Chapter 25: I Will Beat Him To The Ground

In S.H.I.E.L.D's dimly lit office, Nick Fury sat at the head of the table, his signature one-eyed gaze focused on the two agents seated before him—Black Widow and Hawkeye. Both had just returned from a mission, and it was clear that something unsettling was happening in the city.

Black Widow leaned back into the leather sofa, her tone serious as she spoke. "There have been multiple reports of missing people recently, and I suspect it's connected to those self-destructing incidents we've seen around the city."

Hawkeye nodded, adding, "Yeah, from what I've gathered, someone's been pouring a lot of resources into developing a serum called Extremis here in New York." He frowned, shaking his head in frustration. "But we haven't pinpointed exactly who's behind it. What we do know is that there are at least twelve secret testing sites scattered throughout the city."

Nick Fury's expression hardened. Illegal human experimentation, and in New York no less. This situation was far from simple. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully before asking, "What exactly does Extremis do?"

Black Widow shook her head, her face grave. "We're still not entirely sure, but it seems to enhance human abilities to a dangerous level, causing some to explode. There've been multiple incidents of self-destruction in the heart of the city, and it looks like Extremis is to blame."

Fury grimaced, his thoughts flashing back to the catastrophic scenes of destruction. A fifteen-story bank collapsed in seconds, all because of one of these "exploding" individuals. The damage had been devastating.

He sighed and turned to Black Widow. "We need to get Tony on this. Let him know what we're dealing with."

Black Widow chuckled, leaning back as she revealed, "Funny thing, I just got a call from Happy."

"And?" Fury raised an eyebrow.

Black Widow's lips curled into a playful smile. "Captain America was found, but apparently, he didn't exactly walk away unscathed. Someone roughed him up pretty badly."

Fury frowned, and Hawkeye's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Beaten? Who could manage that?"

"Some superhuman who can breathe fire," Black Widow replied, shrugging.

The mention of "superhuman" made Fury groan and rub his temples. Superhumans were always trouble—powerful, reckless, and hard to control. Worst of all, if they weren't on your side, they were a nightmare to deal with.

"What's his name? Is he an ally or a threat? Do we have any intel?" Fury fired off a series of questions.

Black Widow shrugged again, clearly as frustrated as Fury. "No name, no details. All we know is that this guy torched a burger joint with fire."

Fury sighed heavily, pressing his hand to his forehead in exasperation. The last thing they needed was another unpredictable superhuman causing chaos. As Black Widow and Hawkeye began to rise, ready to leave the room, Fury's voice stopped them.

"What about the lucky one? Any updates on him?"

The mention of Jiang Chen caught both agents' attention. While Fury spoke casually, it was clear that Jiang Chen had left an impression on him. Both Black Widow and Hawkeye knew exactly who he was talking about.

Black Widow couldn't hide the faint smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. Jiang Chen had intrigued her ever since their first encounter. Hawkeye, however, didn't share the sentiment.

"He's been off the grid ever since he left S.H.I.E.L.D," Hawkeye said with a frown. "We haven't been able to track him down. It's like he vanished into thin air."

Fury nodded, though his expression betrayed a sense of regret. Jiang Chen had potential, and it was a shame they hadn't been able to bring him into S.H.I.E.L.D's fold.

Hawkeye, on the other hand, was clearly unimpressed. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "Lucky or not, he's just an ordinary guy. I don't see what the big deal is."

There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he continued. "Honestly, if we ever did get him to join S.H.I.E.L.D, he'd probably be the first to bail on a mission. Based on his physical abilities, I could take him down with ease."

Black Widow, unimpressed, snorted and folded her arms. "Really? A man who can't even shoot an arrow straight?"

Hawkeye's face darkened, his expression turning from cocky to furious. He slammed his fist against the desk. "That was one time! A single accident!"

His temper flaring, he leaned forward and growled, "If I ever run into Jiang Chen again, I'll beat him to the ground!"