"Uh..." Nick Fury froze, momentarily speechless.
"What? Don't tell me Director Fury breaks his promises too?" Aaron sneered, pressing the attack. "Then again, who is the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.? The biggest spymaster in the world. Deception seems to be an innate talent for you people."
"Cut the sarcastic crap. You know exactly what kind of person I am."
"Then that settles it, so stop using Jean as an excuse.
S.H.I.E.L.D. can repay the favor it owes me through her. No matter how bad things get between humans and Mutants, no one is allowed to touch her."
"As long as it's within S.H.I.E.L.D.'s capabilities," Nick Fury said helplessly. Then he changed the subject. "But have you considered that you might have a third, or even a fourth, non-human girlfriend someday?"
Aaron: ...
"Holy shit! You're really not acting like a human being!"
Nick Fury calmly shrugged, wearing an amused expression but saying nothing.
"Heh! Don't think I don't know what you're thinking." Aaron shot him an irritated glare. "It's like taking out a loan from a bank.
If I borrow ten thousand, I have to listen to the bank. But if I borrow a hundred million, the bank has to listen to me.
The bank is afraid I'll go bankrupt, because then no one will fill that hole.
Now S.H.I.E.L.D. is treating me like a bank. The more favors you owe me, the deeper I'll be tied to S.H.I.E.L.D.
And when necessary, I'll have no choice but to help S.H.I.E.L.D. through a crisis. Otherwise, all those favors you owe me will go down the drain."
"That's putting it too seriously, too seriously." Nick Fury waved a hand and smiled awkwardly without losing his manners. "It's merely one form of long-term cooperation.
And in my view, this isn't a lending relationship, but