Unfortunately, the truth of what Coulson saw before his death would only be revealed when he was revived.
Soon, a team of medics hurried over to examine Coulson's body.
After some time, Tony Stark and Captain America, who had managed to stabilize the falling spacecraft, received the grim news. The atmosphere grew heavy with silence.
At the meeting table, Nick Fury pulled something from his chest pocket.
"This was found in Agent Coulson's jacket."
"He'll never get the chance to ask you for your autograph," Fury said, tossing the items to Captain America.
The items were cards with pictures of Captain America. Evidently, Coulson had been a fan but never had the chance to express it.
Steve Rogers, Captain America, picked up one of the cards and fell into a somber silence.
Fury continued, explaining the current situation.
"The communicator is broken, and we can't locate the Tesseract. Banner and Thor are missing, and I'm powerless to help."
"I've lost Coulson, my most trusted agent. Perhaps I brought this on myself…" Fury said with self-deprecation.
He went on, "We were initially planning to use the Tesseract to create weapons, but I didn't bet on that. Instead, I invested in a more risky project."
Captain America frowned slightly, confused.
Fury turned to Tony Stark. "That was my dream. Stark should know about it."
"It's called the Avengers Initiative."
"The idea was to assemble the world's greatest individuals and see if they could work together to achieve greater things."
Fury paused, sighed, and added, "Originally, my targets included you, Stark, and a few others, with two being particularly crucial. Unfortunately, they're uncontrollable."
"Who are they?" Captain America asked, unable to hide his curiosity.
Under the gaze of Tony and Steve, Fury revealed the answer. "Those two are the Messiah and the White-Hooded Stranger."
He continued, "Their powers are too great, and people fear them. They are also highly volatile, and if they were to lose control, the consequences would be disastrous."
"The instability of mutants is a well-documented fact, supported by numerous studies and events."
"Therefore, rather than becoming Avengers, they are seen as unstable elements that need to be eliminated."
Fury had dispatched Captain Marvel to deal with the Messiah, aiming to eliminate this potential threat, but the battle had ended inconclusively due to an unsuitable battlefield.
At this point, Fury chose not to discuss the two dangerous Omega mutants further.
However, while Fury avoided discussing them, Tony Stark and Captain America were still thinking about the implications of these Omega mutants.
If these two formidable beings had joined the so-called Avengers, the current crisis might not have occurred. But if they did join, it would raise questions about Fury's true motives.
For example, if Fury sent these two to undertake dangerous missions, the consequences would be frightening.
Unaware of their thoughts, Fury continued, "The main goal of assembling the Avengers was…"
"To ensure that when we need them, they can work together to confront enemies we cannot defeat alone!"
"Coulson believed in this ideal until the end. He believed in…"
Fury's moving, even brainwashing, speech was interrupted when Tony Stark stood up and left without a word.
Clearly, Tony did not support the Avengers Initiative. This wasn't the first time Fury had proposed it to Tony, who had previously rejected the idea, mocking the superhero team.
Watching Tony Stark walk away, Fury awkwardly commented, "Alright, it is indeed a somewhat clichéd concept."
While the three were engaged in their discussion, Syd was floating in the air.
[Energy +1]
[Energy +1]
As he absorbed energy points, Syd observed from above.
He saw Thor, having emerged from the glass cell, hesitating to lift his hammer, looking at the fallen weapon. Coulson's death had hit him hard, causing him to waver whether to continue fighting or risk more lives.
Meanwhile, Syd noticed the Hulk lying bare amidst the wreckage, receiving a pair of pants from a worker and hurriedly putting them on.
As Syd absorbed more energy points and observed them, Natasha and Hawkeye Barton were in a medical room aboard the spacecraft.
"Barton, you'll be alright," Natasha comforted him.
"How do you know?" Barton forced a smile.
He lay on the bed, drenched in sweat, struggling to rid himself of the Mind Scepter's control.
"I don't have time left. I…" Barton gasped, "I need to get it out of my head…"
"You just need a bit of time. You'll recover soon," Natasha said, pouring him a glass of water.
Barton sighed, "You wouldn't understand. You've never had someone control your mind. It feels like… pushing out the real you and stuffing something else in…"
"Do you know what it's like to be shattered?"
Barton looked at Natasha.
Natasha replied quietly, "You know, I've been through that too."
Barton was taken aback, recalling some events, and quickly changed the subject.
"How did I wake up? How did you get rid of it?"
Natasha replied, "I recalibrated your mind. I had to knock you out."
"Thank you," Barton said.
Seeing that Barton was recovering, Natasha went over and freed him from his restraints, restoring his ability to move.
End of Chapter