Inside S.H.I.E.L.D.
Fury stared at Hermione as she stormed in, momentarily taken aback.
"Miss Wizard, is there something you need?"
Hermione planted her hands on her hips and demanded angrily, "Haven't you forgotten something? Where are the materials I asked for? You promised to send them to Stark Tower, so why haven't they arrived?"
Fury's eyes flickered, and he instinctively asked, "What materials?"
The moment the words left his mouth, he realized his mistake and hastily added, "Oh, you mean those magical materials. Things have been busy at the agency lately, and they slipped my mind. I'll have someone deliver them right away."
Hermione eyed him suspiciously.
She nodded and turned to leave, then suddenly seemed to remember something and looked back.
"By the way, have you been missing Goose?"
With a gentle wave of Hermione's hand, a chubby orange cat appeared out of thin air and sprawled lazily on the floor.
"Meow~"
The instant Fury saw Goose, his expression changed drastically. His body stiffened, and he backed away repeatedly, as though he had seen some terrifying monster.
"Y-you... why did you bring that cat here?" he stammered, his voice trembling slightly.
Hermione immediately realized something was wrong. She slammed a hand onto the desk, and her wand appeared in her hand, pointing straight at Fury.
"Who are you really?" she demanded sharply, a dangerous gleam in her eyes. "Don't even think about keeping up this act!"
Tiny beads of sweat broke out on Fury's forehead as he feigned composure.
"Miss Wizard, what are you talking about? I'm Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Who else could I be? Stop joking."
"Joking?" Hermione's eyes glowed an eerie blue before she sneered. "You damned Skrull! How dare you impersonate Nick Fury! Talk! Who are you, and where is he?"
Powerful magic surged