31 The News of the Serum

“So what you’re saying is, you’ve awakened the power to foresee the future?” In a secluded chamber, Nick Fury looked at Jos with a startled expression, seeking confirmation.

Jos’s plan was to take advantage of the world’s familiarity with superpowers—he simply invented an ability for himself and used it as a pretext to reveal certain tidbits about the future. Having already demonstrated more than a few supernatural feats, Jos found his words met with no suspicion from Nick Fury.

“I’ve already told you,” Jos reminded Nick Fury with a languid gaze, “it happens at random times, under random circumstances, and I catch a random glimpse of some random slice of the random future.” This finally calmed the man, who had begun to look a touch feverish with excitement.

Clearly, the power to predict the future was no trivial matter, so Jos was careful not to come across as too formidable. Besides, the timeline of this world had already diverged wildly from what he knew. Even if he recited the plots of all the movies from memory, his predictions would likely miss the mark. If accuracy was out of reach, he might as well lean into that and make it unassailable!

“I still don’t quite get it. What’s the actual effect like?” Nick Fury frowned in contemplation. To his mind, precognition was vanishingly rare, but its impact was self-evidently immense. Yet Jos’s repeated insistence on randomness—five times in a row—left him unable to decide whether this power was formidable or feeble.

“Hm, seems like his other abilities give off the same impression. Maybe he’s not bluffing after all.” Nick Fury recalled his experiences since meeting Jos and silently nodded to himself, now entirely convinced of Jos’s honesty.

Jos scratched his head at the question, then gestured with his hand as he explained, “It’s like… maybe today, while I’m taking a dump, I suddenly foresee you, years from now, eating excrement… Wait, that doesn’t seem quite right. Anyway, the point is, I can’t control when it happens, nor can I control what or whom I see in the future.”

At Jos’s words, Nick Fury’s face darkened like the bottom of a pot—although, to be fair, that was his natural complexion—but his expression was certainly unpleasant.

“If that’s how it works, your ability isn’t much use at all. Did you come to me just to say this?” Whether it was the distasteful reference to excrement and curry, or simply a lack of interest in Jos’s new skill, Nick Fury was clearly ready to move on.

“No, what I have to say next is the real reason I’m here.” Jos smiled with a touch of pride (he found this trick surprisingly handy!) and drew Nick Fury’s full attention before continuing. “Although much of the information I get from this precognition is useless, over the past while, I’ve foreseen three world-ending catastrophes!”

“Three disasters? And all of them apocalyptic? Are you sure?” Jos’s revelation sobered Nick Fury at once.

“Inwardly, Jos muttered, ‘I’ve watched the Avengers trilogy more times than I can count,’ but outwardly, he kept a grave expression and nodded heavily.

“The first crisis involves a so-called god of mischief, Loki, leading the Frost Giants in an invasion of Earth. Even with the Avengers’ full might, half the city is reduced to ruins.

“The second: a robot calling itself Ultron launches a war between machines and humanity. Though ultimately defeated, the conflict reshapes the map itself.

“And as for the third crisis… unfortunately, the Avengers fail.”

Having heard Jos describe two crises already resolved by the Avengers, Nick Fury couldn’t help but betray some pride. After all, the very reason he’d assembled the Avengers was to face such threats, and Jos’s glimpse of the future seemed only to vindicate his decision.

But when Jos recounted the third disaster, Nick Fury’s composure shattered. Weren’t these all stories of heroes struggling through adversity to save the world? Why did the ending suddenly turn out like this?

Jos watched Nick Fury’s expression with secret delight. Suffering, aren’t you? Shocked? That’s exactly how I looked back in the theater!

“This… this third crisis, what exactly happens?” Nick Fury, worthy of his title as director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and one of the world’s best agents, quickly regained his composure after the initial shock.

But Jos didn’t intend to soften the blow to Fury’s already battered spirit. He spoke the truth without reservation. “It’s a crisis that sweeps across the entire universe. A being known as Thanos will wipe out half of all life in existence.”

“There’s actually something like that…” Seeing Nick Fury so shaken, Jos felt his warning had hit home—and now it was time to get to the real point. After all, he was here today to push Nick Fury into gathering more Avengers as quickly as possible, not just to scare him—or at least, not only that.

“You don’t need to be too alarmed. In those futures, I saw our allies as well: Thor, son of a god who wields lightning; the Hulk, who alone can stand against entire armies; Spider-Man, Ant-Man, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and many more.”

As Jos painted an impassioned picture of the Avengers’ future lineup, Nick Fury’s expression only grew more peculiar.

“Those people you mentioned… I know a little about some of them,” Nick Fury mused, stroking his chin. “The Hulk vanished into a temporal wormhole after his battle with the Abomination—he hasn’t been seen since. There is someone like Spider-Man, but after investigation, it seems he’s still wavering on questions of right and wrong, so we haven’t approached him yet.”

After a pause, Nick Fury continued, “A few of the other names sound familiar… but I get your point. Maybe it’s time to add some new members to the Avengers.”

Even without Jos urging him, Nick Fury would certainly have taken these steps eventually. But a bit of crisis always helps speed things along.

Satisfied, Jos nodded, then suddenly remembered something and looked at Nick Fury again. “By the way, you said you had something to discuss with me. What was it?”

Nick Fury hadn’t forgotten. Even in familiar surroundings, he glanced cautiously around before lowering his voice. “It’s about that vial of serum Jason had. We’ve traced its origin.”

Jos’s heart skipped a beat at Fury’s wariness. “Wait, don’t tell me it really came from… there?”

Nick Fury took a deep breath and nodded slowly. “That’s right. It’s U.S. military property. I suspect remnants of Hydra have infiltrated the military.”