"Avengers?"
Even though he had already suspected as much, when the name actually came out of Nick Fury's mouth, Fenris's expression still turned a little strange.
"A government-backed superhero team?"
"That's right." Seeing an opening, Nick Fury nodded without hesitation.
Fenris chose his words carefully.
"I want to know something. If we become these so-called Avengers who protect the Earth, then whose orders do we follow, and whose problems are we actually solving?"
"Fenris!"
Seeing that Fenris was actually engaging with the conversation, Logan immediately reached out from behind and tugged at him.
"The Avengers are an independent organization. You don't take orders from anyone," Nick Fury said without changing expression. "All you have to do is contribute your strength alongside the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division when a threat appears."
"That's all."
Understanding dawned on Fenris.
"So you're the director of this division, which means we answer to you."
"That's... not exactly..." Nick Fury choked for a second, his mind spinning at high speed. "It's more like fighting together."
At this point, even Logan could see through it.
"So that's why you're being so nice. You want us to be your hired muscle."
"If you don't want to find a hard-boiled egg sitting in your office one day, then I suggest you give up on that idea."
Even when Magneto wanted to recruit Fenris, the usually refined Professor had nearly cursed him out on the spot. And Nick Fury was just some unfamiliar black-hearted egghead.
"Pff."
Fenris almost failed to hold back his laughter.
Seeing Nick Fury's face darken a shade further, Fenris straightened his own expression.
"Sorry. Compared to being an Avenger, I think I'd rather be a preventionist."
"I'm not interested in revenge, and I don't like moving only after the enemy does. Most of the time, I prefer eliminating the people who set their sights on me before they ever get the chance to act."
Fenris's meaningful gaze lingered on Nick Fury for a brief moment. The completely undisguised killing intent in it made even the so-called King of Spies shiver.
"Need me to show you out?" Fenris asked, smoothly shifting expressions as a smile returned to his face.
"No."
Nick Fury answered on instinct.
The moment the word left his mouth, he regretted it a little. But seeing Fenris already standing there with all the polite posture of someone saying this conversation was over, he could only bid them goodbye and leave.
Bang!
Once the two men were gone and the door was shut, Fenris returned to his room.
The cocoon that had been shining with flowing colors just moments ago had already gone dim again. It had collapsed into a scattered mess of webbing, with no trace left of its former brilliance.
"One of these days I'm tearing apart your helicarrier and selling it for cash."
Fenris muttered bitterly as he cleaned up the mess on the floor.
Fortunately, he still had Peter Parker's stockpile on hand. Once he got back to the school, he could lie in a pile of radiation to strengthen himself while using the cocoon to light up Mothra at the same time.
Two things at once, with neither slowing the other down.
Thinking back to that unbelievably comfortable sensation from just now, Fenris could not help smacking his lips.
"Hey, man, who were those two just now?"
Right as Fenris was thinking, a bright voice suddenly came from outside the window.
The next moment, Peter Parker vaulted back into the room.
"I thought you were planning to hide outside forever."
Fenris glanced at him and gave a simple explanation.
"That was the head of a special department. Black-hearted, shameless, and ruthless enough. If you don't want trouble, then if he ever comes looking for you, stay as far away from him as possible."
"That scary?" Peter Parker jumped a little. "I keep my movements super hidden every day. How could he ever find me?"
"There are plenty of ways to find you in this world. The only difference is whether people actually want to bother looking."
Fenris shrugged.
"Didn't we find you?"
Peter Parker paused, then nodded in a dazed sort of understanding.
"All right, you should go. We'll keep in touch."
Fenris waved him off.
"Oh, crap, I'm supposed to visit Gwen's house later..."
"See you, Fenris."
Watching Peter spring out the window with nimble ease, Fenris took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.
A faint glow began to spread from his body, and once again the room turned breathtakingly beautiful.
Unlike Godzilla, Mothra had to pass through the cocoon and larval stages before finally breaking free and becoming the powerful Queen of the Monsters.
A low, forceful heartbeat began to echo faintly through the room. As time passed, the sound grew louder and louder, as though some terrifying beast were gestating within.
As Fenris continuously adapted to this newborn power, something about his aura gradually became even more distinctive.
"This is seriously weird. He's not gonna turn into some giant lizard with wings one day, is he?"
The dangerous aura constantly leaking from the room left the highly sensitive Logan uneasy and restless, fidgeting with the TV remote in his hand.
Worried that someone else might come and disturb Fenris again, Logan could only grit his teeth and endure the discomfort while keeping watch outside the room.
Day and night traded places, and the dark hours passed.
After an entire night, when dawn lit the horizon once more the next morning, the crushing pressure that had hung over Logan finally began to draw back.
"Finally..."
Logan let out a long sigh of relief, only to see Fenris push open the bedroom door and stride out in high spirits.
"That felt amazing!"
He stretched hard, looking completely refreshed.
"Huh? It's not even dark yet?"
Seeing Logan sitting there watching TV with a blank face, and noticing the bright daylight outside the window, Fenris gave a surprised little laugh.
"Logan, do you still have anything to deal with in New York?"
"If not, let's head back now while we can."
"Mm."
A low grunt came from Logan's nose.
He wanted to complain properly, but there was no way he was going to admit he had been so rattled that he had spent the whole night unable to sleep, so all he could do was answer sullenly.
"Logan, what's wrong with you?"
"Nothing."
"Oh. Then let's go."
Fenris, eager to start the return trip, did not notice anything off about Logan at all. After a quick bit of packing, he got ready to leave.
"At around nine o'clock last night, an extremely serious violent incident occurred on the Williamsburg Bridge, leaving several people injured. According to eyewitness testimony in this morning's news, a giant humanoid lizard was reportedly seen on the bridge."
"According to our preliminary investigation, the so-called Lizard Man is pure fabrication. Nothing more than mass imagination."
"At the same time, our masked vigilante Spider-Man was photographed at the scene. Without question, he is the real culprit, and so I have filed for a warrant for his arrest to pursue this so-called righteous defender of justice..."
A short news report on the television suddenly caught both of their attention.
"Oh boy, Peter Parker's about to have more trouble."
Looking at the huge wanted notice on the screen, Fenris could not help grinning.