The Desperate Hydra

Alvin wasn't sure whether he should save Nick Fury after seeing him suddenly collapse.

He'd never had much of a favorable opinion of Nick Fury. He'd always felt that if Fury died, he wouldn't care.

But he'd promised Frank he'd keep Nick Fury alive, and Fury had certainly gone all out to strike at Hydra.

Besides, this was a stage Alvin had set up with Stark and Norman Osborn, with the aim of using Nick Fury to smear S.H.I.E.L.D.

They'd even allowed Nick Fury to stage an "assassination" to cement S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ties to Hydra, while using his "death" to escape prison.

The media didn't necessarily need the whole truth. A "truth" told from one particular angle was enough for them.

All Alvin and the others needed was to see S.H.I.E.L.D. destroyed. The rest didn't matter so much.

But the assassination had actually happened—and something seemed to have gone wrong...

A short, stocky middle-aged man with a large head and a toadlike mouth rushed onto the stage from backstage, accompanied by several men in hospital uniforms.

As they professionally worked to save Nick Fury, Alvin summoned a Corpse-Eater Vine and discreetly pricked Fury with it, hoping to keep him alive.

But as the life energy flowed into him, Nick Fury's vital signs grew weaker and weaker. Alvin began to realize something was up.

Only when the short, stocky middle-aged man led several others in carrying Nick Fury backstage on a stretcher did Alvin understand. As they passed, he gently pressed a hand against the bullet wound in Fury's chest.

The King of Spies hadn't just prepared to direct an "assassination" himself. He'd also made contingency plans in case someone else tried to kill him, and now those plans had clearly come in handy.

Finally understanding what was going on, Alvin gave