Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1671 A Group Attack

Nick Fury never denied that he received help on his path to promotion, nor did he deny that part of his leadership of S.H.I.E.L.D. was due to the recommendation of the traitor Alexander Pierce. However, he believed that no one without ability would be used as a pawn by Hydra, and his own abilities were certainly worthy of the title "King of Agents." He had always believed that the investigative aspects of espionage work and the FBI's criminal psychology had many similarities, both emphasizing profiling and the target's motives—without motives, one cannot explain the target's actions or predict their movements. Nick Fury had always felt that when analyzing his most important target, the puzzle of "motive" was always missing. Now, this piece of the puzzle might very well be filled in, and even someone as composed as him couldn't help but feel his blood boiling. He felt his teeth were already touching the prey's fur; he could almost smell the sweet blood beneath the fur.

From the moment Agent Coulson arrived in Collins years ago, the pursuit of Nick Fury's psychological trajectory has never ceased. S.H.I.E.L.D. hired the best profilers, criminal psychologists, and behavioral scientists, giving them limited knowledge to produce a file that filled an entire office. Even so, S.H.I.E.L.D. gained nothing; the only thing they knew was that the target had an antisocial personality. Even this truth was shrouded in a gilded veneer, captivating many, including Natasha Romanoff, one of her most trusted agents. It was as if the target possessed an innate, almost supernatural, charm that inspired conviction, adoration, and even obsession.

Nick Fury had to admit that even he was affected by this supernatural charm. Even during the Avengers era, his target had been elusive with S.H.I.E.L.D., and had even interfered with many of S.H.I.E.L.D. operations. Yet, he still hesitated when it came to dealing with the target. Until this information from the golden-armored demigod, Nick Fury felt he had finally grasped some fleeting, ethereal inspiration. This was an emotion Bruce Banner couldn't understand. He had no idea why Nick Fury was so recklessly flooring the accelerator, as if if they were a step too late, the clue would vanish into thin air, and he could only, like a hunting dog, futilely sniff the air, just as he always had.

"Project Pegasus, Cosmic Cube, New Territory".

The car, likely a middle-class family's scrap car, rounded the dusty bend. From there, a vast area fenced off with barbed wire stretched out, red warning triangles standing along the roadside. Inside, a collapsed concrete structure was being cleared. Nick Fury, like an old lion, was about to roar. He was indeed old; weariness etched itself onto his bones and muscles. The sheets thrown into the coin-operated laundry room of the cheap motel stung his skin, and the lack of sleep left his only eye dry. The previous night, he had tried not to think about how many prostitutes, clients, and drug addicts, or all of them, had lain in this bed—after all, people in the slums didn't have only one identity.

He felt a surge of passion that he hadn't felt in a long time.

This feeling last arose when Alexander Pierce's betrayal was revealed.

That was his most recent victory, and now he smelled it again—a scent mingled with the fine, dry dust of the road, filling his nostrils, settling on his tongue, and reigniting the thickening, slowing blood in his veins, driving his combative, young, and ambitious heart like burning gasoline. He allowed himself to temporarily cast aside caution, savoring this youthful impulsiveness to a limited extent. Then, he took a deep breath to metabolize this volatile emotion as quickly as his liver metabolized vodka, whiskey, sherry, and brandy.

The only difference is that metabolizing this emotion doesn't require going to the toilet.

"Hyperspace, the Rainbow Bridge. Dr. Banner, we've got him by the tail. Remember his teleportation portal?" The former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. smugly shook his head, his undisguised Black accent thick as if he'd swallowed a whole lit cigarette. "He performed for the entire Avengers, you saw it, and I asked you to try and analyze that technology. Flashy magic, hyperspace, we've got him by the tail."

That collapsed concrete building was once where S.H.I.E.L.D. conducted research on the Tesseract.

After years of clearing, the sophisticated equipment and data buried beneath the ruins have not been fully unearthed, simply because Nick Fury initially ordered the secrets to be buried deep underground, and only a small number of personnel were responsible for clearing the facility. This decision was inherited by the Pentagon, which carefully excavated in an attempt to uncover the secrets hidden by S.H.I.E.L.D. Elsewhere in this space were the main research facilities of Project Pegasus, including an airport, a control tower, two hangars, and five small but highly technologically advanced factories, specializing in the manufacture and improvement of radar, avionics, and engines used in Project Pegasus. These facilities and researchers, to some extent, contributed to the technological development of the Military-Industrial Complex, providing some technology to the famous Skunk Works during the Cold War to help the CIA establish a secret air force piloting the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, and later to the F-117 stealth bomber that shocked the world during Operation Desert. Even much of the technology in the Space Shuttle originated from scholars who worked on Project Pegasus.

Nick Fury's destination was not these research facilities worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

He parked the car not far from the base. The fact that the sentry could clearly see the only car on the only road in this plain made Bruce Banner very nervous. "You're in the driver's seat," Nick Fury said, reclining the driver's seat and climbing into the back. "Take your badges; you're my agent now."

"You think you're not famous enough?" Bruce Banner grumbled, gripping the steering wheel from the driver's seat. "Those soldiers will shoot the moment they recognize you! They'll shoot me too, and then Hulk will wreck this whole place!"

"Having me in the back seat will help calm them down," Nick Fury nodded, checking the holster under his arm and the pistol inside. Agent Coulson had shared the Tree Frog Venom pistol and ammunition, but Nick Fury didn't think he was in a situation that required non-lethal means. "I'm more valuable alive than a corpse, so they won't shoot me, and no one with a brain will shoot you."

There are more than just Nick Fury as a smart person in this world.

Surrounded by Colonel Rhodes and a group of agents and media, Tony Stark, with a stitched-up wound on his forehead, sunglasses to conceal the bruises, and a thick cast on his arm, climbed into the car. Colonel Rhodes sat in the passenger seat, while Pepper Potts was already in the back, intently watching Tony Stark. She didn't say anything to the exhausted man. After driving a short distance with the windows closed, the air in the car became as still as a stagnant pool. Tony Stark closed his eyes, continuing to immerse himself in his thoughts, instead of taking out a marker to angrily scribble on Pepper Potts, as Colonel Rhodes had expected.

He is indeed capable of doing things that fill the air with joy.

"I agree to the proposal." Just as they were about to arrive at the airport, Tony Stark suddenly spoke, repeating what he had said in the hospital. "On the condition that I obtain all the data on Project Pegasus. I mean the data held by the Pentagon before S.H.I.E.L.D. took over Project Pegasus. Sorry, Pepper, this is the only way I can protect you."

"us?"

"You, and our future daughter. Do you remember the prophecy that man once gave us? I believe his prophecy because it has never been wrong, so I must do something that Iron Man and Stark Industries cannot do to protect you."

Pepper Potts felt an unbearable heat emanating from the eyes behind the sunglasses. She suppressed her anger, refraining from interrupting Tony Stark's emotions, knowing these words came from the bottom of his heart. Her therapist advised her that a genius like Tony Stark could easily become absorbed in his own world; his thinking was incredibly fast, and without listening and understanding, their relationship would ultimately break down.

"Only in this way can we prevent genetically modified soldiers who are three meters tall from storming into our house and threatening us."

"What?" Colonel Rhodes turned around in disbelief. "Is it what I think?"

"Didn't the Department of Homeland Security tell you that the agents protecting us were all killed? I came to Houston because of the coercion of those genetically modified soldiers. They demanded I join the command of the Couple's rescue mission, and those agents seem to have discovered them." Tony Stark's expression was serious. He didn't intend to reveal that he had been asked to steal information, and that he had done so; stealing secrets was, after all, treason. He didn't intend to let Colonel Rhodes know this, otherwise the latter would suffer a painful struggle between loyalty and friendship. "I'm certain they killed those innocent people to maintain secrecy, and I must make them pay. This is a personal matter now. Pepper, you know…"

"I'll handle Stark Industries," Pepper Potts said expressionlessly. She turned to look out the window, and Tony Stark clearly sensed something was off about her. "You don't need to worry about the company's profits."

“Hey, Pepper. I know what he’s up to, so I have to stop him. Nobody in the world can stop him except me. Nobody can beat him in this field of physics that humans have so little experience with. Unless Einstein comes back to life and reassembles his brain, nobody can crack the secret of the Cosmic Cube,” Stark said. “Imagine someone as powerful and ambitious as Thor, freely coming and going from the White House to threaten the president… nobody in the world can stop him except me.”

“We’ve talked, Tony. There’s never been anything that absolutely required you!” Pepper Potts’ tone made Colonel Rhodes swallow his words again. He looked out the window, afraid Pepper would think that he was the one who made the suggestion to Tony Stark on behalf of the Pentagon. She still felt angry because Tony Stark’s plan went against their previous agreement. “The Pentagon used honor to lure you in, wanting you to help them eliminate their enemies. Those are their enemies, not yours.”

“That’s my enemy, Pepper,” Tony Stark said. “I know his ambition; he will be the biggest catastrophe in the world. In his eyes, there are no nations, only the human race. Such a naive idealist will commit the most inhuman atrocities in the name of justice. He’s even written a book expounding his ideas—isn’t that terrifying enough? His followers are growing, and more and more people agree with his ideas. When that time comes, correcting his mistakes will inevitably cost the entire world. Someone must start acting now, or our children will be living in a World War III or a nuclear wasteland.”

“Someone will do it, and that person won’t be you. Provided he really is a villain,” Pepper Potts said. “I remember that young man; he seemed quite nice. I knew about his prediction, and I believed he was telling the truth. Such a charming young man couldn’t possibly be a villain.”

"Maybe. He's a good guy, but also a madman." Tony Stark shrugged his only movable shoulder. "The only problem is that he has the power to change the world. Nobody can guarantee he won't chop off the president of the United States tomorrow."

Pepper Potts got out of the car angrily and, along with her bodyguard Happy, was the first to board the private jet.

Colonel Rhodes shook his head at Tony Stark. "Are you sure she'll support your approach?"

"She's always been supportive of me, she's just a little angry now," Stark said. "Get the Pegasus Project and New Territory data to my terminal as soon as possible. I need to crack the hyperspace engine technology quickly."

"You must consider security issues."

"The information will not be leaked."

"I'm talking about you and Pepper." Colonel Rhodes frowned, his dark face filled with grief and indignation. "That man has already made his move against you, and no one can guarantee that he won't directly harm you."

"Are we afraid to even mention his name now?" Tony Stark's gaze pierced through his sunglasses, fixed on his friend. "We're on the side of justice, Roddy."

"Can you remember his name, Tony? That guy is more powerful than Thor. He directly tampered with our brains. None of us can remember his name now, not even what he looks like. Even paper documents and data on hard drives have become invalid in a short time. Thor couldn't do these things, right?" Colonel Rhodes was also anxious. "Now the Secret Service doesn't even dare to station agents with lethal weapons in the Oval Office (the US president's workplace), fearing that agents might be controlled to shoot the president. Even the CIA has gone mad, planning to restart its Cold War-era mind control program. The situation is serious, Tony. Many people feel unsafe."

(End of this chapter)