Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 515 The Price of Becoming a Special Agent (Second Update)

"A few years ago, Daniel came to my concert; he sat in the front row." Gemma Simmons and Agent Triplet led Audrey Nathan to a safe house, but Agent Victoria Hand wasn't there. She was in the next room, listening to Audrey Nathan's description of Daniel through a listening device. Agent Hand adjusted her winged skull brooch, crossed one leg, and continued listening to Audrey's voice through the listening device.

"Then he came to every one of my concerts. At first, I was very honored; cellists generally don't have many fans." Agent Hand looked at the figure standing by the window, saying nothing. But one night, he appeared at my door. I was terrified and begged him not to bother me. But he just stood there and said I was his light."

Agent Hand looked at the person standing by the window.

Audrey's words seemed to touch the figure in the distance; he appeared to be struggling with something, his shoulders trembling slightly, but he eventually calmed down. Audrey continued, "At the time, I didn't know what he meant until he turned our entire block into darkness. I ran away and sought help from the police, but they didn't believe me. Then a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent appeared at my door, and for some reason, I inexplicably trusted him. Maybe it had something to do with his handsome appearance."

"You're quite charming, Agent Coulson." Agent Victoria Hand rose from her folding chair. She was dressed in a crisp, tailored suit, but unlike usual, she wore delicate black leather gloves, and her belt held various colored vials and a pistol, with a hunting knife hanging from the other side. Salomon required every commander to be combat-ready, but Agent Hand only needed a slight enhancement.

Salomon had originally provided her with an outfit that wasn't a simple black women's suit; that was for office use.

The commander's field attire consisted of a long black leather trench coat and low-heeled boots, along with a bomb gun, a rapier, and a lightweight exoskeleton worn underneath. However, Agent Hand found it too cumbersome and only adopted half of the suggestion. This approach proved to make her look more like a high-tech, crazed witch hunter than a secret agent.

"Can we get down to business now?" she said. "Or should you go and talk to her?"

Fitz's eyes widened as he fiddled with the equipment in his hands. He looked at Agent Hand with distrust, knowing that he had never dared to look directly at Victoria Hand, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s notorious and ruthless agent.

"How can you expect me to trust you, Agent Hand?" Agent Coulson turned around. "Agent Ward saved Fitz and Simmons' lives, and we all trust him. Now you, wearing a different badge, suddenly tell me John Gatler isn't dead, and bring along a story of someone coming back from the dead. How can you expect me to believe you?"

"You've also been brought back from the dead, Coulson," Agent Hand said bluntly. "The fact that I didn't have special forces interrogate you about the base's location is a sign of trust. You know my character; I don't care about camaraderie."

"But the thing that brought me back to life has been destroyed by me, Agent Hand." Agent Coulson crossed his arms. "Who?"

"He's a mutual friend, the one with the magic. He foresaw my death and the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. years ago, and he recruited me back then. I just couldn't understand what he meant at the time, until I was awakened from my death. I must say, his recruitment method was quite charming… he put on a tea ceremony for me, like in Beauty and the Beast." Agent Hand waved his hand. "I don't know where you hid your teammate, but he sent me with a message. He said he didn't want to lose a good teammate for Call of Duty."

"What does this mean?"

"I don't know. He often talks like that, and only at a certain moment will the person involved understand its meaning, like an ancient prophet. It's just that we don't use burning at the stake anymore." Victoria Hand shrugged. "You should go back to your base, Agent Coulson. Grant Ward is Hydra. We'll handle Audrey Nathan's problem. If you don't mind, my special forces can help you with that too."

"One last question, Hand," Agent Coulson asked, "who do you work for now?"

"For humanity," Agent Hand said. "He has made many preparations, including retaking the SHIELD base that Hydra had taken over and building giant warships. He showed me the future catastrophe, so I believe in his ideals."

"You know he's not an Avenger, right?"

"Yes, that's one of the reasons I trust him. At least he won't act like a lone hero."

“I’ll transfer this case to you, Hand.” Agent Coulson hesitated for a few seconds, then finally sighed. He gave in, seemingly calm as he discussed the matter with Agent Hand, but in reality, he couldn’t wait to fly back. Fitz frantically winked at him, but Agent Coulson had made his decision. Salomon’s credibility was extremely high, and Agent Coulson trusted his decision; he only hoped that Melinda May and Skye could resolve the issue before he returned. “Including Marcus Daniels’s file. I handed him over to SHIELD to restore him to normalcy, but Cold Storage Prison enhanced his abilities; he’s displaying far greater power than when he was first captured.”

“Sir!” Fitz mustered his courage and stepped forward, glancing at Agent Coulson. He continued only after receiving permission. “We’ve prepared the equipment to deal with Marcus Daniels,” he said. “It’s a device that can adjust the stage lights… well, he’s afraid of light, especially bright light. It’s a device developed by Bruce Banner that can adjust the wavelength of light. Daniels’s abilities come from a kind of cosmic radiation, some kind of negative energy, extremely unstable but very powerful. He can control electrical energy by manipulating dark energy fields, which means…”

“He can kill people with ease, requiring only simple contact. I know, I’ve read that part of the data.” Agent Hand said expressionlessly. “I know him better than you do, and I know the source of his superpowers. We have special weapons prepared.” She told Fitz, “If you’d like, you can stay and help us check and adjust those special devices.”

Agent Coulson agreed to the suggestion because the base was highly classified and could not be contacted directly. He didn't know the situation inside the base, and Fitz might not be able to participate in the battle even if he went. However, Fitz strongly objected, stammering out a long argument before Agent Coulson reluctantly agreed to take him and Simmons back to the base.

"Now, leave this to me. You should go back, Agent Coulson. Also, Leopold Fitz..."

Agent Fitz stopped in his tracks, his back stiff.

"You did a great job, you're an excellent S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."

Agent Fitz breathed a sigh of relief; he felt his back was covered in cold sweat.

Before leaving, Agent Coulson said, "Promise me one thing: don't tell Audrey about me."

The Hand agent looked him straight in the eye.

"She's coming out, Hand," he said. "I can't pull her down."

"I understand." Agent Hand nodded in agreement. "This is the price of becoming an agent."

"By the way," Fitz asked curiously, "can I take a look at that special equipment before we set off?"

"That's a plasma pistol, a plasma weapon," Agent Hand said. "An experimental weapon, specifically designed to target shadow creatures."

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(End of this chapter)