Chapter 60: The Avengers Initiative Begins
Natasha and Hawkeye had pulled out of Hell's Kitchen and were now knocking on the door of Nick Fury's office.
Inside, Fury was mid-briefing with Coulson. The conversation stopped the moment the two agents walked in. Coulson read the room and excused himself, leaving Fury alone with Natasha and Hawkeye.
They delivered a complete debrief — every detail of what had happened in Hell's Kitchen, every beat of Ethan's performance, including his transformation into Kamen Rider Eternal.
Fury pressed his fingers against his temple.
"Even Magneto couldn't handle him."
"And what the hell is this 'Kamen Rider Eternal' business? How does Ethan have technology this advanced and we don't know a thing about it?"
"Weren't you two supposed to be monitoring him? You never noticed him meeting with anyone? A suit of armor that sophisticated isn't something one kid builds by himself in his basement."
The questions came rapid-fire. Fury was trying to peel back the mystery, and Ethan was becoming an increasingly frustrating blank spot in his intelligence. Fury hated not being in control.
Natasha thought before answering. "We've had him under constant surveillance. He hasn't met with any suspicious contacts. The only unusual thing was yesterday — he brought a young kid back to the apartment."
"The only way we get real intel on his inner circle is if we plant someone inside it. But Hawkeye and I can't — Ethan knows us. And a regular agent wouldn't pass whatever screening process he uses."
"Ethan has some kind of... ability to read people. And his list of powers is growing by the week." Her face was grim.
"Did you ID the kid?"
"Yeah." Hawkeye jumped in. "Name's Miles. Comes from a poor family. Our best guess is that Ethan took him in as a charity case for the night."
Hawkeye, of course, had pulled the file on the wrong Miles Morales — this universe's version. He had no way of knowing that the kid upstairs at the Lucky Dragon was from another dimension entirely.
Fury slammed a fresh report down on the desk and slid it toward them.
"Read it. Tell me what you think."
Hawkeye picked it up and scanned the page. His eyes caught on one phrase — Lord of Hell's Kitchen, Ethan Cross — and his mouth twitched.
"'Lord of Hell's Kitchen.' Damn, that's a better name than mine. 'Hawkeye' can't really compete."
He glanced around, hoping for a laugh. Nothing. Just Fury's single eye boring into him with ice-cold intensity.
Hawkeye straightened up fast. "Sir — I actually think this could be a good development. Ethan taking Fisk's seat gives us a more stable Hell's Kitchen. And from what I've seen, the kid genuinely hates drug trafficking. He's personally funding a school for the neighborhood's children."
He wasn't just saying it. He meant it.
Fury's palm slammed the desk.
"You're both being naive." His voice cracked with anger. "Ethan Cross is a far bigger threat than Fisk ever was. Fisk was just a regular human being. We didn't clean him out because he was useful to us, and because we could control him."
"Now Hell's Kitchen is in Ethan's hands. Who controls him? Tell me — is Hell's Kitchen his neighborhood, or is it part of the United States?"
Natasha tried to push back. "But everything he's done has been genuinely good for the ordinary people living there. And honestly — if he ever decides to do something we don't like, I'm not sure we have the capability to stop him."
Fury wasn't having it. "Look at yesterday. How many people died in Hell's Kitchen? If Ethan has a problem with criminals, he should come to the federal government — not take matters into his own hands. He doesn't recognize our authority at all."
"Which is why S.H.I.E.L.D. needs to build a force capable of standing against people like him."
He pulled up a display. Five words filled the screen:
THE AVENGERS INITIATIVE.
"The Avengers?" Natasha and Hawkeye said in unison.
Fury flicked through a slideshow of photographs — a green giant. Tony Stark in his brand-new Iron Man suit. A bald man in a wheelchair. A scientist whose limbs stretched like rubber. And — impossibly — Captain America.
Natasha and Hawkeye even saw photos of themselves flash by.
"That's right," Fury said. "You two are part of this Initiative. You're among the most experienced field operatives on the planet. I need you to recruit these people."
Hawkeye stared at Captain America's photo.
"If I'm reading this right — that's Steve Rogers. Captain America. He's been dead for decades. How exactly do you plan to recruit him? Has S.H.I.E.L.D. cracked necromancy? Or are you telling me there's a new guy wearing the suit?"
Fury gave him a mysterious smile.
"While you two were busy watching Ethan, we ran an op in the Arctic. We recovered something frozen in the ice."
Hawkeye's jaw dropped.
"We pulled Captain America out. He's in recovery. When he's ready, I'll take you both to meet him."
Hawkeye was speechless. Captain America — alive. The man every American schoolkid had learned about in history class. Back from the dead. The news was borderline impossible to process.
"So — priority one," Fury said, voice sharp. "Assemble the team."
"Yes, sir," Natasha and Hawkeye answered in unison, and excused themselves.
Fury watched them leave, then turned to the window. He stared out at the city skyline, lost in thought.
"Let's hope we don't have to call Danvers back."
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