Kyle Virex
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The Burden of Eternity #5
🕑 Added 2025-07-05 14:30:02 +0000 UTCCoulson knocked on the office door and waited for the gruff voice from inside.
"Come in."
The door opened to reveal Director Nicholas Fury's office. Floor-to-ceiling windows dominated one wall, showing the city sprawling below. A massive desk sat in the center of the room, covered with secure tablets and what must be classified documents. Fury himself stood behind the desk, his single eye fixed on Harry with an intensity that had broken stronger men than most.
Three people flanked Fury. A woman in a sharp business suit with brown hair in an elegant twist stood to his left. Her posture screamed government executive, but her electromagnetic signature suggested combat training. To Fury's right, a man in tactical gear kept his hand near his weapon. His breathing pattern indicated military training, probably special forces.
The third person sat in a chair near the window. Older, bald, with the comfortable confidence of someone who dealt with politicians and generals daily. His implants were subtle but present, probably communication devices and monitoring equipment.
"Mr. Potter," Fury said. "Please, have a seat."
Harry walked to the chair facing Fury's desk and sat down. Coulson took position near the door, while the backup agents remained in the hallway.
"Director Fury," Harry said. "Thank you for agreeing to meet."
"Thank you for not disappearing into the shadows."
Fury sat down behind his desk and leaned back in his chair. His single eye never left Harry's face, studying every expression and micro-reaction.
"Agent Coulson tells me you have information about the artifact we recovered."
"I have information about cosmic singularities," Harry corrected. "The artifact is just one piece of a larger puzzle."
"Cosmic singularities," the woman repeated. "That's quite a claim."
Harry turned to look at her. "Deputy Director Maria Hill. Former Air Force, current SHIELD operations commander. You've been briefed on enhanced individuals, but you've never encountered someone who could do what I demonstrated to Agent Coulson."
Hill's expression didn't change, but her pulse quickened slightly. "How do you know my background?"
"Same way I know that Agent Sitwell over there has been feeding information to his real employers for the past six months."
The man in tactical gear spun toward the person by the window. "What?"
Sitwell stood up quickly. "That's completely false. Director, I've served SHIELD faithfully for—"
"Agent Sitwell," Harry interrupted. "Jasper Sitwell. Born in Wisconsin, recruited by SHIELD out of graduate school. Currently reporting to people who want to see SHIELD destroyed from within."
Fury's eye narrowed. "That's a serious accusation."
"It's a serious problem," Harry replied. "Agent Sitwell has been copying classified files to encrypted drives. He has one in his jacket pocket right now."
"I don't have to listen to this," Sitwell said. "Director, this man is clearly trying to—"
Harry gestured slightly with his left hand. Sitwell's jacket pocket tore open, and a small device flew out and landed on Fury's desk.
"Encrypted drive," Harry said. "Containing files about enhanced individuals, artifact recovery operations, and Director Fury's personal security protocols."
Fury picked up the device and examined it. "Agent Sitwell, you want to explain this?"
"I've never seen that before in my life."
Harry stood up and walked to Sitwell. "Agent Sitwell, you're lying. Your pulse is elevated, your breathing is shallow, and your electromagnetic signature shows the stress patterns of deception."
"You can't possibly know that."
"I can sense your bioelectric field. Every heartbeat, every breath, every nervous system response. You're terrified because you know I'm telling the truth."
Bullshitting with fancy words sure was fun. He’d spent a while learning the terminology that secret agents and intellectuals would be easily impressed by, and the results spoke for themselves.
He might take liberties with casual Legilimency, but he always made sure not to delve too deeply into someone else’s mind unless absolutely necessary. This situation warranted a deep dive, but the man was practically broadcasting his thoughts in his panic.
Fury pressed a button on his desk. "Security, I need Agent Sitwell escorted to a holding cell. Full containment protocols."
Two agents entered the office immediately and moved toward Sitwell. He looked around the room desperately, his confidence completely shattered.
"Director, this is a mistake. You can't trust him. He's not human."
"Neither are a lot of people I work with," Fury replied. "The difference is they don't lie to me about it."
The agents escorted Sitwell out of the office. Harry returned to his chair and sat down, completely calm.
"Well," Hill said. "That was unexpected."
"Was it?" Harry asked. "Director Fury, you've been dealing with infiltration for years. Someone with my capabilities would identify security threats as a matter of basic intelligence gathering."
Fury leaned forward in his chair. "Mr. Potter, let's talk about your capabilities."
"What would you like to know?"
"Everything."
Harry smiled. "That would take considerably longer than we have."
"Then give me the important parts."
"Enhanced sensory awareness. Real-time intelligence processing. The ability to manipulate fundamental forces of reality."
"Fundamental forces," the tactical agent repeated. "Like what?"
"Gravity. Electromagnetic fields. Molecular bonds. Atomic structures."
Hill crossed her arms. "You're claiming you can manipulate atoms."
"I'm claiming I understand how atoms work, and I can influence their behavior under specific circumstances."
Truthful enough. Magic worked like that on fundamental level.
"Demonstrate," Fury said.
Harry looked around the office. Papers, electronic devices, furniture, people. Everything made of atoms, everything connected by electromagnetic forces.
"Agent Martinez," Harry said, addressing the tactical agent. "You're carrying a sidearm loaded with fifteen rounds. The firing pin has been tampered with. If you tried to use that weapon, it would explode in your hand."
Martinez drew his weapon and checked the chamber. "How could you possibly know that?"
"I can sense the metal composition of your weapon. The firing pin has been filed down and treated with a chemical that makes it brittle. It's sabotage."
"That's impossible."
Harry gestured, and the weapon disassembled itself in Martinez's hands. Individual components floated in the air, rotating slowly so everyone could see them.
"Firing pin," Harry said, highlighting one component. "Filed down to approximately sixty percent of normal thickness. Chemical residue consistent with industrial solvent."
Fury stood up and walked around his desk to examine the floating weapon parts. "Someone sabotaged Agent Martinez's weapon."
"Someone with access to SHIELD armory facilities," Harry agreed. "Someone who wanted Agent Martinez to be defenseless or injured when he needed his weapon most."
The weapon components reassembled themselves and settled back into Martinez's hands. He stared at the fully functional weapon with a mixture of amazement and concern.
"How many other weapons have been sabotaged?" Hill asked.
"I'd need to scan your entire armory to give you an accurate count," Harry replied. "But based on what I can sense from here, at least a dozen sidearms and several rifles."
Sitwell had mentally shouted more than enough information for him to bullshit with.
Fury returned to his chair and pressed another button on his desk. "Armory security, I need a full inspection of all weapons. Check for tampering, chemical treatment, and mechanical sabotage."
"Yes, sir."
Fury ended the call and stared at Harry. "You identified security threats, sabotaged equipment, and demonstrated capabilities that shouldn't exist."
"And we haven't even discussed the cosmic singularity yet."
"Right. The artifact."
Harry stood up and walked to the window. "Director, SHIELD recovered one of six artifacts that can reshape reality. You're treating it like an energy source or a weapon. It's neither."
"Then what is it?"
"It's a fragment of creation itself. A concentrated point of cosmic force that exists outside normal space-time."
Hill moved closer to the desk. "That sounds like science fiction."
"Deputy Director Hill, three months ago you would have said the same thing about a man who can disassemble weapons with his mind."
"Fair point."
Harry turned back to face the room. "The cosmic singularity is responding to your tests because it's learning. Every electromagnetic field you apply, every energy reading you take, every experiment you conduct teaches it more about this reality."
"And that's bad because?" Fury asked.
"Because when it finishes learning, it will start changing things."
"What kind of things?"
"Physical laws. Fundamental constants. The basic rules that govern how matter and energy interact."
Martinez holstered his weapon. "You're saying it could change physics."
"I'm saying it will change physics if you continue testing it without understanding what you're dealing with."
Fury leaned back in his chair. "Mr. Potter, you're asking me to halt scientific research based on claims about cosmic forces that sound like fantasy novels."
"Director Fury, I'm asking you to consider the possibility that your organization has encountered something beyond current scientific understanding."
"And you understand it because?"
Harry walked back to his chair but didn't sit down. "Because I've studied cosmic forces that your science hasn't discovered yet."
"Where did you study them?"
"That's complicated."
"Uncomplicate it."
Harry looked at each person in the room. Fury, determined and suspicious. Hill, calculating and cautious. Martinez, confused but alert. All of them trying to figure out whether he was an asset or a threat.
"Director, some knowledge comes from study. Some comes from experience. Some comes from sources that are difficult to explain."
"Try me."
"I've had contact with cosmic forces before. I understand how they work, what they want, and what happens when they're mishandled."
Fury stood up and walked around his desk again. This time he stopped directly in front of Harry, close enough that most people would feel intimidated.
"Mr. Potter, I've been running intelligence operations for twenty years. I've dealt with enhanced individuals, alien technology, and threats that could end civilization. I don't intimidate easily."
"I'm not trying to intimidate you, Director."
"Then what are you trying to do?"
"I'm trying to save your planet."
Fury stared at him for a long moment. "My planet."
"Your planet," Harry confirmed. "Because I understand what happens when cosmic singularities are activated by people who don't know what they're doing."
"And what happens?"
"Reality breaks."
Hill stepped forward. "Mr. Potter, you're making extraordinary claims without providing extraordinary evidence."
"Deputy Director, what evidence would you accept?"
"Proof that you understand cosmic forces better than our scientists."
Harry smiled. "Agent Martinez, please step away from the wall."
Martinez looked confused but moved toward the center of the room. Harry focused his attention on the wall where Martinez had been standing.
The wall dissolved.
Not exploded, not shattered, not broken. Dissolved, the molecular bonds simply ceasing to exist. The wall became a perfectly clean opening that showed the corridor beyond.
"Molecular manipulation," Harry said calmly. "I convinced the atoms in that section of wall to stop being connected to each other."
"Jesus Christ," Martinez whispered.
Harry gestured again, and the wall reformed. Atoms reassembled themselves into their original configuration, rebuilding the molecular bonds that held the structure together.
"And molecular reconstruction," he added.
A basic vanishing charm followed by a Finite. But they didn’t need to know that. They seemed more impressed by the technical jargon. Who was he to deny them their pleasure?
Fury walked to where the wall had been and examined it closely. No cracks, no seams, no indication that anything had happened.
"How?" Hill asked.
Harry spoke in his most instructional voice, "I understand how matter works at the quantum level. Atoms are mostly empty space held together by electromagnetic forces. If you know how to influence those forces, you can change how matter behaves."
Fury returned to his desk and sat down heavily. "Mr. Potter, what you just demonstrated should be impossible."
"Should be impossible using current scientific understanding," Harry corrected. "But cosmic forces operate outside current scientific understanding."
"And the singularity we recovered?"
"Contains enough cosmic force to reshape this entire planet. If someone activates it without understanding what they're doing, Earth becomes a very different place."
"Different how?"
"Different in ways that make human life impossible."
Hill crossed her arms again. "You're talking about extinction-level events."
"I'm talking about reality-level events. Extinction implies that life ends. Reality-level events mean that the basic rules of existence change."
Martinez sat down in a chair near the window. "This is insane."
"Agent Martinez, three hours ago you thought enhanced individuals were people who could run faster or lift more weight. Now you've seen someone dissolve and rebuild matter at the molecular level. Your definition of insane might need updating."
Fury opened one of the secure tablets on his desk and accessed a classified file. "Mr. Potter, SHIELD has been monitoring enhanced individuals for decades. We've encountered people with remarkable abilities, but nothing on the scale you're describing."
"Because no one you've encountered understands cosmic forces."
"And you do."
"I do."
"Prove it."
Harry walked to the window and looked out at the city. "Director, do you really want me to prove my understanding of cosmic forces in the middle of a populated area?"
"What are you suggesting?"
"I'm suggesting that demonstrating cosmic-level abilities in downtown New York might have consequences you're not prepared for."
Hill moved to the window beside Harry. "What kind of consequences?"
"The kind that show up on satellite images and require cover stories that strain credibility."
Fury closed the tablet and stood up. "Mr. Potter, I need to understand what SHIELD is dealing with. If you have cosmic-level abilities, I need to know the scope and limits of those abilities."
"Director, that's reasonable. But I need to know that SHIELD understands the difference between demonstration and destruction."
"Explain."
Harry turned away from the window. "I can demonstrate cosmic-level abilities in controlled ways. I can show you manipulation of fundamental forces, reality alteration on small scales, and energy manipulation that exceeds current technology."
"That sounds like what we need."
"But if you want to see the full scope of cosmic-level abilities, that demonstration would require an uninhabited area and emergency protocols that SHIELD doesn't currently have."
Martinez leaned forward in his chair. "How uninhabited?"
"Several hundred square miles. Minimum."
"Jesus."
Fury walked back to his desk and pressed another button. "Dr. Selvig, report to my office immediately."
"Yes, sir."
Fury ended the call and looked at Harry. "Dr. Erik Selvig is our leading expert on the artifact. I want him to hear your assessment."
"That's a good idea."
"While we're waiting, let's discuss partnership terms."
Hill returned to her position beside Fury's desk.
"What kind of partnership are you proposing?" Harry asked calmly.
"SHIELD gets access to knowledge about cosmic forces, threat assessment for cosmic-level events, and consultation on enhanced individuals who might have cosmic connections."
"In exchange for?"
"Access to SHIELD's intelligence network, resources for monitoring cosmic-level threats, and cooperation on preventing extinction-level events."
Harry leaned back in his chair. "That sounds like SHIELD provides resources while I provide knowledge."
"Mr. Potter,” Hill began, “from our discussions so far, it seems clear that your knowledge is the only thing standing between SHIELD and accidentally ending the world."
"That's quite a bargaining position," Harry said, amused.
"It's an accurate assessment of the situation."
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in," Fury called.
Dr. Selvig entered the office, looking tired and slightly confused. He was a man in his sixties with graying hair and given how distracted he looked, it seemed he was one of those who spent more time thinking about theoretical physics than practical concerns.
"Director, you wanted to see me?"
"Dr. Selvig, meet Mr. Harry Potter. He has information about the artifact you've been studying."
Selvig looked at Harry with interest. "Information about the energy source?"
"Information about the cosmic singularity," Harry corrected.
"Cosmic singularity?"
Harry walked over to Selvig and extended his hand. "Dr. Selvig, you've been running electromagnetic field tests on an object that's been responding by increasing its energy output."
Selvig shook Harry's hand, still looking confused. "Yes, that's correct. The energy signature keeps changing every time we run a new test."
"Because it's learning from your tests."
"Learning? That's not possible. It's an inanimate object."
Harry smiled. "Dr. Selvig, is it possible that your assumptions about the nature of the object might be incorrect?"
"I suppose, but the readings we're getting suggest a contained energy source of unknown composition."
"The readings you're getting suggest a fragment of creation itself that exists partially outside normal space-time."
Selvig stared at him. "That's... that's not scientifically possible."
"Dr. Selvig, six months ago would you have said that an object containing unlimited energy was scientifically possible?"
"Well, no, but—"
"But you adjusted your understanding of what's scientifically possible when you encountered evidence that contradicted your previous assumptions."
"Yes."
"I'm asking you to consider adjusting your understanding again."
Fury gestured for Selvig to sit down. "Dr. Selvig, Mr. Potter claims the artifact is one of six cosmic singularities that can reshape reality."
"Six of them?"
Harry nodded. "Six fragments of creation, each one capable of manipulating fundamental forces. The one you're studying controls space and energy. The others control time, reality, power, mind, and soul."
"That sounds like mythology."
"Dr. Selvig, mythology is often advanced science that primitive cultures couldn't understand."
Selvig sat down and rubbed his temples. "Mr. Potter, what you're describing would require energy levels that exceed anything we can measure."
"What energy levels are you measuring from the artifact?"
"Theoretically unlimited. The readings suggest that the object could power entire cities indefinitely."
"And does that sound like normal physics to you?"
"No, it doesn't."
Harry walked back to the window. "Dr. Selvig, the cosmic singularity you're studying contains enough energy to power entire galaxies. Cities are a rounding error."
"Galaxies?"
"Cosmic forces operate on cosmic scales."
Fury leaned forward in his chair. "Mr. Potter, if the artifact contains galaxy-level energy, why isn't it more dangerous?"
"Because it's currently in a dormant state. Your tests are gradually awakening it."
"Awakening it to do what?"
"To fulfill its purpose."
"Which is?"
Harry turned back to face the room. "To give someone absolute control over space and energy."
Hill crossed her arms. "Someone like you?"
"Someone like anyone who understands how to activate and control cosmic forces."
"And you understand how to do that?"
Harry looked at each person in the room again. Fury, still suspicious but increasingly concerned. Hill, calculating the implications of everything she'd heard. Martinez, overwhelmed but trying to process the information. Selvig, struggling to reconcile cosmic forces with scientific understanding.
"Deputy Director Hill, I understand cosmic forces well enough to prevent them from being misused."
"That's not an answer to my question."
"It's the only answer I'm going to give until I know that SHIELD can be trusted with cosmic-level capabilities."
Fury stood up and walked to the window. "Mr. Potter, trust is a two-way street."
"Agreed."
"You're asking me to trust someone who can dissolve walls, identify security threats, and claims to understand cosmic forces that could reshape reality."
"I'm asking you to trust someone who wants to prevent SHIELD from accidentally ending the world."
"And I'm asking you to trust an organization that deals with threats most people can't imagine."
Harry joined Fury at the window. "Director, I've been providing intelligence to SHIELD for over a week without asking for anything in return. I warned you about cosmic-level threats before revealing my capabilities. I identified security breaches and sabotaged equipment. What more do you need to establish good faith?"
"I need to know who I'm dealing with."
"You're dealing with someone who understands cosmic forces and wants to use that understanding to protect this planet."
"That's what you want me to believe."
"Director Fury, that's a bold strategy. Almost as bold as hiding a Skrull refugee in your mother's house in '95. How is Goose, by the way?"
Fury froze.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. Hill's hand moved toward her weapon. Martinez stood up quickly. Selvig looked confused by the sudden tension.
"What did you just say?" Fury asked quietly.
Harry smiled. "I said Goose. Orange cat, approximately four years old in 1995. Not actually a cat, of course. Flerken. Dimensional pocket creature that your mother adopted after the Kree-Skrull conflict resolution."
"How could you possibly know that?"
"Because I can sense things that exist outside normal space-time. Flerken exist partially in pocket dimensions. Skrull exist partially in electromagnetic spectrums that humans can't perceive. When you've been around cosmic forces long enough, you develop awareness of things that don't fit normal reality."
Fury's hand moved toward his weapon. "Mr. Potter, that information is classified at levels that don't officially exist."
"Director, I'm not threatening your family or your secrets. I'm establishing that my knowledge extends beyond what SHIELD has in its files."
"You've been investigating me."
"I've been reading the threads of fate that connect to cosmic events. Your encounter with Kree and Skrull forces creates connections to cosmic-level activities."
Hill drew her weapon. "Mr. Potter, you're going to explain how you know about classified alien encounters."
Harry looked at her calmly. "Deputy Director Hill, I'd put that weapon away."
"I don't think so."
Harry gestured subtly with his right hand. Agent Martinez slumped over and fell to the floor, looking dead.
"Agent Martinez!" Hill spun toward the fallen agent.
"He's fine," Harry said calmly. "He'll be fine in about thirty seconds."
"What did you do to him?"
"I stopped his heart. Temporarily."
Fury drew his weapon and pointed it at Harry. "Explain. Now."
"Agent Martinez was about to activate a poison gas dispenser. He's been a deep-cover Hydra agent for eight months. The device is sewn into the lining of his tactical vest."
Selvig pressed himself against the wall. "This is insane."
Harry knelt beside Martinez and placed his hand on the agent's chest. "Martinez was going to release the gas in approximately four minutes. The chemical compound would have killed everyone in this room within two minutes of exposure."
"You're lying," Hill said.
Harry's hand glowed with soft blue light. Martinez's chest rose and fell as his heart restarted. Color returned to his face, and his eyes opened.
"What... what happened?" Martinez gasped.
"You died," Harry said. "Briefly."
Martinez tried to sit up. "I don't understand."
Harry helped him to a sitting position and then reached inside Martinez's tactical vest. He pulled out a small device that looked like a standard communication device but had been modified with chemical canisters.
"Poison gas dispenser," Harry said, setting the device on Fury's desk. "Hydra technology. Designed to look like standard SHIELD equipment."
Fury examined the device without touching it. "How long has he been compromised?"
"Eight months. Since his assignment to your personal security detail."
Martinez stared at the device. "I don't remember... I don't remember anything about that."
"Memory modification," Harry explained. "Hydra implanted false memories and programmed behavioral triggers. You were going to activate the device when you heard a specific phrase."
"What phrase?"
"'The age of miracles is upon us.'"
Hill lowered her weapon. "That's from a classified briefing document."
"A briefing document that Martinez had access to in his security role."
Fury holstered his weapon and pressed the emergency button on his desk. "Medical team to my office immediately. Hazmat protocols."
Harry stood up and walked back to the window. "Director, Agent Martinez isn't responsible for Hydra's programming. He's a victim, not a traitor."
"How do I know you didn't just kill him and make up a story about Hydra?"
"Because if I wanted to kill people in this room, I wouldn't need to make up stories about it."
The medical team arrived and began examining Martinez. They confirmed that his vital signs were normal but recommended full medical evaluation and psychological assessment.
"Director," the lead medic said. "Agent Martinez appears to have suffered cardiac arrest, but there's no indication of what caused it."
"Temporary cardiac arrest," Harry corrected. "Induced by bioelectric manipulation. No permanent damage."
The medic stared at Harry. "You stopped his heart?"
"And restarted it."
"That's not medically possible."
"It's not medically possible using current medical technology."
Fury dismissed the medical team and told them to take Martinez for full evaluation. When the room was empty except for Fury, Hill, Selvig, and Harry, the director sat down heavily in his chair.
"Mr. Potter, in the past fifteen minutes you've identified a Hydra infiltrator, demonstrated the ability to kill and revive people, and revealed knowledge of classified operations that happened before you were born."
"And prevented everyone in this room from dying of poison gas exposure."
Hill sat down and rubbed her temples. "This is insane."
"Deputy Director, this is cosmic-level awareness applied to intelligence and security operations."
Fury stared at Harry for a long moment. "Who... what are you?"
Harry smiled. "Director Fury, I'm someone who understands cosmic forces and wants to use that understanding to protect this planet."
"That's what you keep saying."
"Because that's the truth."
"The truth about someone who can read classified information from thin air, manipulate matter at the molecular level, and kill people with a gesture."
"The truth about someone who prevented SHIELD from accidentally ending the world."
Selvig spoke up from his position by the wall. "Mr. Potter, if you understand cosmic forces, can you help us study the artifact safely?"
"Dr. Selvig, I can help you understand what the artifact is and how to prevent it from reshaping reality."
"And in exchange?"
Harry looked at Fury. "In exchange, SHIELD provides resources and cooperation for monitoring cosmic-level threats and anything serious enough to endanger people here on Earth."
Fury leaned back in his chair. "Mr. Potter, you've just demonstrated that you can kill SHIELD agents, access classified information, and manipulate fundamental forces of reality."
"Yes."
"And you want me to give you access to SHIELD resources."
"I want you to recognize that cosmic-level threats require cosmic-level capabilities."
"What if I say no?"
Harry walked to the door and paused with his hand on the handle. "Then I disappear, and SHIELD continues stumbling around with forces they don't understand until something goes catastrophically wrong."
"That sounds like a threat."
"Director Fury, it's a prediction based on your organization's current approach to cosmic-level artifacts," Harry repeated.
Fury stood up and walked around his desk. "Mr. Potter, what guarantee do I have that you won't use cosmic-level capabilities against SHIELD?"
"What guarantee do I have that SHIELD won't use cosmic-level artifacts to accidentally end the world?"
"Fair point."
Harry opened the door and looked back at the room. "Director, I'll give you time to consider partnership terms. But I'd recommend making a decision quickly."
With that said, Harry walked out of the office, a small smirk on his face. He couldn’t remember the last time he had so much fun, and most of it had been nothing but bullshit in big words.
He stifled a snort as he glanced behind him where Fury, Hill, and Selvig stared after him in stunned silence.
Comments
Mage
Elite af, but that cyclical argument got repetitive lol. Def needed for the plot but I’m like fcckkkk
Marcus Marrero
Fucking legend!
