"Not maybe, but absolutely."
After Patch made his final decision, he turned to Coulson and Melinda with a smiling face. "Coulson, Melinda, to be honest, I really admire you both. If you ever get tired of working for S.H.I.E.L.D., you might consider coming here to help me. I believe you'd be much freer here than in S.H.I.E.L.D., and you might even come into contact with some mysterious powers."
Coulson smiled and refused without hesitation. "Mr. Mavis, thank you for your offer, but I'm not planning to change jobs yet, and…"
"And what?" Patch asked immediately.
"And we still can't completely trust you," Melinda interrupted, answering for Coulson.
Patch ignored Melinda's words and turned to Coulson instead. Seeing Coulson nod slightly in agreement, Patch chuckled to himself.
He understood their thoughts. After all, they were two completely different groups of people who had only just met. There was no way S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would trust him just because of what he said.
Besides, Coulson and Melinda had been senior agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for many years, and one of the rules for an agent was: never believe anything the enemy says.
Enemy—yes, that was what he was to them.
Before S.H.I.E.L.D. finished a full investigation, Patch wasn't much different from their enemies.
In their view, his great power was a serious threat to S.H.I.E.L.D. and to the safety of society.
Even though Patch had the identity of a street vigilante known as the "Cloaked Hero," S.H.I.E.L.D. would never relax their guard because of that.
So Patch thought their attitude was understandable.
He spread his hands helplessly and said with a bitter smile, "Coulson, Mel, so you never really planned to trust me. Then all that I've done was just me being sentimental."
"I've already said everything I needed to say. If you still want to keep guessing my motives, then there's nothing I can do."
"Mr. Mavis, it's not that we don't trust you," Melinda quickly explained, putting away her gun. "We just need some time to evaluate the truth of what you said."
"Evaluate?" Patch sneered impatiently. "Then go back and evaluate it after you leave."
"Mr. Mavis—"
Patch raised a hand to interrupt her. "That's enough. You've already wasted enough of my time today. You've learned everything you wanted to know, so…"
Patch pointed to the door and said coldly, "Please see yourselves out."
Seeing that Patch had clearly given them an order to leave, Coulson and Melinda exchanged a glance and gave awkward smiles.
"Alright then, Mr. Mavis, hope we meet again." Even without him saying more, the two had no intention of staying longer. After saying goodbye, they turned and walked toward the door.
"Wait."
Patch suddenly called out. Hearing him, the two stopped and turned back to look at him.
"Mr. Mavis, is there something else?" Coulson asked with a smile.
"It seems you've taken something from me." Patch gave them a mysterious smile, his eyes landing on the toolbox in Melinda's hand.
Both Coulson and Melinda quickly realized what he meant. He was right—they had indeed taken something from him.
It was the brownish-yellow sheet of paper covered in strange symbols that had been on the desk earlier.
But they clearly remembered that when they took it, Patch wasn't even in the room. How could he possibly know?
"Everything in this room is within my perception," Patch said. "The thing you took is a spell scroll I made. Since you've already taken it, consider it a gift from me. It's not important to me anyway.
"But if you ever face danger, tear it open—it might give you an unexpected effect."
After saying that, Patch gestured toward the door again, signaling them to leave.
"Thank you for your kindness. Goodbye." Coulson bowed slightly, then he and Melinda turned and left together.
---
Once they stepped out of Patch's cabin and breathed in the fresh air outside, the tension that had been gripping Coulson and Melinda finally eased.
"Whew…" Melinda let out a long sigh and said in disbelief, "Coulson, everything that happened today feels like a dream."
"It does," Coulson replied.
Even though both of them had worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. for years and had encountered countless dangers and strange events, what they experienced today was unlike anything before—it was something they would never forget.
Until now, they had thought Patch Mavis was just a mutant with a bit of special ability and a strong sense of justice. But they never expected that things would turn out to be so bizarre.
In just a short time inside Patch's small cabin, they had gone through things unimaginable to ordinary people. They had nearly died at the hands of the spirit Orianna, then learned from Patch about the true existence of magic and his identity as a sorcerer, and finally even witnessed Dormammu, the cosmic being who had long coveted Earth.
If not for their strong hearts, Coulson and Melinda might have already broken down.
Through these experiences, they clearly realized how powerful Patch truly was. Their guns, which they relied on so much, were nothing but toys in front of him.
Lightning, fire, death, resurrection—Patch had mastered all kinds of unimaginable powers. He could even create humanoid beings like Orianna, and most terrifying of all, he possessed an otherworldly space of his own.
Coulson felt that he had to report everything he had seen today to Director Nick Fury immediately.
"Mel, we need to go back right now." After calling out to her, Coulson and Melinda got into the car and, without hesitation, drove straight toward S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
---
At that moment, Patch stood by the window, watching their car disappear into the distance. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a mysterious smile.