"Goddammit. You can't be judge, jury, and executioner every damn time. You and your god complex," Fury screamed over the phone after Liam had returned from finishing the finals.
"Yeah, well, the mountain of evidence sent to you would result in either a hundred years of imprisonment or death in any court. I just fast-tracked the process," Liam replied. "And I don't have a god complex; I just do what needs to be done."
"But that is not our right to decide," Fury said.
"Fury, at the end of the day, the laws are made by men themselves. There is no god that sits on the throne," Liam said. Fury had no words to counter. Though he yelled at Liam, at the bottom of his heart, he was glad that this piece of shit was dead.
The more he learned about this man, the more appalled he was. The manipulations, the murders, the extortion, drugs, and blackmail. The sheer amount of crime was too much, and at the end of the day, Liam had just saved a lot of taxpayers' money by getting rid of him. He was just scared that Liam would become a killing machine if he went down that path.
The finals had ended, so Liam had a lot of free time for himself and had been focusing his energy on the current game he was trying to complete. He was making sure that he didn't die, and though it was taking some time, it was rewarding for Liam too, as he was learning new tricks in the game.
It had been more than a month since the incident at the Expo, and the cold had finally started to settle in.
"EDITH, how is the progress on the javelins for Tony?" Liam asked as he was busy blacksmithing. EDITH had been with Liam since his birthday, but EDITH wasn't some high-functioning AI like Ultron and was only capable of answering and handling orders. It was not as self-aware as BT, but it did the job for Liam when he wanted it to.
"Mr. Stark and Mr. Yinsen have made considerable progress in the knowledge of the arcanist, and it is assumed that they have made new armors, but that information is something I don't have access to," EDITH replied.
"Oh! Did JARVIS boot you out?" Liam teased.
"Yes, Sir."
Liam wasn't that surprised that EDITH had been kicked out from the server. Since Liam had specifically told him not to share the knowledge with anyone. Thus JARVIS might have isolated itself.
Truth be told, EDITH was used more by his mother than by himself. Since EDITH was connected to the home appliances, his mom would often use EDITH to make her life easier. A gift from Tony Stark was now used to order fancy food. What a great use!
Phone ringing.
"Hello..." Liam answered.
"We have a situation here, and we will need your help," Fury spoke on the other side.
"Here means where?" Liam was confused.
"New Mexico." Liam's eyebrows squinted when he heard that. He would have to go a long distance for whatever shitstorm they might have raised there.
"I am on my way," Liam replied.
"Mom, I am going to LA," Liam came down from his room and announced.
"LA? Why?" Olivia wasn't happy at all. Since the finals had ended, she wanted to go for a vacation in the UK.
"Uh. I have a project with Tony. Don't worry, Mom, I will come back fast, and then we can go to the UK. There is still time."
"You better be home early. I will give you a week," Olivia said.
"And Mom, don't tell anyone that I left for LA. It's a super secret project," Liam said.
"It has something to do with Iron Mage armor? Liam, I don't want you to mess with Iron Mage armor. You are already dragged into the senate hearing," Olivia said.
"Mom, no. The project is on clean energy. Marvel and Stark Industries will enter the energy business," Liam said. Olivia contemplated for a bit and looked at the innocent blue eyes of Liam.
"Fine. I believe you. But you better not get involved with the Iron Mage armor. I don't want you to be a hero," Olivia said.
"Mom, that is the work of Colonel Rhodes and Tony. I am just a teenager," Liam replied.
"You sure don't act like one," Olivia said. Liam smiled as he took his luggage and went to his car. His car didn't go to the airport, but rather to a secluded place away from the city where the skies were clear. He then summoned the Storm javelin and flew high. While he was among the clouds, he proceeded to summon the Hornet.
Mid-air, he entered the cockpit and then flew his way toward New Mexico. After about half an hour, he found himself near the coordinates that Fury had sent him. While still in the air, he summoned his Hornet back and then started free-falling. A few seconds later, he landed on the ground.
Liam looked around the dusty terrain of New Mexico, his boots sinking slightly into the soft earth as he stepped away from the impact crater. Liam was wearing his Wraithborn armor and slowly started approaching the temporary SHIELD camp. He could already see a few figures there, who seemed to be waiting for him.
These were SHIELD agents. Their weapons weren't raised, but their tense postures showed they were on high alert. As he closed in, he saw Fury come out of the camp and look at him.
"Welcome to SHIELD, Wraithborn," Fury said.
The SHIELD agents were surprised that Fury seemed to know the Wraithborn. All of them had read about Wraithborn before, but none of them had seen the butcher in real life. Now that he was here, wearing the same medieval-era armor with a mask that could send shivers down the spine of anyone.
Even when he walked closer, one could feel the coldness seeping in, even in this hot, desert-like weather. Fury looked at the SHIELD agents and had a smirk on his face. It was always nice to surprise your own people rather than surprising some strangers off the street.