"Let me guess." Looking at the weapon in Howard's hand, Marcus smiled. "You're imitating a Jedi Knight!"
The device in Howard's hand matched the lightsaber from the movies perfectly. It featured an energy blade emitting high-heat particles, capable of easily cutting through most materials.
"However, just like your genius son, your combat ability leaves much to be desired."
Though Howard had manufactured the lightsaber, his use of it seemed limited to a few signature Jedi Knight poses.
"Let me try it. Though I must say, your stance isn't half bad."
Taking the lightsaber from Howard, and relying on his Vazarin-enhanced perception, Marcus headed to the area where the Skrulls typically trained.
HUMM
The lightsaber swept through the air with a distinctive buzzing sound, its energy trail spreading like a water curtain.
As Marcus continued his movements, the lightsaber appeared to dance, painting beautiful patterns of light.
His swordsmanship resembled a great bird with outstretched wings, constantly beating against the air. The display was mesmerizing yet unmistakably lethal—beauty woven with danger.
This sword technique was unique to Marcus—absolutely singular throughout the world.
"You really don't know his origins?"
Watching Marcus perform, Fury turned to Howard beside him.
Marcus's mysterious background continued to perplex him, especially this extraordinary sword technique he'd never witnessed before.
"Instead of investigating Marcus's identity, you'd be better served looking more closely at Pierce. Marcus identified him as Hydra more than ten years ago, yet after all your investigation, you've found nothing."
Howard didn't doubt Fury's capabilities. Among all previous S.H.I.E.L.D. directors, Fury was likely the most effective. Under his leadership, S.H.I.E.L.D. had reached unprecedented heights.
Yet despite pursuing Hydra for years, Fury still hadn't uncovered Pierce's true allegiance.
"It's difficult to say whether Pierce is Hydra, but my plan will be implemented soon. When it is, all Hydra operatives will have nowhere to hide."
While they conversed, Marcus had demonstrated several different techniques with the lightsaber. He surrounded himself with a curtain of energy—seemingly impenetrable.
"This weapon is impressive, but if you distribute it to others, it would be extraordinarily dangerous!"
Not everyone could master various weapons as Marcus did. His ability to wield a lightsaber effectively didn't mean others could do the same.
Given the weapon's lethality, an accidental touch would result in severed limbs.
"This weapon is actually designed for emergencies. If you have time for sword combat, it would be more efficient to use artillery."
Howard smiled. He never considered close combat an advantage worth promoting. This wasn't the era of the Crusades—modern warfare demanded powerful ranged bombardment.
"That's true, but against specialized defensive equipment, long-range firepower sometimes proves ineffective."
In reality, sword combat was often a last resort when other options failed. Many advanced technological systems specifically countered ranged attacks.
Some defensive systems even included reactive armor that detonated upon detecting ranged weapons, causing devastating wide-area damage.
At sufficient distance this posed little threat, but in closer quarters, melee weapons offered significantly better survival odds than ranged alternatives.
This explained why many technologically advanced civilizations, despite possessing powerful scientific weaponry, sometimes appeared backward in battle, fighting with seemingly primitive weapons.
The Earth of the MCU, however, didn't generally follow this pattern.
Wakanda, Earth's most technologically advanced nation, used spears and shields largely as a cultural choice.
Marcus often wanted to complain about this—a country with such advanced technology using it to fashion spears and shields seemed wasteful regardless of perspective.
After deactivating the lightsaber, Howard retrieved a silver-white armguard from a case.
"This is a next-generation battle suit I've developed based on Kree technology."
Like Tony's nano suit, this combat system employed nanotechnology. Though not made from vibranium, it still offered impressive defensive capabilities.
Howard placed the armguard on Fury's arm and pressed a transformation button on its side. The silver-white armguard quickly disassembled, reconfiguring into a complete battle suit within seconds.
"Try it out. While not as powerful as Kree battle armor, it provides substantial combat enhancement."
Following Howard's instruction, Fury lightly pressed his arm. A faint energy field surrounded his limb, attracting a nearby weight plate toward him.
"You've even replicated Kree battle suit abilities?"
Fury was astonished. He hadn't realized Howard's achievements had reached this level. Initially, he thought the instantly-deployable nano-suit was impressive enough.
But the armor's capabilities exceeded his expectations, seemingly granting users special abilities.
"Hahaha, that's not possible—such technology is far beyond our reach," Howard laughed heartily. "It's merely electromagnetic manipulation. Since you weigh more than the weight plate, you naturally attract it. Against a ship, however, you'd be pulled toward the vessel instead."
With Howard's explanation, Fury understood the distinction. Nevertheless, the nano battle suit remained an exceptional achievement.
After demonstrating these two inventions, Howard's expression turned mysterious.
"Come with me, Marcus."
Without further explanation, Howard walked purposefully in one direction, clearly eager to show Marcus something special.
Following Howard, Marcus grew curious about what awaited them.
Soon they arrived at an empty bay where a small spacecraft was docked. It appeared somewhat larger than the Quinjet that had brought them.
"What's this?" Marcus asked curiously.
"This is a spacecraft for you. Though not large, it contains numerous advanced systems."
Howard hadn't spared any effort on this vessel, designing it for interplanetary and interstellar travel.
He had ensured every aspect met the highest standards. This ship represented humanity's first true spacecraft capable of navigating the cosmos, manufactured by Howard using various integrated technologies.
"Well...it looks impressive, but your aesthetic sense certainly matches your son's, doesn't it?"
The spacecraft featured an aggressively futuristic design, its hull painted in gold and red—somewhat ostentatious.
"You don't think this paint scheme is understated?"
Understated?
Looking at the spacecraft, Marcus found himself speechless. Such a color scheme would attract attention anywhere in the galaxy.
"Come aboard and try it out. This ship has many functions," Howard invited.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support me at [email protected]/goldengaruda and check out more chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~