So You Want Trouble? Bring It On

"Mr. President, I do know something about this matter, but this is..." Fury held the phone, anxiously trying to explain to President Obama.

"Beep, beep, beep..." However, a busy signal had already come from the other end. Clearly, the other party had no interest in hearing any explanation.

"Damn it, who the hell set me up?" Fury slammed the phone down. His face, already dark, became even darker.

After a moment of silence, Fury activated his communicator. "Coulson, notify Lu Yifang. I need to see him."

"No need. I'm already here." Lu Yifang stood at the door and knocked.

"That saves me some trouble. Professor X sent you, didn't he?" Fury waved him inside.

"That's right. He thought some matters had to be discussed with you, to avoid any misunderstandings between us." Lu Yifang walked over and dropped into a chair.

"Looks like you've run into trouble too."

"A little. President Obama personally called just now to ask about the mutants." Fury's expression was grim.

"President Obama was just assassinated by a mutant, and someone immediately went crying to him, presenting evidence that I've been in close contact with mutants lately. They're obviously taking this chance to stab me in the back." Fury was trying to figure out who had done it—the Department of Defense, the FBI, the CIA, the military, or perhaps someone else. All of them seemed possible.

At that thought, Fury froze for a moment. Since when did I make so many enemies? A tall tree catches the wind—and a black man catches even more dirt.

"That does sound pretty serious."

"It's fine. I'm not in trouble yet." Fury waved it off.

Though he had inexplicably been chewed out by the U.S. President, Fury was hardly about to panic. S.H.I.E.L.D. did not report directly to the U.S. government; his superior was the World Security Council. Though the United States still held considerable influence within it, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters was based in New York, it was like the UN—no matter how powerful the U.S. President was, he could not dismiss the UN Secretary-General with a single written order.

"Do you think Magneto did this?" Fury looked at Lu Yifang. Although Magneto was currently locked in prison, Fury knew perfectly well that no prison could hold him forever. It was entirely possible that he was directing this from inside.

"Are you insulting Magneto's intelligence?" Lu Yifang rolled his eyes.

"Leaving aside the fact that this isn't Old Magneto's style at all, he's a true gentleman. If he doesn't do something, he doesn't do it—but if he does, it'll be headline news. If he wanted to assassinate the U.S. President, he'd choose a major holiday like Independence Day and strike during a live broadcast, in full view of every audience member, letting America and the entire world feel the anger and resentment mutants have harbored for so long.

"More importantly, what would be the point? Magneto has never cared to hide his beliefs. What he wants is for mutants to thrive. Assassinating the U.S. President would only make the public hate mutants even more and push the stalled Mutant Registration Act back onto the table. That would do mutants no good at all."

"That does make some sense." Fury spoke as he considered it.

Seeing Fury's expression, Lu Yifang knew he was not entirely convinced, so he added another point.

"You know Mystique's abilities very well, right? If the Brotherhood had truly reached the point where they could infiltrate the White House and pull a knife on the U.S. President, wouldn't replacing him be a much better option?"

"All right. Your argument is dangerous, but it has indeed dispelled my suspicions." Fury nodded, acknowledging Lu Yifang's point.

"Then do you think it could have been a lone mutant?"

"With all due respect, this isn't the Cold War era anymore. Whether in technology or in your understanding of mutants, you've made tremendous progress.

"And the White House must have measures specifically designed to guard against mutants. If, under those circumstances, an unaffiliated lone mutant still managed to infiltrate it—even if that mutant was Space-type—you security and intelligence agencies would never live down that disgrace."

"In fact, we suspect that mutant knew the White House's security arrangements. And secrets at that level are absolutely not something a lone mutant could gain access to," Fury explained.

"There are only two mutant organizations with that kind of capability. We've ruled out Magneto, and it can't be the X-Men either. So I think you already have a suspect." Lu Yifang leaned across the desk and looked at Fury.

"I wasn't certain before, but after exchanging information like this, I can lock onto the target. Whoever benefits most from this is naturally the one who did it," Fury said coldly.

"The military." Compared with the weakened FBI, CIA, and the rest, the only party capable of planning this assassination—and taking the chance to screw over S.H.I.E.L.D. as well—was probably the U.S. Military. Of course, other forces might have been taking the opportunity to kick S.H.I.E.L.D. while it was down by reporting them, but the main culprit was definitely the military.

Fury's conflict with the military had never stopped. Losing Ross had not been enough to put an end to it.

The real issue was that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s responsibilities were simply too broad. Fury wanted a hand in everything, so naturally he had earned the resentment of many people.

For a time, the FBI and CIA, both intelligence agencies themselves, had fought even more fiercely with S.H.I.E.L.D. But unlike the U.S. Military, they lacked the clout to keep going. After losing too many confrontations, they simply no longer dared to challenge S.H.I.E.L.D. openly.

"Based on the intelligence we've obtained, the most likely suspect is this man." Fury pulled up a picture of Colonel Stryker on a hologram.

"And, of course, your mutant traitor."

At that, Lu Yifang immediately replied, "Don't worry. You don't need to trouble yourselves over the traitor. We'll handle it ourselves. With Professor X, we'll catch that person soon enough and uncover the whole truth."

"That would be for the best." Fury nodded. He trusted Professor X's abilities as well.

"Then all that's left is Colonel Stryker. Our Colonel Stryker certainly has some nerve." A cold glint flashed through Fury's eyes.

The plan looked perfect, but unfortunately, Colonel Stryker seemed to have underestimated the degree of cooperation between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the mutants. With Lu Yifang acting as the link between them, S.H.I.E.L.D. and the X-Men could exchange information in time.

And now that the enemy had been identified, Fury was not the type to swallow a loss.

"According to the information we've received, President Obama has authorized Colonel Stryker to conduct a military operation against Mutant Academy," Fury revealed the intelligence he had just received.

"What?" Lu Yifang nearly jumped to his feet. Damn it, they were going after the X-Men's home base.

"Calm down, because I'm about to assign you a mission." Fury deliberately cleared his throat.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. happens to have a batch of newly recruited agents joining us soon. I have some doubts about their capabilities, so I've decided to arrange a counter-terrorism drill for them. As S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Special Security Advisor, I authorize Coulson and Melinda to assist you in completing this mission. Are you willing to accept it?"

"Willing? Of course I'm more than willing." Lu Yifang sneered. If he still could not understand what Fury meant, he would be an idiot.

"I'll make sure to arrange the drill location properly. Let's hope no actual terrorists show up during the exercise."

"Yes, that would be best. Go on, then." Fury waved his hand.

Watching Lu Yifang hurry away, Fury's smile gradually faded.

You want trouble, huh? Then I'll send you the biggest troublemaker there is. Come on, then. Who's afraid of whom? I, Nick Fury, love taking down people who think they've got power.