Everyone in a position of power had a greater desire for control than ordinary people.
That was especially true of an intelligence chief like Nick Fury.
The fact that Nick Fury still had ample personnel and covert forces of his own, even after Hydra had riddled S.H.I.E.L.D. with holes, made that clear.
He liked having the whole situation under control and disliked events or people beyond his control.
Yet he had happened to run into someone like Qin Xiao.
Whether it was the Iron Monger incident or his own strength, which surpassed that of an ordinary super soldier.
He had never given Nick Fury any advance warning.
Only after something happened did he remember he had an employer, and even then, he only notified Fury so he could send people to clean up the mess.
"If you hadn't mentioned it, I'd have thought you'd forgotten I was your boss. Not surprising, really. You're a celebrity now, with a superhero title and high-society friends like Tony Stark!"
Nick Fury couldn't be blamed for his sarcasm. The last time he had spoken to Qin Xiao on the phone, he had been so angry he smashed his phone.
"You can't blame me for that, boss. You're the one who never gave me a chance to fit into my workplace. Other than Natasha, Clint, Coulson, and you, I don't know a single person in our department."
"I don't even know what I'm supposed to do every day. You're the one who never gave me a chance, so you can't blame me. And with Obadiah last time, Tony called me to save his life. I notified Coulson as soon as I'd dealt with it."
Qin Xiao also knew that he mostly used S.H.I.E.L.D. for his own ends. Rather than continuing to provoke Fury, he spread his hands to signal his innocence.
"Then what about that time in the Middle East? You must have been aboard the Quinjet then, the one you stole from the Los Angeles branch, yet you fed me some bullshit about a yacht party!"
Nick Fury slammed the table angrily.
"That's what you get for giving me an ID that won't get me into the branch. I meant to walk right in and request a plane, but who knew my work ID wouldn't even get me into my own workplace? Isn't that a joke?"
Qin Xiao remained utterly unruffled, his expression saying none of it was his fault.
"What about Stark, then? Why didn't you report that suit of Iron Man Armor to me beforehand?"
Nick Fury pressed him aggressively.
"That's not my job, boss. Did you ever tell me I was responsible for monitoring Tony Stark's every move? No. So you really can't blame me!"
Qin Xiao was utterly shameless.
Nick Fury felt a headache coming on. By rights, this was the sort of thing Qin Xiao should have told him, but he really had never mentioned it or given the kid any training.
So if Qin Xiao wanted to argue the point, there really wasn't anything he could say.
"All right! Let's leave the past alone. Can you explain your strength, then? That isn't the strength of a super soldier. Neither Captain America nor Isaiah could have dealt with that big metal fellow so easily!"
Qin Xiao showed no intention of offering him anything, so Nick Fury could only get up, fetch a glass, and pour himself a drink before speaking.
"That's simple. Chinese martial arts. You know I'm Chinese. The mysterious East has always had plenty of mysterious things. Bruce Lee, you know him? Wa-taah! Chinese martial arts!"
Qin Xiao spouted nonsense again and struck one of Bruce Lee's classic poses.
"Chinese martial arts?"
Nick Fury was no idiot. He asked doubtfully.
"Exactly! Chinese martial arts!"
Qin Xiao nodded solemnly.
As though to prove he was telling the truth, he held out his hand and asked Natasha for a handgun.
Imitating Beast from Kung Fu Hustle, he held the gun in his right hand and aimed it straight at his own temple.
Meanwhile, he wondered how to say that line in English-Of all martial arts, none cannot be overcome; only speed is invincible!-to make it sound more imposing.
At the same time, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!
With the gunshot, under Nick Fury's and Black Widow's incredulous gazes.
Qin Xiao swiftly reached toward his right temple with his left hand, its index and middle fingers already poised.
Thud!
Qin Xiao's left hand had barely drawn level with his nose when the bullet mercilessly struck his temple.
With all his attention on his left hand, Qin Xiao hadn't braced his body at all.
Black Widow's modified little handgun packed plenty of power at close range.
The tremendous impact struck his temple, whipping Qin Xiao's head to the other side.
It promptly took his body along with it and slammed him to the floor.
His left hand remained raised high in a victory sign.
Hulk's defensive power was terrifying. Even at only 30%, it wasn't something a handgun could penetrate.
Though the temple was a vulnerable spot, there wasn't even a little red mark where Qin Xiao had been shot.
From Qin Xiao's movements, anyone could tell he had tried and failed to catch the bullet barehanded.
So although Black Widow and Nick Fury were both deeply shocked, Black Widow still couldn't help bursting into laughter.
"Hm? That's what I wanted to demonstrate. Chinese martial arts-the Golden Bell Shield and Iron Cloth Shirt!"
Qin Xiao patted nonexistent dust off himself, sat back up, and spoke without a trace of shame.
"Quite a performance!"
Nick Fury clapped a few times dryly.
Then his expression turned serious as he spoke.
"Regardless of where your strength comes from, what I care about is the Avengers Initiative. Now we have you, Tony Stark, and a big green fellow who can transform. Add Agent Romanoff and Hawk Boy, and I think we can officially get this initiative underway."
"You're on good terms with both the big fellow and Stark. You'll be responsible for getting them to join us. Natasha will assist you. Any problems?"
Nick Fury's meaning was clear. In his mind, S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers Initiative should be two parallel lines, coordinating and cooperating without interfering with each other.
That was also why he had forced Qin Xiao to join S.H.I.E.L.D. but assigned him no missions and kept him from interacting with anyone other than his trusted people.
Join the Avengers Initiative, establish the Avengers with the extensive resources backing Nick Fury, then join forces with a group of like-minded people to strike out on their own when the time was right.
That had been one of Qin Xiao and Tony's plans to begin with, so he certainly had no objections.
Especially since, from what Nick Fury was saying, Black Widow would be working with him on the preparations before its establishment.
That suited Qin Xiao even better.
He nodded to indicate he had no problems at all. Nick Fury finally nodded in satisfaction and continued.
"We originally agreed to meet with you and Stark tomorrow. I wanted to see you first today so you could give Stark a heads-up and make my formal discussion tomorrow easier."
"I'll provide you with a base, funding, equipment, all kinds of weapons, and transportation. I'll even arrange some enemies for you to practice your teamwork against. Welcome officially to the Avengers!"