"Thor Odinson, Wanda Django Maximoff?"
Inside the theater.
Hearing the two new names mentioned by the system, Nick Fury paused for a few seconds, but found no memory of them.
After memorizing the names, he sat down in his chair, ready to watch the video.
As the lights dimmed, the screen came to life.
On the screen, Natasha Romanoff, her hair dyed red and white, sat with her legs on the table, casually eating a sandwich.
The scene shifted — Linen appeared in front of Natasha.
"Are you here to persuade me too?"
Taking a bite of her sandwich, Natasha forced a smile. "If you're here to tell me to give up, I'll throw this sandwich right in your face."
Seeing Natasha's expression, Linen fell silent for a few seconds.
"I just came from the support group Steve organized. He's been encouraging people to accept their new lives and move on."
"Maybe it won't be long before Steve drops by."
Hearing that, Natasha slid the plate with another sandwich toward him.
"Of course, he's Captain America — he's supposed to motivate everyone to keep going.
But I'm guessing he's really just coming to use the washing machine. I didn't make any extra sandwiches for him anyway!"
"By the way, how are things with you and Wanda?"
Linen took a bite of the sandwich, pulled up a chair, and sat across from her.
"Not bad. But Wanda keeps talking about wanting two kids — you know how much she values family."
At that, Linen's tone shifted slightly.
"It's been five years since that incident. The viewing room protected Wanda from turning to dust, but…"
"I'm not giving up that easily!"
Before he could finish, Natasha looked up at him.
Her eyes were glistening, but she refused to let the tears fall.
"I've always seen myself as a sinner," she said quietly. "In order to survive, my hands have been stained with blood."
"When I joined S.H.I.E.L.D., I thought I could atone for my sins. But I never expected I'd just fall into another pit — one just as deep!"
"Later, when Fury was attacked and faked his death, we destroyed S.H.I.E.L.D. with our own hands. After that… the Avengers became my only home."
Watching the video, Nick Fury frowned deeply.
I was attacked and faked my death? And they destroyed S.H.I.E.L.D.?
How did that happen?
And why would Natasha call S.H.I.E.L.D. another pit of corruption?
Touching the patch over his eye, Fury's face darkened. As the current director, he hadn't noticed anything unusual about S.H.I.E.L.D. yet.
"Another pit?"
Watching herself on-screen, Natasha folded her arms and frowned.
How could I compare S.H.I.E.L.D. to the Red Room?
Is S.H.I.E.L.D. really not as clean as I thought?
And Linen mentioned that the "viewing room" protected Wanda.
Does that mean Linen also has a spoiler system in the future?
And that Wanda — the girl newly linked to the spoiler system — is the same Wanda Maximoff he mentioned?
In another viewing room, Wanda Maximoff looked at Linen's face on the screen.
She had to admit — the Linen in the video looked handsome. Even though he was Eastern, his looks fit her taste perfectly.
But then he mentioned wanting two babies with her.
Wait... does that mean he's my future husband?
Thinking that, Wanda couldn't help but stare at his face again — though this time, her gaze carried a subtle change.
The video continued.
"Thor became a fat recluse, Tony returned to his family, Banner and Hulk merged and settled into normal life... but I'm different!"
Tears filled Natasha's eyes as she stubbornly bit into her sandwich.
"Five years ago, half of the Avengers turned to dust. Five years ago, four billion people on Earth vanished in that snap. Five years ago, half of all life in the universe disappeared!"
"Linen, don't try to talk me out of this. The Avengers are all I have left!"
Her words left everyone in the theater stunned.
"What the—? Four billion people die on Earth?"
Tony Stark couldn't help blurting out a curse as he stared at the screen in disbelief.
Natasha's face grew more serious, while Fury's expression turned grim.
What the hell happened in the future?
Why did half the world's population vanish at once?
My God... that's half of all life!
Shocked and uneasy, they all continued to watch.
On screen, Linen looked at Natasha.
"I know you've always wanted to bring everyone back. Natasha... thank you."
"Thank me? For what?"
"For trusting me."
Taking a sip of coffee, Linen continued,
"Only you and Wanda know that five years ago, when he snapped his fingers — I actually had the chance to kill him."
"But I didn't. I even let him destroy half the life on Earth."
"For the past five years, you and Wanda have trusted that I had a reason, and you never asked me why."
Natasha, eyes glistening, suddenly laughed.
"Of course I believe you. Don't forget, you and I were the first to meet among the Avengers."
"And you were the one who warned me that something was wrong with S.H.I.E.L.D. You even helped me eliminate Dreykov and finally destroy the Red Room!"
Then she lowered her legs from the table and asked with a trace of hope,
"So, did you deal with that problem?"
"Yeah. It was a bit troublesome, but it's done. The Snap delayed the gods' arrival by five years, and together with the Eternals, I completely destroyed the seed."
As the two spoke, Steve Rogers walked in, holding a basket of laundry.
"What are you two talking about?"
Leaning against the door, he smiled faintly.
"You know, I saw two whales in the Hudson River this morning. There haven't been any for years."
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