Since Fury was already waiting at his home, Karl saw no reason to avoid the meeting.
He pressed the accelerator.
The Lamborghini surged forward like a bolt of black lightning, tearing down the highway toward the farm.
Twenty minutes later, Karl arrived.
He pushed open the door and walked inside.
Nick Fury sat on the sofa, dressed in a black leather coat and tactical attire, his single eye studying the room with practiced calm.
Karl glanced at him once, as if confirming an expectation, then walked into the kitchen, retrieved a soda, and took a long drink before returning.
He leaned against the doorway.
"You realize it wouldn't be illegal for me to kill you right now, correct?"
Fury didn't flinch.
"Even if you don't," he replied evenly, "you've already violated enough laws to be executed a thousand times over. Nearly three thousand casualties in Hell's Kitchen. Organized crime dismantled overnight. We have footage."
Karl took another sip.
"And what do you want?"
"I can make it disappear," Fury said. "In exchange, you join S.H.I.E.L.D."
Karl laughed.
"Nick Fury… do you take me for an idiot?"
He stepped forward, eyes cold.
"You know exactly what Hell's Kitchen was. Your interest isn't justice — it's control. And you think you can protect me?"
His gaze sharpened.
"With that quantum pager in your pocket? Do you think I couldn't kill you before Captain Marvel arrives?"
For the first time, Fury's expression shifted.
His pupil contracted.
That pager was one of his deepest secrets.
Slowly, subtly, Fury triggered a silent alert at his belt. The Infinity Formula enhanced his physiology, but he knew he could not defeat Karl directly.
Karl's file was incomplete — ice manipulation, shadow entities, unknown power source.
Danger level: extreme.
"Boss," Speedster's voice transmitted through Karl's earpiece, "twenty armed personnel are approaching. Awaiting orders."
Karl tapped the control.
"Disable. Non-lethal."
"Yes, Boss."
Fury studied him carefully.
"How do you know these things?"
Karl shrugged.
"I don't see the point in explaining. And don't expect your backup to save you."
He glanced toward the window.
"Your archer in the tree can come down too."
Outside, Clint Barton froze mid-draw.
"You realize antagonizing us will worsen the situation for mutants everywhere," Fury said sharply, drawing an energy pistol from his coat.
Karl's eyes glowed faintly blue.
"You're mistaken on two counts," he replied calmly.
"I'm not a mutant."
"And mutant politics have nothing to do with me."
Frost erupted across Fury's weapon.
Ice crawled up the barrel.
Fury immediately released it before his hand froze solid.
Karl raised his hand.
Cold air crystallized.
Fury's body froze in place from the neck down.
Karl walked forward and kicked him through the doorway.
Outside, over twenty agents had already been neutralized — injured but alive.
Shadow ninjas forced Barton from his concealed perch and brought him forward. Dirt and cuts marked his face; he had resisted, but briefly.
Karl dragged Fury outside and dropped him in front of the team.
Then he turned away.
"Do not come back," he said calmly.
"Next time, you may not leave."
Shadow ninjas escorted the agents beyond the farm perimeter before releasing them.
Karl returned inside and sat on the sofa.
He had spared them for a reason.
Killing Fury would escalate matters beyond control — and could trigger the return of Captain Marvel.
He was not ready for that confrontation.
And he had May to protect.
"Director, are you alright?" an agent asked, helping Fury to his feet.
"I'm fine," Fury replied curtly. "We're leaving."
Barton limped behind him.
"Next time I'll pin him to a wall before he blinks," Clint muttered.
Fury said nothing.
He walked faster.
This encounter had cost him face — and revealed a threat he could not easily manage.
Back inside, Karl retrieved the Perfect Superpower Training Box and began his training.
Holding the device, he focused his mind, cycling through each ability.
He gave no further thought to Fury's anger.
Fury now had HYDRA infiltration to deal with.
And very few people left he could trust.
Recruiting Karl had been desperation, not strategy.
Control him?
Impossible.
"Boss," Speedster transmitted, "update on Tony Stark: his convoy was attacked in Afghanistan. Status unknown. Stark Industries stock is dropping rapidly."
Karl pressed the earpiece.
"Understood. When the stock reaches its lowest point, buy in with all available funds."
He paused.
"Ten-times leverage."
Speedster hesitated.
"Boss… based on financial modeling, this carries extreme risk of total loss."
Karl smiled slightly.
"Tony Stark doesn't die that easily. When he returns, the stock will surge."
"…Understood. Executing strategy."
Karl resumed training.
Telekinesis.
Teleportation.
Laser vision.
Thirty minutes each.
Ninety minutes total.
Outside, the night deepened.
Inside, power continued to grow.
...…