Chapter 84 - Ostriches
In a matter of minutes, Nick stood before six screens, anticipating the commencement of the meeting. Various thoughts filled his mind. No, he wasn't concerned about how the security council would handle the situation, especially considering that of the original eight members, six were still alive. Gideon Malik and Alexander Pierce were in the building that day, known to be the most aggressive in the council. Now, his worry shifted towards deciding the next course of action. Tony's explicit threat regarding the Skrulls lingered in his mind, understanding that somehow the Skrulls had angered both the Avengers and the so-called wizards. However, he hesitated to relinquish the technological advancements brought by his collaboration with the Skrulls...
Nick's contemplations were interrupted by mournful tones emanating from one of the screens.
"What updates have you received from Stark and Steve Rogers, Nick? Have you dispatched troops to apprehend this Asmodeus?"
From the first seconds, one council member aggressively interrogated Fury.
Crucially, aside from Nick, none of the attendees considered it impolite; they deemed nothing more important than capturing someone who could threaten the most powerful organization in the world single-handedly.
Listening to the barrage of questions from the council, Nick shook his head and said, "I'm afraid you won't like my answer. We have no information on these so-called wizards."
"Then what the hell are you doing!? Your Avengers, let them capture this madman! He dared to destroy the Security Council's base in Washington, what if he attacks civilians tomorrow!?"
Upon hearing this, Nick Fury, with a smirk on his face, responded, "Oh, so now the Security Council is concerned about civilians? I didn't notice that when you launched a nuclear missile at New York... Odd, must have slipped my attention."
"Fury! Don't forget who you are! Just as they put you in this position, they can remove you from it!"
"Don't get too heated, comrade advisor. I think you should hear something."
Saying this, Fury played the recording Jarvis made when Tony and Asmodeus were having a drink.
After some time,
"How dare he! He threatens our nations! Why haven't your Avengers apprehended him and put him in custody!?"
"Oh? Do you think they're capable of that? You surprise me; I didn't know the team I assembled held such a high place in your hearts."
"Enough joking, Nick! I command you to arrest all the Avengers and the so-called wizards. After capturing them, we'll determine who is guilty and who is not!"
"I don't think so, Madam Advisor."
"Do you dare refuse to obey the council's orders?"
"Me? No, absolutely not. I just believe that we can't afford to offend the Avengers right now."
"I believe the U.S. military and others can handle a bunch of freaks."
"It's not about that. Look at this."
This time, Fury played the surveillance footage from the aircraft carrier.
After some time watching the video, the advisors started to pale. Previous aggression and rage were replaced by fear and awe.
"Is this true?"
One of the advisors asked with a trembling voice.
"I'm afraid so, Advisor Rai. I contacted the U.S. Army and asked them to conduct a test launch of a nuclear missile into the sea. Within a minute, they reported a malfunction, unable to obtain the access code..."
Silence filled the room.
"Leave them be; let's think about our military. No need to unnecessarily lose soldiers."
Nick nodded and exited the conference room.
These politicians behave like pitiful ostriches, burying their heads in the sand at the sight of danger as their first choice. Not that Nick was against it; it actually helped him resolve a potential crisis today.
With the council matters settled, Nick Fury contentedly went off to have a cup of coffee.
Meanwhile, as Fury dealt with the Security Council issue, Asmodeus and Tony stood at the foot of a mountain in the Nagarjun Forest Reserve. This place was relatively close to Kamar-Taj and quite desolate.
The newly formed Watchmen decided to establish their base inside this mountain. However, they needed Asmodeus and the ancient one's assistance. They planned to cast a significant number of anti-Muggle spells first. At least to create an underground base invisible to all, they had to build it first. Without the base coordinates, Tony couldn't send robots to start the construction. The problem with this spell was not that none of the Watchem had reached any level of proficiency in magical arts. No, the issue was that Tony was occupied with solving Stark Industries' problems, Steve and Barton were relocating Barton's family to Nepal, Banner was learning anger control from the ancient one, Thor was finally pushing Asgardian magic basics, and Natasha was reading books on healing magic but hadn't started practicing any magic for real yet.
In short, until recently, if Asmodeus had cast the Muggle Banishment spell, the team wouldn't have been able to enter their own base until fully mastering magic. However, the problem was resolved when Nico exited the library and encountered mystical arts masters in training. Noticing rings on their hands, he came up with something to shield Muggles from the effects of the Muggle Banishment spell.
Nicholas created a couple of test rings containing a blend of life elixir and mana. The mana remained stable as it was linked to the life elixir, and the elixir in the rings would last for about a month – according to Nicholas' calculations.
"Well, shall we begin?"
"Let's. I'll step back; I'm afraid that as soon as you start using widespread magic, my reactor will shut down, and I'll die. It would be the most absurd death I could think of."
As Asmodeus nodded, seeing Tony gradually stepping back, he began to burn a cave into the rock. Step by step, Asmodeus felt that the cave was long enough; now it was time to dig deeper. Redirecting his flames downward, Asmodeus continued to burn the outlines of the future Watchmen base.
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Please donate your stones to me. And I apologise for the short chapters today. I've been so busy at university today....