"Yes and no. I have an excellent plan here that I need you to take part in."
Nick Fury once again pulled a folder out from under his roomy trench coat and handed it over.
On it were an enormous S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem and a huge "A" logo.
But Su Zhou did not take the folder. Instead, he reached into his suit pocket and felt around.
Then he took out a handcuff key and unlocked his cuffs.
Only after putting the cuffs back into the cuff pouch on his belt did he take the folder from Nick Fury.
Nick Fury: (￣へ●)
Putting those handcuffs on him had been rather pointless!
"'The Avengers Initiative' was a plan launched after the appearance of the world's first superhero,
"by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s predecessor at the time, the Strategic Scientific Reserve.
"But in 1945, we lost our super soldier and the scientist who created him.
so the project was shelved too, until the Skrulls and that Captain Marvel showed up,
"and I took the lead in restarting it."
"Carol Danvers. I see her name here."
Su Zhou shook the folder in his hand. Besides Captain Marvel, it contained...
only Bruce Banner's and the Hulk's files were left besides his own,
Even Hawkeye and Black Widow, those two elite agents, had yet to be included in Nick's plan.
It looked like he might even be able to milk this for some benefits.
"To prepare for a possible impending interstellar war, we need a 'nuclear deterrent.'
"And this 'Avengers' team will be our new weapon!
"I searched worldwide for people with special powers through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence network.
"But aside from that big green guy, only your marksmanship caught my eye."
Nick looked at Su Zhou, who had already put down the folder, with a hint of admiration in his eyes.
"Most importantly, you're simply so upright. As long as you're on this team,
"there'll be no need to worry about the team stepping out of line, because you'll draw your gun at the first opportunity.
"Of everyone I know, only you're this impartial and uncompromising.
"I doubt even Captain America back in the day could have taken it as far as you do."
"But I don't think a handgun can handle that big green guy."
Su Zhou slowly shook his head, then spoke his true thoughts.
"If you want to put together this 'Avengers' team, S.H.I.E.L.D. can take the lead,
"and it can provide all kinds of support for this special team from behind the scenes.
"But you have to pull S.H.I.E.L.D. out of it. If this organization is still controlled by the United States,
"I won't join, and you won't even find a second person willing to join.
"That wouldn't be a special team formed to protect Earth. It would be a sharp blade in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hands."
Only then did Nick Fury realize how much the Skrull incident still affected Su Zhou.
Even though he had already dealt with those Skrulls, Su Zhou would absolutely never trust S.H.I.E.L.D. again.
"But this team needs a leader."
"And that won't be you, Nick Fury."
Su Zhou spared Nick Fury no dignity at all, leaving him in a rather awkward position.
Seeing that the atmosphere had grown awkward, Su Zhou finally let out a long sigh.
"What exactly will this team's missions be once it's formed?"
"Combating terrorist activities worldwide, or dealing with alien invasions."
Nick was delighted that Su Zhou had taken the initiative to ask and hurriedly answered his question.
But with just a few words, Su Zhou dumped a bucket of cold water over the flame that had just flared up.
"Who gets to define a terrorist? The United States government? Or your S.H.I.E.L.D.?
"And how do you define an alien invasion? Does that mean I can kill all the Skrulls?"
Nick Fury: (눈‸●)
I suspect this kid is deliberately finding fault!
Doesn't he just want some benefits?
"Just state your terms. There's no need to beat around the bush."
"First, the Avengers answer to no person or organization and have independent decision-making authority;
"second, if fighting breaks out and causes casualties or financial losses, you're responsible for dealing with the aftermath.
"If you can't manage that, I won't join your plan."
Based on Su Zhou's experience watching the movies in his previous life, the Avengers ultimately remained a violent organization serving under the United Nations.
But the United Nations was more interested in controlling and exploiting the Avengers and did not care about aliens or anything of the sort.
During the final battle in Avengers: Endgame, there hadn't been a single plane or artillery barrage in sight!
It hadn't even measured up to the Battle of New York, where they had at least dropped a nuclear bomb!
After the Avengers were formed, it seemed the government had done nothing except make trouble for them!
So Su Zhou thought that, rather than having the entire Avengers team take orders from others and be held accountable by various countries,
or be subjected to moral blackmail by an uninformed public, they might as well simply operate as an underground organization.
A purely charitable one!
In other words, they would follow the example of DC's Justice League and have no dealings with government agencies!
That would also live up to his system's name, wouldn't it?
But Nick Fury instantly spotted the flaw in Su Zhou's words and spoke up.
"But wouldn't that make the entire Avengers an illegal violent organization?"
"So I'm not the problem. Your plan itself is flawed.
"Come find me when you've thought it through. You know where I live anyway."
Su Zhou still rejected Nick Fury's invitation. He was copying the Chinese emperors' routine of declining three times.
As long as he firmly refused, then, so long as Nick Fury still wanted to form the Avengers,
he would naturally think of Su Zhou. Besides, Su Zhou's true identity was an undercover Hydra operative.
The most important thing about being undercover was not letting your true thoughts show.
Nick Fury would never imagine that an upright man like him, who repeatedly tried to leave S.H.I.E.L.D.
and refused to cooperate with him, the director, was actually an undercover operative!
Su Zhou's words also left Nick Fury deep in thought. Su Zhou, who had originally been his subordinate, saw things more accurately than he did,
and saw much further ahead. Once the Avengers appeared,
they would most likely become exactly what Su Zhou had described: the sharpest of blades.
And the people holding that blade would be the very politicians and capitalists Su Zhou looked down on most!
"Lost it all, lost it all, lost every last bit~~~~"
The classic ringtone sounded, and Nick Fury took out his Nokia phone.
Coulson's unhurried voice came from the other end. He seemed to be in a car.
"Sir, Obadiah just broke into Tony's villa and stole Tony Stark's Arc Reactor.
"I'm on my way to Stark Industries with four men. We'll make sure to arrest him."
"Five agents can't handle Obadiah."
Su Zhou had already started looking for equipment, only to discover that this damned place didn't have so much as a single bullet!
"What are you standing around for?! Hurry up and find me a gun!"