"How is the development of your Alien Threat Observation and Response Division coming along?"
Across the room, a man in a long coat addressed the short-haired woman holding an orange cat, offering a rare smile. Carol Danvers returned it, adjusting her grip on the purring Flerken.
"It's getting there, Nick. The paperwork is a nightmare, even from orbit. You'd think defending the planet would come with a faster procurement process for coffee makers."
"Priorities, Carol. The Kree won't care about our caffeine levels," Nick Fury replied, his single eye glancing warily at the cat.
"Is that thing going to behave itself?"
"Goose is a perfect angel," Carol said, scratching under its chin. "Unless you have any more eyeballs you're not using." She nodded toward his eyepatch.
"We're almost operational. Maria mentioned you ran into some trouble a couple of years back. Need a hand?"
There was a flicker of genuine concern in her eyes.
He waved the thought away without hesitation. "Minor stuff. A few enhanced individuals with a grudge. We contained it. I can handle it. You should keep your focus on the division and the Skrulls. Our real threat comes from those alien civilizations that are thousands of years ahead of us in development."
"Don't I know it," Carol sighed.
"Such problems have a way of becoming everyone's problems. The offer stands. If you ever need assistance, don't hesitate to call. Goose and Talos are both ready to lend a hand."
"I'll keep my direct line open. Just try not to bring the Flerken."
After a few more minutes of conversation, she left, the alien cat still tucked under her arm.
Moments later, Agent Hill walked in, her face all business as she handed him a tablet. "Director, we've just received fresh satellite images. We have a movement."
He took the device. The screen displayed a figure, unmistakable even from high altitude, soaring over the treetops toward New York. "It's him."
"The same subject. Designation: Mark. He left the school's grounds approximately twenty minutes ago," Hill confirmed. "Trajectory suggests a beeline for Manhattan."
Fury's jaw tightened. Without hesitation, he picked up a secure phone and dialed.
A calm, telepathic voice answered before the first ring finished. "Director. I assume this is about Mark."
"Professor," Fury said, dispensing with greetings. "We've just detected your student heading for my city. Care to explain why a walking strategic threat is window shopping in Times Square?"
"There's no need for alarm, Director," Professor Xavier's voice was placating. "He's simply feeling… inspired. He's been reading superhero comics and got the idea in his head to go out and help people. It's a teenage impulse, not an incursion."
"A teenage impulse with the potential to level a city block if he sneezes wrong," Fury countered. "I need more than 'he's inspired,' Professor. I need control."
"We are teaching control, Director. But we cannot lock them away forever. That is the very ideology we fight against. He will return, and I will have a word with him about… notification procedures."
"We can't let this go on forever," Fury muttered after setting down the phone. He turned to Hill. "Any new updates on Magneto? Because I doubt he's reading comic books and feeling charitable."
Hill nodded, bringing up files on her tablet and projecting them onto the wall. "Our agents embedded in his Brotherhood have reported a breakthrough. He's recently recruited a new mutant, with the ability to detect and classify other mutants based on power levels. Using this, Magneto is aggressively recruiting, focusing solely on high-value, high-threat targets. He's building an army, not a community."
"Of course he is," Fury said, staring at the profiles of dangerous new mutants.
"His ideology is dangerous. It's only a matter of time before he starts something big."
"On that note," Hill continued, swiping to a new screen displaying complex genetic sequences,
"we've made significant progress on the serum. We've isolated the unique gene sequence from Jimmy's blood. The one that allows him to neutralize mutant abilities. Dr. Stenson believes that with further research, we may be able to synthesize a stable compound a device or even a treatment that can suppress the X-gene within a localized area."
She tapped her screen, and a photo of a bald young boy appeared beside the data. Jimmy.
Fury looked from the image of the powerful, flying boy to the genetic code on the wall. A slow, calculated smile curled at the edge of his mouth.
"Excellent," he said, his voice low. "With a tool like that, none of them not the Professor, not Magneto, and certainly not an 'inspired' kid would pose a problem. Keep me updated on every breakthrough, Hill. "
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