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"Braised Egg, you are not authentic."
Hermione stood before Nick Fury in his office, her hands planted firmly on her hips, her voice ringing with accusation. She was not asking; she was demanding.
"I risked exposing myself to clear out the Ten Rings remnants and those other… nuisances. I found an alien spy hiding right under your nose! I saved your agency potential catastrophic losses, and you're going to get rid of me now with a half-hearted promise of compensation?"
Natasha, standing beside Fury, nodded in support. "She's right, Nick. Hermione performed a service we couldn't have done ourselves. We owe her."
Fury groaned internally. He had lost Talos, his best field operative for clandestine matters, thanks to this child's paranoia and a cat. And now, he had to pay a ransom to the person who exposed his asset, just to maintain a fragile, strategic alliance. But he had no choice. He needed access to her world.
"Miss Wizard, S.H.I.E.L.D. does not mistreat its contributors," Fury said, forcing a smile that didn't touch his eye. "We will continue to search for the materials we promised. And next time we require your unique expertise, I will happily double your fee."
Hermione narrowed her eyes, studying his face. She saw the rage, the frustration, and the complete resignation. He knows I won, she thought, a cold satisfaction settling in her gut.
"That's acceptable," she conceded.
After the strained negotiation, Hermione, accompanied by a watchful Natasha, went to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secure archives. The sweep was fast and thorough. Hermione didn't bother with niceties; she simply used her grimoire to identify every object with unique, viable magical or alchemical properties, and then used a silent summoning spell to gather the loot into her enchanted bag.
Natasha, watching the strange, powerful objects fly into the tiny leather satchel, couldn't help but feel a growing, unnerving awe. Hermione was not just a witch; she was a force of nature, and now she possessed the keys to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most dangerous secrets.
Hermione returned to Stark Tower via a burst of orange sparks, her bag heavy with stolen magic. She found Tony in his workshop, his brow furrowed in concentration as he analyzed the data from the Vanko attack.
Suddenly, a cool breeze swept through the lab, swirling dust motes and making Tony's papers flutter. A crimson-and-black helix of energy condensed, solidifying into the familiar figure of Hermione.
"I was just saying, who else but you is so boring?" Tony muttered, without looking away from his screen. He looked Hermione up and down. "What was that? A magical combustion engine? You've figured out elemental flight?"
Hermione smirked. "Ancient Magic. Elementalization. It's faster than your broom, and definitely faster than you."
Tony scoffed. "Please. I'll finish upgrading the Mark IV, and I'll still leave your magic carpet in the dust." He paused, then his expression turned serious. "By the way, it was you, wasn't it? Who dismantled Vanko's suit at the expo?"
"Yes, I did it," Hermione confirmed.
"You know, I could have handled that myself. You didn't need to interfere."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "By the time you finish 'handling' it, Sister Pepper would have been vaporized. You are brilliant, Tony, but you're a liability at close range. Your armor has limits. You need more than just one suit to protect the world."
Tony was silent. He looked at the data, at the near-death experience Pepper had just suffered, and her cruel words, as usual, hit the bullseye. He had to admit, he couldn't be everywhere at once. And he was getting tired of the anxiety.
One person can't protect the world, he thought, his eyes fixed on a schematic of the Earth. But what if I created a synthetic shield? A digital peacekeeping force? A suit of armor around the planet.
A terrifyingly brilliant idea, born of guilt, trauma, and a desire for absolute control, began to take shape in his mind. The concept of Ultron.
Just then, the lab doors slid open, and Pepper rushed in, her breath coming in short gasps. "Hermione, you're back!" She ran over and crushed the girl in a relieved embrace. "Thank God, you're safe. Don't you ever do that again. Going to an alien planet with a group of gods you just met! You need to protect yourself!"
Hermione endured the hug, feeling the genuine warmth and fear radiating from Pepper.
"What was Asgard like?" Tony asked, trying to sound detached.
Hermione shrugged, detailing her experience, concealing the genocide but providing all the interesting lore. "Odin is an old, senile war criminal who's trying to teach his children a lesson. Thor is a privileged idiot. Loki, at least, cares about the fate of his own kind. He's the only one with any sense."
"See, Tony?" Pepper said, releasing Hermione. "Even the wizard agrees. Loki is the real hero."
Tony just rolled his eyes, but a playful smirk touched his lips. He glanced at the data on his monitor, his mind already calculating the millions of lines of code it would take to build his global defense network.
"Hermione, thank you for the necklace," Pepper said, gently stroking the metal Snitch around her neck. "It saved my life."
The moment was interrupted by a sharp, authoritative voice.
"Sir, Miss, it's Agent Sitwell from S.H.I.E.L.D., here for the Consultant."
Hermione's eyes lit up with a cold, predatory gleam. She looked at Tony. Sitwell. The HYDRA mole. The one who had tried to kill her.
Time for phase two, she thought. The reconnaissance has begun.
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