Days after the incident in the jungle, the atmosphere at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters was one of intense focus. Nick Fury sat in his office, surrounded by holographic screens displaying data from across the globe. One showed satellite images of a scorched clearing in South America—a perfectly circular patch of charred earth, as if someone had deliberately erased all traces. Fury, hands clasped behind his back, stared at the image with an unreadable expression.
"What do we have here?" he muttered under his breath, then turned to Maria Hill, who had just entered with a tablet in hand.
"Field report, sir," she said, handing him the device. "The team's back from the jungle. They found nothing but ash. No bodies, no debris, not even traces of DNA. Whatever was there was completely obliterated."
Fury raised an eyebrow, swiping through the tablet's screen.
"Clean work. Too clean," he replied. "Something that can burn everything in a fifty-meter radius and leave no trace isn't your average phenomenon. You think it's Skrulls?"
Maria shook her head.
"No sign of their energy signatures. But…" She hesitated. "If it was a Skrull, someone knew how to cover it up. This wasn't random."
Fury sighed, leaning against his desk.
"Skrulls always complicate things. But something tells me this isn't their doing. Not this time."
He looked at Maria. "Where's Barton?"
"Hawkeye's in the field," she answered. "He's canvassing nearby villages, talking to locals. If anyone saw anything unusual, he'll let us know."
Fury nodded, but his eyes drifted back to the holographic image of the scorched clearing.
"I'm curious what went down there," he said quietly, more to himself than to Maria. "And who's powerful enough to make that kind of mess and then vanish without a trace."
Maria glanced at him, catching a hint of unease in his voice.
"You think it's a new player? Mutant? Inhuman? Something else?"
Fury gave a half-smile, devoid of humor.
"Something else. And I've got a feeling we'll hear about it again. Send Barton back for another sweep. And tell the team to check every energy anomaly within a thousand kilometers. If this 'something' shows up again, I want to be the first to know."
Maria nodded and left, leaving Fury alone with his thoughts. He stood for a moment, staring at the holographic image. In a world full of mutants, aliens, and gods, a new powerful entity was both a threat and an opportunity. The question was: whose side would it be on?