Chapter 42: Nick Fury Was Surprised

As the press conference debacle echoed through the media, the stock market reacted almost instantly. Stark Industries' stock plummeted. And in contrast, Hammer Industries surged, its shares shooting to the daily limit in a matter of minutes. After all, in the U.S. military-industrial complex, these two giants had always been rivals. When one fell, the other inevitably rose. Sitting in his car, watching the numbers dance on his phone, Luke chuckled. "Looks like I just helped Wanda make a fortune." ... Luke drove the Camaro, still sleek and subtly mutated, back to the grocery store. Wanda nearly dropped her phone when she saw it. "Is that... your car?" "Yep," Luke said nonchalantly, gesturing at the glowing hood. "You know how weird the grocery store's been lately. It seems like it also fixed the car." He didn't bother making up elaborate lies. With the increasing frequency of oddities, trying to keep things "normal" was pointless. Better to plant one solid explanation and let it cover everything that came after, no need to complicate things. ... At that very moment, Nick Fury was behind the wheel of a black, armored SUV, en route to that very same grocery store. The reports he'd received from Natasha Romanoff and Phil Coulson had finally pushed him to make a move. This Luke Yale was no ordinary civilian. And today, Fury wanted to meet him in person. But he wasn't alone. In the passenger seat sat Agent Sharon Carter, one of the few people he trusted, well, as much as he could trust someone, being the paranoid fucker he was. She wasn't his first pick, he would've preferred Maria Hill, but Hill was tied up with another task at the moment. Still, Sharon Carter was solid. Niece of Peggy Carter. Founding legacy of S.H.I.E.L.D. And just as capable. He'd considered coming alone, but with everything going on, even Nick Fury wasn't that reckless. After all, two of his best agents had already been "compromised" by whatever was going on at this strange little store. ... Ten minutes later, Fury's SUV pulled up to the sidewalk in front of Luke's Grocery. And immediately, something felt off. According to his intelligence reports, the business should have been barely scraping by, an obscure, struggling corner store kept afloat by sheer willpower, earning just enough to keep the siblings who owned it afloat. But what he saw was... the complete opposite. A crowd of customers flowed in and out of the entrance. The place was practically booming. Nick Fury narrowed his one good eye. Did his people screw up? Or was this kid some business genius that flipped the business around in a single day? He stepped out of the SUV, Carter following silently behind. They pushed through the crowd and finally reached the small storefront that had somehow caused S.H.I.E.L.D. so many headaches recently. The moment they stepped inside, they were... underwhelmed. It looked like a regular grocery store. Too regular. They scanned the shelves. No luxury products. No famous brands. Just daily necessities and obscure labels neither of them recognized. Fury raised an eyebrow and muttered: "This is what Romanoff and Coulson called 'quality goods'?" ... Behind the counter, Luke was busy ringing up customers alongside Wanda, but his eyes discreetly tracked the newcomers. Dark skin, bald head, black trench coat and characteristic pirate eye patch, there was no mistaking him. Who could it be other than S.H.I.E.L.D's Director, the legend, the motherfucker himself, Nick Fury! How could Luke not recognize such obvious characteristics? Even in a crowd of thousands, any self respecting Marvel fan could definitely identify him at a glance! But he didn't bat an eye. He'd been expecting this. With the chaos he'd stirred up, between Stark Industries, Obadiah, and the growing media storm, it was only a matter of time before Fury showed up. Plus with all the capabilities he'd shown so far, he was definitely up to the standard for recruitment into Fury's little boy band, the Avengers. Still, he didn't expect him to be here this soon. And Sharon Carter too? That was a welcomed bonus. While keeping up appearances at the register, Luke's system chimed. [Ding! Congratulations, core protagonist Nick Fury encountered. +2 plot points.] [Ding! Congratulations, core supporting character Sharon Carter encountered. +1 plot point.] Luke's hand paused briefly. 'Nick Fury is a protagonist? Huh. Guess he counts too. Cool.' That brought his total to four plot points. Sixteen more until the next upgrade. Things were moving faster than he expected. ... As Luke busied himself with his thoughts, Nick Fury continued surveying the store. Still skeptical, he reached for a random item on a nearby shelf. It was a sleek black eye patch, elegantly designed, minimalistic, and surprisingly premium-looking. He held it up and examined it with a frown. "Huh." It was... better than his current one. Smoother. Lighter. Classier. Even he had to admit it. For a moment, he just stared at the eye patch in his hand, completely forgetting why he was there in the first place. ...