Still, the move proved effective against him. Alexander Pierce, knowing he was in the wrong, could only leave in bitter frustration.
Alexander Pierce led his men out of Stark Tower, his face like a thundercloud, his fists clenched tightly. But he was powerless to stop the Avengers from taking the items.
As Nick Fury had said, Pierce no longer had any legal authority over him. He had always relied on their mentor-student relationship to keep Fury in line, but recently, he'd noticed it was losing its effectiveness.
In Pierce's eyes, this meant Fury felt he had grown too powerful to need to respect him anymore.
He wasn't wrong. Fury, having grown too confident, was indeed showing him no courtesy at all.
"Nick Fury... Nick Fury..." Pierce snarled under his breath.
"Boss, if we let Nick Fury continue like this, he'll likely push us out," Crossbones said.
They were ostensibly the former director's trusted subordinates, but in reality, they were Hydra agents. This hadn't been a problem before, but now that the two sides had completely fallen out, eliminating Fury was essential.
"We must eliminate him quickly, or he'll completely destroy Hydra's network within S.H.I.E.L.D.!" Alexander Pierce said, his heart burning with fury.
"This time, even if we have to take some risks and let the Council find out, we must eliminate Nick Fury. We were going to eliminate him anyway!" Pierce said coldly.
Hydra's ambition was to control the world, and Nick Fury had always been their target.
"Go down and draft a plan immediately—a plan to completely kill Nick Fury!" Pierce said coldly.
"Yes, Boss!" Crossbones replied, his eyes equally ruthless.
***
As they watched the Hydra agents depart, the group finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Fury, won't this just tip them off?" Tony Stark asked.
Nick Fury shook his head. "Probably not. As long as he doesn't know I've figured out he's Hydra, the rest should be fine. He'll just assume I'm vying for power with him."
"Still, we need to be careful," Black Widow Natasha interjected. "If they're Hydra, they might try to eliminate the problem at its source—meaning they might come after you directly, Nick. You need to beef up your defenses!"
"I know!" Nick Fury nodded.
He knew they would definitely try to kill him. This wasn't just about normal workplace power struggles; this was a life-and-death battle with Hydra. Anything was possible.
"We need to wait a bit longer," Fury continued. "Let's try to root out as many Hydra agents as we can. Before, we might have been helpless, but now... we have the Mind Stone Scepter!"
"Nick, are you suggesting we use the Mind Stone Scepter to control those Hydra agents? Turn it against them?" Captain Rogers asked, his brow furrowed.
He was generally opposed to such brainwashing and mind control, but when it came to Hydra, he could tolerate it—though only just barely.
"When it comes to Hydra, there's no line we shouldn't cross, Captain!" Tony Stark declared. "If we don't find their entire list, you know what the consequences will be. They've been festering in S.H.I.E.L.D. for decades. If we can't root them out completely, they'll just rise again in another few decades. And then what? Rely on us? By then, we'll be old and dead—maybe only Thor will still be around! Don't leave this problem for the future!"
Hearing Tony Stark's words, Captain Rogers fell silent. He had to admit the logic was sound. If Hydra were allowed to remain hidden for another few decades, they would become even more terrifying and difficult to combat. The next time we try to track them down, it might be impossible.
The list they'd uncovered so far was already enough to make one's blood run cold, involving major figures in the military, government, and business—as well as many foreign leaders.
Using S.H.I.E.L.D. as their platform, Hydra had expanded with terrifying speed over the past few decades.
Thor, the God of Thunder, stood silently beside them. As an immortal being, he truly couldn't comprehend the worries of short-lived mortals.
Not far away, Loki, flickering in and out of visibility, overheard some of their conversation. He sneered inwardly. *Humans are indeed such foolish, short-lived creatures, born to be ruled by beings like us.*
But there was no help for it. He had been captured by these foolish creatures and was now being sent back to Asgard.
Knowing his brother and father's usual nature, they would likely spare his life, but he would probably be imprisoned for a very long time.
His dream of becoming king had been utterly shattered. *What's the point of being king when merely surviving is a victory?*
Returning to his homeland, Jotunheim, was out of the question. He had even orchestrated the death of his own father. If he dared go back, he'd likely be killed on sight.
In Asgard, the next king would undoubtedly be none other than his muscle-bound, brainless brother, Thor.
There was no chance it would ever be his turn.
If only he had known Earth was so dangerous, he wouldn't have come here at all. Even ruling as a god on some remote planet would have been better than being lectured by these mortals.
The memory of being tossed around like a rag made his scalp tingle with revulsion.
***
At that moment, Tony Stark, Endgame Iron Man, was still dazed and confused, his mind a chaotic mess.
*How could this happen? How could this timeline be so messed up?*
"Tony, what's the situation? Did you get the box?" Captain Rogers asked.
"No. Who knows what's going on in this universe? I don't even have the Cosmic Cube here, and Nick Fury—who shouldn't even be here—is here too. It completely ruined our plan!" Tony Stark sighed. "There was no chance. We caused some chaos, but it was pointless. It's like... they were already prepared. Like they could predict everything."
Undoubtedly, Tony Stark was not one to shirk responsibility or blame others. But today, he could only blame this utterly chaotic, topsy-turvy world.
If he had to sum up his mood and understanding in one word, it would be:
*Huh?*
*Huh?*
*Huh?*
Almost every step was as expected, yet every step was also completely unexpected.
He had never encountered such a ridiculous situation in his life, but the worst part was that they were running low on Pym Particles.
He had originally thought that by coming to this timeline, he could simultaneously obtain the Time Stone, Space Stone, and Mind Stone.
Instead, everything had fallen into utter disarray.
Hearing this answer, Captain America (Rogers) was also stunned. This was completely different from what they had imagined.
He touched his ribs, thinking, *Holy shit, did Hulk break my ribs when he violently opened the door earlier?*
Although it didn't look like Hulk had directly beaten him up, he was just an ordinary man, an aging middle-aged man at that. Osteoporosis was perfectly normal for him.
Without the Hulkbuster Armor to protect him, a single slap from Hulk could kill him instantly.
Yet they couldn't reveal their identities. Doing so would disrupt the development of this timeline's history, which would be bad. But the problem was... with a timeline this chaotic and nonsensical, was there even a need for them to interfere?
Given how chaotic this timeline is, it must have been tampered with long ago.
He soon reunited with Captain Rogers and Dr. Bruce Banner.
Dr. Banner exclaimed excitedly, "Hey, guys! I've successfully obtained the Time Stone. What about you?"
His journey hadn't been smooth, and he'd made a huge blunder: the Doctor Strange of this era hadn't become a sorcerer at all. But fortunately, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. He'd actually obtained the Time Stone from the Ancient One herself.
"Finally, some good news!" Captain Rogers sighed in relief.
This entire trip had been a disaster, and this was the first bit of good news they'd heard.
Suddenly, Dr. Banner noticed Tony Stark clutching his chest and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
"What do you think? Hulk slammed into me. Felt like I was hit by a semi-truck. My brain's about to come out of my skull," Endgame Iron Man grumbled.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Dr. Bruce Banner said, looking a little embarrassed.
Back then, the Hulk was truly uncontrollable, but he couldn't help it. Only recently had he managed to merge with the Hulk, becoming this way.
"Don't apologize to me, it wasn't your fault!" Tony Stark said. "I've already done some basic healing. Friday just checked me out—I've got a hairline fracture in my ribs and need some time to recover. I've truly felt Hulk's power now!"
He'd clashed with the Hulk before, but always while wearing the Hulkbuster Armor, or at least with the armor protecting him. Intellectually, he knew the Hulk was strong and terrifying, but he'd never taken it seriously.
Until that casual collision just now. It was an accidental bump, but it felt no different than being hit by a semi-truck.
*Thank God my head didn't fly off. Truly, thank God.*
-----------------------
Completed English PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Guys, I've uploaded some High Quality english translated fanfic on my Patreon shop! Feel free to check it out-if you're interested, you can grab a copy and support me there.
Here are a few titles of recently uploaded fanfics:
New Addition
" Marvel: Invincible Talismans "
" Marvel: Awakening Abstract Abilities at the Beginning "
" Marvel: Fused with Broly at the Start "
" Marvel: Starting as the God of Destruction "
" Superman in Marvel—Will I Get a Copyright Warning? "
" Marvel: Starting by Loading the Homelander Template "
" Marvel: Becoming an Emperor Through Lottery Draws "
" Marvel: Awakening the Power of a Million Stars at the Start "
" Marvel: I Am the Leader of the Mutant Race "
many more are available 140+
Your support means a lot-thanks in advance, legends!
patreon.com/SuperTL
(End of Chapter)