"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.
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"Thanks a lot for this time. Goodbye." After asking a few more questions about the aliens, Fury stood up, ready to leave, seemingly having forgotten about Daniel Davis' identity as a mage.
"Don't be in such a hurry. Since the director is here, how about making a deal?" Daniel's words made Fury immediately sit back down.
"What deal?" Fury asked in a low voice.
"An information exchange for 100 kilograms of vibranium." The amount of vibranium that has leaked from Wakanda isn't insignificant. Back in the day, Howard could get enough vibranium to make a shield, let alone now with S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Do you know what vibranium is?" Fury's eyes widened.
"Of course I know, otherwise, I wouldn't be asking for it." Daniel replied with a smile.
"If you know, then you should also know how much vibranium costs." Currently, on the black market, 100 kilograms of vibranium is worth ten billion dollars, theoretically. If that amount were actually available, it would be even more valuable.
"I do know, but I believe my information is worth that much." Daniel maintained his composure.
"Tell me what the information is first." After a moment of silence, Fury asked.
"Information about Captain America." Daniel said directly.
"What?" This exclamation didn't come from Fury but from Coulson. As a die-hard fan of Captain America, he couldn't remain indifferent upon hearing this.
"You know where he is." Fury shifted in his seat, asking in a deep voice.
Captain America is a legend. Even Fury was a bit shaken upon hearing this.
"I didn't expect you to be this kind of person. That's the Captain. You are using his remains for a deal." Coulson's gaze towards Daniel changed instantly, filled with disdain.
As a fan of Captain America, the fact that someone was insulting the Captain made Coulson restrain himself from drawing his gun immediately, showing considerable restraint.
Melinda, on the side, also had a changed expression.
"Don't look at me like that. I have the utmost respect for the Captain. But I got this information from someone else. If they found out I leaked it, it would be hard to get any more information from them. I need to compensate them, and there aren't many things on Earth they would value." Daniel hurriedly explained as he saw their gazes soften a bit.
As their expressions softened, Daniel tapped his fingers on the table and revealed a meaningful smile. "Besides, who said the Captain is dead?"
"The Captain is still alive." All three, including Fury, couldn't help but tremble. Even the stoic Fury was no exception.
Melinda, though not a fan of the Captain, owed much of her career to him. Her trust within S.H.I.E.L.D. came because she was trained by Carter, whose connection with the Captain was well-known.
"This information, 100 kilograms of vibranium, isn't too much, right?" Seeing their disdain turn into curiosity, Daniel finally relaxed. Lying wasn't easy.
However, not all of it was a lie. Daniel had considered telling Fury and Coulson about the Captain for free. But thinking about how vibranium in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hands would be a boon for Hydra, he decided on a trade.
Originally, the Captain wasn't supposed to be found for several more years. After all, Tony hadn't even become Iron Man yet. But thinking about the Captain lying frozen in the ice, Daniel decided it was time for him to come out and breathe, regardless of whether it might scare Hydra.
"Alright, I don't need the vibranium. I just won't get any more information from them in the future. These messages are useless to me anyway. They don't know the exact location either. They just happened to see the Captain in Antarctica. You can use the Captain's plane crash route to estimate. It will just cost some manpower and resources to find him." Daniel said, as if making a big concession.
"Director." Coulson looked at Fury with eyes filled with fervor.
"I understand. Goodbye." With that, the three immediately returned secretly to the Triskelion headquarters.
"Director." Back in his office, Coulson impatiently urged.
"Coulson, calm down. The information hasn't been confirmed yet." Melinda quickly pulled Coulson back.
"I'll take people there." But Coulson didn't care about her advice.
"I understand. Hill, come over here." Fury called in Hill, a level nine agent in charge of information processing.
"We found it." Using S.H.I.E.L.D.'s supercomputer simulations, Fury and his team soon confirmed the Captain's crash situation and pinpointed the approximate location.
Back then, Howard searched for the Captain's body for years, only to find the Tesseract and not the Captain.
It wasn't because Howard didn't try. The plane crash site was hard to find due to the technology of the time and the Antarctic ice.
The Tesseract was found because it emitted energy, something the Captain couldn't do. The plane had crashed deeply into the ice, making it almost impossible to find back then. But with modern technology and the thinning glaciers due to global warming, the Captain could now be found.
Antarctica.
Currently, in the polar day period, this made things easier for Coulson and his team.
"Search every inch. Don't miss anything." Coulson loudly ordered the agents who had started their work. They didn't know what they were looking for, just anything unusual.
With nearly thirty Quinjet fighters and over two hundred field agents, Fury gave Coulson extensive resources.
However, given the vast expanse of Antarctica, even with a specific area narrowed down, it was still like finding a needle in a haystack, especially with the constant blizzards.
So, after two weeks without any progress, most agents were already complaining, and the search efforts had become half-hearted. Even the strict S.H.I.E.L.D. protocols couldn't solve this. The only one not complaining was Coulson, who worked tirelessly from day one.
Despite repeatedly asking Fury for more personnel, Fury had his constraints. Deploying so many resources to find a presumed-dead person drew questions from the U.N. Security Council and inquiries from Pierce.
"Maybe the Captain will only be found later." Daniel also received multiple calls from Coulson, not to confirm the information's authenticity but to ask for help narrowing down the location.
But Daniel couldn't do that. If he could, he'd have dug out the Captain himself.
Half a month later.
"Coulson, give it up. The director can't hold off the pressure any longer. This information might be fake." Melinda, bundled up against the cold, urged Coulson.
"No, we can't let him keep lying here." Coulson continued searching, ignoring Melinda, while other agents were slacking off.
Perhaps heaven favored the persistent, or Coulson's determination moved the gods. The device in his hand suddenly began flashing red.
"There's something here." Coulson dropped the device, picked up a shovel, and began digging through the ice. Melinda immediately helped.
"Come help." The surrounding agents called for more assistance.
"We found it." Breaking through the ice revealed a plane embedded in the glacier, the same plane from Captain America's final battle with Red Skull. Coulson recognized it instantly.
"Captain." Coulson rushed into the frozen plane, immediately spotting the iconic star-spangled shield.
"Nick, the council has issued a final ultimatum. Let them come back. This way, there's still room for maneuver." In Fury's office, Pierce was earnestly advising Fury.
Whether they found the Captain's body or not, it didn't matter to Pierce. It was just a corpse to him.
Just as Fury was about to respond, Hill entered with a smile after noticing Pierce.
"We found him. The Captain is alive." Hill said excitedly.
"We found him." Fury closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths to calm his excitement. But in truth, he was contemplating Daniel's information.
Fury had supported Coulson's operation not just to find the Captain but also to verify Daniel's intel. As the master spy, Fury wasn't easily moved.
Pierce's smile froze momentarily upon hearing Hill's words but quickly regained composure. "So what if he's found? He's just an old man now."
The significance of the Captain was not only symbolic but also practical, being the first successful super-soldier. Red Skull's enhancements didn't count as a success.
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