"Beep!"
The sharp chirp of his modified watch cut through the cold air of the basement. Huang Wen was still weighing the pros and cons of calling Tony—wondering if the billionaire's ego could handle seeing a living legend—when a high-priority message from Jack popped up on the holographic display.
"Master, the big eye in the sky is blinking," the text read, Jack's usual irreverence bleeding through the digital ink. "Nick Fury, the Director of SHIELD himself, just pinged my secure line. He didn't even use a burner. The man sounds like he's about to have a stroke. He wants to know if the 'item' in the box is the Star-Spangled Man."
Huang Wen raised an eyebrow, a flicker of genuine amusement crossing his face. "Fury called you? That's a bit desperate, isn't it? Why go through the long way around unless he's trying to map out my entire network?"
He knew exactly why. Fury hated being on the back foot. Finding out that the greatest tactical asset in American history had been 'intercepted' by a gym owner in Queens was probably the Director's literal waking nightmare. But Huang Wen didn't care about Fury's blood pressure. He was looking at the jagged, expensive wreckage of the secondary Adamantium box on the floor.
If SHIELD can afford to build a coffin out of this stuff, Huang Wen thought, a predatory glint entering his eyes, then they definitely have a stash of the real deal. Maybe some Vibranium too. I don't need a mountain of it—just enough to reinforce a certain sword...
"Boss, the Director is insisting on your direct frequency," Jack's second message arrived. "He says it's a matter of 'planetary security.' Standard spook talk."
"Fine, give it to him," Huang Wen murmured, a thin, knowing smile playing on his lips. "Let's see how much he's willing to pay for a piece of history."
He turned back to the small group standing in the sub-zero chill of the vault. Steve Rogers was still a silent statue in the center of the room. "Alright, change of plans. We aren't defrosting the Captain just yet. I need to run a full diagnostic on his vitals, and I'd prefer not to do it while SHIELD is knocking down the front door. Xiao Qiang, Reese—go back up and help Jack manage the 'guests' outside. We need the perimeter solid."
"On it, Master," Reese nodded, his massive frame already moving toward the exit.
"And Peter? A Liang?" Huang Wen looked at the two teenagers. "Silly Girl is opening up the High-Energy Lab on Level 3 for you. Go play with those web-shooters. If you're going to be heroes, I want your gear to be at least half as impressive as your powers."
Peter Parker took one last, lingering look at Steve Rogers—a look full of fanboy longing—before nodding sharply. In an instant, Huang Wen activated the Dream Butterfly Escape. It was a technique he'd been refining; as long as the targets didn't resist his mental touch, he could fold the space around them. Four pillars of soft, iridescent light swallowed the group, whisking them away to their respective posts in a heartbeat.
It made commuting a whole lot easier.
The silence of the vault was broken seconds later by the frantic buzzing of his watch. Huang Wen tapped the screen, and the one-eyed face of Nick Fury flickered into view. The man looked like he had spent the last hour chewing on glass.
"Is he with you?" Fury's voice was a low, dangerous growl. "And don't you dare lie to me, Huang Wen. Did you plan this? Was the mutant uprising just a smokescreen so you could hijack a SHIELD transport?"
Huang Wen leaned against a cold pillar, his expression bored. "Plan it? Director, you give me too much credit. Your 'transport' was a human trafficking ring run by a guy who smells like cheap cigars. If you're associating with people like that, maybe your 'planetary security' needs a new HR department. Is SHIELD so broke they're outsourcing to slavers now?"
"We don't associate with them, we monitor them!" Fury retorted, his one eye narrowing. "I told you I'd stay out of your backyard. Why are you digging up my graveyard?"
"I didn't dig him up. He fell into my lap," Huang Wen said sarcastically. "And frankly, neither you nor the popsicle in the ice behind me are 'powerful' enough to be part of some grand scheme of mine. I'm just a guy who hates seeing history sold to the highest bidder. You should know by now—I'm way out of your league, Nick."
On the other end of the line, Fury's jaw tightened. Behind him, screens were likely scrolling through the data from the mutant conflict: images of the Buddha's Palm carving a canyon into the earth, and the Sword Twenty-Two leaving a crater that looked like a tactical nuke had gone off.
"We need to talk. In person," Fury said, his voice dropping an octave. "I'm coming to your territory. About the Captain..."
"No need for the drive," Huang Wen interrupted.
Before Fury could respond, the space in his office in DC shimmered. Huang Wen appeared out of thin air, grabbed the Director by his leather trench coat, and vanished. A split second later, they were standing in the heart of Base One.
Fury stumbled, his boots sliding on the polished floor. He looked around, his hand instinctively going for the high-tech pistol at his hip, but he froze when he saw the opened Adamantium box.
"You... you opened it," Fury breathed, his face turning a sickly shade of gray. "That was secondary Adamantium. It was rated to survive a direct hit from a bunker-buster. How?"
"I used a can opener," Huang Wen lied smoothly, gesturing to the ice block. "The security was a bit of a joke, Nick. You really should stop relying on metal to keep people out."
"You shouldn't have him out in the open like this," Fury snapped, trying to regain his footing. "The ice will melt. If he dies because of your ego, God help us all."
Huang Wen smirked. "I figured a tough guy like you wouldn't mind a little heat. But since you're worried..." He looked at the ceiling. "Silly Girl, drop the room temp to minus twenty. Let's make the Director feel at home."
"Copy that, Boss," the AI chirped.
The temperature plummeted instantly. Frost began to bloom on the walls. Fury, who had been trying to look intimidating in his signature windbreaker, suddenly found his teeth chattering. His breath came out in thick white clouds. He tried to maintain his "spy king" stare, but his shoulders were hunched up to his ears within seconds.
"It... it doesn't... need... to be... this... cold," Fury managed to squeeze out through chattering teeth, his face turning a ghostly pale.
"Oh? I thought you said you could handle ordinary cold," Huang Wen teased, watching the Director shiver. "Silly Girl, bring it up to zero. We don't want our guest turning into a statue too."
As the air warmed slightly—though it was still freezing by any normal standard—Fury let out a shaky breath, his pride taking a visible dent. He pulled his coat tighter, looking like a man who had realized he'd brought a knife to a planetary-defense-system fight.
"Sit," Huang Wen said, pulling up a sleek, minimalist chair. He sat down, crossing his legs, completely dictating the flow of the room. "Let's talk cards, Nick. What have you got?"
Fury took a deep breath, trying to steady his voice. He knew he was in the tiger's den, but he still had one ace left. One person who could arguably stand on the same level as the monster sitting across from him.
"You need to hand Rogers over," Fury said, his voice returning to its granite-hard tone. "He's property of the United States government. There is no room for debate. If you refuse, I'll be forced to initiate the pager. I'll bring her back. And trust me, Huang Wen, you haven't seen power until you've seen Carol Danvers in a bad mood."
"Carol, huh?" Huang Wen didn't even blink. He didn't even look impressed. "The Captain Marvel. Space-traveling powerhouse. Binary mode. Very scary."
He leaned forward, a playful smile on his face that didn't reach his eyes. "But let's look at the table, Nick. You have Carol. One card. A very good card, I'll grant you that."
He began ticking fingers off his hand. "On my side? I have Jean Grey—you've seen what she can do when she's annoyed. I have the Hulk, who is currently training in the gym and getting stronger every day. I have General Ross and his Red Hulk unit, who, believe me, would love an excuse to punch a SHIELD asset. And then there's Tony Stark. Iron Man is currently on my speed dial, and given how much he hates you right now, I think he'd enjoy a little 'civil' disagreement."
Huang Wen stood up, walking slowly around Fury, who remained stubbornly silent.
"I'm holding a Royal Flush, Nick. You're holding a single Ace and a bunch of low-value spies. You want to bet the world on Carol Danvers being able to take all of us at once? Because if she fails, there won't be a SHIELD left to write the report."
Fury's single eye darted around the room. He realized, with a sinking feeling in his gut, that Huang Wen wasn't boasting. The man had gathered a collection of "deterrents" that made the Avengers Initiative look like a kindergarten playgroup.