Inside S.H.I.E.L.D.
Fury was slightly startled as Hermione stormed in.
"Miss Wizard, what can I do for you?"
Hermione put her hands on her hips, demanding aggressively: "Did you forget something? Where are my materials? You said they'd be delivered to Stark Tower—where are they?"
Fury's eye flickered. He asked reflexively: "What materials?"
The moment the words left his mouth, he realized his mistake and quickly backpedaled: "Oh, you mean those magical materials. The Bureau's been swamped lately. I forgot in all the chaos. I'll have someone deliver them immediately."
Hermione studied him suspiciously.
She nodded and turned to leave, then suddenly remembered something and turned back: "By the way, do you miss Goose?"
With a wave of her hand, a chubby orange cat appeared out of thin air, lounging lazily on the floor.
"Meow—"
The moment Fury saw Goose, his face changed dramatically. His body went rigid as he backed away repeatedly, as if seeing some terrifying monster.
"You... why did you bring it?" He stammered, voice trembling.
Seeing this, Hermione immediately realized something was wrong. She slammed her hand on the desk, wand instantly appearing and pointing at Fury.
"Who the hell are you?" She demanded sharply, eyes flashing dangerously. "Stop pretending!"
Fine beads of sweat formed on Fury's forehead. He forced himself to stay calm:
"Miss Wizard, what are you talking about? I'm S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury. Who else would I be? Don't joke around."
"Joking?" Hermione's eyes glowed ghostly blue. She sneered coldly. "Nice try, Skrull. You dare impersonate Fury?! Talk! Who are you? Where's the real Fury?"
Powerful magical energy surged around her. Invisible pressure crashed toward Fury like a tidal wave.
SLAM!
Fury was lifted by the invisible force, feet leaving the ground, then slammed hard onto the floor with a dull thud.
He grimaced in pain. Seeing the situation deteriorating, he immediately pressed the red button under the desk.
A piercing alarm instantly echoed throughout the Triskelion.
"Wee-oo—wee-oo—"
Soon, a group of fully armed agents in black rushed into the Director's office, led by Brock Rumlow.
He held his gun up, scanning the area warily.
Rumlow immediately recognized Hermione. He quickly signaled the agents to lower their weapons and looked at "Fury" on the floor, confused. "Miss Wizard, what's going on?"
"It's terrible, Crossbones!" Hermione said urgently. "Fury's been kidnapped by a monster! This Fury is a fake monster in disguise!"
"What?!" Rumlow was shocked, eyes widening.
Fake Fury struggled up from the floor, hastily defending himself: "Miss Wizard, what nonsense! Rumlow, what are you waiting for? Escort her out!"
Rumlow looked between Hermione and "Fury," unsure who to listen to. He stood frozen, caught in the middle, not daring to act rashly.
Just then, Natasha appeared in the doorway, wearing a tight black suit, moving gracefully.
Having heard Hermione's words at the door, she immediately aimed her gun at "Fury."
Seeing Natasha's action, "Fury's" face changed. He quickly said: "Natasha, don't listen to her nonsense. I really am Fury! Remember Budapest? When I sent Barton..."
He rattled off many secrets only he and Natasha knew, trying to prove his identity.
Listening to these familiar stories, hesitation flashed in Natasha's eyes, but she ultimately chose to trust Hermione.
"Sorry, I still believe little Hermione." Natasha said, gun still steady on him.
Hermione said nothing more. She simply waved her wand. A ripple passed through.
"Aparecium!"
"Fury's" disguise instantly vanished, revealing his true appearance.
Green skin. Pointed ears.
A Skrull!
"This... this..." Rumlow was stunned speechless. He never imagined the director he worked with daily was actually a monster in disguise.
He immediately reacted, commanding agents to seize fake Fury and prepare to detain him.
"Thank you, Miss Wizard." Rumlow said gratefully to Hermione.
His thanks were genuine.
Damn aliens infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D., disguised as the Director, and we had no idea? Is this even our HYDRA's S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore?!
Unacceptable!
"No need to thank me, Crossbones." Hermione smiled.
Rumlow's mouth twitched as he awkwardly accepted the strange nickname.
Shortly after Rumlow and the others left, the real Nick Fury finally rushed back.
Talos had sent him a message when pressing the alarm button.
The moment Fury entered his office, Hermione approached: "Fury, there was a Skrull impersonating you—I caught him!"
"It was so dangerous! If not for me, S.H.I.E.L.D. would've been infiltrated!"
"Now say thank you!"
Fury was about to ask what happened when Hermione's words made his vision go dark.
Damn it, Talos!
From those few words, he already knew what happened.
He didn't know how to explain Talos's existence to Hermione. He couldn't exactly announce in front of everyone that the Skrull was his regular body double—sorry folks, he'd recruited an alien for S.H.I.E.L.D., could he?
Moreover, he knew Hermione's level of disgust for aliens.
Asgardians who looked mostly human, she could barely tolerate.
But Kree and Skrulls with bizarre appearances? Hermione probably couldn't stand them at all.
Fury guessed correctly.
Hermione truly despised aliens messing around on Earth.
She'd long considered the MCU's Earth her territory... Besides, some Skrulls were indeed planning trouble on Earth.
Though their combat power wasn't strong, that 24/7 seamless shapeshifting ability was truly disgusting.
Hermione couldn't exactly use Legilimency on everyone or cast Aparecium everywhere she went.
Most importantly, these aliens had gotten Maria Hill killed!
When watching the show in her past life, Hermione had been furious. That's why she deliberately exposed Talos publicly—to let HYDRA know about the Skrulls' existence.
Next, HYDRA would probably investigate the Skrulls inside and out.
In a way, HYDRA and Hermione's philosophies overlapped somewhat.
"Such a thing happened!"
Unable to explain Talos's existence, he could only feign shock and swallow this bitter pill.
He sighed inwardly.
How did I carelessly forget that Talos fears Goose—that fatal flaw?
Miss Wizard's perception was unparalleled. She recognized Goose's true species at a glance—a walking encyclopedia with endless, seemingly limitless magic.
Talos couldn't maintain his disguise in front of her.
"Miss Wizard, thank you so much. You prevented far greater losses." Fury said "sincerely."
"Those materials you requested—I'll have them delivered immediately."
He forcibly shifted the topic to the magical materials payment, not wanting to mention Talos further.
After the Pierce incident, he'd felt something off about the Bureau... so he'd focused most energy on internal investigations, neglecting the detail that Talos might meet Miss Wizard, leading to today's situation.
Now, he could only let Talos suffer temporarily and find an opportunity to rescue him later.
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