Marvel: The Enlightened One-Chapter 75: [] - A Director with a Rebellious Streak (Bonus)

Chapter 75: [75] - A Director with a Rebellious Streak (Bonus)

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As an agency operating under the direct authority of the World Security Council—formed by the five global superpowers—S.H.I.E.L.D. possessed immense power.

Especially when dealing with nations outside of the big five, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s authority often superseded that of local law enforcement.

As for its authority within the five superpowers??

That was a more complicated story!

...

The moment the agent entered the license plate into the system, a flood of information appeared on the main screen.

The plate’s registered owner, their driving history.

In a matter of seconds, Gwen Stacy’s photograph was displayed in perfect clarity for the entire command center to see.

"Send that to Natasha."

"Yes, sir."

Ping.

Natasha’s phone chimed. She glanced at the photo that had just come through.

It was a picture of Gwen, smiling sweetly.

"Director, that’s her."

"Hmph."

Nick Fury nodded, his expression grim. "Run a search on her network. Find anyone by the name of Hawk."

The agent began the search before Fury had even finished his sentence.

But—

Hawk social media accounts: none.

Hawk photos online: none.

Hawk driver’s license: non-existent.

Aside from a few text-based records, there was nothing else.

Nick Fury’s brow furrowed. "Wrong person?"

"I don’t think so, sir."

The agent turned to face Fury. "We ran the search through Gwen Stacy’s network. There’s only one possible connection. Hawk. Male, seventeen years old. Like Gwen Stacy, he’s a senior at Midtown School of Science and Technology. Based on the social media of other Midtown students, it’s suspected that he and Gwen Stacy are dating."

Fury’s voice was a low growl. "And there are no photos of him?"

"...No, sir."

The agent, fearing he had been careless, ran the search again before confirming. "Director, this Hawk has no online presence. No social media accounts of his own. Logically, at seventeen, he should have a driver’s license, but there are no records for him in the New York DMV system."

Well, now.

What kind of atypical high school student is this?

A slow, cold smile spread across Fury’s face. "What do we have on Gwen Stacy?"

"Confirmed. Gwen Stacy, born May 21st, 1995. Father, George Stacy, Captain, NYPD..." The agent began rattling off the details from her file.

But he was cut off.

"Contact the S.H.I.E.L.D. command center in New York," Fury ordered. "Tell them to—"

"WAIT!"

Just as Fury was about to deploy a team, Maria Hill, who had been standing beside him, finally reacted. She cut him off, turning to face him with a deep frown. "Director, what are you doing?"

Nick Fury looked at her. "He needs to be contained!"

"We don’t even know who he is."

"Which is why we’re sending a team..."

"No."

"What?"

"I disagree." Maria Hill met Nick Fury’s one good eye, her voice firm. "Until we have a clear intelligence profile on this Hawk, I will not authorize such a reckless operation."

Is he insane?

This was the person who had killed the Hulk. To just go in blind, without any proper intelligence... what was he trying to do? Make an enemy of someone with that kind of power?

Hawk may have killed the Hulk, but from Hill’s perspective, the situation was still manageable. If Natasha’s report was accurate, he had done it for revenge.

The fact that he hadn’t killed Natasha or Bruce Banner meant he was a man of principle.

And principles were a good thing.

Principles meant he had lines he wouldn’t cross. It meant that even if he wasn’t an ally, he was, at the very least, neutral.

To charge in now, as Fury was suggesting, was just needlessly looking for trouble. It was practically manufacturing a powerful new enemy.

And so—

Maria Hill stood firmly against him. "We need to investigate first. Then we send an agent to make contact."

"CONTACT???"

Nick Fury’s eye glinted. "Hill, he killed the Hulk. OUR HULK. That was a direct provocation. On that basis alone, he must be brought under strict control."

With that, Nick Fury turned back to the agent. "Notify..."

"I said no!"

Maria Hill’s expression was stone-cold as she addressed the agents who had stood up and turned to face them. "I am the Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and its acting Commander of Operations. Without my direct order, all actions targeting this individual, Hawk, are forbidden."

The agents exchanged glances, then, as if remembering something, they all responded in unison.

"Yes, Commander."

Maria Hill then turned back to Nick Fury, her expression severe. "Don’t forget, Director. Your operational authority is still suspended by the Council. Until they lift that suspension, all S.H.I.E.L.D. decisions are mine to make."

It was true.

Nick Fury had been grounded by the World Security Council.

The reason was simple: during the Battle of New York, he had defied a direct order. Did he really think he could ignore the will of the five great powers and face no consequences?

The decision to launch a nuclear strike on Manhattan during the Battle of New York earlier that year had been a unanimous resolution by the WSC, and the order to execute it had initially been given to S.H.I.E.L.D.

And the result?

The Director himself had led the charge in violating their resolution. He had even personally flown out and shot down one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s own jets.

Unbelievable.

It was blatant insubordination. A treason.

So, even though the outcome had been favorable, from the WSC’s perspective, Nick Fury was clearly insubordinate to his core.

There was a saying.

Loyalty that isn’t absolute is no loyalty at all.

The Council’s initial decision had been to fire Nick Fury, to make an example of him and show everyone that S.H.I.E.L.D answered to the Council, not the other way around.

But someone had pleaded his case.

Nick Fury’s old friend—Alexander Pierce—was one of the five heads of the Council.

After much persuasion, Pierce had managed to convince the other four members to change their minds. In the end, they had decided to suspend all of Nick Fury’s operational authority, with Deputy Director and Commander Maria Hill acting in his stead.

As for when Fury’s suspension would be lifted?

That depended on his behavior.

And so far, the Council had shown no inclination to reinstate him. So while he was still, technically, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., he was a figurehead, a mascot. He could observe, he could advise, but he had no authority to make a decision.

Hearing Maria Hill’s words, Nick Fury remembered his place.

His voice was a low growl. "This will make us look weak to our enemies."

Maria Hill frowned. Just as she was about to respond, a surveillance photo flashed onto the main screen.

The agent who had been running the search blinked, then glanced at the source of the information. His eyes lit up, and he turned to Maria Hill.

"Commander."

"Go ahead..." Maria Hill turned, her eyes drawn to the new photo. "Where did you find this?"

"It was just uploaded. New York University published its list of incoming scholarship students for next year. Hawk is one of them. I ran the photo from the announcement through our system."

"And the location?"

"Quantico."

As the agent spoke, his hands flew across the keyboard. With this first photo as a lead, more began to appear.

One by one, surveillance images of Hawk from Quantico Town were projected onto the main screen.

At the same time, Natasha, who had remained silent on the open line during the dispute between her superiors, finally spoke up. "Commander, I can confirm his identity."

Maria Hill stared at the photo of Hawk wearing a baseball cap, a slight frown on her face.

"When was this taken?"

"July fifth."

"..."

Hearing the date, Maria Hill’s frown deepened. She remembered something.

If she wasn’t mistaken, something major had happened in Quantico on that day.

A major security breach.

And sure enough, the data confirmed it.

The surveillance footage showed Hawk in Quantico Town on the day of the lockdown. But after the lockdown began, he had vanished from all cameras. The next time any record of him appeared, he was in Maryland.

It was almost certain that the chaos at the Quantico military base was connected to him.

...

Nick Fury, having received this new intelligence, turned to Maria Hill. "A man who brazenly attacks a military base, a murderer who has killed dozens of soldiers... and you still want to ’make contact’?"

Maria Hill met his gaze, her expression unreadable. "If you disagree with my decision, Director, you can file an appeal with the Council."

With that, she turned away from him and addressed the agent. "Continue."

"Yes, Commander."

"..."

Nick Fury’s eye glinted. Without another word, he turned and walked out of the command center.

The moment he was back in his office, Nick Fury pulled out his phone, found the number of the old friend he had called to check on during the Quantico incident, and dialed.

Attacking the Quantico military base.

Brazenly murdering a member of the Avengers Initiative.

This was no longer a simple crime. This required a heavy hand.

Hawk had to be controlled.

Under his supervision!!

<><><><><><><><> 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

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