remembered Carl's chilling words.
And she knew—if she pushed him again, he would kill her.
If even Black Widow dared not approach him again, Fury wasn't about to send someone else on a suicide mission.
So the issue of Carl had remained on hold.
Over time, Natasha's fear had started to fade.
Until the Abomination incident surfaced.
Once S.H.I.E.L.D. obtained footage from the scene, everyone was stunned.
Green and tan monsters.
Iron Man. Superman.
It was like something straight out of a blockbuster.
Seeing that video made Natasha's fear return full force.
And with Tony Stark publicly announcing both his and Carl's identities, the last thing she wanted was to be involved again.
So when Nick brought it up, she instantly refused—making her stance crystal clear.
Yes, Black Widow was a top-tier agent.
But that didn't mean she had a death wish.
Fury looked at her in silence, his face unreadable.
Well—more unreadable than usual, since it was already quite dark.
He respected Natasha too much to force her into something she couldn't handle.
『Nick Fury』: I'm not sending you back on that mission.
『Nick Fury』: Aren't you good at dealing with men?
『Nick Fury』: Go work on Tony Stark instead.
『Nick Fury』: Lay low. No unnecessary actions. Wait for further instructions.
『Natasha Romanoff』: Got it!
Her eyes lit up.
She had assumed Fury would send her after Carl again—which would've been suicide.
But if it was Tony Stark…
That was child's play.
Sure, Stark had his Iron Man suit.
But he didn't wear it 24/7.
And Natasha had her own identity to fall back on.
Even if she got discovered, Stark wouldn't do anything drastic.
He wasn't hostile.
Plus, his father had been a S.H.I.E.L.D. founder.
This mission was practically risk-free.
And honestly—when it came to handling men, Black Widow was extremely confident.
Well… except for Carl. That freak didn't count.
After all, he was Superman.
End of chapter...
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