Chapter 40: Captain America (Part 1)

"What's going on here? We haven't figured this out yet, and we're already leaving? You're just sending me into the field like this?" Melinda May questioned Coulson as they sat in the car. Previously, in front of Daniel, she held back for Coulson's sake, but now there were no outsiders around.

"Is what he said true?" Melinda quickly caught on.

"There are things you don't know. Don't ask. Wait until we see the Director," Coulson replied, stopping Melinda from pressing further. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s protocols dictated that certain information was only accessible at higher levels, even though Coulson and Melinda were currently of the same rank.

Coulson drove to a private airstrip in New York, where they boarded a Quinjet bound for Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion Headquarters.

Upon landing, Coulson and Melinda went straight to the Director's office.

"Come in," they heard Fury's voice and entered. Inside, Fury was listening to a report from the beautiful Agent Maria Hill, one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s elite and Fury's confidant.

"Mission accomplished. What's the situation?" Fury asked, knowing exactly what Coulson and Melinda's mission entailed. He had anticipated no difficulty, considering it involved superpowers and connections to Stark Industries and Shuri.

As for superpowers, they were nothing new to Fury, who knew Captain Marvel, a being capable of traversing the universe with her physical body, and he even had a terrifying Flerken cat.

Like Coulson, Fury was skeptical about magic, despite Rebecca's report.

"Well," Coulson hesitated, glancing at Hill. Despite Hill being a level nine agent, Coulson was unsure if she should be privy to this information, as he had only learned it because he was directly involved in the events.

"I'll leave," Hill said, nodding to the three of them and exiting with her files.

"What's the problem? Did Stark interfere?" Fury asked with a smile after Hill left. To him, the only potential complication in this mission could be Stark's involvement.

Daniel had been thoroughly vetted before Coulson's visit. He was deemed temporarily harmless, especially since he was a billionaire and unlike those with powers but no wealth, he had no need to resort to robbery.

Coulson, after exchanging a look with Melinda, said, "Sir, he knows about Planet C-53." Coulson then recounted Daniel's exact words.

The room fell silent. Fury's expression remained unchanged, an advantage of his stoic demeanor and the difficulty of reading a black man's facial expressions in such situations.

Melinda, standing with her hands behind her back, sensed the gravity of the situation from the room's atmosphere.

"I need to step out. Hill," Fury said, contacting Hill before pressing a few buttons on his desk. A hidden door opened to reveal an elevator.

"Let's go see him," Fury said, stepping into the elevator and signaling Coulson and Melinda to follow.

Given their ranks, Coulson and Melinda typically wouldn't be involved in this matter, but Fury trusted them both and decided to include them.

"Back so soon?" Daniel greeted them with surprise. He had expected them to return but not so quickly, and certainly not with another person in tow.

"This is our Director," Coulson introduced Fury to Daniel with respect.

Coulson's respect for Fury stemmed from a misunderstanding. He believed Fury had been captured and tortured by aliens, losing an eye but revealing nothing. In reality, Fury's left eye had been scratched by a cat, albeit an alien one.

"Coulson has briefed me on everything. About Planet C-53, what else do you know?" Fury asked, staring at Daniel intently.

Had the C-53 designation not been so obscure, Fury wouldn't have come personally. Despite being S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Director, he saw the necessity given the circumstances.

"What do you know about it?" Daniel countered.

Fury's eyes widened involuntarily.

"Humanity hasn't yet achieved interstellar travel. Knowing too much can be dangerous," Daniel continued before Fury could respond.

In the Marvel universe, despite frequent technological advancements, progress in space travel had been minimal, confined to the solar system. Lunar exploration frequently encountered mishaps, though this wasn't Earth's inhabitants' fault. They couldn't have known the Moon was occupied, causing their probes to fail and astronauts to find nothing.

"You mentioned to Coulson that sorcerers are scientists, and that Newton and others were sorcerers. Yet, I know Newton changed his beliefs in later years," Fury shifted the topic.

"That's our fundamental difference. You impose your views on others. Our understanding of the world is fundamentally different. Who told you faith and science conflict?" Daniel's words made Fury's face darken, though it was hard to tell given his complexion.

"Let me give you an example," Daniel said, conjuring a golden light. "Our understanding of the universe is like the difference between ancient people and modern people's understanding of lightning."

This comparison made Coulson and Melinda's faces darken, implying they were primitive.

"If you're so advanced, why haven't we heard of you?" Fury asked, keeping his tone calm.

"Because humanity was ignorant," Daniel corrected himself seeing their expressions, "I mean before the modern era. During the Middle Ages, our predecessors mostly left this planet. But they occasionally return to find successors."

"You had interstellar travel capabilities then?" Fury asked in shock.

"I've said it before," Daniel said, projecting a solar system map that exploded into countless lights.

"Our understanding of the universe differs."

"Can you leave this planet?" Fury asked curiously.

"My current abilities aren't sufficient."

Not yet, implying he might in the future. Fury and his team understood the hidden meaning.

Daniel's claims were fabricated, but he didn't mind potential future exposure. By then, S.H.I.E.L.D. might not even exist, and discrepancies could be explained by different magical factions.

"Can ordinary people become sorcerers?"

"Of course not. Becoming a sorcerer requires talent. Otherwise, our predecessors would have just opened a sorcerer school," Daniel replied, shaking his head.

This was no lie. Kamar-Taj's magic mostly offered health benefits to ordinary people.

"What about Planet C-53? Anything else?"

"One thing," Daniel raised his index finger, "This isn't my opinion but a message from our predecessors: those idiots broadcasting signals into space should stop. Do they know how stupid it is to expose our coordinates? Are they inviting marauders?"

"What are marauders?"

"Interstellar pirates, ruthless criminals," Daniel said solemnly. "By the way, slavery is rampant in the universe."

If not for Asgard's protection, marauders would have likely come already.

Star-Lord might be an exception, but even Yondu, his guardian, was responsible for countless deaths.

"I see, thank you," Fury said, his resolve strengthened.

Daniel had long misunderstood Fury's depth of knowledge about the universe. Though friends with Captain Marvel, Fury didn't have extensive interstellar insights.

Their friendship was real, but Captain Marvel was often too busy with Kree Empire matters to stay in regular contact, hence the emergency pager.

This lack of contact was evident in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s technology level. Frequent interaction would have led to more advanced tech from her.

There were no universal laws protecting low-level civilizations; without strength, extinction was common.

Some planets with lower civilizations faced extinction just from marauders alone.

___________________

Read Ahead

P@treon.com/Mutter