Nick Fury shifted his gaze from Tony to Clint, who sat beside Natasha, the bruises on his face not yet fully faded.
For Nick Fury, there was no need to spare Hawkeye's feelings the way he had with Tony when reprimanding one of his own subordinates.
Tony was a S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant, the man at the helm of Stark Industries, Iron Man, and an indispensable core member of the Avengers Initiative. Nick Fury could reprimand him, but he could not truly offend him beyond repair.
But Clint was different. Clint was his soldier, an active S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and his subordinate. It was only natural for a superior to reprimand a subordinate.
Still, Fury did not say much. Clint was only human. Targeted by a magic-wielding "God of Mischief" like Loki, he had indeed had little room to resist. Any ordinary human agent would have met the same fate.
He briefly made his point: being controlled was not Clint's fault, but as one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s finest agents, he should understand his own value better than anyone. If he encountered a similar situation again, he had to hide himself first.
Nick Fury paused before saying, "Make up for it in what comes next."
After speaking, Nick Fury moved his gaze from Clint to Steve Rogers.
"Rogers." Fury's voice deepened. "You possess leadership qualities, extensive combat experience, and noble character. But you're still human, and that means you can't escape certain aspects of human nature, such as—prejudice."
Steve's brow furrowed slightly, but he said nothing.
"I don't care how you viewed Tony before, or how you viewed everyone here. Those were only your personal opinions. After everything that happened today, I believe your opinion of Tony has changed as well. So from now on, I hope you can truly shoulder the duties of this