Avengers Initiative

Late at night.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion Headquarters, Director's Office.

One-eyed Egghead... Nick Fury sat in his chair, absentmindedly turning over a cube even smaller than a standard third-order Rubik's Cube.

This world was not as ordinary as ordinary people believed. Aliens, Mutants, Inhumans, and all sorts of bizarre monsters who had either deliberately or accidentally messed around and, instead of dying, gained all kinds of strange abilities—these people threatened the safety of the entire world at every moment.

Some kept their heads down. Others feared the world was not chaotic enough.

Most of them still had brains. They knew a little power was nothing special, so they kept it hidden, occasionally acting as vigilantes or heroes, or simply telling no one and taking the secret to their graves, terrified the state machine would toss them into The Laboratory and slice them up—

Mainly because their powers were not much to speak of, and were rather... balls-achingly awkward.

He knew of one guy who had accidentally knocked over several test tubes during an experiment, spilling several different solutions onto his male genitals.

Something indescribable happened. The man often said he could not control himself, but it really was not his fault. It was all the solutions' fault.

He lost his job, became depressed, and eventually went to Thailand...

Some people were simply idiots. They always thought they were Children of Destiny, Protagonists of the Era, God's Chosen, or outright gods. In the end, they were just fucking lunatics, either robbing banks or getting involved with organized crime.

The smarter and more powerful ones either quietly made fortunes or, though high-profile, did quite well for themselves. Red Skull during World War II, for example, had even founded "Hydra" to stir up trouble.

S.H.I.E.L.D. existed to deal with these detestable people—Hydra first and foremost.

Over the decades, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s "Special Ability User Registry" had recorded no one knew how many people like them.

The harmless ones were kept under surveillance;

Those who might be harmful were kept under high-level surveillance;

Those who were definitely harmful were either arrested or brought under control... which seemed to mean the same thing?

In short, harmony and stability mattered most.

Some of them were difficult to handle, and that was when their own kind had to be brought in to deal with them—

In certain fanciful comic books, these people were called "Super Heroes."

S.H.I.E.L.D. had Super Heroes.

During World War II, there had been Human Torch and Captain America—though S.H.I.E.L.D. did not yet exist then. Later came Ant-Man and Captain Marvel.

Now, some of them were gone, and some were gone... the two meanings of "gone" were different.

In any case, although S.H.I.E.L.D. now had a few "Super Heroes" serving as agents, such as Black Widow and Hawkeye, they were far too inferior compared to Ant-Man and Captain Marvel. They were not even in the same league.

What worried him even more was that, perhaps because the times had changed, there were more and more Special Ability Users.

The others were not much of a problem. Well-trained agents with excellent equipment could deal with them. But some were simply impossible to handle.

Like Hulk.

Over the past four years, the damage caused by that guy's occasional rampages had amounted to at least a billion dollars. Pistols were useless, sniper rifles were useless, cannons could not kill him, missiles could not blow him up. He was a complete freak!

As S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director, Egghead felt he had to do something.

He had his own plans.

It was time to establish the Avengers Initiative!

A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in." With a flick of Egghead's hand, the cube vanished somewhere on his person. A tall, cool-looking woman in a fitted azure outfit walked in.

Lean, capable, and somewhat aloof.

"Agent Hill, what is it?" Egghead straightened up and adopted a proper attitude.

He admired this woman, but he was also wary and guarded around her—

Ever since the Skrulls invasion, he had remained suspicious of everyone, even Agent Coulson, whom he trusted most.

Agent Hill was highly capable, incredibly efficient, and tough in her methods. She was a Level 9 Agent second only to himself, and the key was that she did not really listen to him—

That last point was the most important. It had directly earned her the trust of the Council and the former S.H.I.E.L.D. director, current Secretary of National Security Alexander Pierce, bringing him plenty of trouble in his work.

Some secrets absolutely could not be allowed to reach her ears, like that little cube from earlier.

"Sir, a small gang called the Fifth Street Gang in Los Angeles was wiped out. Thirty-seven people died. Only one survived because he was arrested and sent to prison."

Hill placed several documents and a stack of photographs on the desk. "Agents in the area conducted a detailed examination and found evidence that had not been destroyed in time. They believe the incident was related to a Special Ability User."

A Special Ability User?

Egghead leaned forward, glanced over the photographs, then picked up the documents.

He read them for a full five minutes.

As a leader, he would not jump to conclusions. The less he said, the fewer mistakes he made, and he could maintain an air of mystery.

Once his subordinates had finished speaking, he would think it over carefully before reaching a conclusion.

If they were right, he could say, "You're right. That's what I was thinking too."

If they were wrong, he could state his own views, while also giving them a serious lecture and criticism. Naturally, the main purpose was to demonstrate a leader's competence and authority.

How wonderful.

"Tell me your assessment." Egghead looked at Hill with an expression of encouragement and trust.

Hill remained expressionless.

She knew Egghead too well. The man was cunning and devious, and more importantly, he was exceptionally gifted—his face was darker than coal. It was impossible to read his true thoughts from his expression, especially at night.

He was practically a born agent, a true king of agents!

"There were marks from chains striking the scene, as well as burn marks. There were also burn marks where tires had run across the ground, yet there were no vehicle explosions or fires nearby. Witnesses claimed to have seen a burning car and a Hellfire with flames coming out of his head. I believe this was a Mutant or Inhuman capable of manipulating fire and fond of using chains. There is also something wrong with that car, though other possibilities cannot be ruled out."

Hill glanced at Egghead's black leather trench coat and thought, It's blazing hot, you're dressed like that, and you still refuse to turn on the air conditioning. It's fine if you value style over comfort, sir, but is this really necessary? You're about to turn into a hot dog!

Black absorbs heat, sir!

Your dark skin already absorbs heat, and you're wearing black on top of that—leather, too, with no ventilation. What were you thinking, sir?

"Go on." Egghead nodded, still wearing that encouraging look.

Hill was exhausted, but fortunately she had long grown used to it and had developed powerful immunity. "At least ten bodies were found in one of the Fifth Street Gang's trucks... They were burned too badly, so it will take time to determine the exact number. There was also an RPG launcher in the truck, yet the truck itself was destroyed by a rocket. I believe the Fifth Street Gang successfully fired the rocket, and then... someone used some method to alter its trajectory, causing it to blow up their own truck."

"Continue." Egghead smiled, continuing to encourage her.

Hill could not be bothered with him and continued her report. "I believe two people wiped out the Fifth Street Gang. Hellfire's abilities are relatively easy to identify. The other person left no traces, so there is nothing we can do for now."

Egghead nodded in approval. "You're right. That's what I was thinking too. Agent Hill, what do you plan to do?"

Sir, are you sure you actually thought about it...? Hill remained expressionless. "Start with the one surviving member of the Fifth Street Gang and find out who they provoked that they should not have. Agent Coulson or Agent Romanoff would be the best choices."

Egghead clasped his hands together with a smile. "Then have them investigate. Level 3 Incident, Security Level 7. You will handle the filing. Anything else?"

The meaning was obvious: if there was nothing else, get out.

Hill did not move. She stared at Egghead.

For a full two minutes.

Egghead grew uncomfortable and leaned back in his chair. "Go ahead."

There are so many Level 7 Agents in the agency, yet you still want me handling the filing. You know exactly how much I have to do every day... Hill fell silent for two seconds before saying, "Sir, are you interested in Super Heroes?"

Egghead smiled. "I grew up listening to Captain America's stories and reading Captain America comics. You know his deeds as well. Ant-Man and Captain Marvel both saved this world. You cannot deny that, can you?"

Hill was silent for another two seconds before looking straight at Egghead. "Sir, I believe more in systems and in the strength of the collective, not heroes, not illusory hope."

Hill did not trust Super Heroes. That was official canon... not something the author made up.