"Haha."
Seeing Nick Fury's face, the kind of expression like his mom had just died, Heisenberg laughed right in his face.
After laughing his fill, Heisenberg waved at everyone.
"Looks like I interrupted your meeting. Fine, I'll just say what I came to find you for."
The moment he said that, everyone present went a little blank.
Is this how it's supposed to go?
Shouldn't you see we're in a meeting and politely get the hell out?
You… you really are not polite at all.
Of course, they dared to think it, but they didn't dare say it.
And Heisenberg smoothly stated his purpose.
"I want you to find someone for me. Zebediah Killgrave. He used to be a spy."
"He stole neurotoxin gas from one of your U.S. Army bases. The mission went wrong, he got swallowed by the neurotoxin, and because of that he gained some insane abilities."
"When you're searching for him, do not, under any circumstances, send people to make contact with him, because anyone who comes into contact with him will be easily controlled by him."
"Bottom line, I only need you to provide his location. I'll find him and kill him."
"My subordinate, Elektra, will act together with you. You'd better listen to her command, otherwise I won't be responsible for your casualties."
After saying that, Heisenberg nodded to himself as if everything was settled.
"That's it. Get moving and handle it. I won't disturb you."
The moment the words fell, he had already ripped through the sky and vanished without a trace.
Only a few seconds, maybe ten at most, and Heisenberg reappeared at the hospital.
He walked up to Elektra and instructed her.
"Once cooperation with S.H.I.E.L.D. starts, pay attention to a man named Rumlow. He'll be your teammate in the future, so be a bit friendly to him."
Elektra and Bullseye heard that and immediately felt endless admiration for Heisenberg.
You always hear about S.H.I.E.L.D. planting spies in gangs, but Boss, you've already stuffed your own people into S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Even if that Rumlow was only a low-level S.H.I.E.L.D. field agent, he could still play an extremely important role.
For a moment, Bullseye and Elektra were full of anticipation for the future.
…
Meanwhile, at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters in Washington, after Heisenberg left.
A group of people looked at each other.
"Uh…"
Dr. Banner couldn't help speaking up.
"This guy… it's my first time seeing him. Is he always this… forceful?"
"Heh." Tony replied coldly. "Banner, you have power like his too, so you can be as forceful as you want."
It didn't matter whether Tony had drunk with Heisenberg or tossed around trashy guy talk.
Even if they'd shared one drink, or a hundred, Tony still couldn't stand Heisenberg's high-and-mighty vibe.
Just like he once told Pepper, he was destined to never become Heisenberg's friend. The most likely thing between them was exactly what it was now.
A hypothetical enemy.
Banner's heart jolted at Tony's words.
Honestly, for a split second, he truly asked himself.
Why could Heisenberg use overwhelming strength to intimidate S.H.I.E.L.D., to the point S.H.I.E.L.D. practically held him up on a pedestal?
And what about me?
Why did I have to live like this, always hiding, always running, going hungry, trembling as I barely survived?
Why can't I live like him?
As long as I'm willing to accept that big guy's power!
Banner froze.
He got it.
He finally understood why he could never be as unrestrained as Heisenberg.
Because his power was not his power.
It was the Hulk's power.
That power didn't belong to him, and he deeply feared and hated the Hulk's existence.
But he wanted a normal life too badly.
So could he control the Hulk's power, or get rid of the Hulk's power?
As long as he could have peace again, as long as he didn't need to worry that one surge of emotion would bring the Hulk out!
In that instant, a certain resolve formed inside him.
Leaving Banner's inner thoughts aside, the rest of the Avengers were clearly sinking into caution and fear toward Heisenberg.
"Last time I saw him, he was a handsome naked man." Natasha was the first to make small talk. "I thought after we picked him up, we might still get a chance to have something happen."
"Something happen?" Hawkeye shrugged. "The only thing that can happen between us now is him unilaterally ordering us around."
"Yeah." Nick let out a long sigh. "Unilateral control. We can't even refuse his request."
"Because his request isn't high at all," Nick continued. "He doesn't want this country. He doesn't want to wipe out humanity. He doesn't want to become a new god."
"But we can't just keep satisfying him like this, Nick." Tony's tone was sharp. "I came to the agency my father helped build to be a consultant, not to be some alien's assistant."
Tony's words were rude, but they also hit Nick's heart.
Nick nodded at Iron Man and spoke seriously.
"Then let's exchange intelligence and decide how to place limits on him."
As he spoke, Nick clapped his hands, and the meeting room instantly went dark.
Virtual light gathered in the air, forming a clear image in the center of the round table.
Nick Fury explained at the right time.
"By exchanging intelligence, I mainly mean I'm going to show you some secret weapons I have."
"Among you, we have an experienced commander like Captain Rogers, and geniuses like Tony and Banner."
"So I want you to evaluate my secret weapons."
"He's too strong. If something happens that we can't accept, we may only get one chance."
As Nick spoke, the center image first displayed a beautiful but very slender woman.
"Jane Foster. A young astrophysicist, and also Thor's girlfriend."
The virtual image shifted, and Jane Foster quickly became a tall, imposing Asgardian prince.
"Thor. Prince of Asgard, and heir to the throne of Asgard. No one knows how his abilities compare to that man."
"But I believe that if we can use his girlfriend to contact him after he returns to Asgard, he'll become our support."
"Because someone as arrogant as him absolutely won't tolerate another person being more arrogant than he is."
After that, Nick switched the virtual image again.
This time, it became a heroic-looking but not particularly pretty American auntie.
She wore a stunning uniform and was launching attacks on countless ships in space.
In an instant, the Avengers all sprang up from their chairs.
"What the hell is this?"
"Nick, you're not joking, right?"
"Who is this? Why do I feel like she's the real Superman!"
"She's…?"
"She was once an operator in the U.S. Air Force's Pegasus Project." Nick spoke calmly. "You can call her Major Carol, but her codename now is Captain Marvel."
"She has faster-than-light travel. She has unstoppable power and physique."
"But the only problem is…"
"What is it?" Natasha asked.
"She operates mainly in space." Nick's voice lowered slightly. "And she's far from us, maybe hundreds of thousands of light-years…"
"Okay, okay, okay, okay!" Tony's eyes lit up.
"So the universe really is that brilliant? So the silence we thought we had is just because Earth doesn't have a ticket to the cosmos yet?"
"That's right." Nick nodded. "This information will never be spread among civilians. Not everyone can accept the reality that Earth is basically indigenous."
"But fortunately, we have a powerhouse like Captain Marvel who can deter alien races."
"But the problem is…" Banner frowned. "Are you sure Captain Marvel is stronger than me, or stronger than him, and that she'll listen to you?"
Nick spread his hands helplessly.
"I'm not sure. If I were sure, he'd already be our prisoner."
"So your so-called intelligence exchange is using two people who might cause him trouble, plus a gorgeous universe, to draw us a target we can see but can't touch?" Tony asked, clearly annoyed.
Nick sighed and tapped the table.
"Yes. I admit what I said isn't very useful, at least not right now."
"But just like a war, until the very end, no one knows who wins."
"And what we're doing is increasing our odds."
"Then…" Banner thought for a moment and suggested, "your original plan was to absorb him into the Avengers, right? Why don't we calculate more approaches for building a friendly relationship with him?"
"Friendly relationship?" Tony shot back. "Do you think Japan would take a friendly relationship with us seriously? Do you think Korea could gain anything from a friendly relationship with us?"
"When the power gap is that huge, a friendly relationship doesn't exist, Banner."
"Then maybe we can find a chance to let the guy inside me show his face." Banner's voice tightened. "It's dangerous, but… it might increase our leverage."
"That barely counts as an idea." Tony suddenly narrowed his eyes. "But I just thought of something."
He picked up Banner's thread and said to everyone.
"I'm suddenly curious. Why did he order us to find this so-called Purple Man? And why does he want to kill him?"
"Heh." The moment Tony finished, Natasha laughed without being polite. "Order? Your wording is way too gentle. I didn't hear any 'asking' in that. It was just a command."
"Okay, command." Tony nodded. "Then why does he want to kill Purple Man? Could it be related to Purple Man's ability?"
"Or did he even take a loss against Purple Man?"
Nick Fury's eyes widened with surprise.
"You mean…"
"That's right." Tony's tone turned sharper. "My view is we find Purple Man first and figure out his ability."
"He said Purple Man can control other people. Can that control become a weapon for us against him?"
After Tony spoke, everyone looked at each other, then thought it over.
A moment later, Captain America stood up.
"Let's run multiple plans at the same time."
"I'll lead a team to find and attempt contact with Purple Man."
"Natalie, you coordinate with Jane Foster."
"Barton goes with me."
"Tony, as Iron Man, you stay on standby and be ready to support our smaller groups at any time."
After that, Captain America turned and walked out without hesitation.
Until Dr. Banner called out to stop him.
"Wait, Captain!"
Banner looked unusually awkward. He asked with a trace of anger.
"What about me? What's my assignment?"
"You…" Captain America hesitated. "I have to admit your anger is our strongest trump card, so you only appear on the most critical battlefield."
"So unless you screw up, I can only sit in the base and be your lab specimen?" Banner's face turned a little green.
Everyone's hearts tightened.
And Captain America…
Before he could answer, Nick Fury stepped in and explained to Banner.
"Banner," Nick said. "That's not an experiment like you put it."
"It's to prevent you from ending up in exactly this situation. No matter what, you need to become calmer."
"Wait." Hawkeye interrupted unexpectedly. He raised a hand. "I think we're ignoring something."
"The first thing we should do, shouldn't it be confirming whether Krypton is real, or searching for possible Kryptonite on Earth?"
/-\
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