"I'm back!"
BAM! Daniel kicked the office door open with flair.
Behind the desk, Nick Fury didn't even flinch; he was long past being surprised.
He eyed Daniel's ridiculous Asgardian noble cosplay and asked with a scowl, "Agent Daniel, where the hell have you been? Coulson had you listed as missing."
"Asgard, obviously. Coulson told me to keep tabs on Thor, so I followed him straight to fairy-tale land."
Daniel spread his hands like it was the most reasonable thing in the world. "I was… monitoring. Very closely. For days. The second it wrapped up, I rushed back to report."
Nick Fury: death glare
You almost said "vacation," didn't you?
Daniel quickly summarized the Thor-and-Loki family soap opera.
Fury pinched the bridge of his nose. "So the giant robot, the crater in New Mexico, all of it… was just alien sibling rivalry?"
"Pretty much." Daniel shrugged. "Do I head back to help Coulson now?"
"No. You stay in New York."
Fury waved him off, already feeling the migraine.
He'd been planning to ship Daniel off to some frozen outpost until the heat died down, but no, the kid had to go viral fighting a walking furnace. Half the town was rubble, and because Daniel was involved, S.H.I.E.L.D. got the repair bill.
[Task "Assist Coulson" completed!]
[Rewards: 1000 EXP, +20 S.H.I.E.L.D. Reputation, Item "Hydrofluoric Acid," Item "Protein Energy Block"]
[Hydrofluoric Acid: The patron saint of body disposal. Pro tip: not the bathtub.]
[Protein Energy Block: Snowpiercer's finest mystery meat. Ten times the protein of steak. Taste at your own risk.]
"One more thing," Fury said, fixing Daniel with his one good eye. "Remember that Level 6 promotion task? The Hand's been sniffing around your file. They just put a two-million-dollar bounty on you on the dark web."
"I have a bounty?" Daniel's eyes lit up. "How much?"
"Two million."
"Two million?!" Daniel slammed the desk. "That's it?!"
Fury blinked. "You're… mad it's not higher?"
"Who do these guys think I am, some random thug? Director, leave this to me. I'll handle it personally."
Daniel stormed out, radiating righteous fury.
The moment the door closed, Fury's scowl melted into a sly grin as he flipped open the budget request form.
"Finally, fresh ammunition for the World Security Council."
Later that night, Hell's Kitchen.
Inside a rotting factory, more than a dozen shadows waited.
At the center stood Murakami, immaculate as ever, and Madame Gao, ancient and shriveled, leaning on her cane.
The old woman squinted. "Murakami, word is your disciple Sai lost our ledger and one of our best fighters. Alexandra is… displeased."
Murakami's face darkened. "I'm already hunting the two who raided us. One is the local vigilante, Daredevil. The other is unknown, but I posted the bounty. Good news: someone just cashed in. He's being delivered tonight."
Madame Gao nodded slowly. "There's a Chinese saying: kill the chicken to scare the monkeys. Tonight, this reckless chicken will teach every monkey a lesson."
Murakami barely hid his smirk at her clumsy Mandarin.
Footsteps echoed outside.
A massive masked figure shoved a bound Daniel into the light.
"Delivery," the masked man grunted. "Confirm and pay."
Murakami's eyes narrowed with venom. "That's him."
He forced a calm tone. "How did you catch someone even we couldn't find?"
"We're professionals," the masked man said flatly. "Trade secret. Confirm the target, wire the two million."
Murakami's fingers twitched. The Hand ninjas tightened their circle, blades glinting.
Free always beats paid.
The masked man didn't blink. "I wouldn't."
He clapped once.
BOOM. Every entrance exploded open as a dozen more masked operators stormed in: night-vision goggles, suppressed rifles, two guys casually hefting RPGs pointed straight at the elders.
Murakami: "…"
Madame Gao: "…"
Now that's a professional team.