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  Erwin Smith stepped into the sleek, silent elevator, his expression as unreadable as ever. The reflective walls of the elevator captured the ster of his jaw, the slight narrowing of his eyes as he mentally prepared himself for what y ahead. This was his first time being summoo the top floor of SHIELD’s t New York headquarters—a sign that his reputation had indeed reached the ears of those in the highest echelons.

  The elevator hummed softly as it asded, a stark trast to the tension tightening in Erwin’s chest. He’d been with SHIELD for just over a year, yet his rise through the ranks had been anything but ordinary. He wasn’t the type to boast about his achievements, but he knew his record spoke for itself. His most notable success so far had been dismantling a heinous human experimentati, a mission that still haunted his nights. The leader, Harold Givens, had met his end at the hands of an assassi by Nero, not the painful punishment Erwin wished upon the bastard, but the quickest oill, the mission was sidered a success, and it had clearly caught the attention of Nick Fury.

  As the elevator doors slid open with a quiet hiss, Erwin stepped into the spacious corridor, the walls lined with uated yet elegant decorations—SHIELD’s way of reminding everyohat power and sophisticatio hand in hand here. He adjusted the colr of his uniform, the fabric crisp under his fingers, and took a steadying breath before walking towards the rge double doors at the end of the hallway.

  The doors opened before he could knock, revealing the expansive office of Nick Fury. Erwin was greeted by the sight of the man himself standing by the window, one haing on the sill as he gazed out at the city below. Fury’s presence was anding, his posture as rigid as his reputation suggested.

  “Erwin Smith,” Fury said, his voice carrying the weight of authority. He didn’t turn around immediately, instead allowing the sileo stretch for a moment. Erwin took the opportunity to study the room—a spainated by sleek, modern lines and the occasional nod to SHIELD’s long history. No personal touches, nothing that hi the man behind the title.

  “Yes, sir,” Erwin responded, stepping further into the room. He kept his posture straight, his hands resting calmly at his sides, though his mind was anything but rexed. Fury had summoned him here for a reason, and Erwin inteo find out what that was.

  Fury finally turo face him, his one eye sharp and assessing as it took in every detail of Erwin’s appearance. “You’ve made quite the name for yourself,” Fury said, his tone unreadable. “Not many people rise through the ranks as quickly as you have.”

  Erwi Fury’s gaze evenly. “I’ve had the opportunity to prove myself, sir. I’ve simply done what was necessary.”

  Fury’s lips twitched in what might have been the ghost of a smile, but it was gone before Erwin could be sure. “Necessary,” Fury echoed, his voice dropping slightly as he moved away from the window, cirg the room with a measured pace. “That’s a word we use a lot around here. Tell me, Smith, how do you define ‘necessary’?”

  Erwin didn’t hesitate. “Whatever it takes to plete the mission and protect the i, sir.”

  Fury nodded slowly, seemingly satisfied with the answer. He stopped by his desk, leaning against it casually, though his posture was anything but rexed. “You’ve done good work, Smith. That mission with Givens—you uncovered things we didn’t even ked. And you kept a cool head through it all.”

  “There was a lot at stake,” Erwin replied, his voice steady. “I couldn’t afford to lose focus.”

  “Exactly,” Fury said, pointing a fi him as if to emphasize the point. “Focus is what separates the good from the great in this line of work. And you, Smith, have shown you’re more than capable of handling the pressure.”

  Erwin stood silent, his fa impassive mask as Fury’s words echoed in the room. He had faced Titans in his past life—massive, monstrous beings that devoured everything in their path. Pressure? He k intimately, had walked hand-in-hand with it through battles that would have broken lesser men. This world, with all its strange phenomena and hidden dangers, had yet to show him something that could truly shake him. But Erwin was no fool. He was well aware that this universe harbored entities far beyond his uanding, such as the Flerken—as Nero had expio him—lounging zily in the er of Fury’s office, its i appearance hiding the deadly creature beh.

  Even knowing what that cat truly was, Erwi his cool. But the atmosphere in the room shifted abruptly. The warmth in Fury’s demeanor vanished, repced by a cold, almost suffog pressure that pressed down on Erwin. Fury’s gaze turned sharp, his one eye narrowing as he leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping to a dangerous tone.

  “You sort of appeared out of nowhere, Erwin.”

  Erwin didn’t react, his expression carefully trolled as Fury tinued.

  “I track your credentials—every bit of it checks out, from your elementary school diploma to your st missio. On paper, everything about you is fwless. But physically, it’s as if you materialized out of thin air.”

  Fury’s words hung in the air, a clear challenge, but Erwin showed no sign of . He had anticipated this moment, had known that a man as sharp as Nick Fury wouldn’t be easily fooled. Erwi Fury’s gaze head-on, his voice calm when he finally spoke. “I lived a reclusive life, sir. I just retly left my hometown after my mother passed away.”

  Fury didn’t look away, his scrutiny as relentless as ever. “It seems so. But in my line of work, I’ve learo trust what I see, and what I don’t see. You, Smith—you’re an anomaly. And anomalies make people like me uneasy.”

  Erwin allowed a small, almost imperceptible nod. As one of Nero's summons, his identity was rock solid—from his birth certificate to his credentials, everything was genuine and verifiable in any database. But even with Nero's system, memories weren’t created in people’s minds. "In this line of work, instincts are crucial, Director. I wouldn’t suggest you ighem, especially if they involve me. But I assure you, I have nothing to hide."

  Fury’s gaze remained fixed on Erwin, his expression unreadable. "You’re from Wyoming, right?"

  "Yes, sir. Born and raised in Laramie," Erwin replied evenly.

  "And you attended Laramie High School?"

  "That’s correct," Erwin firmed, his toeady.

  Fury’s eyes narrowed slightly. "I hear you were a football star—quarterback?"

  Erwin shook his head subtly. "No, sir. I pyed soccer, not football."

  Fury didn’t miss a beat. "Went to the Uy of Wyoming on a schorship, then?"

  "No schorship, sir. I worked part-time to pay for my tuition," Erwin corrected smoothly.

  Fury’s questions came faster, eae delivered with precision. "Majored in histraduated top of your css?"

  "Majored in history, but I graduated in the middle of the pack."

  "And no military service after graduation?"

  "None, sir."

  Fury’s eye gleamed with somethiween i and suspi. "Spent a few years abroad before joining SHIELD, right? Europe, I believe?"

  "No, Director. I stayed iates until I joined SHIELD," Erwin corrected calmly.

  Fury’s expression didn’t ge, but the iy in his gaze greer. "And you never had any tact with the military? No ROTo National Guard?"

  "That’s correct, sir. My focus was on my studies and work."

  The questions tinued in rapid succession, eae probing a different aspect of Erwin’s fabricated history, but Erwin hahem with the same calm precision he brought to every mission.

  "Your mother, she was a schoolteacher in Laramie, wasn’t she?"

  "She was an atant."

  "And your father?"

  "He passed away when I was young, sir."

  Fury’s gaze didn’t waver. "Worked as a rancher?"

  "Factory worker."

  Fury leaned back slightly, a subtle shift in his posture that didn’t go unnoticed. "No siblings?"

  "An only child."

  The room fell into a brief silence as Fury let the st question hang in the air. Erwin remaiill, his gaze steady and unyielding.

  Fury crossed his arms, his tourning almost versational. "And your decision to join SHIELD? Spur of the moment, or something you’d pnned for a while?"

  "Something I’d sidered for years," Erwin replied, his voice measured. "I wao tribute in a meaningful way."

  Fury nodded, but the weight of his scrutiny hadn’t lessened. "You’ve been effective, no doubt about that. But effective doesn’t mean trustworthy."

  "I uand your s, Director," Erwin said, his tone respectful yet firm. "But I assure you, my loyalty is with SHIELD and the mission."

  Fury’s gaze bore into Erwin, searg for any sign of deception. "Loyalty’s a funny thing, Smith. Some people wear it on their sleeves, others keep it close to the chest. Where do you stand?"

  Erwin didn’t hesitate. "I believe in a over words, Direy loyalty is in what I do, not what I say."

  Fury leaned back slightly, his eyes never leaving Erwin’s. "How did you hear about SHIELD then? We’re ly a household name."

  Erwin had expected this question. Nero had prepared him well. "1995," he began, his voice steady, "I was just a reckless teenager back then, hiking in the mountains outside Laramie with my girlfriend. We were deep into the woods when we came across something… unnatural."

  Fury’s expression remained unreadable, but his i was clearly piqued. Erwin tinued, "It was this… creature, unlike anything I’d ever seen before. At first, we thought it was a bear, but it moved too quickly, and its eyes… They weren’t normal."

  Erwin paused, recalling the story he had rehearsed. "It attacked us, faster than I could react. My girlfriend ran, but I tried to fend it off. It didn’t take long before I realized I was in way over my head. That’s when a showed up, seemingly out of nowhere. He took the creature down like it was nothing. I was hurt, a us out of there, saved our lives."

  Fury’s gaze sharpened as Erwin reted the details. "The agent said he was with SHIELD. Told me to keep quiet about what I saw, said the world wasn’t ready for what was really out there. I didn’t believe him at first, thought maybe he was just some kind of gover spook, but I never fot what he did that day. When I was older and started to look into SHIELD, I found traces—just enough to know it was real. That’s ushed me to join."

  Fury didn’t respond immediately, his expression thoughtful as he sidered Erwin’s words. The sileretched, but Erwin remained calm, waiting. He knew Fury would check the story, and he was fident that the records Nero had set up would hold up under scrutiny.

  Finally, Fury turned away, moving to his desk where a secure terminal awaited. Erwin watched as the director’s fingers moved swiftly across the keys, his one eye flig over the s as he accessed SHIELD’s database. The room was silent except for the faint hum of the puter and the occasional tap of keys.

  After a few moments, Fury gnced back at Erwin, his expression inscrutable. "Looks like there’s a record of that i. An uified creature, ralized by one of ents in 1995. Your name’s in the report."

  Erwin nodded ohat’s the o’s what made me realize there was more to the world than what most people see. SHIELD was the only anization dealing with those kinds of threats. I wao be part of that."

  Fury didn’t reply immediately, his gaze pierg as he tio assess Erwin. Finally, he spoke, his tone measured. "That’s a hell of a story, Smith. And it checks out. But let me be clear—if I find out there’s more to you than what you’re letting on, we’re going to have a problem."

  Erwi his gaze without fling. "Uood, Direy only agenda is to protect the world from threats like the one I entered."

  Fury studied him for another long moment before nodding. "Good. Because we’ve got plenty of those threats, and not enough people who hahem." He paused, then added, "One more thing—if you ever e across something like that again, y it directly to me. No exceptions."

  "Of course, sir," Erwin replied, his tone respectful but firm. "I’m here to do the job, whatever it takes."

  Fury finally seemed satisfied, leaning ba his chair. The tension in the room eased slightly, though the director’s scrutiny never fully rexed. "All right, Smith. Wele to the real SHIELD. We’re not just fighting wars—we’re keeping the world from tearing itself apart. Make sure you’re ready for that."

  Erwin nodded, uanding the gravity of the words. "I won’t let you down, Director."

  Fury tossed a badge and a standard-issue SHIELD sidearm onto the table, the metal king softly as they nded. "You’re Level 6 now," he said, his tone firm and no-nonsense. "You’ll be w with Level 8 Agent Phil Coulson. He’ll fill you in on the Avengers Initiative and your assig."

  Erwin stepped forward, pig up the badge and gun with a practiced ease. He examihe badge briefly—a simple pieetal and pstic, yet it symbolized his adva within SHIELD, his acceptao the inner ws of the anization. The gun was standard, nothing remarkable, but it was a tool he knew well. He holstered it with an almost automatic motion.

  "Uood," Erwin responded, his voice steady. There was no need for further words. The weight of his new responsibilities settled on him, but he felt ation, no uainty. This was what he had been preparing for.

  Fury watched him for a moment longer, his single eye still sharp and dising. "You’re dismissed, Smith," he said finally, his tone indig that the meeting was over.

  Erwin nodded ourning on his heel and heading for the door. He made his way to the designated meeting point where Coulson would be waiting. The area was quieter, away from the main flow of traffid Erreciated the momentary calm. It gave him time to ter himself, to focus on what was i.

  A few mier, Coulson appeared, his expression calm. He greeted Erwin with a brief nod. "Agent Smith," Coulson said, extending a hand. "I’ve been looking forward t with you."

  Erwin shook his hand, noting the firm grip and the steady gaze that met his. "Likewise, Agent Coulson."

  Coulson’s demeanor rofessional, but there was a hint of curiosity in his eyes as he studied Erwin. "We’ve got a lot to cover. The Avengers Initiative is a top priority. How much you know about the initiative?"

  Erwin lied effortlessly, "Nothing."

  Coulson gave a slight nod, his expressioral. "Good. Easier to start with a ste." He began walking, and Erwin fell into step beside him. The corridor was mostly empty, their footsteps eg softly against the polished floors.

  "The Avengers Initiative is Fury’s brainchild," Coulson began, his toter-of-fact. "He’s been pning to assemble a team of extraordinary individuals—people with abilities that go beyond what we’re used to dealing with. The idea is t them together, to have a unit ready to respond to global threats that ventional forces ’t handle."

  Erwi his face impassive, abs the information without rea. "And you believe these individuals work together effectively?"

  Coulson smiled slightly, a hint of dry humor in his eyes. "That’s the hope. But getting people like them to py nice isly easy. They’re powerful, and they know it. But they’re also our best shot at keeping the world safe from things most people ’t even imagine."

  Erwin nodded, filing away the details. "What’s my role in this?"

  Coulson paused for a moment, as if sidering how much to reveal. "You’ll be liaising with them. Helping them adjust t as part of a team, providing tactical support, and when necessary, taking the lead oaiions. Fury values your strategid and your ability to stay calm under pressure."

  Erwin g Coulson, his expression carefully ral. "And you? What’s your role in all this?"

  Coulson shrugged, a small smile tugging at the ers of his mouth. "I’m the one who does the legwork—recruiting, gathering intel, making sure everything runs smoothly. I’ve been with SHIELD for a while, so I know the ropes. But make no mistake, we’re all in this together. You, me, Fury, the team—we’re all w towards the same goal."

  They tinued walking, the sileween them fortable, each lost in their own thoughts. Erreciated the direess of Coulson’s approach; there was no unnecessary fluff, just the facts.

  As they neared a secure briefing room, Coulson paused and turo face Erwin. "I won’t lie to you, Smith. This is going to be tough. The people you’ll be dealing with—they’re not like anyone you’ve met before. They have their own agendas, their own ways of doing things. But if you earrust, if you show them that you’re someohey rely on, you’ll be a key part of something bigger than all of us."

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