First Mission

The first person Fury asked was his old subordinate, the good old Phil Coulson, whom he considered the most loyal to him.

Coulson had long prepared an answer for his leader's question. "Sharon Carter will definitely remain loyal to the country, as long as it does not violate her own principles. Maria Hill and Daisy Johnson will also obey orders. Miss Hill would make a very good executor, while Miss Johnson is too aggressive."

Fury neither confirmed nor denied it, carefully recording Coulson's words before contacting the second agent.

"Miss Johnson's combat ability is beyond reproach. With proper training, she could replace me. The other two have no real talent for combat." That was Hawkeye's report.

"They're all pretty average. Comparatively speaking, Daisy is a little better." Those were Melinda May's exact words.

"How much longer do I have to wait on these three ladies? Boss, hurry up and send me on a mission." That was the complaint-filled Black Widow.

After hearing the reports, Nick Fury weighed the three women's strengths and weaknesses in his mind.

All three were highly capable, there was no doubt about that. But deep down, he still thought more highly of Hill. They had worked together for a while and had developed a decent rapport.

But Hill had strong opinions of her own. She would not blindly follow orders.

Sharon had few shortcomings, but almost no outstanding strengths either. She could do a bit of everything but excelled at nothing, and that counted against her.

Daisy also had quite a few issues. She was aggressive and liked solving everything through combat. From an agent's perspective, that made her very useful, but from a leader's perspective, Fury felt Daisy would cause him plenty of trouble.

What a headache! Nick Fury put away the files with a dark expression, deciding to observe them for a while longer.

Back at the academy, Daisy's life returned to normal. She did not set aside her combat training or her quantum physics studies. Thinking ahead to the many things that might happen in the future, she also began learning a foreign language: Runic.

It was said that Odin had hung himself from a tree and pondered for nine days and nine nights before finally creating this script.

There could be no harm in learning Runic in the Marvel world.

"Why are you learning such an obscure language?" Sharon truly did not understand. Why did Daisy's interests jump around so much?

"Curiosity. Pure curiosity." Daisy's explanation could not have sounded less sincere.

Combat and languages were easy enough to learn, but quantum physics posed too many and too great obstacles for her. Relying solely on the academy's curriculum was far too slow.

Besides, many contemporary theories seemed wrong to her. She desperately wanted to find an authority in physics who could help her sort through everything systematically.

Daisy subtly explained her request to Coulson. In her eyes, he was practically a college guidance counselor.

"A top professor of physics? Aren't the academy's professors good enough?"

She gave an embarrassed smile. Theory had to be connected to practice. She had her abilities, so she could connect it to practice herself, while those professors could only analyze things from a purely theoretical perspective. To be honest, she thought little of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s lecturers. They were too rigid and only knew how to recite from textbooks.

"All right. I'll ask around for you." Coulson agreed.

Daisy thought the good old Coulson would have to report it, screen candidates, find someone suitable, and finally persuade them. The whole process would take at least several days. Yet that very afternoon, she was summoned to the conference room.

There were not many people in the conference room, and surprisingly, they were all familiar faces.

Phil Coulson, Black Widow, Hill, Sharon, and herself. Five people in total.

Daisy wanted to say she was not going on a mission, but Coulson signaled for her not to rush.

He switched on the large screen, where several photographs of a somewhat gaunt old man appeared.

Though Coulson seemed to be speaking to all of them, he was really addressing Daisy. "Dr. Hank Pym is an authority in biochemistry, quantum physics, robotics, artificial intelligence, and entomology."

Daisy glanced sideways. Of course she knew Hank Pym—the original Ant-Man, one of the foremost minds of humanity in official Marvel canon.

He stood on the same level as Tony Stark, Mr. Fantastic Reed Richards, and Hulk Bruce Banner.

Someone like that was more than qualified to teach her, but judging by the current situation, things were probably not that simple.

The original Ant-Man must have run into trouble and needed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s help. Daisy nodded, indicating that she would join the operation.

Coulson acted as though he had not seen her little gesture and continued. "Dr. Pym once worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. He is one of our predecessors, and recently, he has encountered a small problem."

"What problem?" The moment a mission was mentioned, Black Widow came alive. She truly did not want to keep teaching.

"He has disappeared. The analysis department believes he has been imprisoned by an organization or an individual."

"Who captured him?"

"Unknown."

"Where was he taken?"

"Unknown."

Black Widow and Coulson exchanged information rapidly through their brief questions and answers.

"Dr. Pym was last seen at his laboratory in Hungary. You can gather clues there." Coulson handed the tablet to Black Widow, indicating that his mission briefing was complete.

Black Widow asked in disbelief, "Us?"

Coulson revealed an enigmatic smile. "Yes, the four of you. They're still young, so I need you to lead the team."

Seeing that Black Widow seemed somewhat unwilling, his expression turned serious. "Those are orders from above."

Daisy was speechless. Orders from above, my ass! A top agent, the descendant of a decorated hero, a prospective deputy director, and a nobody like herself all thrown together on a mission—who besides Director Fury could have issued that order?

At the same time, she gained a new understanding of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s efficiency. Old Doctor had probably been missing for quite some time. Otherwise, it could not have been such a coincidence that she made her request in the morning and received a mission that afternoon.

This mission had probably been sitting on Nick Fury's desk for ages. Dr. Pym was supposedly a respected predecessor, but Daisy suspected Director Fury did not care about him at all.

She considered the team's composition again. One top agent leading three rookies who were not completely useless. It was a little like Marvel's Team Seven! The only question was whether this mission would be their Land of Waves...

While she was lost in wild thoughts, the others were all highly obedient and immediately returned to their rooms to pack their gear.

"We leave in fifteen minutes. Bring your weapons. This is live combat!" Black Widow instructed them from behind, sounding somewhat displeased.

Back in her room, Daisy realized she did not know what to bring either. Unlike her previous trip to Puerto Rico, she now had an organization behind her, so there was not much to prepare.

She hung her modified Chiappa Rhino revolver, Love and Hate, at her waist, slipped the standard-issue Glock carried by every female agent into her boot, and brought two daggers and ammunition. Her underwear and Battle Suit were both soft enough to fit into her shoulder bag. Her preparations were complete.

When she stepped outside, she found Sharon carrying a huge camouflage pack, as though the U.S. military were deploying from home to Afghanistan.