"Luke?"

Fury's brow furrowed. He was used to hearing strange things, but this was pushing it. Asgard's affairs were family business among gods, what did a young consultant from Earth have to do with it?

His tone carried doubt, almost irritation. "This is clearly Asgard's mess. What does Luke have to do with it?"

Thor, however, did not waver. He nodded once, gravely. His expression was heavy, his one eye darkened with grief.

"Yes," Thor said hoarsely, "it's Luke."

Fury tilted his head slightly, his single eye narrowing. "What's wrong with Luke?"

Thor's lips twisted. His hand clenched into a fist at his side, veins bulging across his scarred knuckles. The answer itself seemed to pain him.

"Luke," Thor said slowly, each word falling like a hammer, "is my sister's master now. He is the one behind all of this. He is the hand directing the slaughter of my people!"

The words struck Fury harder than any blow. He froze, his mouth parting in disbelief. "…Her what?"

Hela, a goddess. The Goddess of Death. Even at half her strength she had torn through Asgard's armies like parchment. Thor and Loki together couldn't stand against her. How in the hell could she be someone's subordinate?

And not just anyone's, but Luke's.

The very idea was absurd.

Fury ran a hand across his scalp, exhaling sharply. "You've gotta be kidding me…"

But Thor's face was carved from stone. There was no hesitation, no jest. This wasn't Loki playing tricks, this was Thor, the new king of Asgard, speaking from the depths of his anguish.

Fury staggered back a step. He sank into the nearest chair, elbows on his knees, staring down at the floor. Silence pressed on the room.

For minutes, the only sound was Thor's ragged breathing.

Finally, Fury lifted his head, his voice quieter now but edged with steel. "You're telling me Luke is pulling the strings. That he sent your sister to Asgard. That all those bodies… all that blood… is on him?"

Thor's jaw tightened. He looked away for a moment, his throat bobbing as he swallowed his grief. When he spoke, his voice was rough.

"Yes. She admitted it herself." His one eye burned with anger. "Luke sent her."

Fury's hands curled into fists on his knees. He couldn't afford to react carelessly. This was too big, and too dangerous for a normal human like him to get involved into.

"…And he can just go to Asgard?" Fury asked at last.

Thor nodded grimly. "Yes. He has already been there. He walked our halls as though they belonged to him." He leaned forward suddenly, his massive frame looming over Fury. "Director Fury, I am afraid only you can save my people now."

The words hung heavy in the air.

Fury stayed very still. His mind raced. The Luke he knew, the one who could twist S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources to his whim, who created machines that could rewrite the rules of war, that Luke had always been unsettling. But this? Commanding gods? Using the Goddess of Death herself like a weapon?

It was almost too much to believe.

Thor's single eye, filled with grief and rage, kept him from dismissing it as madness.

Fury drew in a slow breath, then leaned back in his chair, arms crossing. "You do realize what you're asking me. You want me to walk up to Luke and tell him to knock it off. Your sister. Your kingdom. Your people's blood. You want me to make him stop."

"Yes," Thor said without hesitation. His voice cracked slightly, desperation breaking through the warrior's mask. "Please. He has to be stopped."

Fury was silent for a long time. He remembered every time Thor had stood beside Earth, storms breaking at his command. He remembered New York, when gods fought above skyscrapers. He remembered Sokovia.

Thor had helped Earth more than once.

And now Thor was broken, his people scattered, begging him for help.

"…Alright," Fury said at last. He stood, tugging his coat straight. His voice was steady, though his chest was tight. "I'll go. I'll talk to Luke."

…

The Universe, deep space.

On the colossal warship Sanctuary II, the throne of Thanos gleamed under cold starlight. The Titan sat unmoving, his massive hand resting on the armrest, while before him his generals gathered.

He already had two Infinity Stones, Power, taken by force; Soul, won through sacrifice. Both glimmered on his gauntlet.

And he knew where the others were.

Space, on Asgard.

Time, in Kamar-Taj, on Midgard.

Mind, within S.H.I.E.L.D.'s vaults, also on Midgard.

Reality, inexplicably, in the hands of a single mortal… Luke, coincidentally also on Midgard.

Of the six, only the Space Stone lay outside Earth.

"Master," Ebony Maw murmured, his voice a silken whisper. He bowed low, hands folded like a priest. "Let us go to Midgard first. The new queen of Asgard is said to rival Odin himself. Best to gather five Stones before we test her strength."

Black Dwarf scoffed, pounding a fist into his palm. "Our master needs no such delay. Even without the Stones, he could crush her!"

Corvus Glaive raised his head, ready to add his own counsel, but Thanos lifted one hand, silencing them all.

The Mad Titan's eyes narrowed, reflecting stars. He remembered the whispers, the old tales of the Goddess of Death. Odin's executioner. His fiercest blade. Her shadow still haunted the hearts of those who remembered.

Taking the Space Stone from her would not be simple. If she survived the first strike, she would never fall so easily again.

Which meant only one path remained: gather the others first. Time, Mind, and Reality. With them, he would wield five Stones, and then, only then would Hela fall.

Thanos rose slowly from his throne, his voice resonant. "We go to Midgard. Let us see these… Avengers for ourselves."

The Black Order bowed. Engines flared and the ship turned toward Earth.

…

Earth, S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.

While agents scrambled to settle the weary, displaced Asgardians, Fury made his own preparations. Alone, without escort, he boarded their single Transformer quinjet.

The machine's systems purred as it rose into the sky.

But word of his departure did not remain secret. On Luke's helicarrier, Bumblebee chirped a notification the moment Fury's jet departed. The red mech, loyal above all to his creator, had full control over every transformer created by the Reality Stone.

If Luke wanted, he could have grounded Fury's jet instantly.

But he didn't bother. One quinjet meant little to him. He had more, seven actually, lined neatly on his deck.

A short while later, Fury's jet descended onto the helicarrier.

The director stepped out, boots striking the metal deck, only to stop short, blinking.

Where once there had been a runway, there was now… a giant swimming pool. An enormous, glittering expanse of blue water, eating up nearly all the space.

Fury's single eye twitched. He thought quickly of the cost, the manpower, the audacity of it. And felt a headache coming on.

"Unbelievable…" he muttered under his breath.

His gaze shifted, and there they were.

Luke, strolling toward him with that calm, infuriatingly casual air. At his side, Wanda moved gracefully, her crimson hair catching the light, while Sharon walked on his other flank, her sharp eyes already assessing Fury like he was a suspect under interrogation.

Fury drew in a slow breath, forcing himself to relax, and stepped forward to meet them.

…