When Phil Coulson uttered those words, "Director, keep watching…", Nick Fury froze.
He blinked slowly, trying to process what he had just seen… and what might still be coming.
He had already watched two things that shook him to his core.
Sharon, wielding Mjölnir, summoning lightning like she was born to hold it.
Wanda, effortlessly hurling a Leviathan into the sky with a single red blast that made even Thor look tame.
That alone should've been enough to rewrite S.H.I.E.L.D's entire classification system for threats on Earth.
But Coulson's voice held weight.
And the grim set of Maria Hill's jaw confirmed it: there was really something even more shocking waiting for him to see.
Fury straightened slightly in his seat. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his bald scalp, but he didn't wipe it away. His gaze was locked on the screen as though trying to see into the future.
'What could be more shocking than this?'
…
The video resumed.
On screen, Wanda's energy blast finished its arc, and the massive Leviathan reeled from the impact. It was thrown backward like a broken toy.
Then, Sharon raised Mjölnir high into the storm-darkened sky.
A thunderclap echoed across Manhattan.
Lightning surged down in brilliant bolts, slamming directly into the injured Leviathan with precision guided by the enchanted hammer.
The creature screamed, a deep, unnatural howl of pain as smoke and electricity crackled from its armored hide.
It crashed down onto the city with earth-shaking force, smashing buildings and flattening parked cars.
Stone, metal, and dust erupted in a violent wave.
Even through the satellite feed, the shockwave could be seen rippling outward.
The street became a crater.
But then, barely three seconds after the crash, a brilliant green light flashed from the door of the grocery store.
It was fast.
Too fast for the naked eye to follow.
A streak of green energy shot out and vanished almost immediately from the frame.
Fury squinted, confused.
"Wait, what was that?" he asked, leaning closer.
Coulson didn't speak. He simply pressed pause, then widened the video feed's field of view.
The green light was visible again, this time reappearing several kilometers away.
The video resumed, but now in slow motion.
Fury held his breath.
He watched as the glowing green mass flew over the ruined cityscape, then abruptly plunged into the ground.
Literally, it pierced the earth like a blade through paper.
And then the true horror began.
The ground started to swell unnaturally at the impact site. Buildings nearby tilted. Sidewalks cracked. Asphalt curled upward like dried paper.
It looked like something… was clawing its way out from beneath the Earth.
Within seconds, a giant portal erupted from the crater, glowing with the same eerie green energy.
From the swirling darkness, a figure slowly stepped out.
Hunched. Cloaked. Eyes glowing like twin green infernos. A staff in hand carved from bone and crowned with a skull.
Fury's entire body went rigid.
"…That's him," he muttered. "That's the monster."
The same one that tore through Loki's precious army.
The one that turned Chitauri soldiers into his own personal zombies.
The one that shattered the Mirror Dimension like it was made of glass. (Though he wasn't aware of this.)
He still had no name for this monster. But there he was, walking out of a portal born from Luke Yale's grocery store.
Fury's mouth went dry.
He sat there, speechless.
He stared at the paused frame: Gul'dan looming at the center of the portal, the Earth warping around his mere presence.
"…He came from the store," Fury said finally, voice hoarse.
Hill nodded gravely.
"That green energy launched from the store, entered the earth, and opened the portal."
Fury slowly sank into his chair like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
His eye was wide. His hands trembled slightly.
"...Luke summoned that thing?" he asked in a whisper, more to himself than to the others.
Coulson stepped forward, his face unusually pale. "Yes, Director. That's what we wanted to show you."
Fury didn't answer.
He couldn't.
His brain, usually a well-oiled machine built for contingency, was jammed by the implications.
If Luke could summon an existence like this one... an entity capable of singlehandedly decimating alien armies...
Then who exactly is Consultant Yale?
And more importantly…
What would happen if they ever pushed him too far?
A deep, creeping fear settled into Fury's chest.
A dread unlike anything he'd felt before.
This was different from the likes of Loki who posed a direct threat to the world.
Because Luke Yale wasn't trying to conquer anything.
He wasn't demanding anything.
He was simply there, a quiet man running a grocery store on 58th Avenue.
But now, Fury understood the truth.
That man was more dangerous than any threat S.H.I.E.L.D. had ever cataloged.
Not because he wanted war.
But because if he chose to make war… no one would be able to stop him.
…
Fury ran a hand over his face. His palm came away damp with sweat.
"God help us," he muttered.
Then he suddenly stood up, straight as a board.
A thought had struck him, and he said it aloud, "Thor and Clint."
"They're heading to the store," he said, spinning around to face Hill. "They went to get Thor's hammer back!"
Hill blinked. "Oh no…"
Fury nearly barked the next words.
"Hill, call them now. If they're not there yet, tell them to turn around immediately!"
Hill snatched up her phone and quickly dialed Clint's number.
It rang once. Twice.
Then connected.
"Barton, have you and Thor arrived at Consultant Yale's store?" she asked tightly.
Clint's voice crackled on the other end. "Uh… yeah, we're already here. Why?"
Hill's stomach dropped. "The Director says: don't let Thor do anything impulsive."
There was a beat of hesitation. Then Clint replied, "Uh… okay. I'll try."
Fury didn't even wait for her to hang up. He grabbed the phone out of her hand and barked into it:
"Don't try, Barton. Hold him back. No matter what, do not let him provoke Luke. I'm going there personally. Do you hear me?!"
There was a long pause on the other end.
Then, quietly: "…Understood."
…
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