Nick Fury sat behind his desk, his single eye narrowed, glaring at Coulson and Natasha who sat across from him. His expression was thunderous.
"Are those damn lab geeks complete idiots?" Fury roared, slamming his palm on the desk. "They've got piles of data and high-definition footage right in front of them, and still not a single useful result! Instead, they've managed to turn half the research team into statues! What the hell are they even good for besides eating? Motherf—!"
His shiny bald head had even lost its usual gleam as his anger boiled over.
Fury took a deep breath, then barked, "Coulson, forget about the research. I want you to make contact with Tony Stark. See if you can bring him into the Avengers Initiative."
That was still his top priority. The world was becoming increasingly unstable — and now there was someone like Lucas walking around. Fury couldn't afford to take chances anymore.
Coulson nodded. He'd already been the one who escorted Tony back from the Middle East; reestablishing contact would be easy enough.
"Natasha," Fury continued, turning to her, "I want you to stay close to Lucas. Find out what you can about the Obelisk — and about that girl, Skye."
Since S.H.I.E.L.D. had already rented the apartment near Lucas's place on company funds, Fury figured Natasha might as well use it to keep tabs on him. She was close to Skye, after all — maybe close enough to get some answers.
Natasha didn't respond right away. Because of her friendship with Skye, she didn't want to deceive her. She decided she'd just be honest; if Skye didn't want to talk, she wouldn't push.
As for Lucas… she wasn't confident at all. Her usual methods — charm, manipulation, seduction — were completely useless on him. The guy saw straight through her, knew exactly who she was and what she represented. Around him, she had no secrets.
Sighing, Natasha left headquarters and returned to the apartment. She passed the locked office door of Lucas's agency, then quietly retreated to her own room.
---
The next morning, Lucas and Skye were sitting in the office like usual — bored out of their minds. Lucas truly was spacing out, while Skye was lost in thought, analyzing her powers.
She didn't dare use them recklessly. The last thing she wanted was to accidentally shatter her own bones.
That was when Natasha walked in. Lucas didn't even need to think — of course Fury had sent her. With how paranoid that "black egg" was, he'd never pass up a chance to spy or probe for information.
Lucas knew exactly what Fury was thinking. The only reason S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't locked him, Skye, Gwen, and Peter up in some underground lab for "study" was because Fury didn't yet have the guts to try.
"So," Lucas said flatly, not even bothering with greetings, "what does that shiny-headed bastard want to know this time?"
He wasn't one to beat around the bush — especially not with people he didn't like. And when it came to S.H.I.E.L.D., his dislike was mutual and deep-rooted.
That said, he did make exceptions. He actually respected Coulson, Natasha, and Clint Barton. Those three were nothing like the rest of the agency.
Coulson was a good man — principled, kind, steady.
Natasha seemed dark and manipulative on the surface, but Lucas knew her heart wasn't. She was tough, but not cruel.
And Barton, though quiet, was the kind of person you could trust to guard your back in a fight.
Lucas didn't mind being friends with them — as long as Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. as an institution stayed far out of it.
Natasha looked conflicted, glancing briefly at Skye.
"It's fine," Lucas said with a shrug, reading her hesitation easily. "Neither of us blames you. I know Fury sent you. You're just caught in the middle."
That broke the tension. Natasha smiled again, regaining her usual confident, teasing poise — the charming femme fatale once more.
She started asking questions about Skye — mainly why Skye had been able to touch the Obelisk without turning to stone.
"That's because Skye isn't an ordinary human," Lucas explained casually. "You know what happens when regular people touch the Obelisk — they turn to stone. Clearly, Skye isn't one of them."
It was an answer that explained everything and nothing all at once.
"Then what exactly is the Obelisk? What does it do? Where did it come from?" Natasha pressed. As she spoke, she casually tapped the small earpiece behind her ear — an obvious signal that Fury was listening in.
Lucas rolled his eyes. "The Obelisk is actually a crystal — called a Terrigen Crystal. It's not just a rock, it's a medium. You could also call it… a key."
"A key?" Natasha repeated. "A key to what?"
"To unlocking powers," Lucas said. "Anyone the Terrigen recognizes can awaken an ability — become what you'd call a superhuman."
He didn't hold anything back. There was no point. The Obelisk was only useful to Inhumans — for ordinary humans, it was deadly. No matter how hard S.H.I.E.L.D. or HYDRA tried, they could never mass-produce superpowered soldiers from it.
"Superhuman?" Natasha's eyes widened, then darted to Skye. "Then that means…"
"Yeah," Skye said, smiling faintly. "I've already awakened."
She wasn't hiding it — not from Natasha. She trusted Lucas, and by extension, she trusted Natasha too. As long as Lucas was around, she wasn't afraid of S.H.I.E.L.D. trying anything.
"Incredible…" Natasha murmured. Her mind was already spinning through implications — could this lead to artificially creating superhumans? But she quickly dismissed the thought. She'd seen what happened to people who touched the Obelisk. This wasn't something you could replicate.
Lucas shook his head. "Only certain people can awaken. Everyone else just turns to stone. You've seen it yourself."
"Certain people?" Natasha asked. "Meaning what exactly?"
Lucas hesitated for a moment, then said, "That ties into where the Obelisk came from. Actually…"
He launched into an explanation — a carefully edited version of the truth. He told Natasha (and through her, Fury) about the Inhumans, but with key details omitted or altered.
"So Skye," Natasha summarized slowly, "is a descendant of this… Inhuman race?"
"Exactly," Lucas confirmed. "That's why she could awaken her powers instead of turning to stone."
Natasha frowned, curiosity getting the better of her. "And how do you know all this?"
Lucas gave her a grin. "Magic, of course. I can sense the energy inside Skye — it's the same as the Obelisk's."
When in doubt, blame magic. The perfect answer.
Natasha had nothing to say to that. Magic was the kind of word you only heard in fairy tales — and yet, standing in front of Lucas, she couldn't even argue. She didn't understand it, couldn't verify it, and had no grounds to question it.
All she could do was accept it.
And somewhere, far away in S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Nick Fury's expression darkened even further as he listened in.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had stirred up something far beyond its control.
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