Nick Fury sat behind the wheel of his modified black SUV, spirits higher than they'd been in months.
The Avengers had successfully formed and achieved remarkable results from their very first operations.
Over recent days, Captain America and Spider-Man had systematically eliminated several Hydra bases, victories that Nick could add to his impressive list of accomplishments.
Within the Security Council, Nick Fury's voice had grown significantly stronger, and his budget requests now carried much more weight and justification.
For some reason, his old friend Alexander Pierce had been regarding him with an odd expression lately.
Nick didn't think much of it.
He assumed Pierce was simply irritated by his substantial funding requests.
There's nothing to be done about that.
After all, operations of this scale were impossible without proper financing.
Not only had his safe house construction projects stalled, but the classified research programs under his oversight required enormous capital investments.
Take the Tesseract, for example. Recently, the artifact's energy emissions had begun fluctuating slowly, with gamma radiation levels slightly elevated beyond normal parameters.
Even this minor change had enabled him to develop a batch of extraordinarily powerful energy weapons.
With such promising results directly before him, how could Nick Fury consider stopping now?
This is just the beginning.
A few experimental weapons wouldn't satisfy his ambitions—what he truly wanted was another Captain-level operative! Not Captain America, but Captain Marvel!
This represented the kind of formidable fighting force that the new-era Avengers desperately needed.
Suddenly, catastrophe struck!
BOOM!!
An explosive device detonated behind Nick Fury's vehicle. The powerful concussion instantly sent the SUV careening wildly.
Nick instinctively tightened his grip on the steering wheel, and when he looked up again, he discovered that several pursuit vehicles had surrounded him from three directions.
He'd had absolutely no warning that he was being targeted.
Someone wants me dead?
Countless potential enemies flashed through his mind instantly. As SHIELD's director, he'd accumulated far too many adversaries over the years.
But currently, the party most invested in his death was undoubtedly Hydra!
But how did they learn my location?
Nick Fury immediately realized there was a traitor within the organization.
Moreover, this traitor had to hold a high-ranking position with substantial access, otherwise his movements couldn't have been compromised so easily—not to mention that they were attacking him so brazenly in broad daylight.
Nick Fury pressed hard on the accelerator, attempting to shake off the assassins pursuing him.
But his opponents were highly professional. Multiple vehicles surrounded him from all angles. These operatives showed no concern for the public chaos they were creating, unleashing machine gun fire and explosives at his vehicle with complete disregard for collateral damage.
Machine guns spat flames continuously.
The car's damage assessment system began beeping frantically.
"Vehicle integrity compromised: ten percent," the automated system announced.
While Nick processed this information, one pursuit vehicle suddenly executed a precision spin and stopped directly ahead, blocking his escape route.
Nick cursed explosively, hit the brakes hard, and executed an emergency turn that nearly brought him to a complete stop.
Instantly, the entire traffic system ground to a halt.
Nick Fury found himself trapped in the middle of the road, completely surrounded by hostile forces.
Car windows rolled down, revealing black gun barrels aimed directly at his head through the bulletproof glass.
"Vehicle protection compromised: twenty percent... thirty-seven percent..."
The damage alerts continued sounding.
Under the relentless barrage, the previously clear glass became covered with spider-web cracks, and torn fragments completely obscured his view of the external situation. Not that he needed to see—if he showed his head, he would die.
Nick Fury was sweating profusely but maintained his composure.
"Propulsion system disconnected..."
"Window defense compromised: seventy-eight percent. Please implement protective measures immediately."
Hearing this critical warning, Nick Fury pressed a concealed button without hesitation, and instantly a heavy machine gun rose between the driver and passenger seats.
Now he abandoned defense entirely and began firing from inside outward!
Rat-a-tat-tat!
In moments, the already shattered windows were completely blown out. Nick Fury's counterattack proved even more devastating than his attackers' assault.
He aimed directly at their fuel tanks.
BOOM!!!
The explosion instantly eliminated the vehicle on his flank and temporarily halted the killers' offensive.
Simultaneously, the propulsion system reactivated. Nick Fury floored the accelerator and launched forward, bursting through the encirclement.
"Thank God I had Ben upgrade this vehicle in advance!" Nick Fury couldn't help but congratulate his own foresight.
Honestly, after witnessing Ben's levitation technology at the expo, Nick had long wanted to install similar capabilities in his personal vehicle.
"Prepare for vertical takeoff!" he commanded with renewed confidence.
"I've got wings now—let's see how you chase me!"
"Flight systems damaged," the computer reported.
He glanced back to see that the vehicles that had been blocking him had regrouped and resumed pursuit.
Even Nick Fury, despite his dire circumstances, swallowed his pride and decided to request immediate assistance.
"Contact Agent Hill. No, contact Tony Stark—he can respond faster."
"Communication equipment damaged."
"Then activate the rear-mounted weapons systems!"
"Weapons systems damaged."
"Damn it! What's still functional?"
"Climate control system operating normally."
Nick Fury: ???
"Why don't you activate that then!" he cursed angrily, though he knew he had no choice but to rely on his own skills to escape these assassins.
His driving became increasingly aggressive and desperate.
The black armored vehicle charged forward like a tank and finally managed to shake off the immediate pursuit.
Nick Fury turned onto a side street, taking an alternate route.
However, before he could catch his breath, he looked ahead and saw a solitary figure in black standing at the end of the road.
The Winter Soldier.
At this moment, the mind-controlled Bucky held a specialized weapon, aiming at Nick Fury's approaching vehicle from a considerable distance.
The next instant, a disc-shaped projectile flew out and attached itself to the car's undercarriage.
BOOM!!!
Another massive explosion.
This time, the explosive force completely overturned Nick Fury's vehicle, though remarkably, even this devastating impact didn't completely destroy the SUV.
You could imagine how much embezzled funding had been invested in just this one vehicle!
Nick Fury, blood streaming down his face, glared at the approaching Winter Soldier with grim determination.
At this point in history, Nick Fury hadn't yet acquired certain advanced equipment that might help him escape such situations—those innovations simply didn't exist yet.
He had nowhere to run.
The Winter Soldier approached with complete emotional detachment.
To him, this was merely a routine assassination assignment. Actually, he didn't even possess that level of conceptual understanding.
He functioned like a machine executing programming. His sole objective was eliminating Nick Fury. Any other thoughts were unnecessary and irrelevant.
He advanced toward Nick Fury like death incarnate.
But suddenly, he sensed incoming danger.
Whoosh!
Behind him, an object flew rapidly through the air.
The Winter Soldier detected it in advance and immediately extended his cybernetic arm.
CLANG!
With a sharp metallic sound, he caught the spherical projectile precisely.
It was a yellow sphere shaped like a pumpkin.
Light flickered within the device's center, accompanied by an ominous ticking sound.
It's a bomb!
Even under mental conditioning, the Winter Soldier wouldn't stand motionless while holding an explosive device.
The moment he recognized the threat, he immediately released the pumpkin bomb and hurled it far away.
Flames and superheated gases rushed toward him as the Winter Soldier rolled to avoid the blast's aftermath.
Immediately afterward, there was another sound of something cutting through the air.
A green glider tore through the flames, swooping like a boomerang.
The Winter Soldier immediately ducked to avoid decapitation, then raised his right leg and kicked directly at the glider's center, sending it flying. Simultaneously, he rolled and assessed the enemy who was interfering with his mission.
The spinning board turned in midair and returned to Harry's feet.
Wearing his upgraded armor, Harry frowned as he studied the operative who was causing chaos in New York.
Nick Fury exhaled with relief, looked at Harry with obvious gratitude, then issued orders naturally.
"I'm allied with Spider-Man and Prime. This individual just attempted to assassinate me. We should capture him alive if possible."
"You don't need to tell me that. Also, call me the Neo Green Goblin," Harry replied.
Harry hadn't changed his codename after all. Creating an entirely new alias had proven more challenging than expected.
Green Goblin was Green Goblin—just with "Neo" added.
The Neo Green Goblin and Winter Soldier immediately engaged in combat.
As an enhanced supersoldier, the Winter Soldier possessed formidable capabilities. His fighting techniques matched Steve Rogers' skills, and with his cybernetic arm's assistance, he could fight even more effectively.
Harry, equipped with his advanced armor, also brought considerable combat power to the engagement.
Not to mention, his armor had been upgraded by Ben and carried numerous powerful weapons systems.
"Let's try this approach," Harry said, mounting his glider and rushing toward the Winter Soldier with the fluid grace of someone surfing ocean waves.
When the Winter Soldier saw Harry charging directly at him, he assumed his opponent intended close-quarters combat.
He immediately drew a tactical knife from his thigh holster, preparing for lethal engagement.
However, Harry touched his utility belt, and several small silver-blue discs dropped into his palm.
He flicked his wrist, and the discs flew out, instantly attaching to the Winter Soldier's body.
Simultaneously, the Winter Soldier's mechanical arm grabbed Harry's glider, and he swung powerfully, hurling Harry away from him.
The next moment, Harry—while being thrown through the air—made a quick gesture with his wrist, and the neurotoxin delivery system activated immediately.
The emotionless Winter Soldier released a heart-wrenching scream.
Suddenly he collapsed to the ground, convulsing violently.
Harry dusted himself off, stood up, placed his fingers on his earpiece, and reported quietly: "Winter Soldier captured successfully."