After they had dealt with the magic hammer, Coulson and Melinda were sent downstairs by Nick Fury to hand over the related assignments. Now, the only ones still in Director Fury's office were Annie, who had nothing to do, and Director Fury himself.
The Director's office was at the highest point of S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters. From there, they could clearly overlook the scenery outside, as well as the indoor airport below. At that moment, bored out of her mind, Annie was leaning against the office's floor-to-ceiling window.
She was staring down at the S.H.I.E.L.D. ground crew servicing the strange aircraft parked below. Annie knew those lumps of iron. They were called airplanes! But these ones seemed a little different from the kind she usually saw.
Just as Annie was getting tired of watching and was about to tell the dark-skinned uncle she wanted to go out and play, she noticed the ground crew clearing space for one of the aircraft. After they waved their glowing batons around for a while, the strange plane started its engines and slowly lifted straight up into the air. Then it gradually flew out through a steel door that had opened in the middle of the building. As it flew, it slowly turned invisible? Before long, it had completely vanished from little Annie's sight...
It could not only fly, but turn invisible too!?
It was only invisible to the eye; its sound could still be heard, and her magical senses could still clearly detect it. But Annie thought that even so, it was already quite amazing.
That fun-looking thing seemed like it would be so much fun to play with. She suddenly wanted one... Annie excitedly clenched her little fists and bit her lip. She swore she would get one to play with, no matter what it took. She had to get one! Even if she had to steal it!
Those airplanes must all belong to the dark-skinned uncle, right? Annie turned around and looked at Director Nick Fury, who was sitting behind his desk.
She wondered how she could get him to give her an airplane to play with. Oh no! She shouldn't have called him a one-eyed, dark-skinned uncle just now. What was she going to do now? Did she really have to steal it? But... she didn't think she could bring herself to do that...
Shut up, Tibbers! I'm not apologizing to him! Annie flatly rejected Tibbers' suggestion that she apologize.
Apologize? Not a chance! Annie was always right! Besides, she hadn't said anything wrong just now. He really was a one-eyed, dark-skinned man! He looked like that himself. Wasn't she allowed to say so?
After Coulson and Melinda left, Director Nick Fury began carefully observing little Annie, who was leaning against the glass and looking down at the airport. After a while, he reached a conclusion: it seemed she really was just a little girl! The way she pressed against the window and reacted with amazement to everything below was adorable. Maybe he really shouldn't have gotten angry with her earlier. After all, kids said whatever came to mind!
When he saw Annie turn to look at him, Nick Fury was about to make some small talk to pass the time and ease the awkwardness from their first meeting.
But before he could say anything, there were two crisp knocks at the office door. A middle-aged blond man in a suit walked in with a smile.
"Oh, Secretary Pierce! Welcome, welcome!" Nick Fury immediately stood and went over to embrace Pierce. Pierce was no ordinary man; Fury couldn't afford to slight him.
Alexander Pierce was not only a senior S.H.I.E.L.D. official but also its former Director, and an old acquaintance of Nick Fury. He now served as Director Fury's assistant and headed a critical department.
"Haha, Nick Fury! It's been a long time. Ever since you became Director, you've turned into such a busy man. How about a drink sometime, if you have a free moment?" After embracing Nick Fury, he began to tease him.
"Pierce, you know S.H.I.E.L.D. is so busy right now that we're drowning in problems. There's one thing after another, and I'm nearly working myself into a breakdown! I'm the one who envies you. I bet you've had a much easier time since stepping down. Just look at you—you seem much more energetic than before!" Nick Fury laughed along as he replied.
"Oh? Is this the little girl, Annie? She's adorable!"
Pierce feigned surprise as he looked at the little girl standing by the floor-to-ceiling window. As a senior S.H.I.E.L.D. official and an important member of the World Security Council, Pierce naturally had access to Annie's files. He knew all about her; it was all written in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s records!
He had heard from his subordinates that Coulson and Melinda had brought a little girl back to Headquarters to report in, so he had hurried over to investigate. At last, he'd gotten the chance to see this remarkable alien girl face-to-face.
"That's right, this is Annie! Annie, why don't you say hello to Uncle Pierce?" Nick Fury smiled as he dealt with Pierce.
"Hello... It's nice to meet you!"
Annie looked at Nick Fury, then at Pierce. She blinked and suddenly broke into a sly smile. If Coulson or Melinda, who knew her better, had been there, they would have seen that smile and known somebody was about to have a very bad day.
Annie had just been worrying about how to ask the dark-skinned uncle for one of those invisible planes downstairs!
Just as she was at a loss, Tibbers told her that the man named Pierce standing in front of her felt strong hostility toward her. Curious, she secretly cast a mind-reading spell on him. Annie was sure she didn't know him, so why would he be hostile toward her? She really wanted to find out why Little Bear thought this man meant her harm!
A mind-reading spell worked like a charm on ordinary people with no magical defenses. Annie easily got everything she wanted from his mind! After skimming through it, she decided today was her lucky day. This was wonderful! She finally had a chance to get her airplane!
After finally seeing Pierce off, Nick Fury turned around and let out a breath. To his surprise, Annie was looking at him with a smug grin. Confused, he glanced down at his clothes, then wiped his face. He didn't seem to have anything on it.
"What's wrong, Annie? Is something the matter?" Nick Fury was baffled. What was with the little girl all of a sudden? Why was she acting so strangely? What was so funny? Why was she still grinning?
"Dark-skinned uncle~!" Annie drawled sweetly, eyeing him with mischief. "How about we make a little deal? It'll be fun!"
"What deal? What are you up to? Let's hear it first!" Nick Fury was on guard. His instincts as an agent told him this little girl was up to something, so he didn't agree blindly.
"You give me one of those invisible planes downstairs, and I'll give you some very important information. Really, really important!" Annie made a point of emphasizing how valuable the information was.
"What? You want a Quinjet? That's impossible! If you just want to climb aboard and play around, that's no problem. But I'm absolutely not giving one to you!" Nick Fury rejected her without a second thought. What a joke! Was he supposed to give a fighter jet to a little girl? Did she think S.H.I.E.L.D. belonged to him?
"Don't rush to say no! I used magic to look through that weird uncle's memories just now, and I found out something really interesting. If you give me one of those planes outside, I'll tell you. It's a great deal!" Annie pointed at the row of Quinjets on the landing pad, looking very pleased with herself.
"What? You can use magic to look through other people's memories?" Director Nick Fury stumbled backward several steps in shock. Was this little girl really that powerful? She could read people's memories? Had she just seen all the classified information in his head?
"Oh, that's not important! What matters is that the weird uncle just now had some really bad intentions toward your S.H.I.E.L.D.! Are you sure you don't want to make a deal with me?"
Back in the Voodoo Lands, Annie had always wanted a flying mount. She could use flying magic, but flying by herself was tiring, wasted mana, and was slow! The old dragon in the Voodoo Lands would have been the best choice, but it didn't know what was good for it. It refused to appreciate her kindness, so Annie burned it to a crisp!
After that, she hadn't found a suitable one, and the matter had been put off.
It wasn't until she arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters that Annie spotted the planes called Quinjets at first sight. They could turn invisible, fly fast, and looked pretty!
But she'd gotten off on the wrong foot with the dark-skinned uncle. They'd clashed as soon as they met! So she'd spent ages working up the nerve to ask. Annie had kept it bottled up, and had nearly been tempted to simply steal one! Who could have guessed that the weird uncle who'd just come by would give her the perfect opportunity?
"Oh? Then tell me first," Nick Fury said noncommittally, keeping his distance from Annie to make sure she didn't use that memory-reading magic on him again.
"Hey, Annie! Are you sure the Director really gave it to you? He wasn't joking?" Back at the beach house, Coulson and Melinda stared in disbelief at the Quinjet parked on the lawn. Annie was standing on it, directing the staff as they finalized the initial design and customization plans.
Coulson even wondered if Annie had used some kind of mind-control magic on the Director. Otherwise, why would he give a Quinjet to a little girl? Even if she was someone important and had great abilities, there was no need to go that far, was there?
"Of course! Uncle Coulson, the dark-skinned uncle is an honest, trustworthy person. He really gave me this plane!" Annie jumped down from the high hatch and gave Nick Fury a little compliment.
Annie looked contentedly at the plane that now belonged to her. She'd decided what to call it: the Princess Annie!
"Then how did you manage it? Can you tell us?" Coulson and Melinda still looked completely baffled.
"I made a little deal with the dark-skinned uncle using some information!" Annie looked at them smugly. "And the dark-skinned uncle said this had to be kept absolutely secret. I can't tell anyone, including you two."
"..." Coulson and Melinda's mouths twitched. For a moment, they were speechless!
Keep it secret? You've already said way more than you should! It seemed the Director really had given her the plane. And the two of them shouldn't pry any further. They might be violating protocol if they did!
After speaking, Annie suddenly floated into the air and flew a circle around the plane! Then she drifted over to a staff member who was staring at her in terror after seeing her suddenly use a levitation spell. She told him to paint the plane's exterior a fiery red, because she liked the color of flames! Its current drab gray paint job was just too ugly!
Before you continue