In a S.H.I.E.L.D. laboratory, Rimuru had been placed on an examination table after being brought back, with all sorts of strange monitoring devices attached to him.
Nick Fury and Coulson stood behind the glass outside the laboratory, watching it all.
"Agent Coulson, are you sure you didn't make a mistake? This was the only thing in that crater?" Nick Fury asked the question that cut to the soul. He had imagined that whatever was inside might be the wreckage of something, a device of unknown purpose, or an object with some strange ability. Instead, what they had brought back was a blue, gelatinous ball.
"Sir, that really was the only thing in the crater. It stayed beside me the entire way back, so there's no chance it was switched." Coulson had no way to voice his frustrations. He had made a trip out to the desert and come back with this thing, and he still hadn't managed to write his mission report.
The laboratory staff stared at the blue jelly in front of them. Their initial calm had given way to bewilderment, and now to shock and confusion.
There was indeed an energy signature, but no matter what methods they used, they couldn't detect anything unusual about it. It was just like a real lump of gel. Yet its toughness, which had defeated every attempt to cut even the tiniest piece off, showed that it was no ordinary thing.
Looking at the report in his hand and the slime before him, Nick Fury decided to try it himself.
A finger in a black glove gently poked the mass of blue gel on the examination table. It felt cool and springy. He tried pressing harder, and the mass deformed slightly before quickly returning to its original shape.
"The report says laser cutting had no effect?" he asked without turning around, his single eye still fixed on the slime.
"That's right, Director." A researcher pulled up a data panel. "We tried everything from low-power lasers to high-energy lasers capable of cutting through high-strength alloys, but they didn't leave a mark on its surface. Ultrasound, a molecular vibrating blade, and an attempt to freeze and shatter it all failed."
Fury picked up an ultrasonic scalpel, normally used on the most troublesome alien biological tissue, and stabbed it at the slime's side without hesitation.
The tip suddenly slowed short of the surface, as though it had sunk into an invisible quagmire. Fury pushed harder, his arm muscles tensing and the blade emitting a high-frequency hum, but it couldn't advance another fraction of an inch.
Strangest of all, the slime itself didn't even deform.
"An energy shield?" Fury withdrew the blade. It was clean as new, with not a single fleck chipped off.
"Not an energy shield in the traditional sense." Another scientist leaned closer to the monitor. "No energy field has been detected around it. It's more as if its skin refuses to be separated at the subatomic level."
Fury folded his arms, his single eye narrowing slightly. "What about the energy signature? You said you detected abnormal readings."
"Here." The researcher pulled up another set of waveforms. "There's a continuous, stable flow of energy inside it, but the structure is completely closed off. We can't determine its source. It's like..."
"Like there's a miniature universe inside it?" Fury finished, his voice calm but noticeably grave.
A brief silence fell over the laboratory. Suddenly, the readings on the instruments began to soar, and the somewhat dim blue sphere grew bright.
The slime seemed to tremble slightly. It was extremely subtle, but the monitoring equipment simultaneously registered a rhythmic pulse in the energy readings.
Fury immediately took half a step back, his hand already on the weapon at his waist. "Did it just move? Is this thing alive?"
"Vital signs!" a young researcher exclaimed. "It's had a faint life signature all along, but it just got much stronger! Is this thing about to wake up?"
Ripples spread across the surface of the blue gel. Then, under everyone's gaze, part of it slowly rose, forming a fairly regular oval instead of lying limp.
Two oval depressions gradually formed at the top of the raised portion. A soft golden glow appeared inside them, and a pair of eyes could faintly be seen slowly emerging.
The scientists all became agitated. They had worked so hard for so long without finding out much, and now they had discovered that this thing was actually a living creature. There was no doubt about it: this creature definitely wasn't from Earth.
Rimuru was bewildered when he woke up. He had still been in the desert when he was lulled to sleep, so how had he ended up in a laboratory as soon as he woke up? And there was such a large crowd watching him.
Huh? Why do these two look a little familiar? Aren't those Black Nick Fury and Coulson? Have I been brought to S.H.I.E.L.D.? You guys work fast.
Before he could open his mouth to say hello, yellow sparks flashed beneath him. A small hole slowly opened, and he fell straight through.
The crowd, who had still been excited and shocked, were dumbfounded. The yellow sparks had flashed, and the thing was gone.
"Seal off the laboratory immediately. No one is allowed to leave, and all surveillance footage is to be secured." Nick Fury reacted quickly, immediately realizing that this was an abnormal encounter with an extraterrestrial life-form.
After the agents conducted a series of checks, they found no additional traces. In other words, the thing hadn't turned invisible or anything like that. It had simply vanished, leaving through that yellow hole.
The scientists were heartbroken. The Nobel Prize that had been within their grasp had flown away just like that.
Coulson had it worst. Now his report was even harder to write. He had brought back a thing he couldn't identify, and now that thing was gone too.
Rimuru was suffering too. What was all this? The system had inexplicably brought him to the Marvel Universe, he had passed out after landing, and S.H.I.E.L.D. had picked up his unconscious body. Now some big shot had captured him and brought him here.
The Ancient One had actually noticed him long ago, but she hadn't paid him any attention at first. It wasn't until the Great Sage loaded and that abnormal energy began to soar that the Ancient One realized something was wrong. By the time she wanted to intervene, it was already too late, because even the Eye of Agamotto no longer worked.
The future timeline was in complete chaos.
Rimuru was panicking now. The magic power surging through him not only failed to make him feel safe, but had also become a death warrant.
With the energy I'm showing right now, what kind of righteous character would I look like? What righteous character has black smoke coming off them?