NOVEL NEXT Chapter 327: Blacky Egg
— — — — — —
"Well, that makes things a lot easier. I'll hold off the enemies coming through the portal—close it as soon as you can." Renzo gave a small smile.
"Got it!"
Natasha was already beside the machine with the Mind Scepter. She nodded, then cautiously pushed the scepter toward the energy field surrounding the Tesseract.
There was some resistance, but she managed to break through the shield. Her eyes lit up. "It's working! I'm going to shut it down now. Everyone ready?"
"Do it!" Captain America gave the go-ahead.
Renzo: "Let's wrap this up!"
Tony: "Wait! JARVIS just picked up a nuclear missile inbound—34 degrees east! Damn it, they actually fired it! Those maniacs! Renzo, are you sure you've got this? Should I just redirect the missile into the portal?"
"No need."
Renzo casually shook his head and, right in front of their eyes, vanished in a blink—reappearing next to the missile midair. With a single, seemingly slow but precise tap of his finger—
Poof.
The missile vanished without a trace.
"Sir, the nuke's gone," JARVIS reported immediately.
Tony froze for a second. "Gone? Just like that? Gotta be some kind of spatial ability…"
Even though Renzo didn't have a comms unit, Tony knew he'd hear him anyway.
"So, Renzo, where exactly did you put that thing?"
Everyone was curious now.
...
Right then, Natasha pierced the Tesseract with the scepter, and in an instant, the energy beam shooting into the sky began to fade. The portal shrank rapidly.
"No!!"
"Damn it!"
"Loki, you useless idiot!!"
On the Chitauri mothership, the commander watched the portal close and roared in fury—but it was already too late.
...
Back on Earth, Renzo responded with a smirk, "Obviously, I stored it using spatial manipulation. It's a pretty decent toy, honestly. Perfect for deterrence. I'll be keeping it."
"If anyone pisses me off in the future, I'll just drop it right on their head. Heh."
Tony: "…"
Cap: "…"
Natasha: "Can I have one?"
Thor: "…That's cool but terrifying."
Everyone stared at Renzo, who had said something that terrifying in the most casual, chill tone—and suddenly felt a cold shiver down their spines.
Was this guy serious?!
Was he planning to become a walking nuclear deterrent?
— — —
Meanwhile, on the Helicarrier, both Hill and Nick Fury had heard every word through comms. While they were stunned by Renzo's psychic communication ability, they were also… very quiet.
"…Motherf*****s—! Goddamn it! A bunch of brain-dead fools who've done nothing but screw things up!" Fury cursed furiously in his head. "They basically just handed a nuke over to a superpowered stranger. Great. Just great."
He was starting to feel like Renzo might not be someone so easy to deal with.
"Yep… this is gonna be a headache," Fury muttered internally, rubbing his temple.
---
Back in the air, Tony muttered helplessly, "…You know, that's not a funny joke. That's seriously dangerous. You're not gonna hurt innocent people with that, right?"
Despite the light tone, he was honestly a little uneasy. He still didn't know Renzo all that well.
Judging from his earlier actions, the guy seemed helpful—but was he truly trustworthy?
Renzo chuckled when he saw their reactions. "Relax. I was just messing with you. I'd never hurt innocent people—at least, not intentionally. Honestly, with my power, I could cause damage far beyond a nuclear bomb without breaking a sweat."
"But to avoid any more 'accidents' like this… I'd like the Blacky Egg Director over there to pass along a little warning. If anyone gets any more bright ideas like that again, they'd better think twice. Next time, I'm not promising they'll survive it."
"This time, I'll let it slide. I know it wasn't aimed at me specifically. Heh."
His laugh was light, almost playful—but Fury and the others could feel the threat beneath it, cold and clear.
That was a very direct warning.
And the worst part was… they couldn't even call him out for it.
"..."
"I'll make sure the message gets delivered," Fury said grimly. "And for the record, it's Nick Fury, not 'Blacky Egg.'"
Pfft!
Natasha couldn't help it—she burst out laughing.
Fury: "…"
"Romanoff! Your bonus is canceled this month!" Fury's face twitched with anger.
Was discipline totally out the window now?! What happened to respecting your commanding officer?!
"Hey, come on! That's my hard-earned money!" Natasha immediately protested.
"Oh, don't be so stingy!" Tony grinned and jumped in. "Honestly, I think Renzo nailed it. 'Blacky Egg'—hilarious!"
He was almost mad he hadn't come up with it himself. Renzo might just be a nickname genius.
Even Cap, Hawkeye, and Hill couldn't hold back a laugh.
Let's be real—it really did suit Fury perfectly.
"Tony, you jackass!!" Fury exploded—but there was nothing he could really do.
Meanwhile, Thor tilted his head in confusion. "Wait… what's a 'Blacky Egg'? Was that supposed to be a joke? I don't get it. Is this another Midgardian thing?"
He suddenly remembered how his jokes never landed either—like that time he told one to Cap and the others and got nothing but awkward silence.
"Alright, enough joking around. We've still got some Chitauri stragglers to deal with, right? Let's not waste any more time—rescuing civilians comes first. I'll join you guys shortly."
Nick Fury quickly stepped in to change the subject.
There was no way he'd let this group keep roasting him about the nickname.
"Ahem!" Hill cleared her throat and straightened her expression. The moment passed, and she resumed issuing orders to the Helicarrier crew and nearby S.H.I.E.L.D. units stationed in New York, assigning tasks for cleanup and support.
"Uh… actually, maybe we won't need to," Captain America said, nudging a nearby Chitauri soldier with his shield. The alien slumped to the ground, lifeless. "Looks like they all dropped the moment the portal closed."
"I saw the same thing," Hawkeye nodded.
"Same here," Natasha added.
Tony tapped his chin thoughtfully through his helmet. "Yeah, makes sense. These guys were probably biotech drones—once their connection to the mothership was cut off, they just shut down completely. Figures, the Chitauri seem to be pretty deep into bio-engineering."
He recalled the Leviathans and their bizarre alien aircraft—they were all heavily modified biological creatures, not machines.
Even the Chitauri foot soldiers were outfitted with cybernetic implants and gear.
"Oh?" Nick Fury's brow twitched. "Bio-technology, huh? That's… interesting. Well, if the threat's neutralized, then let's focus on rescue operations. Once the support teams arrive, you're all clear to stand down. Good work, everyone."
His tone shifted slightly as he continued, "Especially you, Mr. Renzo. In a few days, I'd like to make a formal visit on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D. Would that be alright with you?"
Fury wanted to lock that down now while they still had contact. A powerhouse like Renzo—who came out of nowhere and wielded abilities beyond their understanding—was not someone Fury could afford to ignore.
He had to meet him face-to-face and at least get a better read on the guy before he could sleep easy.
"Sure, whatever," Renzo replied casually. "I'll probably be settling down somewhere in Manhattan, so I'm sure you'll be able to find me. But don't bring a bunch of people with you."
He figured it wouldn't hurt to at least have some form of communication with S.H.I.E.L.D.—it might help prevent unnecessary headaches.
Of course, it would also bring new ones.
He already knew Hydra would come knocking eventually.
But hey, the moment he stepped up to fight the alien invasion and exposed his power publicly, there was no avoiding it. All of this was already within his expectations—and tolerance.
"Still, better not try to mess with me," Renzo thought to himself. "Otherwise, I might just brainwash a few of them and turn them into puppets."
He hated trouble.
Hydra was bound to make a move sooner or later, but he already had a plan for that.
As for exposing Hydra's existence to Nick Fury? Please.
To him, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra weren't all that different. Let them eat each other alive—it wasn't his problem.
"Then I'll take you up on that offer," Nick Fury replied, visibly relieved.
At least Renzo was willing to talk. That was a good starting point.
"You're settling in Manhattan?" Tony chimed in. "Nice! You found a place yet? Need some cash? Want me to hook you up with a sweet penthouse?"
"Oh? Tony, you're feeling generous today," Natasha raised an eyebrow, amused.
"No kidding," Cap nodded as he headed toward a nearby rooftop.
"Hey, hey, I've always been generous!" Tony huffed. "I just think it'd be cool to be friends with Renzo. And if he happens to teach me a bit of magic along the way… well, that's a win-win, right?"
Shameless as ever.
"Ah, so that's what it's about," Natasha smirked.
"Yeah, you can forget about magic, at least for now," Renzo said, now casually flashing back over to the Stark Tower. "It's not that simple. Earth's energy environment isn't really suited for the kind of magic systems I use. Not yet, anyway."
...
Meanwhile, Renzo's real body—still hidden from the others—was hard at work creating a fake Space Stone.
The shell was already finished. Now he was infusing it with energy from the real Space Stone.
Thanks to his previous experience replicating the Mind Stone, things were going a lot more smoothly this time.
And besides, according to how the story was supposed to play out, Thor would still need the Space Stone later to help restore the Bifrost Bridge.
So this time, Renzo was making a replica with a much larger capacity—one that could store at least half of the Space Stone's power.
Luckily, everyone was still distracted, chatting and recovering after the battle. Natasha had already closed the portal and wasn't paying attention to the Space Stone, which made Renzo's operation go unnoticed.
Smooth and clean—just how he liked it.
.
.
.