Chapter 137 ​[Vol. 3] Chapter 17: Talent Revealed

The woman with dreadlocks frowned, searching for a sharp retort. The others in line were glaring at Finn as well.

The middle-aged officer gave him a displeased look. “Level Three, don’t let a little fame go to your head. Keep strutting around like that and you’ll only make an ass of yourself. Your rank doesn’t put you so far above anyone here.”

He deeply disliked the assorted civilians S.H.I.E.L.D. had been recruiting. As a career military officer who valued discipline and authority, he couldn’t understand why S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted a bunch of freaks with nothing to offer beyond their superpowers.

“Cut the chatter,” Finn said coldly. “My time is valuable.”

“John, let’s begin. Mr. Superhero here is in a hurry to save the world.”

The middle-aged officer nodded to his younger colleague, who opened a silver metal case. Inside lay a small, transparent, octagonal stone.

“This is called a Foresight Stone. Hold it in your hand, and it will assess your combat potential. It can glow in seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple. The closer to purple, the greater your potential.”

After explaining, the young officer put on a pair of gloves, picked up the stone, and handed it to the person at the far end of the line. They passed it from one person to the next, the octagonal stone glowing a different color in each hand.

Many produced only red or orange. The young man in the karate gi got green and looked quite pleased with himself. The hippie got cyan, while the pizza delivery guy got yellow.

Suddenly, gasps rose from the group. A dazzling purple light flared, so bright that people could barely keep their eyes open. In the blue-haired girl’s hand, the Foresight Stone shone like a purple lamp.

The middle-aged officer’s face lit up with surprise, and he smiled approvingly. His younger colleague eagerly entered an S on his tablet.

Intrigued, Finn took out his Potential Scanner, aimed it at the pretty girl with sky-blue hair, and pulled the trigger.

Two simple words appeared on the screen along the barrel:

POSITIVE INFINITY.

Joining S.H.I.E.L.D. had been the right choice. He had already found someone with superhuman abilities and infinite potential…

Finn made up his mind. He would make this girl… his maid!

Making her his maid first, then gradually shaping her into a member of the Spacetime Destruction Bureau, would be the most reliable strategy.

After all, he couldn’t casually reveal the existence of the Spacetime Destruction Bureau or the Endless Worlds. A maid bound by a master-servant contract would undoubtedly be the most trustworthy.

The woman with dreadlocks leaned over. “What’s with the toy gun, Firebreather? Is that your service weapon?”

Finn couldn’t be bothered to answer. He put the Potential Scanner back into his storage space.

The Foresight Stone continued down the line. When it reached the woman with dreadlocks, it glowed blue. That was a rare result, second only to the blue-haired girl’s purple.

The middle-aged officer nodded approvingly. Looking smug, the woman shot Finn a deliberate sidelong glance before handing him the stone.

Finn took it. The octagonal stone rested quietly in his palm.

To his surprise, it didn’t turn red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, or purple.

It remained perfectly transparent.

All eyes turned toward him. Even the worst result among the others had been red. If Finn’s stone stayed transparent, that meant… he had no potential at all!

People began whispering among themselves. Quite a few snickered.

Finn was puzzled too, but quickly realized what was wrong. He dispersed a little of the protective Profound Energy around his palm, allowing the stone to read him.

The Foresight Stone lit up red, then orange. Its glow grew brighter and brighter, racing through yellow, green, cyan, and blue before settling on a purple so deep it was almost black.

And it kept getting brighter!

If the stone in the blue-haired girl’s hand had been a purple lamp, the one in Finn’s was now a miniature purple sun. Its light continued to intensify, bathing the entire cavernous room in purple.

Bang!

The Foresight Stone exploded in his hand, sending purple fragments flying.

Why does this thing have the same problem as the Potential Scanner?

Finn shook the purple debris off his hand, silently grumbling.

The Potential Scanner also exploded whenever it tried to scan him. Unlike this stone, though, it didn’t require him to lower his protective Profound Energy first. He had to admit, the Spacetime Destruction Bureau’s creations were far more advanced than S.H.I.E.L.D.’s.

Everyone stood with their mouths wide open. They stared at Finn as though he were both a genius and a monster. Just how terrifying was his potential if the Foresight Stone couldn’t withstand it and exploded?

The woman with dreadlocks shrank back several steps and turned away, afraid Finn might remember her face and come looking for trouble later.

The middle-aged officer recovered from his shock. He took a small breath, then nodded to Finn with a deferential smile.

He bowed slightly and gestured toward the door.

“Finn, Miyuki Otowa, please allow me to take you to Director Fury.”

The three entered the elevator together. Finn stole a glance at the pretty girl beside him, only to discover that she was openly studying him, her lovely eyes wide with curiosity and admiration.

When they reached Nick Fury’s office, Finn immediately spotted the director sitting bolt upright behind a thick pile of documents—slacking off on his phone.

“Lieutenant General Stephen.”

With a practiced motion, Fury placed his phone facedown on the desk, straightened his collar, and rose.

His eye lit up at the sight of Finn. “Beacon, did you get a purple rating too?”

“Director, you should check the security footage from Room 235 on the third basement level,” the officer said with a smile. “He went so purple the stone exploded.”

Fury brought up the footage and covered his mouth in surprise. “Boom! If you hadn’t told me, I’d have thought we were under a terrorist attack.”

After the middle-aged officer left, a beautiful female agent in a skintight leather suit entered the office.

It was Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff.

The muscular Steve Rogers, Captain America himself, arrived at the same time. He carried his signature round vibranium shield, and his tight uniform hugged his firm, rounded backside.

Finn stole a few appreciative looks. Those perfect curves really did deserve the name “America’s ass.” Even he wanted to give it a slap, just to see how it felt.

Smack!

A sharp, fleshy smack rang out. Steve jolted as a hand landed squarely on his backside.

The butt-slapping pervert was none other than the blue-haired Miyuki Otowa. In that instant, she had appeared behind Captain America before anyone—including Finn—could react.

Having landed her sneak attack, Miyuki flashed back to her original spot. She looked up at him with wide, pleading black eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Captain! I’m a fan, and I’ve always wanted to slap your as—Ahem! I mean, I’ve always admired you! I was just so excited to meet you that I couldn’t help myself. I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!”

Good-natured and forgiving, Steve wasn’t about to make an issue of something so minor. Besides, with such a pretty girl apologizing so sweetly, he could hardly bring himself to scold her.

“It’s all right.” He gave a resigned smile and took a small step back. Giving Finn a wary glance, he discreetly guarded his backside.

Finn stopped staring at Steve’s backside, privately resolving to give it a firm slap if he ever got the chance. He had to find out how it felt.

Fury had called Natasha in to use her professional expertise to assess whether Finn and Miyuki were Hydra moles.

Natasha signaled to Fury with a glance that neither seemed to be working for Hydra. Fury nodded slightly, stood, and began.

“You’ve both passed the potential assessment. I’m confident that, if you aren’t already, you will one day become incredibly powerful superheroes. I’ve brought you here because a terrible cosmic crisis is fast approaching.

“No one…” His expression turned grave as he emphasized the words. “No one can afford to sit this out. We won’t just be defending our home here on Earth. We’ll be fighting for every living being in the universe…”

Finn cut him off. “Skip the speech and get to the point. What is this cosmic crisis?”

Fury gave him an awkward but polite smile. He hadn’t expected a newly recruited Level Three agent to talk back to the director on his very first day at S.H.I.E.L.D.

He could only marvel ruefully at how formidable the younger generation was becoming.

“Then I’ll be direct.”

Bracing both hands on his desk, Fury spoke solemnly.

“Thanos is a cosmic emperor who has conquered countless galaxies. To win the favor of Mistress Death, the embodiment of the laws governing death, he plans to gather all six Infinity Stones. Then, with a snap of his fingers, he’ll kill half the life in the universe at random, offering half the souls in the universe to her.

“He already has the Power Stone, the Mind Stone, and the Soul Stone. His next target is the Space Stone, hidden right here on our Earth-1!”