"Damn it. What's the Heterochromatic kid planning now?" Nick Fury muttered, rubbing his temple in frustration. "And why is Stark involved?"
Maria Hill stood across from him, silent, letting Fury think. The report she'd just delivered had clearly unsettled him.
But it wasn't the suggestion that Kurogai Blackwood was purchasing weapons that worried Fury—it was that Stark was the one he'd approached.
Fury knew Stark too well. The man was unpredictable, brilliant, and always toeing the line between genius and disaster. And Kurogai? He was a complete enigma. His abilities had outgrown standard classification. Weapons didn't matter to someone like him.
If he'd gone to Stark, it was for something more.
"Howard Stark was a founding member of S.H.I.E.L.D.," Fury muttered aloud. "Too many ties. If something happens to his son, there'll be hell to pay."
Hill shifted slightly. "Should we approach Kurogai directly?"
Fury shook his head. "No. Talking to him is like negotiating with a walking black hole. Start with Stark. He's reckless, but he can be reasoned with."
Hill nodded and turned to leave.
As she exited, Fury leaned back in his chair and exhaled slowly. "If those two keep playing in the same sandbox… we're going to need a bigger insurance policy."
---
Meanwhile, far from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s gaze, Kurogai reclined beneath the shade of a sun umbrella on a quiet, remote beach.
A chilled drink sat beside him, untouched. His golden and violet eyes stared out at the shimmering sea, unfocused. For the first time in weeks, he wasn't moving between missions, projects, or labs. He was alone. No Jean, no Rogue, no Director Mary, no Stark.
Just sunlight and silence.
But rest, for someone like Kurogai, rarely lasted long.
"There's been no progress with the Ultimate Eye recently," he murmured. "I've activated four rings, but the next step... feels distant."
The beach breeze stirred gently as he looked down at his hand, the faint glow of cosmic energy flickering beneath the skin.
The Ultimate Eye—his core power—was divided into twelve mysterious rings, each unlocking distinct abilities. So far, he had only activated four:
First Eye Ring: Geass Eye
Second Eye Ring: Magic Eye
Third Eye Ring: Sharingan
Fourth Eye Ring: Byakugan
Among them, only the Byakugan had reached full potential, evolving into the powerful Tenseigan, granting him devastating offensive capability.
The others were far behind.
As for the Phoenix Force… well, that was something else entirely. It granted him nigh-immortality, but not overwhelming offensive force. It kept him alive, indestructible even, but couldn't be relied on in a full confrontation. His real power still lay in the Ultimate Eye.
He sighed and sat forward.
The Geass Eye, his first ring, had shown the most development lately. It advanced through shifts in emotion—a slow, often painful process. Emotional turbulence had long been part of his journey, and in time, this eye had gained two new abilities:
Memory Modification, a derivative of Charles D. Britannia's Geass, allowing him to reshape memories with precision.
Soul Infiltration, similar to Marianne's Geass, enabling consciousness to enter another body—though only after death.
The second power was practically useless to him.
Because of the Phoenix Force, death was off the table.
Which made Soul Infiltration one of the most frustratingly redundant powers in his arsenal. He rarely spoke of it. Why would he? It served no purpose.
Still, he could feel the Geass Eye nearing its next evolution. Something inside him stirred. The conditions were aligning. Maybe soon.
Then there was the Magic Eye, the second ring. Its advancement was tied to magical knowledge—something he had no shortage of, yet still not enough.
He had already absorbed most of what Kamar-Taj had to offer. As Earth's primary magical institution, it held volumes of arcane knowledge, but even that hadn't been enough to push the Magic Eye forward.
The solution?
Beyond Earth.
There was powerful magic in the Nine Realms—Asgard, Alfheim, Hel, and others. If he could access those dimensions, he might uncover what he needed to evolve the second ring. But access was still limited. For now, he had to wait.
Of course, there was always Dormammu, the dread lord of the Dark Dimension. Kurogai could summon him, trade knowledge for knowledge, but that path was treacherous. Too many risks, and too many things that could go wrong.
He shook the thought away. Not yet.
Not unless he was desperate.
---
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