"WTF??? Penguin Logistics?"
Nick Fury's expression twisted as if he had just taken a sip of the most bitter herbal drink on Earth.
"Kagura, are you telling me that a mere delivery company somehow retrieved the Tesseract for us?"
"This makes no sense! It defies all logic!"
"Ahem..."
The puppet version of Kagura cleared her throat and casually swiped her fingers across the holographic interface, sending a set of intelligence files to the ship's main display.
"The intel comes from Mr. Bruce Wayne."
"As per his report, with the assistance of a mysterious organization, 'Penguin Logistics' successfully intercepted and reclaimed the Tesseract before it could be transferred elsewhere."
"A mysterious organization???"
Fury's face twisted further, as if he had just downed an entire packet of flaming hot ramen seasoning.
"Which organization?"
"Well, if it's mysterious, that means we don't know, right?" Kagura shrugged helplessly.
"Oh, right—Mr. Wayne just sent another message."
"He's requesting our personnel to head to New York to recover the Tesseract."
"It's ready for pickup."
Even though retrieving the Tesseract was undoubtedly a good thing, Fury couldn't shake a growing sense of unease.
After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. was supposed to be the most secretive and powerful organization in the world.
And now, out of nowhere, an unknown entity had swooped in, completed their mission while they were still bickering, and even used a courier service to handle the handoff of a power source capable of annihilating the planet?!
Nick Fury felt his entire worldview crack.
Forget S.H.I.E.L.D.'s pride—if such an organization existed under their very noses without their knowledge, it meant there were serious gaps in their intelligence network.
This was unacceptable!
'No. This must be investigated.'
Nick Fury clenched his fists, making a silent vow.
There can only be one all-powerful organization in this world, and that's S.H.I.E.L.D.!
———————————————————————
To be fair, even without Natasha leaking information, Fury had already heard whispers about Griffin.
During the Whiplash incident and the Thor incident, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence reports had occasionally mentioned the name "Griffin."
But like other organizations under their watch—such as Spear Bureau—Fury had assumed that Griffin was just a subsidiary security firm under Rhode Island Industries.
After all, whenever the name "Griffin" appeared, "Kagura Hitomi" was never far behind.
To Fury, the idea that Griffin was responsible for saving the world and reclaiming the Tesseract was laughable—especially considering that Kagura was currently sitting right in front of him, seemingly unbothered.
A security firm handling an interstellar-level crisis?
What's next? Mall cops preventing an alien invasion?
"Alright, relay my orders—adjust course. Destination: New York."
Fury exhaled, feeling his stress levels rise. "One way or another, if we can secure the Tesseract, this planetary-level threat will finally be neutralized."
'If they can secure it?'
'Seriously, Fury? Do you have to jinx it like that?'
Sitting off to the side, Kagura's puppet frowned slightly, silently roasting Fury's ominous phrasing.
But then again, what did she care?
She was just an adorable and charming puppet, after all.
If anyone had to worry about jinxing things, it was her real body!
With that thought, Puppet Kagura nonchalantly pulled out her phone and started a new game.
'Slacking off is the best!'
'As long as the Avengers are here to keep an eye on Loki, and my real body is out there running around protecting the world.'
'I can just sit back and enjoy my mission: stay aboard S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier and make sure everyone believes Kagura never left.'
Best. Assignment. Ever.
"What's going on? Why did we change course? We haven't even pinpointed the Tesseract's location yet."
At that moment, Steve Rogers, who had been resting nearby, walked into the bridge. "Did something happen?"
"No," Fury replied, shaking his head.
"Someone else found the Tesseract before us."
"It's currently being transported to New York by a courier company. Looks like we won't need you this time, Captain."
"That's good news," Steve nodded, completely unfazed that someone had beaten them to the punch.
"Is the transport secure? Any risk of an ambush?"
"Good point."
Fury activated his earpiece. "Stark, can you head out ahead and provide escort? Thor should stay here in case Loki pulls something."
"Already on it." Tony Stark's voice crackled over the comms. "Oh, and sorry—I might have eavesdropped on your ship's audio feed a little."
As he spoke, a golden-red streak of light shot past the Helicarrier.
The Mark 6 Iron Man armor streaked through the sky, sending sonic booms rippling through the air as it raced toward New York.
In truth, Tony Stark had already been informed about Kagura's retrieval operation.
He just didn't know she had personally participated in it as "Flashblade."
As far as he was concerned, the cute girl had been gaming aboard the Helicarrier the whole time.
Before launching the operation, Kagura had briefed Stark, trusting him as a member of Griffin's security division.
Given Stark's personality and understanding of Griffin, there was no risk of him leaking any information.
And in case things went sideways, having Iron Man on standby was always a good idea.
For now, the world still knew very little about the Griffin Security Organization.
The only two people who truly understood its nature were Kagura and, perhaps, the Ancient One.
Those who were aware of Griffin's existence but only had a rough understanding of its role included Natasha, Bucky, Thor, Stark, and Banner.
During the high-speed highway battle earlier, Kagura had been meticulous in jamming all nearby communications with large-scale electromagnetic interference.
On one hand, she needed to prevent Loki from realizing the Tesseract had been reclaimed.
On the other hand, secrecy was vital when operating under Griffin's name—the fewer people who knew, the better.
As a result, even if the battle was reported later, it would likely be described as vague, sensationalized headlines like "Mysterious Figures Intercept Convoy," "Unknown Forces Clash on the Highway," or "Penguin Logistics—Who Hates Them So Much? Your Package Was Just Destroyed on the Freeway."
Ultimately, with Griffin's operation a success, everything was moving in the right direction.
Under Iron Man's escort, Penguin Logistics safely transported the Tesseract to Central Park in New York.
Shortly afterward, the rest of the Avengers arrived in a Quinjet, bringing along Loki—who was still tightly restrained.
Loki.
The Tesseract.
The Mind Stone.
Hawkeye.
Everything was now in place.
In theory, nothing else should go wrong.
...Right?
But in the distance, the wings of a butterfly fluttered.
The real crisis was only just beginning...