Chapter Fifty-Nine: Nick Fury - "I have nothing left to fear!"

“Captain, let me make some introductions.”
Nick Fury and Rogers walked over to Thor together.

“This is Thor, from Asgard. His identity is very straightforward—he’s the Norse god of thunder from mythology.”

Fury’s expression was somewhat grim at this moment.

“God of thunder?”
Rogers extended a friendly hand to Thor, observing him. Based on Thor’s earlier display, Rogers thought it might be more fitting to call him the god of hammers.

“And this one is also from Asgard…”
Fury intended to introduce Loki, but Thor cut him off before he could finish.

“That’s enough, mortal. I’ve no patience for unnecessary chatter. I didn’t come here for pleasantries. Regarding this matter, I believe you owe Asgard a better explanation.”

“Yes, I will share all the intelligence we’ve gathered, especially information concerning the Tesseract and those four unidentified individuals. Please trust S.H.I.E.L.D.’s intentions toward Asgard.”

After shaking hands with Thor, Fury’s words made Rogers frown slightly.

“Of course, that’s the least we can do to show our sincerity.”

With a meaningful look at Rogers, Fury said solemnly, “Please believe that Earth holds only goodwill toward your people, but before anything else, there are matters we must clarify.”

“Coulson, have you finished compiling your report?”

“Yes, Director. With all the intelligence we’ve collected, I believe I can deliver a satisfactory report.”

“Go ahead. Our guests need to be brought up to speed as well.”

Though Thor was blunt in his attitude, Fury hadn’t given up on recruiting him. Thor’s combat strength—or rather, Asgard’s potential support—was something Fury desperately needed.

Surely, this Asgardian couldn’t possibly be HYDRA as well?

Right now, aside from the Captain and Alexander Pierce, Fury barely trusted anyone.

Although coming to Earth had, for some dimensional reason, dampened his powers a bit, Thor still felt he didn’t deserve to be beaten so miserably.

Especially by that last figure in the garb of a hermit—he sensed a tremendous threat from him.

Rogers, too, had considered resisting or trying to keep Kel’Thuzad from leaving, but that was mere wishful thinking. His impression of Kel’Thuzad was now indelible: frozen solid, utterly powerless, then pelted with a shower of floating debris as a warning, followed by an hour-long lecture to all present.

Under the threat of those looming, massive ruins, no one dared stop Kel’Thuzad from departing.

The scene had left a thousand-year impression on Rogers.

“Besides the first two—‘Plague’ and ‘War’—who was that final sorcerer and the woman who resembled Natasha?”

Fury cut straight to the main question.

“Director, we learned from Tony Stark that the one beside him was ‘Plague,’ one of the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse. Through Plague we learned the identity of War. As for the one resembling Natasha, we’ve set her aside for now. Judging from their attitudes, it seems there’s competition among them.”

“This leads me to speculate: perhaps the Horsemen are an organization, but each has a distinct duty and goal. For example, Plague chose Stark, War chose the military, and today the hermit seemed to choose Natasha. In other words, did the hermit side with HYDRA, if Natasha is confirmed to be HYDRA?”

“We don’t know their exact goals, nor the identities of the other two. There’s scant historical record—digging up anything from the fifth century is nearly impossible.”

Coulson summarized the intelligence and deductions they’d made so far.

“Anything else, Coulson?”

“Director, from the way that hermit froze both Plague and War but spared ‘Natasha,’ we can infer he may be aligned with HYDRA. Plague and War couldn’t defeat him. Or, based on Plague’s words, we might deduce his identity is Death, and by extension, the role Natasha plays is Chaos.”

“With all four Horsemen accounted for, the bad news is that two might belong to HYDRA, the other two to different parties. Other than that, we know nothing.”

“Why can’t you rule out the possibility they’re just putting on a show?”

“But even if they are, Director, for what purpose? Are they covering something else?”

As Coulson spoke, he brought up files from the on-site computer—evidence he’d gathered on Rold over the past period.

“We’re helpless against such transcendent powers. We need more intelligence from the mystical world. And as for Mr. Rold, I haven’t tracked any sign of him in a long time.”

Fury handed the files to Rogers and to Thor, sharing the less sensitive information as a gesture of trust.

“Captain, what’s your impression of Tony Stark?”

Fury asked a question seemingly unrelated to the immediate events.

“We set out at the same time, but I didn’t expect he’d be attacked by Plague before the battle even began. Maybe it was deliberate—to keep Tony Stark from joining the fight. There must be a reason.”

“Coulson, can you pull up data on what affected the battlefield?”

Soon, footage surfaced showing Stark suddenly falling from the sky and his conversation with Peter Parker, thanks to the agents’ efforts.

Fury had a theory—he suspected another possibility.

“Why was Spider-Man there as well? And given Stark’s penchant for the spotlight, I doubt he’d let such an opportunity slip. Ever since his abduction in Afghanistan, it seems like an invisible web has been spun around him. He keeps developing new armor—almost as if he’s preparing for something.”

Fury’s perspective was always different from others.

He’d always suspected a connection between Spider-Man and the Spider Cult, Natasha’s spider-like limbs, and those subterranean spiders. These things provoked relentless associations in his mind.

“Could it be—!”

Beside him, Coulson seemed to grasp his meaning.

“Director, do you mean Stark is HYDRA? But his father founded S.H.I.E.L.D. He couldn’t possibly join HYDRA, much less become one of them.”

“Nothing’s impossible, Coulson. Remember what he said when I contacted him? He showed no regard for his father or his father’s legacy. Who’s to say HYDRA didn’t manage to win him over at some point? Don’t forget, he’s a Stark.”

“How could it be such a coincidence? The playboy who never sets foot on the front lines suddenly goes to Afghanistan, only to be kidnapped; after that, he encounters Plague, and when Plague emerges, chaos erupts in New York. The coincidences are too many.”

With a stony expression, Fury now saw everyone as HYDRA—except Coulson, Rogers, Alexander Pierce, Thor, and Loki.

“Why didn’t he accept my invitation to join the alliance? Why did he only arrive at the end of this battle? Why did Plague seek him out and not someone else? Why did War, Death, and Chaos all emerge after Plague appeared?”

“I now suspect Tony Stark may be one of the heads of HYDRA or another Hydra-like organization. Captain, what do you think?”

Fury turned to Rogers, while Thor, watching the show, sipped his beer.

These earthlings were becoming more and more incomprehensible to him.

Why not just drag them in for a beating and get the truth?

“Captain, based on his words and actions today, what do you see?”

Fury pressed again.

“It's possible. When the ice finally melted, I have no idea what happened while he was trapped, but when he left, his attitude toward me was unusually hostile. It was as if he didn’t even care to prove himself anymore. It’s obvious he knows his own identity…”

Fury dared to speculate, and Rogers’ answer, though a bit off-track, revealed information that left Coulson and the surrounding HYDRA agents stunned.

All the “elite” agents hidden around Fury began exchanging glances and subtle hand signals only they could understand.

“So after Natasha and Hawkeye, Stark is one of ours as well?”

Who was giving orders to whom?