Chapter Forty-One: The Lich King (Thick Fog): "Today, nothing happened in New York..." [New novel—please add to your favorites and recommend]

"W D F K!!!"

Sitting in his office, Nick Fury—who had always considered himself a rational man—suddenly let out a pure New York curse. The expression on Hill's face as she walked in was exceedingly odd.

Hydra—a group he'd fought for so long, a group that should have been eliminated back in World War II—was now standing right in front of him again. Barton was one thing, but what he truly couldn't accept was that Natasha, whom he had personally recruited and trusted with more missions than anyone else, was a Hydra agent.

It made him feel utterly played for a fool.

After learning from Coulson that the base storing the Cosmic Cube had been attacked, Nick Fury's first suspicion was that the assailant was the person close to Tony Stark—or rather, the so-called "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" organization. In the beginning, only they had knowledge of the Cube.

But he hadn't expected Hydra to insert themselves into the chaos, nor had he considered the possibility that Natasha was one of them. Clearly, the Horsemen had thrown out the bait, drawing his attention and causing him to overlook Barton’s role as a Hydra operative.

Nick Fury even suspected that the information had been intentionally leaked by them, so Barton could relay it back to him. That was why he’d immediately started making preparations to guard the Cube, assigning Natasha and Barton to the mission, inadvertently letting them in on critical details, and ultimately leading them right to the Cube’s location.

Now, Nick Fury was filled with regret.

But who the hell could have seen this coming?

His loyal subordinates, who had worked for him so diligently and for so long—turns out, they were Hydra!

Seated at his desk, Fury clenched his fists. His thoughts raced, jumbled and chaotic. From that moment on, he began to suspect that most of the agents around him were Hydra. Anyone could be—perhaps the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. was riddled with Hydra operatives. Barton and Natasha were only the ones who’d been exposed; how many more were lurking in the shadows?

He didn’t dare imagine.

No, what mattered now was to have a thorough discussion with Alexander and reorganize S.H.I.E.L.D. from the inside out. Alexander was the former director and had personally promoted him—surely, he couldn’t be Hydra as well.

If so, what would be the point?

Otherwise, who among his inner circle could he still trust?

"Hill, is the jet ready?"

Gathering his scattered thoughts, Fury looked at Hill, who’d just entered.

"Yes, Director."

Without another word, Fury set off for the hangar. About twenty minutes later, the plane landed at a military base in Ohio dedicated to researching the Cosmic Cube.

Stepping off the helicopter, Fury immediately saw Coulson, who had driven back in haste. He asked calmly, "Coulson, what's the situation?"

"Director, it's dire." Coulson, following behind Fury, quickly rattled off all the intelligence he had. "Thirty minutes ago, Natasha used her clearance to break into the lab. Somehow, she activated the Cube's energy—everything happened suddenly, with no warning. In fact, we still don’t know what Barton did, and Dr. Selvig wasn’t even in the lab at the time."

"According to the doctor, a strange energy remains in the base, and the radiation is climbing rapidly. It’s extremely dangerous."

"Evacuate all survivors immediately. Notify the military and initiate lockdown procedures," Fury ordered reflexively, his words catching Coulson off guard.

"Evacuation began ten minutes ago, but I don’t think it’ll help. If we can’t neutralize the energy radiation, everything around here will be affected. As for the military, we just spoke with them, but the outlook isn’t good."

"What did they say?" Fury turned to Coulson.

"They said this is a S.H.I.E.L.D. problem, and they’re tired of cleaning up our messes..."

"Coulson, Hill, split up and gather all equipment and data." Though a storm of emotions raged in his chest, Fury’s face betrayed nothing. After a brief pause, he spoke again.

"This base is a lost cause now. What matters is securing all known and useful research material. Tell Dr. Selvig—even if the base is about to be destroyed, he must do his duty right now!"

"Those files are our only leverage for the future, our chance to rise again. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

Coulson and Hill went their separate ways as ordered.

Five minutes later, the three regrouped in the base’s central control room.

Upon entering the lab, they saw the spot where the Cube had been housed. Now, a symbol resembling a magic circle radiated energy outward. Warning lights flashed incessantly as a blue energy source lit the base like daylight.

"Dr. Selvig, what’s the situation?" Fury asked directly.

"It’s not good, Director. The Cube is gone, but now we have a constantly radiating, unidentified energy source. Its waveform matches the Cube’s energy, and it's nearing a critical threshold. Whoever broke in may understand the Cube better than we do."

"Using the Cube? Isn’t that what we were trying to do?" Fury was puzzled.

"Director, this energy is even less controllable than the Cube itself. I sense nothing but malice toward life emanating from it. And we’re not prepared for the cold—if this energy explodes, we’re all in for a very cold, very merry Christmas."

Selvig’s eyes remained glued to the energy readings. The temperature dropped steadily, frost beginning to form on the surrounding equipment.

"Moreover, my guess is that this energy is transmitting some unknown signal across the universe. Director, it’s as if someone has turned it into a beacon, inviting guests from afar to pay Earth a visit."

Dr. Selvig worked the instruments rapidly, watching the energy waves. "Clearly, our visitors are already on their way."

"You mean someone used this energy source to find us directly?"

At this, Fury’s expression finally changed, the seriousness deepening.

So, the Cosmic Cube really was a spatial coordinate?

As he was about to speak again, the energy reached its critical point. An invisible wave swept outward, knocking most of the unprepared people off their feet. In the center of the lab, a vortex slowly formed.

From it emerged a figure crowned with a regal headpiece.

Everyone heard a mocking voice ring out.

"Mortals, kneel before your god."

Bambi the Trickster has arrived!