"I think professional matters should be left to professionals. Although I don't really like Steve Rogers, I still admire his loyalty, his expertise, and his hatred for Hydra. Honestly, if we're talking about someone who has a blood feud with Hydra, aside from Rogers, I can't think of anyone else."
In the end, Aetheris was simply jealous that Captain America was taller, stronger, and more handsome than him. The key point was that bright, righteous image of his—thick brows, sharp eyes—he just looked like the embodiment of a hero.
Nick Fury's eyes suddenly lit up. Right, how could he have forgotten this national treasure? No one on Earth knew Hydra better than Captain America. Even the formidable Red Skull had been defeated by him. Now a few Hydra remnants wanted to stir up trouble within S.H.I.E.L.D.? If Steve took action, he would crush them with ease.
Aetheris continued,
"But I still need to remind you to be wary of your own people. Aside from Natasha, Hill, Coulson, and Cap, you shouldn't trust anyone in S.H.I.E.L.D., especially your good friend, Pierce. I suspect he's also a member of Hydra."
What?
Nick Fury was stunned again. Seeing his jaw practically hit the floor, Aetheris couldn't help but envy those protagonists who had shock-based systems. If he had one, he could just keep revealing little secrets and would've already reached the point of smashing the Celestials by now.
Unfortunately, his own system wasn't that powerful. He glanced at his transformation light stick. The cooldown was still a month away.
Who knew when the Chitauri would attack? If it was just him, with his patched-together body and those half-baked superheroes, they'd probably be crushed under the onslaught of those thick-skinned beasts.
It wasn't that Fury had never wondered if one of his men might be a Hydra agent, but he had never imagined that his closest friend, Alexander Pierce, could actually be one.
This was more shocking than discovering Michael Jackson was white. Pierce had been the former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., now serving as a senior advisor. In terms of seniority, age, and experience, he was above Fury in every way.
What's more, Pierce was the one who had brought him into S.H.I.E.L.D.—his mentor, his guide. Fury could doubt anyone, but never Pierce. Yet everything Aetheris said lined up, leaving Fury with no choice but to believe it.
Nick Fury slapped his forehead hard and muttered,
"Give me a moment to process this. My mind's a bit messed up."
With that, he plopped down on the ground, not caring about the dirt. His entire worldview had just taken a massive blow.
He had already felt disappointed when Aetheris told him about the assassination attempt—it proved there was a traitor inside S.H.I.E.L.D. He had mentally prepared himself for that, ready to find out who the traitor was. But never had he thought Alexander Pierce would be one of Hydra's members.
As the saying goes, if the upper beam is not straight, the lower beams will be crooked. If the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. was a villain, then placing a few Hydra agents inside the organization would be effortless.
No, not just placing Hydra agents in S.H.I.E.L.D.—it was more like recruiting S.H.I.E.L.D. agents into Hydra.
By that logic, the name S.H.I.E.L.D. was a façade. It should really be called Hydra Bureau. And right now, he himself was the greatest boss of Hydra—the Serpent Head.
Ugh. Even the thought of that name disgusted him. Realizing he had unknowingly been helping the villains all these years made his stomach churn.
Seeing Fury in such a dazed, devastated state, Aetheris felt a pang of pity.
To be fair, Fury had always been dedicated to the greater good. For the sake of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s development, for his work, he had never married, never even left behind a child.
In the movies, there was never a single scene showing him at home. Probably because he didn't have one. S.H.I.E.L.D. was his home. It was where his dreams began, the place he had devoted his entire life to.
In his eyes, S.H.I.E.L.D. was a just, righteous organization striving for humanity's safety and happiness. Yet today, Aetheris had told him that he wasn't a warrior, but a pawn serving a monster. Everything he had done was helping the wicked and enabling the enemy.
His mentor had lied to him. His guide had lied to him. His colleagues and partners had all lied to him. They knew the truth, and he alone had been kept in the dark, made into a fool.
Anyone would find that unbearable. It was like The Truman Show. Once Truman discovered everyone around him was just acting, he would rather risk his life than stay in that comfortable, artificial world. Why? Because of humanity's ultimate pursuit—freedom.
Isn't there a saying, "Give me liberty or give me death"?
A man with firm convictions is always a man who longs for freedom. Only such people can lead the tide of an era and accomplish great deeds.
Clearly, Nick Fury was such a man. His convictions had never wavered, his stance never faltered. No hardship could extinguish his fighting spirit. Whether facing the Norse god of mischief, Ultron, or Thanos, he had never once backed down.
It was precisely this charisma that had drawn so many followers—Black Widow, Hawkeye, Hill, Coulson, and others. Without Nick Fury in Avengers 1, would the Hulk and Iron Man have ever come together?
Of course not. He bore immense pressure to gather this band of misfits and forged them into the Avengers, a team that stunned the world. Right or wrong, the results spoke for themselves.
Faced with such a man, Aetheris did not offer comfort. First, it would be pointless. Second, it wasn't necessary. Fury's inner strength wouldn't be broken by something like this.
After a few minutes of silence, Fury's chaotic thoughts finally settled. Regardless of whether Alexander Pierce was Hydra, no matter how many Hydra members were inside S.H.I.E.L.D., he was still the Director. As long as he remained in that seat, S.H.I.E.L.D. would not fall into chaos.
As the saying goes: whether S.H.I.E.L.D. is stable or not, the bald man decides.
Fury let out a long breath and said,
"Shida Ke, I can't confirm what you've said just yet, but I will give you an answer. For now, I want to know more about the aliens you mentioned the other day."
(End of Chapter)
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