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*****
By the time Feny received Nick Fury's message, it was already the following afternoon. During the interval, he had taken Skye to his parents' place, staying by their side to make up for lost time.
"You found Loki that quickly?"
Upon arriving at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base and meeting Nick Fury, Feny asked with a hint of surprise. However, he quickly realized that since Loki had been forced to retreat this time, he hadn't managed to compromise Clint Barton or any other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
Without an insider to cover his tracks, and given Loki's arrogance and disdain for Earth, the God of Mischief likely hadn't put much effort into hiding. It wasn't entirely unexpected for S.H.I.E.L.D. to track him down so fast.
"Yes, but things are a bit complicated. I've put together a response team; I'll take you to meet them first," Nick Fury replied with a nod.
"The Avengers!?"
Feny curled his lip. A "response team," he thought. He ran through the roster in his mind and realized that the only member of the team he hadn't met yet was likely Thor. Of course, technically speaking, Captain America was also someone he hadn't officially been introduced to.
Nick Fury nodded, offering no denial.
Boarding the Quinjet, Feny carefully examined the internal structure of the aircraft. After his ordeal being stranded on Vormir, he felt a pressing need to educate himself on the mechanics of spacecraft and advanced aviation.
Once they arrived at the Helicarrier—Nick Fury's pride and joy—Feny spotted several familiar faces.
"Long time no see!" Feny stepped forward to greet the two men.
"Where have you been all this time?"
Though Tony had received the news yesterday, he hadn't seen the proof for himself. Only now, seeing Feny standing right in front of him, did he truly feel a sense of relief.
"It's a long story. Have you guys been doing alright lately?"
As Feny spoke to Tony, he glanced toward Bruce Banner. After not seeing him for so long, Banner's temperament seemed even more refined and gentle. To any observer, he looked like a man of incredible patience and kindness.
"Aside from him getting grumpy and wanting to find you, everything's been fine," Banner said with a shrug, clearly happy to see Feny back.
In Banner's mind, Feny was the only being capable of keeping the Hulk in check. Over the past six months, he had tried various methods to separate himself from or eliminate the Hulk, but none had succeeded.
Instead, he had nearly ruined the fragile relationship he'd built with his alter ego. With Feny gone, his life lately hadn't been particularly easy.
Noticing the fleeting look of distress on Banner's face, Feny felt a pang of understanding. However, with so many people around, he didn't press for details and simply nodded.
After greeting his two old friends, Feny turned his attention to a man standing nearby—a man out of time with a remarkably distinctive silhouette.
"Hello, Captain America. Though it doesn't quite feel like our first meeting to me. I'm Feny Halsey. You can just call me Feny."
Feny walked up to Captain America, deactivated 'Incursio' to reveal his true self, and extended a hand. Since almost everyone in the room already knew his identity, he didn't see the point in staying hidden.
Seeing the armor suddenly vanish as Feny approached, Captain America momentarily froze in surprise. He then took Feny's hand and replied, "Steve Rogers. I know who you are. Thank you for bringing me back."
"Don't mention it," Feny replied with a nonchalant shrug. He then turned to Black Widow and Hawkeye, who had been staring at him since he stepped out of the armor.
"I know I'm handsome, but don't you think staring like that is a bit much?"
Barton immediately turned away, looking embarrassed. Natasha, however, merely arched an eyebrow and walked over. "I didn't expect this to be what you looked like under the suit. Let's get reacquainted: Natasha Romanoff, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."
"There's a lot you wouldn't expect," Feny rolled his eyes before adding a stern reminder, "Just remember not to go around leaking my identity."
At that moment, Barton also walked over. "We were introduced a few months ago, though I'm not sure if you remember. Clint Barton, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."
"My memory isn't that bad," Feny replied, giving Barton the same cautionary look regarding his privacy.
Nick Fury was perhaps the most surprised to see Feny being so open and introducing himself to the group. He interpreted this as Feny beginning to trust the organization, which he believed increased the chances of recruiting him into the Avengers.
In reality, Feny wasn't thinking that far ahead. After being stuck on Vormir for so long, he felt a sense of kinship even with beggars on the street. As for Fury's schemes, Feny would have said the director was overthinking things.
"Alright, now that everyone knows each other, shouldn't we discuss how we're going to deal with Loki and get the Tesseract back?" Nick Fury interjected once the introductions were over.
The group exchanged looks, but no one spoke up immediately.
On the flight over, Fury had briefed Feny on the current situation. Even though he hadn't captured Barton, Loki had still managed to kidnap Dr. Erik Selvig through some unknown means. However, without Barton's tactical planning, Loki hadn't followed the original timeline of allowing himself to be captured with his scepter.
Instead, he had used the Scepter to take control of a small country Feny had never even heard of, using it as a base to begin researching the Tesseract.
Feny had been genuinely surprised to hear this. It meant that even if Loki opened a portal, New York might not be the battlefield this time. Still, if he could prevent it, Feny had no intention of letting Loki open that portal at all.
"Can't we just sneak in and grab him?" Banner asked after a moment, sounding somewhat hesitant given his lack of combat expertise.
"Dr. Banner, the files indicate that in addition to mind control, he possesses spatial jumping abilities," Fury explained. He couldn't help but glance at Feny as he spoke; he was essentially treating Loki as a threat similar to Feny himself.
"That's why the first strike is crucial. If we tip him off and he becomes alert, capturing him will be significantly more difficult."
"Oh," Banner replied, lapsing into silence. He hadn't wanted to be here in the first place. Years of being a fugitive had left him with a deep-seated distrust of authorities. If it hadn't been for Tony's persistent invitation, he wouldn't have set foot on the carrier.
Before they could hammer out a proper plan, a report from Maria Hill crackled through Fury's earpiece.
"Director, there's a sudden, massive atmospheric disturbance in the vicinity!"
Fury's brow furrowed. Recalling something, he turned to Feny and asked directly, "You mentioned earlier that Thor would be coming to Earth?"
"Yeah." Feny nodded, momentarily stunned. Thor only had one brother; there was no way he would let Loki wander aimlessly, even if he didn't yet know Loki's true intentions.
"He might already be here," Fury said grimly. "We can't let him go in and alert the target!"
(End of Chapter)