"What?What?What?
"Fuck you!"
Nick Fury smashed the phone against the wall so hard that it shattered into pieces.
Moments earlier, he had received a notification from the World Security Council. The message was brief, but its implications were staggering. After what they described as "careful deliberation," the council had decided that S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Justice League would jointly handle the looming global catastrophe.
That alone would have been irritating enough.
But the next part nearly gave Fury a heart attack.
Due to what they called a "strong request" from the President of the United States, the council had agreed to appoint Ethan Voss as the overall commander of the entire operation.
Fury was furious.
He immediately called Alexander Pierce.
The moment the call connected, Fury exploded.
"Pierce! How could you agree to something this ridiculous?"
"Who the hell is Ethan Voss?"
"He's a counterfeit drug dealer!"
"How can someone like that be responsible for saving the world?"
Pierce's voice on the other end sounded unusually tired.
"You don't believe him, Nick Fury? The greatest spy in the world?"
There was a pause before Pierce sighed.
"Fury… you've been caught."
"What?"
Fury froze.
For a split second his mind jumped to the hundreds of millions of dollars he had quietly taken in kickbacks over the years.
Impossible.
He had been extremely careful. There was no way that could have been exposed.
Pierce continued speaking.
"The President already knows you secretly used the Tesseract to develop weapons," he said. "That project is what attracted the aliens in the first place and caused this disaster."
"If we hadn't stepped in to protect you, the FBI would already be knocking on your door."
Fury fell silent.
The council absolutely knew that the Tesseract had been used for weapons research. In fact, several members had quietly supported the project behind the scenes.
But they had never formally approved it.
Which meant that now, with the crisis unfolding publicly, Fury was the perfect scapegoat.
Pierce continued calmly.
"The council giving command to Ethan Voss is actually meant to protect you."
Fury remained quiet for several seconds.
Pierce spoke again.
"You don't need to look at this so negatively. There's nothing wrong with being second in command."
"Being the top leader isn't easy."
"If Ethan Voss makes a mistake during this crisis, you'll have the perfect opportunity to step in."
"And if he succeeds," Pierce added, "you can share the credit."
"In that case, the issue of secretly developing weapons with the Tesseract might quietly disappear."
"After everything ends, he can go back to selling his medicine and you can continue running S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Everyone goes back to their own business."
"Isn't that the ideal outcome?"
Inside Fury's mind, a thousand curses erupted.
But the worst part was that he couldn't refute any of it.
He also understood the political reality. If he kept resisting now and was accused of causing internal conflict during a global crisis, his entire career would collapse instantly.
Still, entrusting the safety of the world to that pharmaceutical fraud felt completely insane.
"Fine," Fury muttered bitterly.
"I'll play along."
While Fury simmered with rage, Ethan Voss was in an excellent mood.
He had just finished a phone call with the President of the United States.
During that conversation, Ethan had carefully explained the enormous power S.H.I.E.L.D. possessed—and the equally enormous influence Nick Fury wielded.
"Do you have aircraft that can turn invisible?" Ethan had asked.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. does."
"Do you have an aircraft carrier that can fly?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. does."
"Do you have a cosmic artifact capable of attracting aliens to Earth?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. does."
The President had been completely stunned.
When had the outside world become so ridiculous?
Had the United States somehow been isolated from reality without him realizing it?
Under Ethan's gentle guidance, a single thought slowly formed in the President's mind.
What kind of organization was S.H.I.E.L.D. running here?
Forget this nonsense.
I'm out.
All of you stay away from me.
Faced with an increasingly irritated President, the S.H.I.E.L.D. council had no choice but to compromise.
And so the situation had evolved into something rather strange.
S.H.I.E.L.D. and Ethan's Justice League would jointly face the alien crisis.
And thanks to pressure from both the President and Pierce, Nick Fury had been pushed into the role of deputy commander.
After gaining authority, Ethan's first action was… practical.
He insured the entire Typhon Tower.
Every major insurance company in New York received a visit.
The premiums alone cost him hundreds of millions of dollars.
Ethan knew Loki extremely well.
After humiliating the god previously, it would be a miracle if Loki didn't attempt revenge this time.
Stark Tower had survived in the original timeline.
But Tony Stark certainly wasn't going to repay that favor for him.
Once those minor issues were settled, Ethan called Fury.
"Hello," he said cheerfully. "This is Ethan Voss."
"Where's my Helicarrier?"
Nick Fury stared silently at the phone.
Inside his mind, he screamed.
Fuck you.
Soon afterward, Agent Coulson arrived with a large welcoming group to greet the new commander.
Ethan had also gathered his own forces.
A large number of Justice League members stood nearby.
Professor Charles Xavier.
Jason Wyngarde.
Logan the Wolverine.
Colossus.
Cyclops.
Storm.
Emil Blonsky.
Johnny Storm.
Peggy Carter.
And many others.
With a lineup like that, defeating Loki seemed almost guaranteed.
Surrounded by this powerful assembly, Ethan Voss led what could currently be considered the strongest group of fighters on Earth onto his flagship.
On the massive deck of the Helicarrier, two men stood watching the scene unfold.
Steve Rogers.
And Remy Étienne LeBeau.
Both of them looked deeply confused.
Who exactly was this arrogant and domineering man named Ethan Voss?
Inside the bridge command center, Fury focused on directing the launch.
"Check hovering power," he ordered.
"Overall power at eight percent."
"Power output increasing to maximum."
The massive Helicarrier slowly rose into the sky.
"Prepare to activate the background reflection panels," Fury continued. "Let's—"
Before he could finish the sentence, someone suddenly grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him aside.
Ethan stepped forward and clapped his hands loudly.
Everyone's attention turned toward him.
"Alright," he announced. "You should have all received your orders."
"I am the supreme commander of this operation."
He pointed toward the controls.
"Turn off the reflection panels."
"Let the whole world see us in all our glory."
The entire bridge froze.
"Are you insane?" Fury shouted.
"You're the insane one!" Ethan snapped back.
He jabbed a finger directly into Fury's chest.
"Listen carefully, kid."
"Don't forget who caused this disaster."
"You idiot."
Fury's temper finally exploded.
He swung a punch.
But Logan immediately grabbed him and restrained him.
"Hmph," Ethan snorted.
Then he turned toward the rest of the crew.
"The White House and the council have officially given me command of this mission."
"That means you answer to me."
"Understood?"
He glanced toward Logan.
"Logan, help this so-called director calm down."
Nick Fury became the first person placed inside the Helicarrier's solitary confinement cell.
Even Loki hadn't experienced that yet.
As Fury was dragged away, he shouted curses the entire time.
Captain America had watched the entire scene unfold.
He still didn't fully understand what had happened.
But one thought lingered in his mind.
Someone really needed to tell Fury to watch his language.
The bridge fell completely silent.
Maria Hill and Phil Coulson stood calmly without showing any reaction.
Ethan immediately understood.
Fury must have already instructed them to cooperate quietly.
But Ethan didn't care.
When absolute power was involved, schemes and tricks were meaningless.
He turned toward the assembled heroes.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he said loudly, "our planet has reached a critical moment between life and death."
"In times like this, our existence represents hope."
"We represent belief."
"There is no need to hide."
He spread his arms confidently.
"Let the world see us."
"Let us fight like true warriors."
Ethan's voice echoed across the bridge.
"I promise you."
"We will win this battle."
.....
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