When Coulson brought Gawain to the prison where Obadiah Stane had been held, the sight before them made even an elite agent who had seen his fair share of horrors suck in a sharp breath.
Beyond the security perimeter maintained by the agents stood the prison’s melted front gate.
Behind it, the mangled remains of several guards lay scattered across the floor, their bodies torn apart as though they had been struck by some enormous whip.
The entire scene was horrifyingly bloody.
“There can be no mistake,” Gawain said.
“That scorching heat mixed with an unnatural chill… it carries the unmistakable aura of the Nether Abyss Demons.”
He stepped toward the security line, only for someone to move into his path.
“Hold on, sir. Without authorization from the Director, I can’t allow anyone inside just yet. Nothing personal.”
The man blocking him was Brock Rumlow, Crossbones, a high-ranking HYDRA operative embedded within S.H.I.E.L.D.
For now, however, he was here in his official capacity as commander of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s STRIKE team, securing the crime scene.
Gawain turned toward Coulson.
Coulson immediately stepped forward to smooth things over.
After all, Gawain was looking to him for assistance instead of simply forcing his way through.
That alone showed the knight had no desire to cause unnecessary trouble.
“This isn’t an ordinary prison break anymore. I’m a Level Eight agent, so I have clearance to enter. As for the gentleman with me, the Director has personally authorized him.”
Coulson lowered his voice.
“I’ll buy you a drink sometime and fill you in. You’ll probably hear about it soon enough anyway.”
He grimaced.
“Damn it. Whatever we’ve stepped into this time, it’s a hell of a lot deeper than usual.”
Rumlow nodded and moved aside.
“If the Director authorized it, go ahead. But fair warning, the situation in there is bad.”
His expression hardened.
“I’ve been an agent for years, and I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Clearly, Rumlow and Coulson got along fairly well in private.
Coulson gave him a nod, stepped across the security line, and entered the prison.
Gawain followed close behind.
“Oh my God…”
Every guard and prisoner inside had been torn apart.
The prison corridors reeked of blood mixed with the acrid stench of scorched flesh.
Several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were photographing the scene and collecting samples.
Coulson and the others were shaken, but their training held.
They forced down their fear and continued toward the cell where Obadiah had been confined.
Before long, they reached it.
The iron door was still dripping molten metal.
Clearly, it had been melted by an unimaginable amount of heat.
Inside the cell was an enormous circular crater.
Magma still bubbled within it.
Unlike the cooled fissure left behind near Stark Tower after the demon vanished, this one remained active.
That alone made it far more valuable for research.
On Nick Fury’s orders, however, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s scientists had not yet begun examining the magma pit.
When dealing with something this unknown, Fury clearly preferred gathering more intelligence before deciding how to proceed.
Gawain drew Excalibur Galatine. New chapters come out on g.com first.
A few casual swings reduced what remained of the half-melted cell door to useless scrap.
Then he stepped inside first.
BOOM!
Coulson and several agents followed him.
The instant Coulson crossed the threshold, however, the bubbles inside the magma pit suddenly began swelling at an alarming rate.
Coulson sensed something was wrong and stopped mid-step.
A fraction of a second later—
BOOM!
The magma pit erupted.
Molten rock sprayed in every direction.
Inside such a cramped cell, even the finest agents in the world had nowhere to dodge.
For one surreal instant, Coulson felt as though his entire life flashed before his eyes.
He shut them and waited for the pain.
It never came.
After several seconds, Coulson cautiously opened his eyes.
Gawain was standing in front of him.
The knight had extended his right hand, forming a radiant golden barrier that completely blocked the flying magma.
“Everything that has occurred here will be reported to the King,” Gawain said calmly.
His gaze settled on the churning magma.
“The infiltration of this realm by the Nether Abyss Demons has already begun.”
Then he glanced back at Coulson.
“You would be wise to make preparations of your own.”
With that, Gawain turned and walked out.
Coulson hurried after him.
“Sir Gawain, if you intend to contact King Arthur, you’re welcome to do it through S.H.I.E.L.D.”
Gawain stopped.
“We can provide you with the best room available. Secure, private, and completely confidential.”
Across New York, Evan burst out laughing.
S.H.I.E.L.D. guaranteeing confidentiality?
Coulson’s actually got the nerve to say that with a straight face?
The whole organization’s been infiltrated so badly it might as well be a sieve.
Evan didn’t particularly care, though.
After all, the whole point of this supposed “contact with King Arthur” was to let S.H.I.E.L.D. watch.
So, under Evan’s instructions, Gawain gave a simple answer.
“Very well.”
Just as Coulson and Gawain were preparing to leave, hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Rumlow had clearly heard the explosion and rushed over.
He quickly reached Coulson and immediately asked, “Hey, Coulson. You all right? What the hell happened?”
Coulson gave an awkward chuckle.
“Nothing major. That magma pit inside exploded.”
He gestured at himself.
Then his expression grew more serious.
“I’ve got something more important to discuss with the Director, so I need to get moving.”
Coulson gave Rumlow a nod.
“Good luck, Agent Rumlow.”
“Good luck, Agent Coulson.”
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Before long, Coulson, Gawain, and the accompanying agents arrived at a S.H.I.E.L.D. base.
Gawain requested a private room, while Coulson headed straight for Nick Fury’s office.
“Motherfucker! This is exactly the kind of shit S.H.I.E.L.D. handles!”
Coulson hadn’t even reached the door when Fury’s furious voice came booming through it.
“I don’t give a damn how many losses the military took! You want to drag me before a court-martial? Go ahead and fucking try!”
Apparently, Fury was in the middle of an enthusiastic shouting match with someone high up in the military.
The corner of Coulson’s mouth twitched.
Unfortunately, this really wasn’t the time to stand outside enjoying his boss’s argument.
He gritted his teeth and knocked.
The shouting inside abruptly stopped.
Then came Fury’s irritated voice.
“Come in!”
Coulson entered.
Fury’s expression was already dark on an ordinary day.
Right now, somehow, it looked even darker.
Apparently, he hadn’t gotten enough yelling out of his system.
“Agent Coulson. What’s the situation with our knight?”
“I arranged a conference room for him, Director.”
Coulson paused.
“We also installed listening devices and pinhole cameras inside.”
“Good.”
Fury leaned back.
“In your assessment, what kind of attitude does this Gawain have toward S.H.I.E.L.D.? Toward humanity?”
“Director, I don’t think Gawain’s personal opinion of us is the important part.”
Fury’s eye narrowed slightly.
Coulson continued.
“Based on what we picked up from the surveillance equipment in Stark Tower, Earth’s current situation has already gone beyond anything we can realistically control.”
Fury fell silent.
Of course he knew that.
Knowing something and deciding what to do about it, however, were two very different things.
He was already working toward assembling the Avengers.
If he could convince Gawain to join, even as little more than an honorary member, it would be enormously beneficial to both humanity and S.H.I.E.L.D.
As Fury considered the possibilities, Gawain’s voice suddenly came through the listening equipment.
In reality, Gawain was doing nothing more than speaking to himself.
All he had to do was hold Excalibur Galatine and pretend he was communicating through it.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had absolutely no way to determine whether the conversation was real.