After casting the Obliviate Charm on Nick Fury, he quickly reinterpreted his memory, mistaking the Orb of Power for the Tesseract. In his mind, the two were simply referred to differently across planets.
William released Fury intentionally, knowing that he would report back to Captain Marvel.
Otherwise, trying to locate her while she was constantly traveling across the universe would be no easy feat.
Completely unaware that his memory had been tampered with, Fury, now missing any recollection of the Orb of Power, was left contemplating how, if he had access to the same kind of healing runes, he too would want to keep them a secret.
Especially considering that William's portable and highly effective healing method was also tied to interstellar trade.
And from what he had seen, the value of a single healing rune was likely far higher than the mere few hundred credits that Talos had estimated.
Under these circumstances, the fact that William hadn't killed him and Talos to cover things up was already a blessing.
With his own survival in mind, Fury quickly decided that it was best to change the topic—he didn't want to risk provoking William into reconsidering his decision.
"Can you tell me about HYDRA, Mr. Devonshire?"
"Heh."
William smirked. Fury was avoiding the topic of healing runes, but he actually wanted to talk more about them.
The more Fury knew, the deeper the memory would be ingrained, making it harder for him to recall anything about the Orb of Power.
William tossed a healing rune to Fury. "Before we talk about HYDRA, let me warn you—this healing rune is currently the only Earth-made product accepted by extraterrestrials.
"If you dare to make a move on this, I guarantee that the wizards like me will curse you to death."
Fury's face instantly darkened, never doubting William's words for a second.
After all, if William was this powerful, then those who taught him magic had to be at least just as strong—if not even stronger.
"Heh, I'm glad you understand the stakes."
Feeling Fury's heartbeat quicken, William continued with a grin. "As for HYDRA, once you start investigating them, you can expect relentless assassination attempts.
"And I guarantee you—ninety-nine percent of those attacks will come from behind you."
"From behind me?"
Fury had already braced himself for assassination attempts, but the idea that the backstabbing would come from his own people still sent a chill down his spine.
"Since you claim to have done business with HYDRA, why would you betray your business partners?"
"No, no, Fury, let's get one thing straight—I was never friends with HYDRA.
"I got what I wanted, and from the moment the deal was completed, they became my enemies.
"They're a terrorist organization that seeks to control the world and disrupt the stability of society. Why would I ever see them as allies?"
"You're ruthless," Fury muttered, staring at the grinning William with unease. "So, you make a deal, get what you want, and then immediately turn on your partners for even greater benefits?"
"Haha, say whatever you like, Agent Fury." William straightened his collar and casually added, "Here's a piece of advice—until you become the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., you'd better keep a low profile.
"Otherwise, you'll end up like the other Level 10 agents—either assassinated or forced out of S.H.I.E.L.D. after their wives and children were killed."
"Goodbye, Fury."
As soon as William finished speaking, a portal appeared before Fury.
Before he could react, the portal, controlled by William's gestures, swiftly moved toward him.
Without waiting for his consent, the portal instantly enveloped him, teleporting him to a private apartment in London.
Stumbling forward a few steps, Fury steadied himself—only to find himself staring at Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Coulson, all holding guns and looking stunned.
"Boss?"
Coulson hesitantly called out.
Fury nodded before quickly turning back—just in time to see the portal shrinking.
Without hesitation, he grabbed one of Hawkeye's arrow quivers and shoved it into the portal.
As expected, when the portal closed, only half of the quiver remained, with the cut edges glowing faintly with golden sparks.
Fury stared at it in awe before turning back to Hawkeye. "Barton, if I remember correctly, you have an arrow with a tracking function, don't you?"
"That's right, boss."
Hawkeye instantly understood Fury's intentions and holstered his gun.
He walked over to a large duffel bag, pulled out a laptop, a signal amplifier, a receiver, a satellite phone, and other equipment, then sat down at the desk to start his work.
—
Back in Yellowstone, William scanned the quiver, causing the arrows to float before him. Among them, one was flashing red.
Before he could ask, Sunday's scanner swept over it.
"Sir, this is a tracking arrow.
"However, since the Yellowstone base is built inside a mountain, and I've made numerous improvements and expansions, the signal can't be transmitted out unless you allow it."
"How long will it take for the signal to reach them?"
"Under normal circumstances, approximately forty-nine seconds."
Hearing that, William chuckled and, within moments, teleported the arrowhead to the deepest part of an abandoned base in the Sahara Desert.
A few dozen seconds later, in London, Hawkeye received the signal from the arrow.
Looking at the map on his laptop, Fury quickly asked, "Where is it?"
Hawkeye tapped a few keys and replied, "The central region of the Sahara Desert."
A few seconds later, just before the signal disappeared, he confirmed, "It's gone now. But based on the transmitted data, it seems to be buried dozens of meters underground."
"Then it's definitely the right place."
Fury was thrilled. Finding this base meant discovering the location of the Skrulls.
Just as he was about to organize a rescue mission, he remembered William's capabilities.
Realizing that charging in recklessly would likely lead to disaster, he decided that contacting Captain Marvel first would be the smarter move.
"Boss, we have a problem."
Snapped out of his thoughts, Fury looked at the laptop and saw satellite images of the base's surface.
Numerous tents had appeared in the area, and it wasn't just U.S. military personnel present—there were also many mercenaries.
"Find out what's going on."
"Understood."
As Fury relaxed, he finally noticed the discomfort in his feet.
Earlier, he had been able to think so quickly about testing the portal because he had felt a chill in his foot—his shoe sole had been sliced clean through.
That little experiment had unexpectedly led him to rediscover the base where he had been imprisoned.
While Coulson went to find him a new pair of shoes, Fury sat on the couch, deep in thought.
William had mentioned that multiple Level 10 agents had been assassinated, had their families murdered, or were otherwise forced out of S.H.I.E.L.D.
At first, Fury had assumed these were acts of retaliation by enemy forces.
But hearing it from William now made him reconsider.
The agent whose family was killed before he resigned? He didn't even need to investigate—he already knew exactly who that was.
Holding his phone, he stared at a familiar contact number.
For a long time, Fury remained silent, contemplating whether or not he should inform his former colleague and ally—now the infamous Punisher.
(End of Chapter)
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