"Agent Jessica, thank you for taking the time to come here."
Nick Fury received Jessica Drew in his office. This high school senior had been recruited into S.H.I.E.L.D. after gaining spider-like abilities through an accident—her father, Jonathan Drew, had developed and injected her with a spider serum to treat her ALS.
The serum had not only cured Jessica's illness but had also granted her superhuman strength and stamina, as well as the ability to fire bio-electric blasts, crawl walls, and fly. Yes, she could fly and project energy bolts.
However, what interested Nick Fury more was Jessica's potential as an agent. Despite a certain lack of maturity, Fury's assessment of her performance in various training exercises suggested that Jessica was indeed a perfect fit for S.H.I.E.L.D.
At least, she was far more suited for this than her initial dream of being a superhero.
Well, being a bit naive and obsessed with detective novels didn't count against her yet; she just needed to be sent on a few missions to experience the harsh realities of the world.
"Yes, sir. Is there a mission?"
Seeing the girl's eager expression, Nick Fury sighed internally with a touch of helplessness. He pushed a report across the desk toward Jessica. "Yes. You will soon receive an internship opportunity at the Baxter Building. We need you to conduct an investigation there."
"Regarding the true identities of the New Fantastic Four?"
"No, that's not a priority."
Fury shook his head, then clarified the true purpose of Jessica's mission. "I need you to look into whether you can find clues that the Baxter Building is secretly researching... illegal time-travel devices."
Under the governance of the Kang Dynasty, time travel had become a norm, but all chronal journeys had to be registered. Every trip required verification and monitoring to avoid various impacts on the space-time continuum.
Furthermore, Kang strictly forbade any other faction from researching their own time-travel devices. Discovery meant execution; it was a ruthless policy. Now, S.H.I.E.L.D. had received an anonymous tip (from Kang himself) claiming that the New Fantastic Four project at the Baxter Building was most likely a front, and its true purpose was the illegal development of chronal teleportation technology.
"While they might have the capability, sir, would they actually do it? That's a capital offense of the highest order."
As Nick Fury spoke, he waved his hand and pressed a remote. The surrounding windows slid shut, turning a pitch black as if sealing the entire room. Fury stood up. "Everything I am about to say is Top Secret, Agent Drew. If S.H.I.E.L.D. discovers that you have leaked any relevant intelligence, we will be forced to... deal with you."
"...Understood, sir."
"The Fantastic Four did not go missing; they were exiled. The reason was their illegal research and experimentation with time-travel devices. Consequently, Kang exiled them to an apocalyptic world, a place devoid of any technological products."
Nick Fury continued calmly: "Therefore, the current head of the Baxter Building, Peter Parker—who is deeply trusted by Reed Richards—is very likely continuing the development of the relevant equipment in hopes of bringing the Fantastic Four back."
"Peter? Oh, I know him. He's a member of our school's Detective Club. I'm the president."
Nick Fury stared at Jessica coldly. Jessica immediately snapped to attention.
"We are fully aware of his social background, Agent Drew. It is precisely for this reason that we are sending you on this mission. It's convenient; you and your fellow club member will find it easier to get close. In short, conduct a secret investigation. We hope this tip is merely a rumor, as the Baxter Building provides a great deal of equipment support for S.H.I.E.L.D."
For some reason, after mentioning this, Nick Fury sat back down and gave Jessica a final warning: "But if you truly discover that they are developing time-travel related equipment, notify me immediately. Remember, do not use any communication devices to contact me. Come see me in person. Understood? This is vital."
"Understood!"
Jessica got the feeling that Nick Fury wasn't particularly keen on investigating the Baxter Building. Most likely, he was looking to fish in troubled waters—even if Peter Parker really was building a time machine, as long as Fury was told first, he could help cover it up and settle the matter quietly.
However, Nick Fury was thinking of much more than that.
"Check your memory, Agent Drew," Nick Fury told Jessica before reopening the security barriers. "Do not overlook any detail. Utilize your deductive reasoning. Remember, your memory might deceive you."
"Sir?"
Confused by his final words, Jessica left Fury's office. On her way out, she saw a poster of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s star operative, "Agent Venom," Flash Thompson. Unlike a deep-cover agent like Jessica, Flash was a field operative—or more bluntly, a weapon S.H.I.E.L.D. threw out when they needed someone hit.
As he was a junior from her school, Jessica didn't know him very well. She looked at the poster and simply muttered to herself in confusion.
"My memory might deceive me?"
The idea that memory could be deceptive was something Nick Fury practiced every morning upon waking. He had experienced much in his life; he had seen mutants and devices capable of shapeshifting, and he had encountered telepaths and masters of hypnosis. Thus, he never believed his memories were inherently true. Every morning, he would meticulously comb through his mind, checking for discrepancies.
Therefore, from the very first day of the Kang Dynasty, he knew that Kang had rewritten reality itself.
But he had no way to deal with Kang.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had been passing intelligence back and forth with various warlords, trading for a chance to defeat Kang. From what Fury knew, Mr. Sinister and Doom already had plans, Hydra seemed to be designing something, Magneto was indecisive, and Namor and Black Panther were out of the loop.
The Avengers might be on his side, but Kang kept them under a tighter watch.
Under these circumstances, Fury had to reach out to anything and everything possible to counter the Cosmic Cube Kang possessed. Why did Kang exile the Fantastic Four? The root cause was that Kang was afraid of something.
As for why Kang didn't simply kill the Fantastic Four, Nick Fury had already obtained a crucial name through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s investigations across multiple timelines.
Kang's name.
Nathaniel Richards. This was the truth behind it all. Kang was a descendant of Mr. Fantastic. To avoid a temporal paradox, he could not kill his own ancestor.