Space Stone, Eh

Fanny put on the 'Demon Armor Incursio' after finishing his preparations and went to find Nick Fury.

With his current strength, magic power, and support from 'Ars Magna,' he wouldn't have any problem wearing the 'Demon Armor Incursio' continuously for a day—as long as he didn't have to fight or activate the stealth function.

Fanny followed Nick Fury to the large base where the Tesseract research was conducted. He couldn't help but sigh when he looked at how large and well-furnished the base was.

"This agency is way too rich!"

Fanny kicked himself, regretting that he didn't push for more ridiculous pay, like 100 million dollars per day. He could just bargain it down if the director refused, but he couldn't negotiate up.

Nick Fury ignored what Fanny had said, but the woman beside him seemed to take offense at the statement and said, "We have a pretty generous budget, but our work is proportionally hard."

"I'm Maria Hill, Director Fury's assistant!"

Hill introduced herself, offering her hand to Fanny.

"You can call me the Silver Mage,"

Fanny politely shook her hand and introduced his proper nickname. Despite his armor style being closer to a knight's aesthetic and despite his recent ownership of a mount, he firmly asserted that he was a mage.

"Silver Mage?! Shouldn't you be a knight?"

Hill responded predictably.

"No, it's just the armor. The person inside is a mage, thank you very much!"

Fanny's impression of Hill was better than his impression of Black Widow. Despite both of them being secret agents, Hill wasn't the type of person to calculate her every action to extract information from everyone around her.

Nick Fury already knew about Fanny's insistence on using the term mage, but unlike Tony, he didn't really know the reason. He simply thought that it was Fanny's personal preference.

"Let's get a move on. I have already prepared a place for your stay. Oh, and you also need to meet someone,"

Nick Fury rejoined the conversation. Barton the Hawkeye might be weaker than Fanny in terms of pure physical strength, but he was still one of SHIELD's top agents and a reserve member for the Avengers Initiative.

Fanny, Nick Fury, and Maria Hill proceeded to the underground section of the complex. Fanny couldn't stop himself from gawking around at the fighter jets and armored vehicles around him. He suddenly thought about building a spaceship in the future.

"You can stay here for the time being."

Nick Fury brought Fanny to a carefully furnished room, complete with various facilities. He then brought Fanny to meet an old man. "This is Dr. Erik Selvig, the person in charge of Tesseract's primary research group."

"You're the Silver Knight!"

Fanny had been rather popular before Thor descended. Even someone as old as Erik Selvig could recognize Fanny at a glance.

"I'll rather you call me a mage, please. Greetings, Dr. Selvig."

Fanny had a deep impression of this old man—he was one of the few people that dared to lay his entire body bare to the world.

After introducing Erik Selvig, Nick Fury turned to a man who was carrying a bow and a quiver full of arrows. The man was looking at Fanny fiercely.

"Clint Barton!"

Barton stretched out his hand and said to Fanny, "I know you, the strongest superhero in the world!"

Fanny shook his head and replied, "Unfortunately, I am not the strongest in the world, nor am I a superhero. It's a little troublesome to reveal my name, so you may refer to me as the Silver Mage or the mage."

"Why a mage?"

Both Barton and Hill were curious at Fanny's persistence.

"Because I'm a magic user!"

Fanny replied casually. Although most of the world had mistaken him for a knight, he wanted at least the people that he would often meet to know his real field of expertise.

Being an agent of SHIELD, Barton's open-mindedness and self-control were leagues above ordinary people. He was able to hold his curiosity in.

Nick Fury didn't stop to introduce any other staff after that. The bald director instead brought Fanny directly to the Tesseract research project area.

The light blue Cube surrounded by strange devices in the middle of the room immediately caught Fanny's eyes.

This was the second Infinity Stone that Fanny came into contact with, but the Time Stone in Ancient One's possession was closely guarded and mostly stayed in its enclosure. Fanny never had the chance to properly observe it.

Therefore, Fanny wanted to take a close look at the Tesseract.

But Nick Fury interrupted his thought, "Agent Hill would be in charge of this base during your stay. You can tell her everything you need."

Fanny looked at Hill, who nodded at him. He then turned back to Nick Fury. "I see. Are you not going to stay with us?"

Despite what he said, Fanny actually wanted Nick Fury to leave as soon as possible.

Fanny also discreetly approached the Tesseract while speaking. The artifact was surrounded by researchers, who seemed to be recording something.

Although, judging from their awkward attitude and the glances they stole at Fanny's group, they were obviously just making a show.

"I still have things to deal with,"

Nick Fury replied, and then continued with a serious expression, "The Cube is really important to Earth. You must protect it well."

"Don't worry, nothing will happen

," Fanny comforted Nick Fury. In the original plot, Loki would only invade in the next year. Asgard wasn't really planning to take the Tesseract back, so there shouldn't be anything major happening during Fanny's stay in the facility.

Fanny obviously forgot that his very presence could distort the plot.

Fanny had approached the Tesseract while talking to Nick Fury. The staff members stepped aside when they saw Fanny's imposing stature in 'Demon Armor Incursio.' Fanny soon came face to face with the Cube.

Fanny carefully observed the glowing blue Cube when a blue light suddenly flared on his face!?

Nick Fury noticed that something unusual was happening and asked loudly, "What happened?"

Erik Selvig hurriedly ran to the computer to check. Hill followed closely behind, and Barton equipped his bow and arrows, vigilantly glancing around.

Fanny felt that something was wrong. He tried to keep his distance from the Cube, but something had restrained his body. He vaguely heard a soft voice in his mind, "Eh?!"

A dazzling blue light blinded Fanny, and his body floated in the air. He could hear Nick Fury's endless curses, but that voice slowly faded in the light.

One thought remained in Fanny's mind:

I was tricked!!!