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"Director Fury, what wind brings you here now?" Ethan asked, looking at Director Fury as he sat across from him.
It had been a month since he summoned Jack, and now Fury had suddenly arrived without any notice. Ethan wondered what it was about, though he already had a speculation in mind.
It seems Project Pegasus has already failed, he thought while looking at Fury, who was staring back at him.
"You have a new chief guard," Fury said, remembering the platinum-blond haired guy he had met outside.
"Yes, his name is Jack, the Ripper," Ethan nodded.
"Though I doubt you are here to see me after getting news of my new guard," Ethan said.
"No. I need help," Fury said.
"You or S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Ethan asked.
"The whole world," Fury replied.
"…Now that's not something I was expecting to hear from you."
Ethan leaned back slightly in his chair.
"So," he said calmly, "what do you need help with?"
Fury was silent for a moment before speaking.
"We were working on the Tesseract," Fury said. "Trying to use its energy to manufacture weapons."
Ethan raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt.
"It was meant to help us defend against possible alien threats," Fury continued. "But things didn't go as planned."
Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly.
"What happened?"
Fury exhaled slowly.
"The Tesseract suddenly activated on its own. It opened a portal to another world."
Ethan's expression became serious.
"And from that portal… someone came out," Fury said.
"His name is Loki."
Ethan frowned. "Loki? As in Thor's brother Loki, the one who almost killed Thor?"
Fury nodded. "He did say he is from Asgard. I tried to talk to him, saying Asgard and Earth are friends, but he said a boot can't be friends with an ant."
"A Boot can't be friends with Ant huh?, he sure have god complex." Ethan said.
Fury nodded.
"He attacked the facility," Fury said. "Before we could stop him, he used some kind of mind control with his staff."
"Dr. Selvig and Captain America are now under his control."
Ethan blinked at the unexpected name.
"Wait, did you just say Captain America?" Ethan asked.
"Yes. We found him in the ice some months ago. He was resting, but during the energy extraction process I called him so he could help us keep the facility safe," Fury explained.
"But Loki arrived. Captain America fought him, but with just one strike from Loki, the Captain became his puppet."
Fury continued.
"After that, Loki took the Tesseract and left the facility," he said.
"Dr. Selvig went with him, still under his control."
Ethan frowned slightly.
"And Captain America?" he asked.
"He took him too," Fury replied.
Ethan leaned back in his chair, thinking.
"That's bad," he said.
Fury nodded.
"Yes. Taking Dr. Selvig means Loki probably plans to use him," Fury explained. "Selvig is one of the few scientists who understands the Tesseract's energy."
Ethan crossed his arms.
"So Loki wants him to open the portal again," Ethan said.
"That's our assumption," Fury replied.
"And if he opens it again," Ethan continued, "he will most likely bring an army through it."
Fury nodded again.
"Exactly. That's why I said the whole world is in danger."
Ethan stayed silent for a moment.
Then he looked at Fury.
"So you came to ask for my help before Loki finishes whatever he's planning."
"Yes," Fury said.
"We're already trying to track him, but if he manages to open that portal again…"
Fury paused.
"…we might be facing an alien invasion."
"Sigh." Ethan let out a long sigh.
"You really messed up big this time," Ethan said.
"Still, if Arasaka gets involved with S.H.I.E.L.D., rumors will spread that Arasaka now works with S.H.I.E.L.D. The U.S. government already doesn't like me," he added.
"And whose fault is that? You never showed any loyalty to the U.S. government," Fury said.
"And why the hell would I show loyalty to them?" Ethan replied.
Fury shook his head.
"I'm here to ask you to get Clint back," Fury said. "And also to ask Arasaka to help us in case things get worse and an alien invasion happens."
Ethan nodded slightly.
"Clint is learning magic at Kamar-Taj. Coulson must have told you that, so just bring him back from there," Ethan said.
Fury nodded.
"And also… I have some work for you," Fury added as he placed a file on the table.
"You've heard of the Avengers, right? Coulson asked you to join before, but you rejected it," Fury said.
"I want to see some unique weapons for each Avenger for the upcoming fight," he continued.
Ethan nodded.
"Same rule. Pay first," Ethan said.
Fury placed a card on the table.
"It has enough money," Fury said.
"That's for me to decide," Ethan replied.
Fury nodded.
"It's not the full amount. If more is needed, I'll send the rest," he said as he stood up.
"I'll be leaving then," Fury said.
Ethan nodded in response.
After Fury left the room, Ethan sat there quietly for a moment.
He looked at the card Fury had left on the table and then at the file beside it.
"Alien invasion, huh…" Ethan muttered.
He picked up the file and opened it.
Inside were profiles of several people.
Tony Stark.
Thor.
Bruce Banner.
Natasha Romanoff.
Steve Rogers.
Ethan skimmed through the pages.
"So these are the people Fury wants weapons for," he said quietly.
He leaned back in his chair, thinking.
"Stark probably won't need much," Ethan said. "His suit already does most of the work."
He flipped to another page.
"Thor…" Ethan paused slightly.
"That one is tricky. Giving weapons to a literal god is unnecessary."
Then he moved to the next one.
"Banner. That's even more complicated."
Ethan closed the file for a moment.
"The only ones who would really benefit are Natasha, Clint… and maybe Steve."
He tapped the table lightly with his finger.
"But first…"
He stood up from his chair.
"…I should reinforce the force field around Arasaka just in case."