Reporting

Reporting

Tony Stark was about to be kidnapped, and Iron Man was about to be born.

Evenson figured, be born if you want. Rain had to fall, mothers had to marry off their daughters—why the hell should he worry about it? Besides, among all the Avengers, Iron Man was the one Evenson feared least. A Sorcerer would not cast curses on armor, but on the person wearing it.

As for saving Tony, Evenson had actually considered it. After all, once it was done, asking for enough money to buy two Lamborghinis would not be a problem. But how was he supposed to save him?

First of all, if he gritted his teeth, he could afford a civilian flight ticket to the Middle East—economy class, of course. But where was he supposed to get off? Afghanistan? Iraq? Or Qatar?

Everyone knew Tony had been kidnapped in the Middle East, but where had he been taken? It was not like he could have Hubbs sniff through every desert in the Middle East. And they would have to do it on foot. By then, forget saving Tony—he would need someone to save him.

So he might as well keep an eye on the stock market and consider which brand of instant noodles to eat this month.

S.H.I.E.L.D., Trident Headquarters, Director's office.

A one-eyed Black man stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, gazing outside. He was Nick Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s current Director—a man whose number of secrets no one knew, and whose knowledge of secrets no one knew either. To many people, he himself was synonymous with secrets.

His attire seemed unchanged year after year. A black eyepatch covered his blind eye, while a black leather trench coat was worn over a black sweater. It fit people's image of an agent well enough. At the same time, it also showed that his office air conditioning was turned up quite high.

A knock suddenly sounded at the door. "Come in," Fury said as he walked toward his desk. Just as he sat down, the two people entering the room arrived in front of his desk. They were Coulson and Melinda.

Fury looked at the two of them. "Hill told me you insisted on reporting this mission to me in person. Why?"

Under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hierarchical management system, Director Nick Fury possessed Level 10 clearance and had the authority to know everything within S.H.I.E.L.D. But after completing a Level Six Clearance mission, agents only needed to file the mission records and organize their opinions and observations into a report. Unless the Director specifically ordered otherwise, there was no need to report to him personally.

"Director, I know this is somewhat inappropriate, but I believe it would be better for you to hear it yourself," Coulson explained.

Nick Fury trusted Coulson, and he knew this subordinate of his would not make a fuss over nothing. Since Coulson had done this, there had to be a reason. "All right. It seems this mission was rather unusual. Is that Mutant unwilling to cooperate with us?"

"It could be called quite extraordinary, Director." Coulson gathered his words. "This is how it is: the mission target was actually very cooperative. After investigating and making contact with him, Agent Melinda and I unanimously determined that he is harmless."

"Harmless? There have not been many cases like that, but I trust your judgment and Agent Melinda's." Nick Fury was somewhat surprised. Although S.H.I.E.L.D. had previously judged there was a high possibility that the target was harmless, it was only a possibility. They could not simply believe it so easily. After all, in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s eyes, the word Mutant was synonymous with danger and unpredictability, because few Mutants developed in a positive direction. Some were not too bad. They were not inherently evil; they had merely been frightened by the abilities they suddenly gained, or were unable to control them, leading to some unintentional harm. With proper guidance, such people would not pose much of a problem. But another group was much more troublesome. They gained a little special ability and immediately became arrogant, doing whatever they pleased. As for such scum, Nick Fury personally favored riddling them with bullets.

"He can fully control his own power, and he holds a certain degree of respect for the power of the state," Coulson reported succinctly.

If he could control his power, then he would not cause harm through losing control of his abilities. If he respected state power, then he would not act recklessly. That meant one less hidden danger. But still... "Since you have already made that assessment, what is so special that you needed to tell me in person?"

"Director, it is because his power is simply too unusual." Coulson said with some difficulty, "Uh, you may think I'm talking nonsense, but his ability really is..."

How was he supposed to put it? Coulson was troubled. How could he explain this so that his Director would believe that he had encountered a magician, rather than think Coulson had lost his mind?

"Magic. He is a magician—uh, a Sorcerer." Melinda solved Coulson's dilemma and stated the truth outright.

"Is there something wrong with my hearing? Agent Melinda, did you say Magic?" Nick Fury wore an expression of utter disbelief.

"Magic. It may not be scientific, but that is the truth," Melinda said. Believe it or not, that was the fact.

Nick Fury's one good eye turned toward Coulson.

"Though it is hard to believe, that is the truth, Director." Since Melinda had already opened the subject, Coulson had nothing left to hesitate over and said it directly.

"Explain." Seeing that Coulson said the same thing, Nick Fury considered the possibility that both agents had suffered mental breakdowns and were playing a joke on him. He decided it would be better to hear their reasoning first.

So Coulson recounted everything that had happened at Evenson's place, naturally in the shortened version.

"Does learning it require exceptionally high talent?" Sure enough, after hearing Coulson's report, that was what Nick Fury cared about most. In reality, he did not care at all whether Magic was real. It was supernatural power anyway. He did not care whether they called it a Kamehameha blast or the ultimate power of creation—it was just a name. As long as he knew it was powerful and could be replicated or learned, that was enough.

"According to him, the requirements are indeed very high, and attempting to learn it rashly is extremely dangerous. I personally suggest that this matter be considered carefully," Coulson answered.

It did need to be considered carefully, Nick Fury thought as he stroked his chin. According to the necessary talents for magical initiation—intelligence, a firm will, good health, and powerful Mental Power—those who possessed such talents could surely become outstanding agents if carefully trained. But those qualities only made them suitable for initiation; whether they could actually learn Magic was another matter. And during the learning process, dying from one small mistake was the lightest possible consequence. Should they use such outstanding talents to try it? This was not something he could decide with a slap to the forehead. "Do not file this mission's records. I will handle it personally. You understand what that means, don't you?"

Coulson and Melinda froze. It was crystal clear. If the Director with Level 10 clearance filed it personally, then the access clearance would certainly also be Level 10. Yet they only had Level Seven clearance and still knew about it. Did that mean they were getting promoted? Dream on. It meant they had to keep this matter strictly confidential. It would be best if they could forget it, though that was probably impossible. In that case, they could not breathe a single word of it.

"All right, if there is nothing else, go back and rest." Seeing that things were more or less settled, Nick Fury dismissed them.

"Director, there is one more matter. It has not been confirmed yet, but it is very important." Coulson and Melinda did not leave, because they were not finished.

"We suspect the Deadlock Gang is connected to Hydra." Coulson's single sentence made Nick Fury's one eye widen so much that it nearly popped out.

P.S. I am guilty. I should not have gotten addicted to Heroes of the Storm. I really could not manage a second update today. But don't worry, there will definitely be two updates on the 15th.