Nick Fury frowned. He'd expected a name that was a little more unusual.
John was as common a name in the United States as Zhang Wei or Zhang Yida in China. There were countless people named John in America, let alone the rest of the world.
"Why are you looking for him?" Nick Fury asked curiously.
"He's very important," William replied. "He'll be key to Judgment Day in the future."
In the Terminator universe, John Conner was the leader of the Resistance. Skynet sent terrifying Terminators through time just to kill him. He was the central figure in the Terminator world.
Of course, Nick Fury and Coulson couldn't possibly know any of this. William had mentioned the name for no other reason than to distract them.
Skynet? Overwatch? Judgment Day? The Resistance?
Nick Fury felt a headache coming on. Now he finally understood why Coulson hadn't reported that William was a time traveler.
Because this sort of thing was impossible to explain. He knew the guy wasn't telling the whole truth, but he couldn't figure out which parts were true and which were lies.
But before long, Nick Fury noticed something was off. Ever since William had entered the room, he'd been the one steering the conversation, leading them around by the nose.
The guy had talked for ages without getting to the point. He kept beating around the bush and never answered Nick Fury's questions directly.
"You still haven't told me what your ability actually is," Nick Fury said, his gaze sharp.
"It's actually very simple." William knew it would be hard to bluff his way through this. If he said the wrong thing, it would be difficult to explain the Overwatch System's abilities later. "This power comes from the future. When I traveled through time to get here, I brought Overwatch's abilities with me."
"Overwatch's abilities?"
"That's right. Before I traveled through time, the heroes of Overwatch gave me their powers, granting me the ability to transform into powerful Overwatch heroes!"
As soon as William finished speaking, the Overwatch emblem on the back of his hand lit up. After a period of cooldown, he was able to transform again.
As Coulson and Nick Fury watched in astonishment, William transformed into Soldier: 76. He hefted the futuristic Heavy Pulse Rifle, while the Tactical Visor before his eyes glowed a dim red.
If William had just been an ordinary man a moment ago, now he was a battle-hardened soldier!
"Can ordinary people use this ability?" Nick Fury asked, visibly shaken. As the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., his first concern was naturally the organization's interests. It would be great if the agents under his command could use this ability too.
"I'm afraid that's impossible." William's answer doused his hopes. "This ability comes from Overwatch in the future. If you really want to obtain it, you'll have to find a way to travel to the future."
Great. That was just as good as saying nothing. If we could build a time machine, would we even be asking you? Nick Fury couldn't help rolling his eye.
"Any other questions?" William asked as he returned to normal.
Coulson and Nick Fury exchanged a glance. Only after seeing Nick Fury nod did Coulson speak. "Mr. Lister, there's something S.H.I.E.L.D. would like your help with."
After going through round after round of review, they had finally settled on the name S.H.I.E.L.D. And, as it happened, the name was one William had suggested to them.
William scratched his head, looking reluctant. "You know, I'm just a pizza delivery guy. I don't make much, and I've got a younger brother studying out of town. I'm afraid I don't have time to help you."
Yeah, right! Nick Fury's eye widened. Which of this guy's words was true? Hadn't he just said he was a time traveler from the future? Why was he whining about his troubles now?
"Of course, we won't ask you to help for free. We'll pay you," Coulson continued.
Nick Fury pursed his lips. Coulson was thinking too simply. This guy was so difficult to deal with; money alone wouldn't sway him. He'd surely have other demands.
"How much will you pay me?" But the moment William heard there was money involved, his eyes lit up.
Nick Fury stared at him in disbelief. Just how broke was this guy? Did he have no dignity at all?
Coulson smiled helplessly. Time traveler or not, William was definitely poor.
When he'd visited William's place, he'd been hit by an overwhelming sense of poverty. From the cheap sofa to the freezer packed with frozen sandwiches, it was obvious the guy was strapped for cash.
"You'll be appointed as a special consultant with S.H.I.E.L.D. If I remember correctly, your monthly salary will be ten thousand dollars," Coulson replied after thinking it over.
William fell silent. Coulson assumed he was still unwilling, but then William looked up and asked, "Um... could I get half a month's pay in advance?"
"???" Nick Fury's face turned into one giant question mark.
Coulson had just sent William out the door when he was summoned to Director Fury's office.
"I'll let what happened earlier slide for now," Nick Fury said grimly. "You know I can count on the fingers of one hand the people I trust in S.H.I.E.L.D. Phil, if you ever lie to me again, I won't hesitate to transfer you to the archives."
"Thank you, sir!" Coulson quickly lowered his head and thanked him. Being transferred to the archives meant his clearance level at S.H.I.E.L.D. would be reduced. More importantly, he'd never be able to go on field assignments again.
Nick Fury asked sternly, "Do you think this time traveler is telling the truth?"
Coulson hesitated. He'd been wrestling with the question himself lately. "Honestly, I don't think everything he said was true. Some of it may have been lies, but we can't verify any of it, so we can't call him out."
Nick Fury nodded. William was probably lying to protect his abilities, though there might be other reasons...
"But no matter what, he doesn't seem to have any ill will toward S.H.I.E.L.D. right now. We urgently need people with special abilities to help prevent unusual incidents," Coulson continued. "We need his help."
"We still don't know what his ability can do. That makes him an unknown quantity." Nick Fury sat up straight. "In that case, I need you to keep an eye on everything he does."
"Install surveillance cameras?" Coulson frowned. The best way to keep an eye on someone was to put cameras in their home and all the places they frequented.
"No." Nick Fury's expression was serious. "This time, I want you to watch him yourself."
William sat in the conference room, drinking coffee. He'd been talking for ages and was thirsty. He'd said so much, but he had no idea how much of it they'd believed. Those stories had been meant to explain his abilities—to prepare them for what was to come.
He'd established a preliminary relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. Now all he could do was take things one step at a time.
Before long, Coulson came out of the office to take William home.
An hour later, a red convertible pulled up outside an apartment building in Brooklyn. William got out, opening the door, and was stunned to see Coulson carrying his luggage and coming upstairs with him.
"Are you planning to live at my place from now on?" William asked in surprise. He knew Nick Fury wouldn't trust him and would have Coulson keep an eye on him, but did he really have to live in his home? That was a complete invasion of privacy.
Besides, he only had one bed. Was Coulson planning to share it with him?
Fortunately, Coulson didn't enter his apartment. Instead, he opened the door to the unit next door.
"Oh, right," Coulson said with a smile. "Starting today, we're neighbors!"
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