5. The Damned World
The alley behind the bar was dark, dark enough to conceal all manner of evil.
The stench of blood hung in the air, like a permanent fixture. Alex knew that this place was where the bar's gang dealt with their enemies. However, it was also a good place to talk. At least no one would disturb them. Apart from the rats feasting on the dead, there were no other living creatures in this alley.
"I need some supplies and info. " Alex said directly, wasting no time.
"Haha, I like your straightforwardness. Tell me what you need, and I'll give you the best price," Nick Fury said, lighting a cigarette.
"Eight barrels of gasoline, two shotguns and submachine guns, two thousand rounds of ammo each, and information about the other Avengers."
Nick Fury's expression remained unchanged until he heard the word "Avengers." His face stiffened, and he stared intently at Alex, his cigarette holding hand trembled slightly. The atmosphere grew tense, the air seemed to thicken, with a faint metallic taste mingling in it.
After a moment, Nick Fury forced a dry laugh and pointed a finger at Alex. "It looks like you've done your homework on me. But you're not here for me. So what's your objective?"
"It has nothing to do with you. I'll pay you handsomely."
"Haha, handsomely? In this damned world, do you think I don't know the value of money? Everything is over. The whole world is doomed."
Alex's words seemed to touch a nerve deep within Nick Fury. He burst into loud laughter, his whole body shaking. "Charles, that freak, used his damn abilities to control all the senators. He doesn't understand anything. He's just an obsessed madman. Look at this land beneath our feet. The so-called American dream? It's all bullshit! The Avengers failed, and we failed too. No one will survive this calamity, only those mutant freaks will continue to scrape by."
"Sir, calm down."
"Calm down? We killed the Captain with a Patriot missile!" Nick Fury roared, his voice low, like a wounded beast. He had no other way to show his fangs to his enemies,but to howl.
"I said, you better calm down." Alex pulled out a pistol from his coat.
Staring at the dark muzzle, Nick Fury fell silent. The surroundings were so quiet that only Nick Fury's rough breathing could be heard, like that of an old, broken man.
After a pause, Nick Fury finally spoke. "I don't know what you're planning but I can help you. I can give you all the information you need and the weapons too. This world can't get any worse."
With that, he took out a key. "This is to my safe house in the suburbs. It has everything you need."
"What about the Avengers' information?" Alex didn't take the key but continued to ask.
"I haven't seen the Captain or Stark in a long time, not until I heard of their deaths." Nick Fury leaned against the wall and slowly sat down. "Unlike the others in the Avengers, my relationship with the Captain was the deepest. He taught me how to be a soldier."
"The Howling Commandos?" Pietro interjected.
Nick Fury looked up at Pietro and nodded. "Yes, the Captain chose me out of many and changed me. We were the key to victory in that war. We faced countless life-and-death situations together. Sometimes, we even had to eat the flesh of men to survive."
"You ate human flesh?"
"Yeah, the Captain taught me the ways of the world, all for the sake of victory."
Alex tightened his grip on the gun. It seemed like this world really wasn't worth saving. There was no justice, no evil, just a bunch of lunatics. President X was one, and so were the Avengers.
"What I want to know is, besides mutants, are there any other supernatural forces in this world? People, items, even blood sacrifices requiring thousands of lives. Anything." Alex asked the question he most wanted to understand.
Nick Fury laughed. "Haha, you're a lunatic too. Just like that woman who claimed she killed her producer with 'magic.'"
"You just need to answer my question."
"Don't you understand? All that crap about Thor's cult or Strange's magic is just a bunch of crap made by lunatics who couldn't survive and tried to deceive the world. They ended up deceiving themselves. Understand? In this world, the only thing you can trust is the gun in your hand."
Hearing Nick Fury's words, Alex's heart grew heavier. It seemed there really were no supernatural elements in this world. No Asgard, no Kamar-Taj.
Without these places, there was no need to search for supernatural objects. Perhaps this world didn't even have the Infinity Stones, let alone the Ultimate Nullifier or the Cosmic Cube.
"Tell me, Nick, how did you end up like this? I remember seeing your name on the wanted list. So, you fought against President X too."
At this, Nick Fury lowered his head, his once burly frame now seemed haggard.
"No, I'm just a failure. President X is unbeatable. You don't understand, and you won't understand. When you face him, he will turn your brain to mush, making you endure hellish pain. All your secrets will be exposed to him. Your resistance is nothing more than an ant's struggle."
Nick Fury hugged his head, his eye bloodshot and his body trembled uncontrollably.
"That's it?" It was hard to imagine that a darkened Professor X was so formidable that made Nick Fury this fearful. The President X of this world was weaker compared to other universes.
"His ability should be telepathy, right? As a mutant, I don't believe he has no weaknesses. Look at other mutants, they all have some flaws in their abilities. Like that guy who turned himself into a statue. Can President X's abilities be so perfect without any flaws?"
Nick Fury remained silent for a while, seemingly deep in thought. He rubbed his hands together and then spoke.
"Not exactly. I remember that he wasn't like this at first. Later, I heard he absorbed too many memories, which gave him multiple personalities, turning him into a monster. Sometimes he's polite, sometimes he curses in anger, and some people even saw him naked, driving his wheelchair down the street."
"I see." Alex nodded thoughtfully. "So where is he now? He hasn't shown up since the Avengers were wiped out. Where could he be?"
"I don't know. He's always been secretive." Nick Fury shivered, shaking his head.
Seeing this, Alex sighed.
"Alright, thanks for your help, Nick."
"What about my..." Nick Fury looked up, about to say something, but he froze. Alex was pointing the pistol straight at his forehead.
Without any hesitation, Alex pulled the trigger. The muffled gunshot was quickly swallowed by the darkness, unnoticed by anyone, as if nothing had happened.
The result was just, another corpse in the alley.
....
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6. The Next Stop
7. The White Queen
8. Already Dead.
9. Still Alive.
10. Madness.