[A/N]: Alright, guys secrets out of the bag, so throw some stones my way and push the rankings back up together! đđ„
After reaching the roof, the four of them climbed into the waiting Quinjet. The pilot didn't ask questions when Fury flashed his clearance and deboarded, letting Coulson pilot it. Smart man.
As they took off from the Fridge, nobody said much of anything.
Fury sat stone-still, staring out the window at clouds that might as well have been empty air. Every few minutes, his jaw would work like he was chewing something bitter. Twenty years of building up SHIELD, of planning the bigger picture, of believing he could spot a traitor from across the room. And now some kid was telling him that a quarter of his organization had been working for Nazis the whole time.
Coulson kept fiddling with the controls. The guy who usually had answers for everything had gone quiet. All those agents he'd worked with, shared coffee with, trusted with his life. How many of them were calling their handlers right now?
Steve just looked beat down. Worn out from carrying weight that kept getting heavier. Finding out Bucky was alive should've been the best news he'd gotten since the ice. Instead, it felt like someone had reached into his chest and started squeezing. Seventy years of torture and brainwashing. Seventy years of his best friend being turned into a weapon while Steve slept like the dead.
Jay was doing something else entirely. His eyes were closed, lost in his mental plane.
The enhancement had changed things. Where his mindscape used to be just a white room, now it felt more like a galaxy. Stars and darkness and possibilities stretching out in every direction.
His regular abilities were still there. The theft power looked like a bigger, meaner version of himself with eyes like deep ocean water.
His Healing aura buzzed around nearby, all warm light and life & his Danger sense prowled the edges, always watching.
But now there were two new additions.
The first one was a mass of black smoke that seemed to eat light. Looking at it made his head pound. When he reached out to touch it, information crashed into his mind. Daniels' darkforce manipulation was much more. It was a direct line to the Dark Dimension.
He could absorb energy, mess with people's heads through nightmares, knock them out cold, and maybe even teleport like Cloak.
But there was something else in that power. Something that felt hungry. It whispered about all the people he could hurt, all the things he could take. The dark-force wanted to turn him into something worse than the Winter Soldier.
His Power-Theft ability crushed that influence flat, keeping the dark-force locked down tight with the help of his Mind Shield Perk.
The second ability was exactly what he'd come for. It looked human but see-through and patiently waiting. This was Creel's absorption power. The whole reason he'd tracked down Fury in the first place.
Jay had done his homework. He knew what Creel could do, and he wanted it. This is not a simple absorption. This was molecular mimicry down to the atomic level.
Creel didn't just get hard like steel; he became steel. Float like paper, conduct electricity like copper, tap into whatever magical properties enchanted materials had.
With vibranium and uru metal in this world, the ability was basically godlike. From his knowledge of the comics. Absorbing Man had lifted Thor's hammer, controlled lightning, and even absorbed energy from Infinity Stones.
That property absorption part was why he'd targeted Creel specifically. The thought was insane and terrifying, but the potential was too good to pass up.
Of course, Creel's power came with the usual catch. Like when he absorbed Mjolnir's property, he was in turn, controlled by Thor just like Mjolnir.
Another side effect was Constant hunger for something new, something stronger. Like a junkie chasing a high that got weaker every time.
But Jay had planned for that, too. His adaptive power and original theft ability worked together, ripping out the addiction and throwing it away. His recent upgrades made sure of that. What was left was clean power with no drawbacks.
Jay opened his eyes to find the cabin thick with tension. Fury's knuckles had gone white where he gripped the armrest.
"You done with your fucking meditation?" Fury's voice was controlled, but there was steel underneath. "Because while you were taking a goddamn nap, I've been thinking about everything you've told us."
Jay straightened, reading the shift in mood. "I can see the gears turning."
"Yeah, they are." Fury leaned forward, his single eye boring into Jay. "You drop a bombshell about Hydra, then conveniently zone out when it's time for follow-up questions. That's some convenient bullshit."
Coulson looked up from the control panel, sensing trouble. "Sir..."
"No." Fury held up a hand, never breaking eye contact with Jay. "I've been patient. I've listened to your story about sleeper agents and Nazi scientists. But my patience has run the fuck out."
Steve shifted uncomfortably. "Nick, maybe we should..."
"Should what, Rogers?" Fury's voice got an edge like glass. "Trust the kid who shows up with stolen powers and convenient answers? Who somehow knows more about my goddamn organization than I do?"
Jay felt the accusation sting, but he kept his voice level. "I told you what you needed to fucking know."
"Bullshit!" Fury stood up, making the small cabin feel even smaller. "You told me just enough to make me paranoid as hell, not enough to actually do a damn thing about it."
"Manhattan's coming into view," Coulson announced, though his voice sounded nervous. "Maybe we should continue this on the ground?"
But Fury wasn't backing down. "No, we're finishing this shit now." He turned back to Jay. "You want me to tear apart everything I've built based on your word? Then give me something concrete, goddammit."
Jay's jaw tightened. "I gave you Pierce's name. I told you about Whitehall. What the hell more do you want?"
"Proof!" Fury's voice cracked like a whip. "Not fucking stories. Proof that I can use to actually do something."
The silence stretched between them like a wire about to snap. Steve looked between them, ready to step in if things went sideways.
Finally, Jay spoke, his voice quieter but no less intense. "You want proof? Fine. But don't come crying to me when you realize how fucked you really are."
Time to drop the next bomb. "Before I tell you anything else, we need to establish some rules. First rule: you don't investigate any of the names I gave you through normal channels. No computer searches, no pulling files, no running background checks."
Fury's face got darker. "Why the hell not?"
"Because they're watching, you dense motherfucker. Every search, every query, every time you so much as type one of their names into a computer." Jay looked at each of them. "Remember Arnim Zola? Red Skull's pet scientist?"
Steve's face went hard. He remembered.
"Well, after he came to America in Operation Paperclip, he didn't die in 1972 like your files say. Cancer was eating him alive, sure, but before it finished the job, he found a way to cheat death." Jay leaned forward. "He uploaded his consciousness into SHIELD's computer systems. Been living there for decades, watching everything you do like some digital fucking ghost."
The words hit the cabin like a hand grenade.
"Every email, every database search, every classified file you've ever accessed. Zola's seen it all." Jay's voice was matter-of-fact, like he was discussing the weather. "He's been feeding information to Hydra since before most of your agents were born."
Coulson's voice came out strangled. "Our entire digital infrastructure..."
"Compromised from day fucking one," Jay confirmed. "That's why everything has to be analogue from now on. Face-to-face meetings. Handwritten notes. The kind of spycraft they used before computers existed."
Fury was on his feet now, pacing the narrow aisle like a caged wolf. "You're telling me that everything... EVERYTHING... I've built is worthless? That I've been playing into their hands for twenty goddamn years?"
"I'm telling you it's salvageable," Jay shot back, standing to meet Fury's intensity. "But only if you're willing to admit it's broken as shit and stop acting like you've got all the answers."
The two men faced off in the cramped space, the air crackling between them. Steve started to rise, but Coulson caught his arm.
"Let them work it out," Coulson murmured.
Fury stayed quiet for a long time, staring out at the Manhattan skyline. His breathing slowly evened out, the rage cooling into something harder and more dangerous. When he finally spoke, his voice came out raw.
"You're asking me to burn down everything I've built. Twenty years of careful work, of building networks, of earning trust." He turned away from the window, and his expression looked like he'd aged years in the last hour. "You want me to throw it all away like it's garbage."
"I'm asking you to save it before it destroys itself and takes the whole damn world with it."
Fury turned back slowly, and when he spoke again, his voice was dangerously calm. "This still isn't enough." His expression was hard as granite. "One sleeper agent and a ghost story about AI Nazis. I need something concrete if you want me to start a fucking war inside my own house."
Jay settled back into his seat, the immediate confrontation cooling, but tension still thick in the air. "I've told you everything I can without making things worse. You move too fast, they'll scatter like roaches. Move too slow, they'll know something's up."
He paused, seeming to weigh his next words carefully, looking at Steve. "I do have an idea, though. Something that might help us get a clearer picture. But it's your call, Cap. If you think it crosses the line, we don't do it."
Steve straightened. "What kind of idea?"
"There's someone you need to meet. Charles Xavier." Jay's voice got more serious. "He runs a school up in Westchester. Place where mutant kids can learn to control their abilities without getting locked up or dissected."
"I've heard the name," Steve said carefully.
Jay nodded. "Xavier's a telepath. One of the strongest ones alive. He's built something called Cerebro. Think of it as a telepathic amplifier that lets him reach anywhere in the world."
Fury's posture shifted, and for the first time since they'd started talking, he looked almost satisfied. "We know about Cerebro. Had our boys take a look at it years ago when we were building our mutant files. It's a detection system for active X-gene carriers. Useful for tracking, but that's about it."
He leaned back slightly, like he'd finally caught Jay in something. "You're not telling me anything new here, kid."
"See, that's where you're wrong, Nick." Jay shook his head, watching Fury's confident expression. "Cerebro doesn't just find active mutants. It finds anyone with the X-gene, period. Dormant, suppressed, doesn't matter. But here's what your science boys missed - pump enough power through that thing, and Xavier can touch every thinking mind on the planet."
Jay paused, letting that sink in. "Every single fucking one, Nick. Not just mutants. Everyone."
That got their attention.
Coulson's face drained of all color, his hand instinctively moving to his sidearm. "You're talking about violating the minds of every person on Earth."
Fury's confident expression cracked. The implications hit him like a freight train, and Jay could see the exact moment when the director realized he'd been playing checkers while Jay was setting up chess pieces.
"I'm talking about the ultimate lie detector," Jay said, watching Fury's face. "Point Xavier at your personnel files, have him scan everyone in SHIELD, and he'll tell you exactly who's thinking 'Hail Hydra' and who's actually loyal to you."
The room went dead silent. Fury's earlier smugness evaporated completely as he stared at Jay, probably running through every security protocol SHIELD had and realizing none of them would matter against something like this.
"Jesus Fucking Christ!" Fury breathed.
Steve was quiet for a long moment, the weight of the decision settling on his shoulders. "You're talking about scanning every mind on the planet. That's one hell of a line to cross, even for Hydra." He glanced at Fury, then back at Jay. "But if Zola's inside every system... maybe it's the only line left."
Jay couldn't help but smirk a little at their shocked faces. This was exactly the reaction he'd expected. SHIELD always thought they had all the answers until someone showed them how deep the rabbit hole actually went.
The Quinjet banked toward Westchester smoothly under Coulson's control.
"You think Xavier will help?" Steve asked, though his tone suggested he was still wrestling with the ethics.
Jay grinned. "Hard to say no to Captain America. Especially when Wolvie's old friend is right there asking nicely."
"Wolvie?" Steve looked genuinely confused.
"Trust me," Jay murmured. "This reunion's gonna be something else."
Outside the window, the Quinjet banked, clouds breaking to reveal the dark sprawl of Westchester below. One mansion glowed like a lighthouse in the night.
[A/N]: I write across multiple fandoms. Support my writing and get early access to 45+ chapters, exclusive content, and bonus material at my P@treon - Max_Striker.