Unmanned Recon Chicken

When Shendu and Quill returned home, it was already late at night.

Quill's mother stood at the door, her face frighteningly pale.

Seeing her expression, Quill hurried forward and hugged her. "Mom, it's all right now."

The woman returned his hug, but Quill could feel her hands trembling. "Mom, what's wrong?"

Her hands were still shaking. "I... I was just thinking of going to look for you. I was so worried, and then..."

Her words trailed off midway as her gaze passed over Quill's shoulder and landed on a corner of the yard.

Shendu followed her gaze.

There was a rooster there, but it was no ordinary rooster.

It wore a miniature black tactical vest, complete with a tiny communicator, handcuffs, and a gun that looked like a toothpick.

The rooster stood ramrod straight, its eyes staring fixedly ahead. It looked less like it was roosting and more like it was keeping watch.

More importantly, there was the expression on its face. Even though it was a chicken, Shendu could sense it clearly.

It was a professional sort of indifference, mixed with the confusion of Who am I, where am I, what is going on? and the anxiety of Why won't this tactical vest come off?

Quill blinked and turned to Shendu. "This... is this some new S.H.I.E.L.D. biotech? An unmanned... chicken?"

Shendu did not answer. He sensed a peculiar energy fluctuation.

It was the energy fluctuation of the Monkey Talisman.

One end of that energy was connected to the "agent chicken," while the other was connected to Quill's mother.

"It..."

Quill's mother's voice trembled. "It was a person just now. He was hiding outside our fence, looking over here through binoculars."

"I was so scared. I thought he was a bad guy, so I wished for him to leave, and then... then he turned into this."

The tip of Shendu's tail tightened slightly.

This was bad.

She had turned a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent into a rooster.

And the rooster was still wearing miniature tactical gear, making his explanation even harder.

But Shendu knew very well that the Monkey Talisman did not have the ability to shrink equipment.

An eerie silence fell over the yard.

Only the rooster beside them occasionally turned its head and stared at them with those eyes. It had clearly grasped its situation now, and its gaze was full of the despair of How many reports am I going to have to write when I get back?

Quill scratched his head and looked at the rooster in the yard. "So... what's going on? Chitauri technology can turn people into chickens too?"

Shendu fell silent for a second, closed his eyes as if sensing the energy around them, then began to explain. "Radiation."

Quill and his mother looked at him at the same time.

"Radiation from the Chitauri wreckage."

Without changing expression, Shendu continued, "It wasn't ordinary radiation. That wild boar consumed the wreckage, and when it exploded, the radiation spread throughout the area."

"This radiation caused a... temporary genetic expression."

Shendu looked toward the "recon chicken," his tone certain. "He must have been watching this place when the radiation was at its strongest. His genes were affected, resulting in an atavistic change."

The yard fell quiet again for several seconds.

Quill sounded only half-convinced. "Really?"

Shendu nodded solemnly. "I'm very familiar with this sort of mutation. I think I told you before that I used to be human."

The rooster crowed loudly several times, and it sounded like a string of curses.

Quill crouched down and studied the rooster in front of him closely. "Then why is he still wearing clothes?"

"The clothes shrank," Shendu said without hesitation. "Chitauri radiation technology may affect nonliving matter too. The odds are just very low."

The rooster covered its eyes with a wing.

Quill's mother slowly released her son's tightly clenched hand. Some of the fear faded from her face, replaced by guilt. "Then... what do we do now? Should we help it?"

"No," Shendu said decisively. "Interference could prolong the radiation's effects. Just hand it over to S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm sure they'll be very interested in this."

Shendu paused, then added, "Put it somewhere quiet. Chickens... are easily startled."

The rooster raised its head and stared at Shendu with an expression that said, Do I look like I'm easily startled?

Shendu ignored it. He turned and walked into the house, his tail swaying lightly behind him as he silently calculated the time.

The radiation excuse could hold for twenty-four hours at most. After twenty-four hours, S.H.I.E.L.D. would definitely discover something unusual.

During that time, he needed to come up with another explanation or retrieve the Monkey Talisman.

After comforting his mother and repeatedly assuring her that the "agent chicken" would be fine, Quill returned to New York with Shendu.

Cleanup of the ruins in Lower Manhattan was still underway. To improve efficiency, S.H.I.E.L.D. had set up a temporary command center in the core area.

"Honestly," Quill said in a lowered voice as he used special tongs to pick up a piece of metal debris glowing blue, "I think that radiation-induced atavism explanation of yours is a little far-fetched. My mom believed it, but I didn't entirely."

Shendu used his tail to coil around a piece of wreckage and dropped it precisely into a sorting bin. "What matters is that she believed it."

"What about that chicken? I'm sure it didn't believe you." Quill recalled the look the rooster had given Shendu when they parted.

"Whether it believes me doesn't matter." Shendu tossed another piece of wreckage into the bin. "In another twelve hours, it'll turn back. By then, even it will doubt whether what happened that night was real."

Quill wanted to say more, but he was interrupted by the sound of engines drawing nearer.

A red-and-gold armored suit tore through the night sky, descending steadily in front of them with the signature roar of its thrusters.

The faceplate flipped up, revealing Tony Stark's face behind it, his expression unusually serious.

"Peter Quill, and..."

His gaze lingered on Shendu for two seconds. "Mr. Valmont."

Shendu nodded slightly. "Mr. Stark."

"Skip the pleasantries." Tony walked straight over after landing, holding up a tablet.

A photo of the rooster in its miniature tactical vest filled the screen. "I need an explanation. What is this?"

Quill looked at Shendu.

Shendu remained expressionless. "An abnormal genetic expression caused by radiation from Chitauri wreckage. It was already like that when we found it at the scene."

"Radiation?"

Tony raised an eyebrow. "I scanned the radiation spectrum across the entire area. None of it has anything to do with turning people into chickens. And—"

Tony enlarged the photo. "What's with the tactical vest? It shrank too? What kind of radiation can do that?"

The tip of Shendu's tail twitched almost imperceptibly. "Chitauri technology operates under physical rules different from those we understand. The wreckage may contain residual energy from spatial folding technology, which affected nonliving matter under specific conditions."

Tony stared into Shendu's eyes, trying to find some clue in them.

"You know," Tony said slowly, putting away the tablet, "I've seen plenty of talking animals in my life, but not many like you. Every sentence you say sounds like you've drafted it three times in advance."

Tony stepped closer. "That agent had been with S.H.I.E.L.D. for six years, with a solid record."

"Twelve hours ago, he was carrying out a surveillance mission. Then he turned into a chicken. And you two," his gaze moved back and forth between Shendu and Quill, "just happened to be at that house at that exact time."