Chapter 30: S.H.I.E.L.D. Connects the Dots
Ethan had barely sat down in the restaurant when the system went haywire.
「DING!」
「Congratulations, Host! George Stacy's Friendship Level has been upgraded!」
「...」
「Congratulations, Host! Officer A has added you as a friend!」
「Congratulations, Host! Officer B has added you as a friend!」
「Congratulations, Host! Officer C...」
「Congratulations, Host! Hell's Kitchen Resident A has added you as a friend!」
「...」
The notifications kept coming — a relentless cascade of chimes that felt like someone hammering a xylophone inside his skull.
"System. Mute. Now."
「Silent mode enabled.」
Ethan stared at the flood of new friend notifications scrolling through his mind. Something was different. These weren't people he'd befriended — they'd added him. Every previous friendship had been initiated by Ethan. Since when could it work the other way?
"System — I didn't approach any of these people. How are they becoming my friends?"
「Host, the system never stated that friendship must be initiated by you. When an individual genuinely considers you a friend — someone worth knowing, worth trusting — the bond forms naturally. Sometimes friendship is that simple. A shared look. A single act. That's all it takes.」
「Note: passively added friends begin at one star. Increasing their Friendship Level requires direct interaction.」
Ethan's mind immediately went to the obvious exploit. What if I became a celebrity? Or a public superhero? Get on TV, save a city, and half the population becomes a one-star friend—
「Only individuals who have met Host in person qualify for friendship. For example: you have seen the President on television, but he has not met you. No friendship is possible. The reason Host received a large batch of passive friends today is that you performed a direct, meaningful action that benefited them personally. Passive friendship has significantly higher requirements than active friendship. Host is advised to continue the standard approach.」
So much for the shortcut.
"How many Friend Points do I have now?"
「Current total: 227 Friend Points. Convertible to 2 Family Points.」
「Convert?」
"No." Ethan shut that down immediately. Two draws? With his luck, that meant two rounds of Better Luck Next Time. He'd learned his lesson — save for a ten-pull or don't pull at all. Singles were for suckers.
He hadn't expected any return for what he'd done. He'd genuinely wanted to improve conditions for the precinct, genuinely wanted Hell's Kitchen's residents to have a better life. The fact that it generated system rewards was a pleasant surprise — and proof that the people of Hell's Kitchen weren't as heartless as the rest of the city believed.
· · ·
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters — The Triskelion
Natasha, Hawkeye, and Coulson slunk back to base with the tactical team in tow. Coulson dispatched the agents to medical, then led the other two to the Director's office.
Fury was waiting.
"Director — this failure is on me. I underestimated Cross and his people." Coulson stepped up first, taking the blame.
"No — it's my fault." Hawkeye cut in. "I saw a blind man and didn't take him seriously. The operational failure was my responsibility, not theirs."
"It was me—"
"No, me—"
Fury watched them trip over each other to accept responsibility and allowed himself a moment of quiet satisfaction. Good people. Flawed judgment today, but good people.
"Enough." He raised a hand. "This one's on me. I set the parameters. The real problem isn't the field team — it's our intelligence. Why does Caine have superpowers? Did our analysts miss it, or did he just recently acquire the ability?"
He'd identified the critical question instantly.
"If it's the former, we just have a gap in our files," Natasha said, her expression darkening. "If it's the latter... the implications are much worse."
Coulson frowned. "Why would the latter be worse? Late-onset mutation isn't unheard of. We adjust our threat assessment, develop countermeasures, and the next engagement goes differently."
"Think about it." Natasha leaned forward. "According to every record we have, Caine was a baseline human for decades. No abilities whatsoever. He joins Ethan Cross's circle, and within a month, he's a mutant. And have you noticed how the number of enhanced individuals around Cross keeps growing?"
Fury nodded. "Our files show that Cross himself wasn't originally enhanced. Neither were the Maximoff twins. Somewhere along the line, all of them developed abilities."
He stood and walked to the window.
"That means one of two things. Either Cross has a backer — someone who's discovered a method of activating superhuman abilities — or Cross himself is the method. If it's the latter, then the number of enhanced individuals in his circle isn't limited to the ones we know about. For all we know, John Wick and the others are enhanced too."
The room went quiet.
"When a single organization controls a growing army of enhanced operatives — or worse, can create them at will..." Fury let the sentence hang. "I don't need to spell out what that means. That's a force capable of threatening a nation-state."
If this was true, Ethan Cross was far more dangerous than any intelligence profile had suggested.
"Of course, this is all speculation for now," Fury said, turning back to face them. "Which is why our immediate priority is a comprehensive investigation — Cross, his associates, and whatever organization might be behind him."
Coulson raised the obvious problem. "We just agreed to stay off his turf. And Hell's Kitchen is practically a fortress — the locals would spot an outside operative in minutes."
"Watch them from a distance. Until we have better intelligence, no direct action. If the theory holds, I'll bring in outside assets. There are mutants in this world far more powerful than anything Cross has shown us."
Fury made the call without hesitation.
"Coulson. New standing assignment: twenty-four-hour surveillance on Cross and his associates. I don't care how you do it — just don't go near the restaurant. Avoid confrontation. Intelligence gathering only." A thin, cold smile. "We promised not to start trouble. We never said anything about watching."
"Understood, sir." Coulson nodded and left.
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