On the surface, Nick Fury's disappearance didn't cause much of a stir. After all, many people didn't even know he existed. During the months of his absence, S.H.I.E.L.D. managed to operate without any major incidents. As a mature intelligence agency with a decentralized management structure, many agents were unaware that their director had gone missing.
However, Fury's importance became magnified during his disappearance.
First, there was AIM's Enhanced Humans Program. After the Battle of New York, the White House was on edge, their nerves stretched to the breaking point. They no longer trusted S.H.I.E.L.D., and the so-called Avengers were even less reliable in their eyes. To them, the Avengers were just a group of freaks. Only Captain Rogers, who they saw as a true patriot, was deemed trustworthy. As for the others—a spy from the Red Room, a circus performer from the Matthew troupe, an uncontrollable raging Hulk, an alien prince, and a smug billionaire in a suit—they were all seen as liabilities to some extent. Especially the silver-armored knight, whose identity Nick Fury still refused to reveal. The other Avengers feigned ignorance whenever the topic came up.
To those in Washington, this mysterious knight, Solomon, was the most dangerous of them all. The power he displayed during the Battle of New York made him a walking nuclear bomb—a free agent no less. No one knew where he might "detonate."
This line of thinking kept the White House on edge. As a result, America's own super-soldier program was resurrected. General Ross, who had been sidelined after the Hulk incident, was brought back into the fold. Despite the uncontrollable results of his past experiments, Ross had already proven that the super-soldier concept was viable.
Captain Rogers naturally opposed the program. However, one soldier's objections carried little weight. AIM conveniently stepped in at this juncture. Without Nick Fury to restrain them, the military began collaborating on the Extremis Virus research, even providing a number of disabled, retired soldiers as test subjects. However, these officials had learned to be more cautious. Knowing the potential for catastrophic outcomes, they kept their involvement low-key, planning to unveil the new super-soldiers only after the Extremis Virus had been fully stabilized.
That way, if anything went wrong, the military could disown the program entirely, claiming they had no knowledge of it. General Ross's restarted experiments were similarly structured to allow the military to distance itself from any failures.
But there was one person who had deduced Solomon's identity. While the agents involved in the demonic incident had signed magical contracts of secrecy, loopholes allowed some to piece together the story by stitching together fragments from different reports. By exploiting such gaps, Alexander Pierce managed to obtain a reconstructed account of the events.
Coupled with information he'd previously gathered—including statements from a Skrull impersonating Nick Fury (though Pierce didn't know it was a Skrull)—he arrived at a rough conclusion about Solomon's identity. However, Pierce didn't act rashly. He noted the strained relationship between Nick Fury and Solomon Damonet, recognizing that the boy wasn't part of Fury's "freak party."
According to the agents' descriptions, Solomon was a cold and calculating individual with an array of extraordinary abilities—abilities that Pierce understood weren't the result of human enhancement but magic. Realizing that Nick Fury had ventured deep into the world of magic, Pierce felt he was falling behind. Nonetheless, his ambition to cultivate magical talent within S.H.I.E.L.D. remained unchanged. He sought to recruit Solomon Damonet, intending to monopolize that power for himself.
Pierce was confident. Everyone had weaknesses, and once identified, they could be exploited. Money, seduction, status, fame—these worldly temptations, absent in the magical world, would surely overwhelm an inexperienced teenager like Solomon. Pierce was convinced he could offer Solomon what he wanted. He even planned to push the boy into the public eye, allowing him to bask in the applause and adoration of the masses—a fame potent enough to intoxicate any young man.
Meanwhile, Solomon, who had just spent nearly £20,000 on jewelry, was unaware of these schemes. He had received a message from an android informing him that the witches were waiting for him at his apartment. Exhausted, he quickly returned to the Kamar-Taj headquarters, took a shower, and then opened a portal back to the apartment he shared with the witches.
"Good evening, lovely ladies," Solomon said as he produced two jewelry boxes from behind his back. "Please forgive me; this business trip took much longer than expected. So, I've prepared some compensation for you."
Jeanne scoffed. "Do you think we can't survive without you, mage?" she retorted disdainfully. "Don't think you can gloss over this. You still haven't explained your relationship with that female spy!"
Solomon's half-lidded eyes suddenly widened in shock. He hadn't expected the witches to still remember that incident.
Bayonetta nodded in agreement, clearly unwilling to let the matter slide.
"And you didn't even show up for your birthday!" Jeanne continued her tirade. "The Sorcerer Supreme didn't show up either! You left Cereza and me waiting the entire day for nothing! And £4,000 shoes! You just gave them to that woman without even consulting Cereza…"
"Nine-thousand-pound earrings," Solomon interjected, opening one of the jewelry boxes. Inside was a pair of platinum triangular earrings, each set with meticulously cut blue sapphires that shimmered under the light. He then opened the other box, revealing a pair of feather-shaped, openwork gold earrings inlaid with rubies.
"These are for you, Jeanne," he said. "This isn't an apology—it's a regular gift. I promise, you're more important to me than anyone else."
"I still can't forgive you," Bayonetta said, raising her head dramatically. She patted her lap and added, "But today isn't the time to argue about this. I know you're exhausted. You can rest here for a while."
"Cereza! You always spoil him!" Jeanne was furious with her friend's leniency. However, before she could finish, Solomon had already laid his head on Bayonetta's lap, wasting no time at all. It was as if he'd teleported there. His audible sigh of contentment only made Jeanne angrier. She tried to pull him off Bayonetta's lap, but the mage seemed magnetically attached, unwilling to move.
Even Cheshire, the nearby cat, couldn't bear to watch its master's foolishness. It covered its eyes with its paw. The android, puzzled, glanced at her own thighs, unable to comprehend why her master was so enamored with the upper part of human legs.
While Solomon's family comedy continued to unfold, Nick Fury was preparing to reappear in his office. Instead of having Solomon teleport him directly there, Fury first went to a safe house in Washington to catch up on what had transpired during his absence.
Agent Maria Hill was the first to learn of Fury's return. She provided him with all the necessary files, including details about Stark's recent troubles, the mastermind behind the Extremis Virus, and the unusual forces gradually emerging within S.H.I.E.L.D. Hill had been extremely cautious while investigating the latter, avoiding any overt actions that might reveal her inquiries. As a result, her progress had been painstakingly slow.
Now, Nick Fury was back in charge of the investigation.
He had already lost too much time. It was time to root out this hidden force.
Off work now!
_________________________________________
From May 26 to June 3, I'm offering a 33% discount on all Patreon tiers.
Just use this code when you sign up: 83AA7
If you'd like to support the project and get early access to chapters, now's the perfect time to join or upgrade.
This limited-time offer lasts only for these 9 days!
Thank you for your support ❤️
[w w w . p @ t r e o n . c o m / M u t t e r]