Henri sat in the back of the black SUV, flanked by two SHIELD agents.
Neither spoke.
They didn't need to.
The one on his left had a sidearm holstered across his chest and sunglasses that didn't budge even in the low lighting. The one on the right didn't blink. Not once. Henri counted.
> Thirty-two seconds straight. Creepy.
The vehicle hummed as it crossed Midtown, now sealed off under "Biohazard Protocol Level 6." Streets once filled with tourists were now crawling with drones, SHIELD trucks, and containment teams.
Through the tinted window, Henri caught a glimpse of Stark Tower in the distance — the giant "A" still gleaming despite the chaos.
> I'm really here. This is the MCU. That's not just a building. That's ground zero for Avengers-level threats.
His fingers twitched on his wristband.
---
🧠 Upgrade System v1.0
> [Skill Tree]: Energy Core Assembly Unlocked
[Blueprint Archive]: 1/3 Saved
[Primary Objective]: Unknown
[Hidden Objective - ???]: Tracking...
---
> Tracking?
Henri tapped the notification but got no response.
It faded, leaving only a lingering sense of unease in his chest.
---
The SUV stopped.
A steel door slid open into the side of a SHIELD mobile command post.
Henri stepped out into a room lined with screens, live feeds, and digital maps.
At the far end of the room stood Nick Fury.
One eye. One glare. All business.
Fury didn't bother looking up as Henri approached. He finished reviewing a file on the screen in front of him.
> "Henri Cross," Fury finally said, voice like gravel soaked in cold steel.
Henri swallowed. "Sir."
"I don't like ghosts. And right now, you've got no birth records, no national ID, no school, no family, and no biological footprint in any global database."
> "Yeah, I get that a lot lately."
Fury looked up slowly.
Henri shut up.
> Cool it, mouth. This guy stares down gods for breakfast.
---
Fury tapped the console. A screen flipped to Henri's profile. Or rather… a blank placeholder with a live video feed of Henri in the corner.
"Then there's your little toy."
He pointed to the wristband.
"Not alien tech. Not Wakandan. Not even Stark-compatible. Believe me, we tried."
"It's… kind of new," Henri said carefully.
Fury narrowed his eye.
"You crafted a working sonic disrupter out of garbage and half a stereo. You've survived three encounters with class-four symbiotes and walked into one of our bases without bleeding."
Henri sat straighter.
"I want to know how, Mr. Cross."
> Lie or tell the truth?
The system pinged.
---
[Temporary Perk Activated: Emotional Insight]
> You are under observation by multiple SHIELD lie detection systems.
Bluff chance: 32%
Truth with omissions: 68%
Optimal Response: Partial Honesty
---
Henri took a breath.
> "I don't know what happened. I woke up in an alley with this… band on my wrist. It gives me blueprints, quests, weird notifications. It's like a game interface. I didn't build it. It just showed up."
Fury stared at him for a long, heavy moment.
"Convenient."
"I'm telling the truth."
"I've heard worse lies from Loki."
> "I'm not Loki."
"Prove it."
---
Fury turned and opened a steel case. Inside: an old Stark Industries core—broken, cracked, drained.
"Fix this."
Henri leaned forward.
> This is a Mark II ARC core. Ancient tech by now...
The system pinged again.
---
🔧 Blueprint Option: ARC Core – Emergency Reboot Module
> Requires:
▪ Basic Mechanics ✅
▪ Energy Core Assembly ✅
▪ Conductive wire or replacement circuits
▪ Time: 45 seconds
---
Henri smiled faintly.
"Give me a minute."
He reached for the core, twisted two plates, stripped some wire from a broken drone on the desk nearby, and reshaped the interior lattice.
It lit up.
Softly. Dimly. But enough.
---
Fury's eye narrowed, but not with suspicion this time — with thought.
"You're not just another Enhanced kid playing with magic rocks."
"Nope," Henri said. "I'm building my own."
Fury closed the case.
"You're a wild card. You don't follow our files. You don't fit the timeline. But you've got skills, and right now we're short on people who don't explode when things get messy."
Henri tried to hide his smirk.
"You're going to work with us," Fury said. "At least for now."
---
📘 New Quest: Assignment – Shadow Protocol
> Objective: Assist SHIELD in locating and neutralizing unknown tech signals in Manhattan
Sub-Objective: Collect 2 Rare Components
Time Limit: 72 hours
Reward: +2 Upgrade Points + Prototype Module
Failure: System Lock (72 hrs)
---
Henri exhaled slowly.
> No pressure.
---
🕷️ Meanwhile… in the Shadows
Several miles away, in a cold, dim laboratory beneath the city, mechanical arms clinked as they shifted across polished metal rails.
Screens displayed live footage of Henri's escape, the sonic device, and the moment he rebooted the Stark core.
A distorted voice echoed in the lab:
> "Fascinating."
A figure stepped forward, bald head gleaming under the dim lights. His mechanical arms moved with eerie fluidity.
Dr. Otto Octavius.
Another screen revealed satellite feeds. A line of code slowly decrypted a signal broadcasted from Henri's wristband during activation.
> SYSTEM SIGNAL INTERCEPTED
ORIGIN: UNKNOWN DIMENSION
SOURCE LEVEL: BEYOND EARTH-199999
The doctor smiled, eyes wide with hunger.
> "You, boy… are not from this world."
---
✅ End of Chapter 3