A secret meeting at an abandoned safe house, a former agent and a former director

New York, Queens.

An abandoned laundromat, its doors covered in graffiti, its broken windows haphazardly nailed together with plywood. The air was thick with the sour, rotten smell of garbage soaked by rainwater overnight.

The hidden door in the basement emitted a soft groan from its metal hinges.

Nick Fury emerged. He wore an unassuming black trench coat, the brim of his hat pulled low, and his single eye warily scanned every shadow in the alleyway.

Only after confirming it was safe did he take a step forward, preparing to blend into the crowd at the street corner.

Just as he turned around, a figure emerged slowly from the shadows of the wall directly in front of him, blocking his path.

Fury's body tensed instantly, and his hand instinctively reached for the inside of his trench coat.

He recognized the person who had come.

It's Gwen Stacy Stacy. The former Ghost-Spider, whose file indicates "Dimension anomaly," is now Lynn's rising star.

She wasn't wearing that eye-catching battle outfit, just a simple gray hoodie and jeans, her hands in her pockets, her expression calm, as if she were waiting for a friend she had arranged to meet.

This calm made Fury more uneasy than any murderous intent.

"Mr. Fury," Gwen Stacy said, her voice not loud, but exceptionally clear in the quiet alley.

Fury didn't respond, his single eye fixed on her, his mind racing. How did this woman find this place? The security level of this Safe House was so high that even within S.H.I.E.L.D.., only a very small number of people knew about it.

"Your tracking skills are still so outdated." Gwen Stacy's lips curled into a faint smile, as if she were commenting on a novice's homework. "The residual biopheromones are too strong, like lighting a cigarette in the dark."

Fury's pupils contracted slightly.

He remained silent for a moment, then finally lowered his guard and resumed the calm and official tone typical of the former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D..

"Agent Stacy, your file has been sealed." He tried to define her using the old order of identities to seize control of the conversation. "Your presence here, is it Lynn's doing? What does he want?"

He was testing her. Testing Gwen Stacy's intentions, and even more so, testing Lynn's true intentions.

Gwen Stacy seemed not to hear his question. She took a miniature data terminal out of her pocket and began operating it on her own.

"Nick Fury. Former S.H.I.E.L.D.. Level 10 Agent, former Director." She looked at the terminal screen, as if reading from a personnel file. "After the Washington, D.C. incident, he was semi-retired, responsible for coordinating the remaining affairs of S.H.I.E.L.D.. and external communications. Is that right?"

Fury's brow furrowed even deeper.

This condescending attitude gave him a long-lost sense of oppressive pressure, a feeling of being scrutinized.

"I represent the ' Cross-Dimensional and Special Threat Liaison Office '," Gwen Stacy, turning off her terminal and looking up at him with a flat, emotionless gaze. "I've come to hand over my duties with S.H.I.E.L.D..."

"Cross-Dimensional and Special Threat Liaison Office?" Fury chewed on the unfamiliar department name, his heart sinking.

A new department.

Lynn began building her team. And this woman, who had just been parachuted in, clearly occupied a significant position within this new team.

"I've never heard of this department," Fury said in a deep voice. "Any handover of duties within S.H.I.E.L.D.. requires formal channels through the World Security Council."

He's still trying to use the old rules as a shield.

Gwen Stacy laughed. It was a laugh that saw through all the bluffing, a slightly mocking laugh.

"Director Fury, you don't seem to have grasped the current situation."

She took a step closer to Fury.

"Who gave you permission to clean up the mess in Washington, D.C.? Who physically isolated those agent files contaminated by Hydra? And under which department is the underlying maintenance authority for the encrypted frequency band you're using to communicate with me?"

Each question was like a hammer, striking at Fury's psychological Defense Line.

He talks about the World Security Council and the old order, but he knows better than anyone that the reason S.H.I.E.L.D.. hasn't sunk is entirely due to the invisible anchor dropped by Lynn's side.

"I..." Fury's voice faltered for the first time.

"The establishment of our office is a direct instruction from Mr. Lynn." Gwen Stacy's tone turned cold and formulaic, as if she were reading an official Red-Headed Document that brooked no argument. "According to the newly issued 'Guiding Opinions on Preventing Potential Technical Risks and Information Security Vulnerabilities,' for unified management, effective immediately, all of S.H.I.E.L.D..'s underlying databases, including but not limited to ' Cradle,' ' Slingshot, ' and the biometric information of all registered agents, must be fully open to our office for filing and review."

Fury's expression changed completely.

This is no longer a handover; this is a takeover of our cards.

Those underlying databases are the last legacy of S.H.I.E.L.D.., and the only remaining bargaining chip in the hands of this former King of Agents, which he can use to balance the various parties.

"Impossible." He refused flatly. "This is S.H.I.E.L.D..'s top secret; authorization is paramount. I don't have that authority."

"This isn't a discussion, it's a notification."

The smile on Gwen Stacy's face vanished completely, replaced by an absolute, unquestionable dominance.

"Mr. Fury, you need to understand one thing. The extraordinary protection you enjoy doesn't come without a price."

She stared into Fury's eyes and spoke, word by word.

"Giving you access is your obligation. It's how you demonstrate your value in order to exist."

"Otherwise, asylum can be terminated at any time."

The air in the alley seemed to freeze.

The phrase "protection can be terminated at any time" hung like an invisible sword over Fury's head. He had no doubt about the weight of the woman's words. Having witnessed the Deity of the three female deities in Washington, D.C., he knew clearly that once the protection of Lynn's forces was lost, the remaining S.H.I.E.L.D.., and himself, would be completely wiped off the face of the earth overnight, leaving no trace.

The once invincible king of spies discovers for the first time that all his schemes, backup plans, and intelligence networks are as fragile as a piece of paper in the face of absolute and unreasonable new rules.

The other party didn't even bother to play games with him; they simply told him to either obey or disappear.

This is an extreme, dimensional reduction of official power.

a long time.

Fury's taut shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly for a moment. He pulled a black device the size of a matchbox from his trench coat pocket and tossed it to Gwen Stacy.

"This is the Highest Access Privileges key. The physical address of the underlying database is at the ' Hive ' base in Virginia." His voice was hoarse, carrying a deep sense of helplessness. "I need time to evacuate the personnel over there."

He compromised.

Gwen Stacy caught the key and weighed it in her hand.

She knew that from this moment on, her "liaison Liaison Office," which consisted of no one else, finally had its first bit of political capital that could change the situation.

"Three days," Gwen Stacy gave the timeframe.

Fury nodded, said nothing more, and turned to leave. He had lost, utterly and helplessly.

"Wait a minute," Gwen Stacy called out to him.

Fury stopped walking, but didn't turn around.

"Have there been any... unusual guests lately?" Gwen Stacy asked casually.

Fury was silent for a few seconds.

He seemed to be weighing something.

Finally, he spoke, his voice extremely low, as if sharing a fatal secret.

"I can give you the data, but you'd better be careful."

"Recently, some unclean things have been wandering around in the Timeline."

"An organization called 'TVA' is particularly sensitive to ' Time Variant ' like you and me."

After saying that, he didn't linger, quickly walked to the street corner, and his figure disappeared into the crowd.

Gwen Stacy stood there, clutching the key in her hand, watching with amusement in the direction Fury had disappeared.

TVA, Time Variance Authority.

This old fox, while revealing his trump card, also subtly introduced an even more troublesome enemy.

Is he trying to make amends, or is he trying to shift the blame?

Perhaps, it's both.