Herman gave Nick Fury quite the scare today. Now he was experiencing the same feeling himself.
Deadpool knows Superman?
And even knows about the Golden Superman?
"Well, I never," Herman was momentarily at a loss for words. This was completely unlike the Deadpool he knew.
Admittedly, Deadpool did possess means to traverse universes. But shouldn't his teleportation ability be limited to bouncing around within the confines of the Marvel Multiverse? How could he possibly leap into the DC Universe, where Superman exists? That name from Wilson earlier didn't feel like a coincidence either!
"Seems you don't know everything about this world either."
Nick Fury let out a slight sigh of relief internally. He'd received plenty of bad news today, but at least witnessing Herman's current behavior confirmed that his superpower wasn't omniscience.
Earlier, when Herman seemed to know everything, Nick Fury had seriously suspected that might be another superpower.
"I'm not omniscient, of course there are things I don't know."
Herman rolled his eyes. He understood why Nick Fury suspected he was from another world.
It was all Deadpool's fault.
In S.H.I.E.L.D.'s prison, Deadpool had ranted about Superman and insisted the costume he wore was Superman's.
Well, okay. The outfit Herman wore that day was indeed Superman's, though it had been given to him by Supergirl, Kara. You couldn't entirely blame Deadpool for mistaking him due to poor eyesight.
Add to that, during interviews, Herman had even asked people to call him Superman... Thinking about it this way, Nick Fury's suspicions didn't seem entirely unfounded?
"This 'Superman' he mentioned—who exactly is this person, and what connection do you have to him?" Nick Fury stared intently at Herman, his expression serious.
"Simply put, he's a super-powered being from another universe. He can fly, possesses immense strength, and has abilities similar to those of the 'Homelander' from the TV series."
"Though his powers are slightly stronger than Homelander's," Herman explained concisely. Nick Fury nodded thoughtfully.
"Then isn't that you?"
After pondering for a moment, Nick Fury looked at Herman with renewed skepticism. "Or could I interpret this as another version of you from a parallel universe?"
It seemed Nick Fury wasn't entirely unfamiliar with Multiverse theory.
"I think your understanding is fundamentally flawed..." Herman hesitated, unsure how to explain this to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director.
"All you need to know is that this guy isn't talking about me... Of course, I don't mind if you folks at S.H.I.E.L.D. change how you refer to me.
Since people in other worlds call me Superman, why don't you just go ahead and call me that too?"
Herman felt he shouldn't take the blame for nothing.
"You said that psychopath mistook someone else, didn't you?" Nick Fury responded with a smile, his expression giving no hint whether he believed Herman's explanation.
"I want to meet this guy."
Herman wanted to clarify exactly how many universes Deadpool could traverse.
It wasn't merely curiosity.
If Deadpool knew Superman and could roam freely in the DC universe, perhaps Kara's wish to find her cousin could be fulfilled through him.
Herman hadn't forgotten his promise to Kara.
"You haven't seen the entire video yet."
Nick Fury gave a wry smile, gesturing for Herman to continue watching. Herman frowned slightly and restarted the video.
...
In the footage, Deadpool's sudden appearance startled Nick Fury and the surrounding agents. No one knew how he'd appeared, much less how he'd managed to approach a top-tier agent and the "King of Agents" himself, Nick Fury, so silently right under their noses.
"You?!"
Nick Fury was utterly shocked. He immediately stumbled backward several steps. Agent Hill and the surrounding agents all drew their weapons, aiming them at Deadpool.
However, Deadpool showed not the slightest fear of these guns.
"Oh? Want to try the thrill of turning me into Swiss cheese? Fine! Deadpool will oblige you little freaks!"
With that, Deadpool closed his eyes and spread his arms wide, adopting a posture of readiness to embrace injury. His antics did nothing to lower the agents' guard.
"Who let him out!?"
Nick Fury roared, his gaze shifting toward the cell's entrance. His expression changed dramatically, looking utterly incredulous, as if he'd seen a ghost.
The door's keypad lock showed no signs of tampering whatsoever. Even Herman, monitoring the feed, couldn't fathom how Deadpool had slipped out. No wonder Nick Fury's face twisted into a look of utter bewilderment.
"Huh? Deadpool goes wherever he pleases! You big dummy! Did you really think your iron bars could hold this old man?"
Deadpool stuck out his tongue at Nick Fury.
"Get him!"
Nick Fury barked the order immediately—he figured if his men could catch Deadpool once, they could certainly do it again.
However, a group of highly trained agents was mercilessly toyed with by Deadpool. Before long, over a dozen agents were flat on the ground.
Agent Hill fired without hesitation, only to see Deadpool—from who knows where—draw two massive katana swords and begin hacking wildly at the bullets. Herman suspected this guy carried some sort of spatial storage device on him.
"Slicing bullets!?"
Agent Hill and Nick Fury both stared in stunned disbelief.
"Heh heh."
Deadpool casually lowered his twin blades. Dozens of holes in his body gushed streams of blood.
"....."
Nick Fury and Agent Hill were both left dumbfounded.
"What the hell are you looking at!? Dammit! You're laughing at me! I used to be able to do it! I swear! I was a total badass at slicing bullets!"
Deadpool lowered his head, realizing he hadn't hit a single bullet just now. Frustrated and flustered, he desperately tried to explain himself to Nick Fury and Agent Hill.
"Clatter~"
At that moment, a large squad of agents—alerted by Nick Fury's secret signal—stormed into the prison fully armed.
"Thinking you can gang up on me?"
Deadpool spotted someone wielding a rocket launcher. Without hesitation, he pulled something out from his butt and pressed it furiously.
"Bye-bye! This big shot is off to find a new partner! Once I find God, I'll have Him turn all of you into meme fodder!"
A wormhole-like rift appeared beside Deadpool. He leapt straight into it, and in the next instant, vanished from the prison.
...
The video finally ended.
"After that, we searched the entire base and even carried out covert sweeps across multiple cities, but we never found another trace of him."
Nick Fury's voice was heavy with frustration. He was genuinely annoyed at letting Deadpool slip away. Extracting information from him would have been far easier than interrogating Herman, and best of all—it wouldn't cost a dime. All it took was a little emotional provocation, and that lunatic mutant would blabber endlessly.
"Maybe he went to another universe."
Herman's eyes flickered as he stared at the last frame of Deadpool disappearing, lost in thought.
"Since we've covered everything, I should get going. I need to take time to digest what you've told me."
Nick Fury glanced at his watch.
"When are you heading to New Mexico? I can have Natasha escort you." He hoped Herman would handle the matter quickly so he could finally get a good night's sleep.
"Escort me? No, no, no. That would only waste time."
Herman raised his hand, and black smoke gathered into a raven that perched on his palm. Seeing this, Nick Fury immediately understood what he meant.
"Don't worry. Once I'm back, I'll start making the necessary arrangements," Fury said, though concern about Mjolnir still weighed on his mind.
"Could this be Thor declaring war on us?" He voiced the fear outright, unwilling to face such a possibility.
"The hammer is Thor's treasure. He never lets it out of his sight. If it's here, it can only mean Thor has run into trouble."
Herman couldn't bring himself to let an old man in his seventies or eighties go home plagued with nightmares. Poor sleep would only hinder Fury from helping him promote his newspaper.
"Thor's in trouble? On Earth?"
Nick Fury's expression didn't ease after Herman's explanation. If anything, he grew even more tense.
"Maybe it was some accident. Or maybe he was defeated by an enemy. Hard to say." Herman wasn't about to reveal the truth just yet.
"Hmph. The son of a god-king having an accident on Earth? That's worse than war. I need to prepare. Honestly, your theory worries me more than the idea of Thor declaring war."
Nick Fury downed the drink from his glass in one gulp, then strode toward the door.
However...
Just as he turned the handle—
"No, no, no. You came in through the window, you leave through the window. I don't want my staff thinking I've been locked in here for ages with some old black guy."
Herman locked the office door with Telekinesis, leaving Fury no choice but to climb back out.
He chuckled as he watched the King of Spies demonstrate his stealth technique—simple, almost rustic.
After lowering himself with the grappling hook, Fury ended up snagging his pants. Herman couldn't tell if he'd done it on purpose or if years of inactivity had left him rusty.
From the window, Herman watched Nick Fury limp toward a black SUV. Then, as a swarm of ravens coiled around his body, Herman vanished from the office.
...
Herman's teleportation destination was, of course, New Mexico.
As for the secret of Mjolnir, he was just as curious as anyone—after all, who in the Marvel Universe wouldn't want to try lifting it?
Right after Herman disappeared from New York, Nick Fury—his crotch still sore from the harness—grumbled his way into his custom off-road vehicle. He muttered about "Homelander," "motherfucking," and "this is just bullying," words that did nothing to lighten the mood.
After all, Nick Fury was the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. The agent driving could only stifle his laughter, pretending not to hear, and started the engine.
Soon, the driver brought him back to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s New York headquarters.
At this point, S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't yet fallen on hard times. The headquarters still looked impressive.
"I told you those grappling hooks were subpar! Now let's see who dares argue with me!"
Nick Fury had barely returned to his office and applied some antiseptic to his injuries when a knock sounded at the door. He quickly pulled on his pants, washed his hands, and sat in his chair, adjusting his posture to appear calm.
"Come in."
His voice was deliberately low.
"Have you confirmed the Homelander's identity?"
The visitor was Agent Hill. As soon as she learned Fury had returned, she had pulled herself from her assignment to report. Compared to foreign spies, the origins of the Homelander were far more important—the truth Hill desperately wanted to know.
"His identity seems solid."
Nick Fury recalled his exchange with Herman. He hadn't found any obvious inconsistencies, so he concluded Herman was likely telling the truth.
Of course, that didn't mean he completely trusted him.
"Regardless of where he came from, he has people here he cares about. That, for us, is the best outcome."
Fury's dark eyes carried a depth that hinted at wisdom beneath his words.
"Alright."
Hill nodded thoughtfully, then shifted to another urgent matter. "Did he agree to handle New Mexico?"
Fury nodded.
"We struck a pleasant deal." He sighed, his worried expression puzzling Hill.
"Since he agreed to help, shouldn't you be pleased?" she asked with a slight frown, unsure of what troubled him.
"Because I received news that deeply concerns me."
Fury's reply was low.
"Can I know what it is?"
Hill asked curiously.
"You don't have clearance for that yet. Let me think. What clearance level should I assign to information that could cause global upheaval?"
Fury rubbed his temples. His alarming words only deepened Hill's curiosity.
"Understood."
Though curious, she didn't press further. She knew S.H.I.E.L.D.'s rules better than anyone—she had helped write them.
"I can at least ask what that hammer-like thing is, right?"
Hill glanced at the bandage on his desk. She had no idea where Fury had been injured. Had he fought with the Homelander and taken a hit?
"It's a hammer. You might not believe this, but it's a hammer that could start a war and drag us into ruin."
Fury sighed again.
"What do you mean?"
Hill's expression hardened. She knew Fury never joked about matters like this.
"Are you familiar with the Sarajevo incident?" Fury asked suddenly.
"I'm not illiterate."
Hill nodded.
The Sarajevo incident referred to the June 28, 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife—an event that directly sparked World War I.
"The situation we face now could be similar. It might ignite something even worse than the First World War."
Fury's eyes brimmed with worry.
"World War III?"
Hill's face grew even graver.
"Star Wars."
Fury didn't want to scare her, so he used more careful wording.
"Definitely alien tech—and it looks important." Hill had long known of extraterrestrial existence.
"The Homelander said he'd handle it."
Even when speaking about Herman, Fury referred to him as "the Homelander."
"He might indeed be capable. But S.H.I.E.L.D. needs its own strength. We can't always rely on others' help." Hill spoke with foresight.
"Exactly."
Fury agreed without hesitation. He reached into his drawer, pulled out a file, and signed it.
"This project, which should have been terminated, might actually help us." He handed the signed document to Hill.
...
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