19. Meeting With Director Fury 1

Malibu Mansion

Inside the lab, John sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, meditating in silence. Suddenly, a colorless aura flared around his body, and the objects in the lab began to tremble slightly. Simultaneously, colorful specks of light flowed into his body. The phenomenon lasted only for a brief moment before everything came to a halt. Unbeknownst to John, the entire event had unfolded outside his awareness.

Opening his eyes slowly, John let out a wry smile. What he had been expecting simply didn't happen.

The reason for his disappointment lay in the new rune he had recently inscribed. He had anticipated it would grant him a teleportation ability, but after successfully inscribing it, John realized it was entirely different.

The rune wasn't related to teleportation or anything similar. It had a single function: positioning. So far, John had only discovered one practical use for it—to locate someone or lock onto their position.

Eager to test the rune's capability, John closed his eyes and activated it. Instantly, he felt as though his soul was drawn out of his body into a dark, boundless space. Looking around, he found nothing but endless darkness.

Curious, John focused on Tony and his location. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, a glowing red dot appeared in the void. The dot seemed close yet simultaneously distant. No matter how hard John tried to move closer to it, the distance remained insurmountable.

However, one thing became clear: the red dot represented Tony's position. This realization also meant that Tony was no longer in the U.S.

Snapping back to reality, John opened his eyes and hurried to the workshop. As he suspected, it was empty.

"Jarvis, where is my brother?"

"Master John, Mr. Stark has already departed for Europe."

Hearing this, John sighed, a wry smile tugging at his lips. What was supposed to happen still happened in the end, he thought.

"Jarvis, call him for me."

"As you wish, Master John."

A moment later, Tony's voice filled the workshop.

"What's up, John? Sorry for not informing you about my trip to Europe."

John exhaled in relief at hearing Tony's voice. "Did you do something crazy over there?"

"I did not do such a thing, John. You know me better than anyone."

"That's why I'm asking."

"Well…" Tony began, but before he could continue, Pepper's voice cut through.

"My god, John! Tony is going crazy, doing dangerous things out here. He just won't listen to me!"

"Ms. Potts, I did no such thing! I just participated in a normal competition."

John sighed inwardly. Some things never change, he thought, listening to their argument.

"When are you coming back?" John asked with a resigned tone. If only Fury had visited Tony sooner, maybe this wouldn't have happened, he mused silently.

"We'll be back tomorrow morning. Are you missing your brother that much?"

A vein bulged on John's forehead as he gritted his teeth. "Just come back, and after that, you're not going anywhere else!" he snapped before cutting the call.

After a moment of silence, John asked, "Jarvis, what's the progress on the new project I gave you?"

"Master John, the progress remains at zero percent due to insufficient data. Additional related information is required to advance this project."

John wasn't disappointed—he had anticipated this outcome. Without any inherited knowledge on the subject, it was impossible for Jarvis to proceed further.

"Looks like I'll have to find the answers myself," John murmured. He often admired those who had paved their own paths, especially the pioneers who began their journeys as mages in the Marvel universe. Their determination filled him with respect and fueled his own resolve to move forward.

Without hesitation, John returned to the lab and began working on another of the three runes.

---

The next morning, John met Tony and gave him an earful, leaving the latter unusually quiet. Later that day, after a brief outing, they returned to find the mansion completely without power.

"Jarvis…" Tony called out.

"Don't bother. He won't respond," a deep voice interrupted from the corner of the room.

Both John and Tony whipped around, startled. From the shadows of the couch, a figure stepped forward—a tall man clad in a dark leather coat with an eyepatch covering his left eye. His presence was commanding, almost suffocating, as if he had materialized from the shadows themselves.

"I'm Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D.," the man said, his voice calm but firm. "We need to talk, Stark."

Tony raised an eyebrow, his surprise quickly replaced by irritation. "Seriously? You cut the power to my entire house just to make an entrance?"

"Apologies for the inconvenience," Fury replied with a smirk, raising a hand. Instantly, the power returned, and the mansion hummed back to life.

As everyone took their seats, Tony was the first to break the silence. "Alright, Fury, what do you want to talk about?"

John, however, was still processing Fury's sudden appearance. His senses, which had grown sharper since becoming a wizard, hadn't picked up on Fury's presence at all. He's the director of spies for a reason, John thought to himself, a mix of frustration and admiration brewing within.

The room grew tense as Fury leaned forward, his gaze sharp. "Let's get to the point. Stark, the world's about to get a lot more complicated, and we need your help."

Tony raised an eyebrow and asked, "In detail, please."

"Well, we can talk about it later, but you're not looking so good," Fury said, his eyes narrowing as he glanced at the blue lines on Tony's neck.

"I've been worse," Tony replied, adjusting his collar casually.

"We've secured the perimeter, but I don't think we should hold it for too much longer," a voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.

Tony turned to see who had spoken and, to his surprise, found Natalie standing there. She had turned out to be a spy. Without a second thought or change in expression, Tony said, "You're fired."

"That's not up to you," Natasha replied flatly, showing no reaction as she sat down beside Fury.

"Tony, I want you to meet Agent Romanoff," Fury said, a smirk playing on his lips.

Meanwhile, ignored by everyone, John remained quiet. He didn't feel slighted—after all, he hadn't done anything yet to draw their attention. For now, he was content with the status quo.