Certification

But there wasn't any reason to tell Skye all that. New York might be dangerous, but incidents that shook the entire city were few and far between.

Fanny brought Skye back to New York after debriefing her about the recent threat.

It was around four in the afternoon back in New York. The city was still reeling from the recent battle; all corners of the streets abuzz with conversation about Fanny and the battle.

Some had demanded Fanny reveal his identity and surrender his weapon.

Some had deified Fanny and created a crude religion around him.

Some were simply curious about the truth within the chaos.

One thing was certain. All of them were curious about and afraid of Fanny.

Sadness and pain also quietly spread in the dark. Even if they were defective products, the explosions of the 200 robots were still at the scale of artillery saturation.

Despite Fanny's best efforts, injuries and even deaths were inevitable.

This incident also made Fanny realize the cruelty of war. Ivan had only controlled a few hundred robots, but he had already caused such great damage. Fanny couldn't imagine the tragic scene that would occur when Thanos' Chitauri army invaded the city.

The construction industry might see a great boom in the coming years.

Today was a fateful day for New York. Today's events made people re-evaluate Tony's importance, and just how much power one person could command.

Although many suspected that Fanny was not a human being at all...

Nick Fury had no time to calm himself down.

He rushed to Los Angeles that evening, heading directly to Tony's villa to arrange his and Fanny's meeting.

...

"Did you make an appointment with an agent to meet at my house?" Tony's displeased voice came from the other side of the phone, which reminded Fanny of what he had said to Natasha without Tony's presence or consent.

"Didn't your secret agent secretary tell you?" Fanny shifted the blame.

Tony's face darkened when he heard Natasha being mentioned again. He impatiently urged Fanny, "He is waiting for you. Hurry up and take him the hell away from my house."

He hung up the phone immediately.

Fanny pouted. He told Skye that he was going out and equipped 'Demon Armor Incursio,' taking a quick detour to Mount Everest before opening the portal to Tony's house.

Nick Fury was shocked out of his mind when he saw the fiery ring of sparks appearing suddenly in the air. He had seen and studied it countless times through the video footage, but seeing it with his own eyes was a different thing entirely. The snow beyond the portal indicated that it was truly connected to a faraway place.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Silver Knight!" Nick Fury greeted Fanny right after he stepped out of the portal.

"Is it really?"

"…."

"I was just joking." Fanny decided to stop teasing Nick Fury when he saw his face darkening. "Why are you looking for me?"

"Who are you? Where are you from? How did you get these abilities?"

Nick barraged Fanny with questions, getting right to the point. Coulson and Natasha had concluded that the 'Silver Knight' had a patient personality, so he shouldn't be angry with this much.

Indeed, Fanny wasn't angry at all—he was used to such interrogation since a lot of mages in Kamar-Taj were surprised by his abilities.

"Sorry, I refuse to answer these questions."

But being angry and being compliant were two different things. Fanny had no obligation to tell Nick anything, and he never intended to announce his identity as a mage.

He only told Tony because he knew Tony would not tattle around. Even if Tony had secretly looked into him, his investigation would never affect Kamar-Taj.

But Nick Fury had the resources of SHIELD in his hands. His finding out about Kamar-Taj would shake the entire world.

Fanny didn't want to cause trouble for Kamar-Taj.

"Then, what can you tell me?" Nick asked, his one eye staring at Fanny.

Tony watched the exchange silently. He had secretly helped Fanny stay hidden by spreading fake information and distracting the agents with imitation of 'Demon Armor Incursio,' among other things.

"Well…"

Fanny thought hard about it. He felt like he had nothing to tell Nick Fury for now; on the contrary, he had a lot of questions for the bald director.

He didn't want to expose his identity yet. He also thought long and hard about Hydra before he came to meet Nick.

He considered exposing Hydra to Nick Fury, but ultimately decided against it.

SHIELD was a massive organization, and Hydra had taken roots deep within it. If he told Nick Fury that at least half of SHIELD was actually Hydra agents, he couldn't imagine what would happen to the organization.

Would Nick Fury be able to secretly sweep the Hydra agents out, or would Hydra realize that they've been exposed and drag SHIELD into an all-out civil war?!

It would be fine if the first scenario played out, but the second scenario would be disastrous.

Would Fanny have to face all of Hydra on his own if SHIELD lose?!

He might have become stronger recently, but he wasn't invincible. He wasn't a strategic or tactical genius, so he wouldn't be able to be proactive. Hydra hadn't revealed any powerful assets yet, but their true strength was unknowable.

Moreover, the Avengers had not been established yet. The world needed an organization to protect its safety, even if it was the Hydra.

Thus, Fanny decided against telling Nick Fury about Hydra. Recklessly changing the future would lose him any advantage and control he had over the plot.

Fanny didn't know that Nick Fury already had a seed of doubt sprouting in his heart due to Ivan Vanko's case—he simply hadn't acted upon that doubt.

"I really don't think I could tell you anything. I'm not a threat to you; is that not enough?"

Fanny felt that contacting SHIELD in any capacity was so draining. He had to calculate his every move.

"A tiger with a full belly might not attack people, but is it truly harmless?"

"What do you mean?" Fanny frowned.

"You can't judge the threat and danger you pose to others on your own," Nick Fury continued, still looking straight into Fanny's eyes, "We would be the ones to assess it."

"Do you want to put a leash on me?"

Fanny narrowed his eyes. He was thinking about what would happen if he started a war with SHIELD now. Ancient One wouldn't allow him to involve other mages, but she wouldn't sit idly herself.

"No, I just want to get you certified."

Nick Fury picked up a folder from the table next to him and handed it to Fanny.