That night, after the exhaustion of the day pulled the rest of the house into sleep, Max slipped out of his bed.
He ventured away from the Rambeau property, finding an isolated clearing in the Louisiana swamps.
He stood in the center of the muddy field and waited.
He expected the time cops.
He knew the Time Variance Authority kidnapped time criminals, and they often struck when their targets were alone.
He had instructed Alpha to monitor his status.
If a glowing orange doorway appeared, or if the Sorcerer Supreme opened a mystic portal to arrest him, Alpha was to summon the Shadowkhan army and pull Max back into the Shadow Dimension.
Hours passed.
The swamp remained quiet.
No minutemen stepped from the shadows.
No sorcerers arrived to demand answers.
Max looked up at the stars.
He deduced that the Random Omnipotent Being responsible for his reincarnation had a hand in this, shielding his presence from the cosmic monitors.
He turned and walked back home.
The next morning brought goodbyes.
Carol stood in the driveway, handing out modified communication pagers to Maria, Monica, Max, and Nick Fury. New chapters come out on g.com first.
She promised to return if they ever needed her.
With the devices distributed, she boarded the Kree drop ship with Talos and his people, ascending into the sky to drop the Skrull refugees at Mar-Vell’s orbiting laboratory.
Nick Fury departed to file his reports with S.H.I.E.L.D.
Peace and quiet finally returned to the Rambeau house.
Back at headquarters, Fury spent his time navigating debriefs and medical procedures for his eye.
The alien encounter solidified a thought that had been brewing in his mind.
Earth needed a response team for the threats coming from the sky.
Sitting at his desk, he typed up a proposal for the Protector Initiative.
He paused, his eye catching a photograph resting on his desk.
It was a picture of Carol Danvers stepping into her jet.
Stenciled on the side of the fuselage was her pilot callsign: Avenger.
Fury deleted the word Protector and typed Avengers. Get faster updates on g.com.
He reached for a pen, then stopped.
Resting in the center of his desk was a folded piece of white paper.
It had not been there a minute ago.
Fury kept his hand near his sidearm and scanned the locked room.
Seeing nothing, he picked up the paper and unfolded it.
The handwritten message read: “Nicholas Joseph Fury you did a great job not talking about us to others, for that you have gained our leader’s goodwill.As per his instructions you will be unconditionally saved if you were ever in a mortal danger.
Sincerely the Shadow Garden”.
Fury set the paper down, a sense of helplessness washing over him.
His secure office had been breached without a single alarm sounding.
He leaned back in his chair, exhaling a long breath.
He now had a shadowy organization monitoring and protecting him around the clock, on top of gaining Captain Marvel’s powerful friendship.
At night, Max sat at the dinner table with his family.
A voice spoke in his mind.
Alpha delivered her report.
“Master, in the town of Mount Vernon, Ohio, we found the Russian Rowley family as per your instructions”.