Under normal circumstances, anyone faced with a ghostly figure like Mephisto appearing repeatedly in their path might panic or become furious. But the Joker isn't just anyone. He completely ignored Mephisto, not stopping for anything. Mephisto could follow if he wanted; it made no difference to Joker.
Joker was actually curious to see if Mephisto would reveal his powers, perhaps drawing the attention of certain individuals.
Previously, when Joker had tricked Mephisto into signing a contract, he had forced him back into the hell dimension. At that moment, Joker noticed a ring of fire that briefly appeared in the sky.
Joker hadn't seen who was behind the fiery ring, but he suspected it was someone connected to Mephisto; otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for the ring to disappear just as Mephisto was banished. So, Joker ignored Mephisto, waiting for him to make a move and potentially alert that mysterious observer, hoping it might help him rid himself of Mephisto for good.
Mephisto seemed to realize Joker's intent, but he wasn't in any rush either. He kept a leisurely pace, dangling Joker like a carrot on a stick. Mephisto hadn't played such a game in a long time...
Thus, the standoff between Joker and Mephisto continued, but this led to an unforeseen issue. Joker's plans for wreaking havoc in Gotham were put on hold. Batman had prepared for Joker's mischief in the city, but now there was silence from Joker's end, causing Batman to question everything.
The longer Joker remained unseen, the more Batman couldn't relax, fearing that he was no longer able to keep up with Joker's twisted schemes. Could Joker be plotting something major, waiting for Batman to let his guard down?
Robert, meanwhile, was unaware of these events in Gotham. He had been occupied with dealing with dimension debt collectors and Mephisto, and was preparing to placate Kara before considering how to deal with Diana.
Unexpectedly, Constantine contacted him, not about Mephisto, but concerning Clare.
This matter even had some connection to Carol, who had been substituting for Clark in building a base on the Savage Island.
Previously, Nick Fury had regained his confidence with Carol's return, waiting for her to handle Clark and Robert—either by defeating them or bringing them under his command in the Avengers. But just as Fury's plans were shaping up, Carol disappeared, collapsing all of Fury's arrangements. How could he accept this?
With Alexis providing no useful intelligence and losing track of Carol, Fury reluctantly shifted his focus from high-profile superheroes to lesser-known metahumans. His agents like Black Widow Natasha and Hawkeye Barton weren't the strongest, and Fury couldn't afford to be choosy any longer if he wanted to assemble his Avengers someday.
Now, Fury was looking to gather a group of metahumans, using them to find more powerful allies. Since quality wasn't an option, he'd settle for quantity. However, he stubbornly refused to call this group the Avengers just yet.
Fury's attention turned to Jocelyn, a relative with connections to the supernatural world.
Fury had nearly forgotten his own sister since becoming the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., having cut off most personal ties to focus on global security. Knowing the dangers, he didn't want his family to be targeted or involved in his life, leading him to sever all familial ties...
But Clare had contacted him about Jocelyn's disappearance, reminding him of his sister connected to the supernatural world, especially now that he knew Jocelyn had safely returned home.
Fury thought he might use Jocelyn to reach more individuals from the supernatural world who could serve under him.
Unsure of Jocelyn's abilities, Fury was prepared to use her as a stepping stone, caring little for her actual strength. After all, being associated with S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't the worst fate.
So, Fury contacted Jocelyn. Confused by the call, Jocelyn had never expected Fury to reach out, especially since Clare hadn't mentioned contacting him...
"Hello, Nick?" Jocelyn hesitantly answered.
"Jocelyn, glad you're safe!" Fury responded with a hint of emotion, "Clare told me you were in trouble. I was too busy to help then, but I'm relieved you're alright now…"
Jocelyn frowned slightly, puzzled, "Clare contacted you?" She nodded slowly, "I'm fine now, thank you for your concern…"
"What do you mean? We're siblings! By the way, where is Clare?" Fury continued, trying to bridge their relationship.
"She's following the path I once did…" Jocelyn sighed softly.
"She gained your abilities?" Fury's eyes lit up, sensing an unexpected opportunity. It seemed Clare had awakened to her powers and hadn
't returned home but stayed in the supernatural world, potentially knowing many metahumans.
"Sort of," Jocelyn shrugged, not elaborating, feeling increasingly estranged from Fury.
"Are you planning to let her navigate the supernatural world alone? Have you forgotten what you went through?" Fury pressed with a mix of reproach and concern, "Let me send someone to talk to you. Clare is my niece; I can't just let her wander alone in such a dangerous world. It's too risky!"
"No... no need... Hm?" Jocelyn instinctively tried to refuse, but then someone knocked on her door.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
"They should be there by now. Come meet them; I haven't seen you in a long time. Honestly, I've been remiss as a brother…" Fury seemed to hear the knocking, speaking regretfully and hanging up before Jocelyn could refuse.
"What does he mean?" Jocelyn knew Fury wouldn't offer favors without a reason, but she couldn't understand his true intentions. After all, Fury was the head of a significant organization; why would he care about her or Clare?
"Bang, bang, bang!"
As Jocelyn pondered, the knocking sounded again, unhurried, reminding her just right.
"…" Jocelyn came to her senses and looked towards the door, sighing, "Let's see what he really wants."
"Hello, Ms. Jocelyn, we are the director's men." The door opened, revealing a kindly smiling man, Phil Coulson, Fury's capable if not powerful assistant. His demeanor was disarming, his head seemingly glowing.
Behind Coulson stood Hawkeye Barton and an agent named Melinda, forming a team that, aside from Hawkeye, could be seen as the village heads of Marvel's beginner village. Unfortunately, they had no chance to interact with Robert due to their lower status.
"What does he want with me? If you don't tell me, I won't come!" Yet, even faced with Coulson's friendly smile, Jocelyn was hesitant; she had seen similar smiles on many demons, including Valmont, and knew them all too well.
"We as subordinates can't know all the director's intentions, but since we've come this far, we can't return empty-handed..." Coulson said, maintaining his smile.
"And we better not stay here too long. The director's position is special, and we're known to many forces. If we linger, and they learn of your connection to the director, that could cause trouble!"
"You!" Jocelyn's eyes narrowed as anger flared within her; she knew well that such smiling faces were rarely good.
"So, Ms. Jocelyn, perhaps you'd like to invite us in for a tea first?" Coulson responded calmly, not reacting to Jocelyn's anger.
"Of course, if we enter for tea, our vehicles will be easily spotted, so…"
"I'll go with you!" Jocelyn suppressed the urge to act, staring deeply at Coulson before agreeing.
"Alright, Ms. Jocelyn, this way…" Coulson nodded in satisfaction, leading the way while Melinda and Barton subtly surrounded Jocelyn, almost as if they were escorting—or detaining—her.
"I've agreed to come with you; you don't need to be so vigilant," Jocelyn noted their behavior, glancing at them.
"It's a habit, being cautious is always good to avoid detection or mission failure…" Melinda shook her head, her expression stern.
"Jocelyn?!" Before Melinda could finish, a cry of alarm sounded from Luke, who had just stepped out to buy groceries, only to return and see Jocelyn seemingly coerced along. He immediately dropped his groceries and charged towards Jocelyn.
"No!" Jocelyn startled, but before she could speak out, Melinda charged forward, her batons aimed at Luke, not stopping despite Jocelyn's cry.
Melinda didn't know Luke, but her mission was to bring Jocelyn back to Fury. Anyone interfering was an enemy, and she wouldn't be polite.
"Thump!" In the next instant, the batons collided with Luke's arm, a powerful recoil numbing Melinda's hands, nearly causing her to drop her weapons.
"Damn!" Luke roared, no longer holding back, transforming into a werewolf and lunging at Melinda.
"A werewolf?!" Melinda's pupils dilated, she dodged Luke's attack, swinging her batons at his waist.
"Thump!" A muffled sound followed, the batons flying out of her hands, Melinda feeling her arm go numb as Luke, now feral, swiped his claws towards her head!
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