What's Your Plan?

Among the voids of the universes, an ancient and wise voice echoed through the realities.

"Time."

"Space."

"Reality."

"It's more than a linear path."

"It's a prism of endless possibility."

"Where a single choice can branch out into infinite realities."

"Creating alternate worlds from the ones you know."

"I am the Watcher."

"I am your guide through these vast new realities."

"Follow me and ponder the question... What if?"

The owner of the bright eyes that scrutinized all of reality recited his mantra with confidence and power as he looked ahead.

Then he looked sideways and downwards.

There, he saw Tony and his family having fun during the New Year's fireworks display.

"Choices determine the path we tread. Doing good..." Uatu looked at a father holding his child with a smile, both admiring the fireworks. The origin of the arm was from Stark Industries.

"Fighting evil..." Uatu then saw a man in black attire and a mask fighting some men in an alley while protecting a woman behind him. On the shoulder of his suit, the symbol of a metal mask was imprinted.

"But our choices often also decide the path that others will tread." He then turned his gaze to Nick Fury driving a black SUV with the man who would attack him in the future in the passenger seat.

"In this reality, Nick Fury never met Carol Danvers, fought extraterrestrials, or obtained the Tesseract." Uatu caught a glimpse of Fury arriving at the Blockbuster, but finding nothing.

"Without that, Nick Fury continued his career as a great agent and quickly rose through the ranks, but in the Bogotá incident, Nick Fury wasn't present, and who saved several politicians, authorities, and people, and one in particular, Alexander Pierce's daughter, it wasn't Fury... it was the Iron Brotherhood." Uatu glimpsed the Iron Brotherhood entering the sewers and saving several people before eliminating the terrorists.

He then returned his gaze to Fury's story.

"Fury continued his work magnificently, but without the Bogotá incident, Pierce underestimated him." Uatu saw the image of Fury reporting to Pierce, but Pierce continued to look out the window with his hand on his back, not bothering to turn to Fury.

Then Uatu paused and looked curiously at the events.

"But something surprising came out of it. Nick continued his fieldwork, and that led him to stumble upon the truth." Uatu said as his gaze turned to a scene.

Nick Fury was hidden behind a wall, listening to a conversation between two men, when one of the men bid farewell in a low voice.

"Hail Hydra!" One of the men said.

Nick Fury widened his eyes.

"That was the beginning of Fury's fight against the odds." Uatu said and saw images of Fury crawling through the mud, being shot, and hiding in the shadows.

"The journey was tough, almost impossible. But destiny had other plans." Uatu said, returning his gaze to the present time.

Nick Fury was in an interrogation room after being rescued the night before when he was nearly killed by Hydra.

Fury slowly awoke to find himself seated and bound in an unfamiliar place. He looked around but found only a chair and an old lamp beside him, crackling with static, blinding him with its light and making him feel warm.

The door opened as the same man who led the team to rescue him earlier entered the room and sat in front of him.

He carried a file as he entered the room and began flipping through it.

"Nicholas Joseph Fury. Born in Huntsville, Alabama, on July 4, 1950. Son of Jack and Katherine Fury." He read calmly with his gravelly voice.

Nick looked at him with his good eye, emotionless for a few seconds, before letting out a laugh.

"Thanks for the information. I didn't know that." He said mockingly.

The man didn't laugh. He tossed the file aside, leaned his elbows on his knees, interlaced the fingers of one hand with the other, and rested his chin on top.

"You're a tough guy, Fury. Your moral compass is also in the right place. And you're smart, too. When you found out about Hydra, you didn't just jump into the enemy like Rambo or something. No, you looked for the head before pulling the snake's tail. Your suspicion also saved you. If you had trusted Shield and reported it, you wouldn't even know when you died." He said, looked at Fury, and nodded in affirmation.

And continued, "Unfortunately, you were at a disadvantage both in numbers and equipment. Hydra has been at this for a long time. They realized you were suspicious, that you were getting into something you shouldn't. They then separated you from Coulson and put one of their agents by your side to gain your trust, find out what you knew, and get rid of you afterward." He finished.

But Fury just looked at him emotionlessly.

"Unfortunately, you couldn't defy orders, as it would raise suspicion and make you a bigger target. But what they didn't count on was that you were tougher than they could imagine, so they gave up on gathering information and jumped straight to execution, right?" the man said with a playful tone.

Nick looked at him and simply said, "I was prepared."

The man looked at him amused.

"Yes, more prepared than they could imagine. Even when ambushed, you took 17 of them down before falling. It's impressive." The man said admiringly and continued, "You knew the risks of facing something like Hydra, and how slim your chances were. Still, you pressed on to do what's right... No matter what anyone says or what you think yourself. You're a hero, Fury." The man said, gazing fixedly beneath the mask at Nick Fury.

Fury remained silent for a moment before letting out a scoffing laugh.

"A hero tied to a chair after nearly being killed by his enemy, what kind of hero am I?" Nick said, shaking his head ironically.

The man then brought his hand to his face and removed his mask.

"Heroes are not born. They're forged in darkness." The man smiled at Fury.

Uatu looked surprised at the man saying that phrase, as it was the same phrase he had said once.

"Oh? Philosophical. Who said that? Nietzsche?" Nick mocked, but deep down, he ended up pondering the phrase.

"No, a friend." The man in black smiled, recalling the man who saved him and said that phrase to him in his darkest moment.

"Well, if the small talk is over, I guess it's time for you to tell me what you want with me." Fury looked at the man with a serious face.

The man looked at him and agreed, as he stood up.

"I believe you know who we are." The man said.

"If I don't know who the Iron Brotherhood is, then I don't deserve my job." Nick replied caustically.

"Then you must know that we fight for good, to help people." He said as he walked behind Fury and slowly pulled a knife from his waist.

"It's not what the trail of blood you leave behind says. Important people, ordinary bar owners, the homeless, and even our Shield agents have been killed by you. It doesn't seem like what people fighting for good do." Nick coldly narrowed his eyes in response.

"Well, normally I wouldn't answer our motives to others, as they could deal with a poorly made excuse. But now that we have a common enemy, maybe you'll understand. The people we hunt, when we cut off one head, two more seem to grow." The man squatted a little and stabbed toward Fury's back.

Fury's eyes widened, and he exclaimed in a murmur, "Hydra!"

*Slice*

Fury pulled his hands from the now-cut ropes and rubbed his wrists as he turned his face slightly to the man.

"What's your plan? And who are you?" Fury asked, looking at him from the corner of his good eye.

The man looked at him and smiled as he drew a pistol from his holster, holding it by the barrel and extending it to Fury.

"My name is Bucky Barnes, and we need you to become the new director of Shield."