The Sage of the Mind

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The Sage of the Mind: Chapter 28

NYC HQ

–Nick Fury–

Breathing in the crisp cold air, he alighted from the helicopter and entered the New York HQ through the roof. He had hoped to delay this meeting but recent developments had forced his hands, especially since some agents had leaked information to the WSC and they had expressly ordered him to get here and sort this out with the so-called Invisible Man.

He scoffed internally at the name. It was clear for anyone with a brain cell to rub that the man was obviously something else, certainly not a Man because that implied that he was a single human being.

The amount of actions he takes across the city simultaneously boggles the mind and tells everyone that he is probably someone with psychic powers that span over an area of an entire city, and also an expert in multitasking.

"Tell me everything," He said as he walked with Coulson, who had arrived here ahead of time to compile a report that he could trust. Somehow, he could not trust his own agents in this palace, not just because they could be compromised by the Invisible Man but also because they might just leak the information to unrelated parties at the moment and that was the last thing he wanted to happen.

"Yes, sir. Earlier Yesterday, The Invisible Man made contact with Random Beautiful Agent 1 but the mode of contact apparently spooked her so much that she fainted immediately."

He rolled his eyes at that. He never really liked this idea of picking up agents just based on their appearance but the concept worked sometimes so he could not just abolish the practice without having to answer to his overlords, in the form of the World Security Council.

"Following that, the analysts raised an alarm as they saw everything happening through the surveillance cameras. Two teams were immediately sent to the safe house to secure the Random Beautiful Agent 1 along with Agent Ross, a level 7 agent, to initiate a conversation with the Invisible Man,"

That checks out. Ross was the highest-ranking agent on site and protocol dictated that he be the first in line when something of this magnitude occurred on his turf. This was also the first time that the subject had made contact with any SHIELD asset from his side, making it a golden opportunity to make a favourable impression.

"After she fell unconscious, the Invisible Man chose to, I don't know how to put this, but he chose to manifest an avatar or something. Papers from a nearby notebook were ripped apart and then molded to form a face floating in mid-air. The face didn't perturb Agent Ross but the guttural voice that came out of that mask startled him into…"

"Into putting two shots in the face of someone who is the closest we have ever come to finding an ever-present god-like entity?" he finishes the sentence for Coulson, his patience riding thin because of this incident and how they wasted a golden opportunity to gain an ally or at least establish some sort of working relationship with the target.

"....Ah, yes…Sir," Coulson said as he handed him the tablet, showing the rest of the footage.

It would not be wrong to call it a complete and utter shit show.

"Have Agent Ross and his team transferred to the Arctic Belt for a year long stint," He ordered as they entered his office, one that is reserved for him in every HQ building SHIELD had ever built.

"Also, no casualties, that's good. Any evidence from all the sensors we have installed in various parts of the city over the months he has been active?"

Coulson shook his head in negative as he watched the second team arrive and then leave after securing the first team. God, they were horribly untrained and unprepared for something like this.

"How does one even fight something like that?" He mumbled to himself as he read over the reports that the analysts had drawn up on short notice. It was mostly assumptions and the same old recommendation as before - Do not engage with hostile intentions. Like he would forget the way the man can toss around semis and help cats off of trees at the same time. 

"Do we have to?"

He looked up at Coulson who had asked him the question with a conflicting look on his face.

"Is it necessary that we have to fight with him? He could be a force for good. A very strong force. And he has done a lot of good already,"

"In one city, Coulson. There are billions more that need protecting and as strong as he is, he has for some reason, limited himself to a single borough of New York City, which might I remind you is not even in the top 10 most populous cities of the world,"

He said and went back to reading the reports they had compiled for him in preparation for his visit, incomplete and inaccurate as they might be.

However, what Coulson said did keep ringing in his mind. Having Someone of that calibre on call would mean that most crises would be solved as soon as he arrived on the spot. He would not have to worry about some pesky insurgents using the terrain to their advantage because, well, for someone who can rip apart buildings can most likely take care of some dirt and rocks with ease. The man also had some sort of hyper awareness powers that helped him know everything that was happening in a large area with complete accuracy.

So much so that he could even read words off of paper. That was just mind boggling, both to him and the boys in the lab. According to them, this could only be done by deploying an energy field across a large swathe of area, so sensitive that it detected even the slightest change in matter. Ofcourse, they had yet to find any evidence of that but the theory remained.

"Alright, Coulson. We will do it your way this time. What do you suggest? Going straight to him?"

Coulson smiled, "No, sir. That would not be in compliance with your safety policies. I would suggest–"

"Oh hell with the safety policies. I am asking you, would you trust him enough to take me into his domain?" He asked Coulson, point blank to see what his thoughts were on the matter. He trusted Coulson and if taking a risk could get them a chance of having someone as uber powerful as this person on their team, then he was more than willing to take the chances.

"I trust him, sir. He has not done a single thing out of line ever since he became active. But there is also the matter regarding Dr.Banner, sir,"

Ah, the Hulk shitshow. Another one on his pile of problems then.

Last they had seen him, he was on his way to Manhattan. It didn't take a genius as to why he would do that. Protection of somebody like that was worth its weight in gold, as was reflected in the real estate prices of Manhattan. Most locals had already sold their homes and moved out of the city, to retirement probably, such was the surge in home prices here. Most of the billionaire class of NYC was probably already living here.

In that sensitive zone, Banner had entered into the city.

Judging by the lack of location on his file, it had already meant that he was either successful in cutting a deal with the Invisible Man or he had, once again, dropped from their radar. Despite the hits his agency had been taking, there was no way an untrained civilian could escape their surveillance.

This meant that Bruce Banner, The Hulk, number one on General Ross' hit list, was also being provided with protection and cover in Manhattan, by possibly the strongest being in the world. In the most populous city of the United States, in the middle of a residential zone housing the richest people of the city.

This would go swimmingly.

"Coulson, set up a meeting. I think it's time we meet this Invisible Man,"

"...Affirmative, sir,"

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