The Shield Brotherhood

"Marvel's Magnetic Field Rotation"

In United States, Massachusetts, at 193 Salem Street, Father Lancaster Merlin paced slowly in the church, his furrowed brow deepening his wrinkles and revealing his sorrow.

The church he attended was called the Boston Christian Church, commonly known as the Old North Church. It was the oldest church in Boston, and when it was built, the United States was not yet independent and was still a colony of Great Britain.

This is also where Father Lancaster Merlin grew up. As an infant, he was left at the church door on a rainy night and was adopted by the priest at the time. He spent the entire decades of his life, from his first steps to his full head of white hair, in the Old North Church. It can be said that he is very familiar with every plant and tree here.

However, a few days ago, he noticed that the church had changed. Although the exterior was still the same, he had checked everything from the white spire to the bust of Washington inside the church and found nothing different from before. But Father Merlin felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

This lingering sense of unease kept Father Merlin awake at night. He wandered around the church, trying to find the thorn that seemed to be stuck in his flesh. In the quiet church at night, only the sound of his footsteps echoed.

But this tranquility did not last long; the church doors were rudely pushed open... and Father Merlin clearly remembered that he had locked them.

The newcomers were two tall men. One of them was so burly he was almost inhuman. He was wearing a well-fitting casual outfit with a white lab coat over it, and a gas mask over his face.

Another aspect was that his height was still within the normal range for humans, but he was completely dressed in black from head to toe: a black bald head, a black eye patch, a black coat, and black leather boots. If the church hadn't been brightly lit, Father Merlin probably wouldn't have been able to spot him. He used his natural camouflage too well.

These two standing together don't look like a good couple at all.

In particular, a group of heavily armed men appeared from behind them and quickly surrounded the entire church. Before Father Merlin could even shout for help, two men grabbed his arms and dragged him to the backyard.

"The Old North Church was built in 1723, and the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. You said the legacy of the predecessor of S.H.I.E.L.D.. is underground here, but I think that's impossible."

Black Eggplant looked at Wei Xiuming and asked, "On the way here, Wei Xiuming brought up the Shield Brotherhood., saying that famous historical figures such as Newton and Michelangelo were all members of this Shield Brotherhood., and that everyone who could join was a person with extremely high talent. Howard Stark, who founded S.H.I.E.L.D.., was the last generation of official members of this organization."

It was the protection of these geniuses that saved Earth from countless alien invasions and prevented ambitious individuals from bringing the entire world under their rule.

However, geniuses are stubborn; they all believe their own path is correct. The Shield Brotherhood, besides being a shield protecting humanity between the known and the unknown, is also an axe that cuts down anything that prevents the world from unfolding according to their script.

This idea permeated not only the Brotherhood's perception of the rest of humanity but also the Shield Brotherhood itself. As a result, an organization that brought together the brightest minds fell apart, and the legacy they took from the Shield Brotherhood gave rise to different organizations.

For example, Howard Stark established the Science Strategic Corps, which evolved into S.H.I.E.L.D..; another part became a branch of Hydra, namely the Red Skull lineage that focuses on weapons technology; and the remainder became Leviathan, the super intelligence organization of the CCCP, to Leviathan the Red Room, which created Black Widow, belongs.

Possessing cutting-edge technology, methods for training and creating Super Soldier, and the goal of shaping the world's future—these are the commonalities of S.H.I.E.L.D.., Hydra, and Leviathan, which has already been absorbed by Hydra, and are irrefutable proof that the three share a common origin.

The Old North Church is where a certain successor of the Shield Brotherhood stored the Brotherhood's creations. Having left the Old World, he hoped to realize the Brotherhood's ideology that he had inherited in the New World. Unfortunately, his education was too advanced, and the era had not yet arrived in a way that suited his ambitions. So he had no choice but to record his thoughts and knowledge and seal them away.

Somewhere in this church, there are a large number of futuristic documents and physical samples, including a method to defeat Doctor Death —after all, in history, the Shield Brotherhood once directly repelled Galactus, a combat unit that feeds on planets, so Doctor Death must be on the same level.

However, Black Eggplant still viewed Wei Xiuming's intelligence with skepticism. After all, the origins of S.H.I.E.L.D.. were documented and definitely not a remnant of some ancient secret society. Howard Stark, one of the founders, also had a recorded life story, with a clear direction from his studies to his work. It was impossible for him to have received any secret inheritance; he was just a little too clever.

Wei Xiuming said earnestly, "Shield Brotherhood passes down is not knowledge and organizational structure, but a way of thinking. S.H.I.E.L.D..'s style of doing things is in line with the ideology of their most glorious period."

Staying aloof and refusing to interact with ordinary people, containing objects or creatures that could potentially interfere with the progress of human civilization, and calling their actions "protection"—this is the practice of the Shield Brotherhood, and also of S.H.I.E.L.D..

Is what you're talking about really here?

Black Eggplant and Wei Xiuming stood still; after all, they were high-ranking officials, why would they personally do such a thing?

The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in pairs or small groups, thoroughly searched the church. Their training, which included architecture, enabled them to spot inconsistencies in the building's layout—such as hidden rooms and secret passages within the walls.

However, after examining the site without damaging the artifacts, they found no trace of the aforementioned items.

"I say it exists, so it exists."

Wei Xiuming said with great certainty, "Because this thing was buried by his alternate version of Doctor Death with SHOCKER combatants. He originally planned to keep it until later and dig it up, but he didn't expect it to come in handy now."

Reaching the bust of Washington, Wei Xiuming pointed to the ground and said, "Dig it up!"

So you knew where it was? Then why didn't you say so before, making us search frantically for it?

The S.H.I.E.L.D.. field agents grumbled inwardly, but still dutifully took out their tools and started digging in front of the Washington statue... However, since their expertise was not relevant, it took them a long time to discover that there was a huge cavity beneath the Old North Church.

"This is it!"