Time: 2011 August. Location: New York City, US.
After a few more hours of intense reading, Frei, or Felix now, felt movements from Phil Coulson, which prompted his attention away from the fantasy novel he was reading about some hobbits and a ring. Phil stood up from his seat and greeted at the library entrance.
Nick Fury entered the building with his black outfit and an eye patch which prompted a lot of unwanted attention. However, the man did not seem to care. Fury walked to the table with a suitcase in hand, briefly flashing his library card to Carl from earlier with hasty feet. To his own amusement, Felix thought of his meeting with the Ancient One. 'Do all bald people in this world hold untold powers?' An interesting thought but one he knew that was wrong.
Standing next to Felix now, Fury looked at the alien with half frustration and half amusement. "You said you would be back." He commented with a sarcastic tone.
"I did not specify when, Nick Fury," Felix replied.
"To us, you are an alien lifeform. I need to know where you are and what you are doing. For all we know, you could be the start of an invading force from outer space." Fury commented.
"There is no invading force. It will be just me." Felix's attention returned to the book. 'He had no idea how closed to home he was,' he thought.
Fury sat down on the chair opposite of Felix and continued, "How can we know that with you refusing to share details about your planet or your race?"
"Do not play me for a fool, Nick Fury. I am sure you had collected enough specimens to benefit your own species." He glared at Fury now, warning him against going any further with this questioning.
"Fine!" Fury returned, placing the black suitcase on the table on a disgruntled slam.
A gray-haired woman behind him shushed at Fury, which prompted the SHIELD Director to turn his head towards her with stupid bewilderment.
"Sir, this is still a library," Coulson added in, which gained Fury's confused eyes on himself.
Amused at the entire situation, Felix asked, "What's in the box?"
(A/N: WHAT'S IN THE BOX? WHAT'S IN THE BOXXXXXXX? NO NO NO WHAT'S IN THE FREAKING BOX? Did y'all catch that?)
"More documents for Felix Wright, where you lived, where you were born, even your damn high school and university diplomas, the key to your own apartment in New York, Debit card and credit card for a bank account with enough to live your life for the next three years. Also a laptop and a phone with my number and Coulson's number on it. He will be your point of contact if you need anything." Fury replied.
"What's the catch?" Felix asked. They would never provide these things for free. There is always a catch.
"I see you are getting very fluent with our language. You come to work for us. I'm putting together a team of remarkable individuals to fight the battles that normal humans never could." Fury answered his questions, now with less attitude.
An enticing offer, however, Felix had been a soldier for the most part of his life. Even with the rebellion, all he did was kill and train others to kill. He would not fall into such a trap ever again. Especially now that there was a possibility of freedom. Felix had looked at the star charts written in the Earthling's books. Despite their lack of knowledge, he knew some fundamental differences between his world and this one. The universe did not match up. But again, he could not fully trust in their limited understanding of the galaxy.
Felix's own code of conduct did not allow him to take these "gifts" for free. He thought about it for a while and came to a conclusion, "One time. I'll help you one time, and we're done."
"One time? ONE TIME?" Fury's voice rising by the second.
The old woman from before shushed the director once again. The one-eyed man turned around and said, "Mind your own damn business," to the woman, which startled her to grab her own belongings and switch to another table.
"Do you know what I'm risking here to let your ass stay on this planet? One time is not enough." Fury got closer to Felix and whispered.
"As I said before, you've collected enough to benefit yourself. One time or nothing. My deal is on the table." Felix leaned back on his chair and waited for the other's reply.
Nick Fury thought to himself for a moment, his one eye intensely staring at Felix's. "Alright. You owe one-time," He stood up from his seat. "Coulson, show Mr. Wright here to his new accommodations." Fury left the table to the entrance. "And pick up the damn phone when I call you," he said while passing Felix's seat. A smile appeared on the Viltrumite's face.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
…
Time: 2011 September. Location: New York City, US.
It had been two weeks since Felix arrived in New York City. He had adopted this persona of Felix Wright quite smoothly. His physical appearance resembling a regular Earthling had helped immensely in his adaptability to their culture. Seeing his interests in the suits, Coulson had provided an address to a tailor shop called The Kingsman, where he purchased a few tailored outfits for his everyday usage. Apparently, the store is a branch of a company from the United Kingdom.
Having star charts provided by SHIELD allowed him to finally let go of his past in Viltrum. The constellations and locations did not align with what he previously knew of his universe. Felix accepted his new identity and the new home he had found himself in. Although, sometimes, he would think about Thaedus and how he was doing and how Viltrum had become after Thragg took the title of Grand Regent. He could not do anything about it now, but old habits die hard.
The apartment provided for him by Nick Fury had been more than exquisite. Its location nearby a bar with the name of McLaren's Pub allowed him to easily enjoy the humans' alcoholic drinks. Their food might be bland, but their alcohols are top notched.
SHIELD was determined to have him monitored for the first few days through small recording devices. However, after Felix systematically searched and destroyed the bugs, they had opted to have human monitors on him from afar.
Picking up the phone, Felix dialed Coulson's numbers.
"Mr. Wright, how may I help you?" Coulson greeted after picking up his phone. Frei had liked the name Felix Wright since he first adopted it. It seemed fitting now that he was forcefully shoved into a new chapter of his life. He decided to only refer to himself as such from then on.
"Agent Phil Coulson, I would like to provide a proposition to SHIELD. If I remember correctly, you wanted to know more about alien lifeforms and their cultures." Felix answered.
"Yes, should I come to your apartment, Mr. Wright?" Coulson asked.
"No, I'll wait for you at the coffee shop in front of the apartment building. It seemed like your agents are quite fond of its beverages, so I'm hoping to try them out for myself." Felix replied, a curl appearing on the edges of his lips.
"Cough cough, ah yes, I'll meet you there in thirty minutes, Mr. Wright." Coulson was taken by surprise. He did not think Felix would be that upfront about his monitoring conditions.
…
Walking into the coffee store, the bells above the door chimed in joyful rings, indicating a new customer had arrived. Felix looked around the decors of the shop with antique furnishing and the sweet aroma of coffee in the air. His eyes turned towards two anxious men sitting near the window still and nodded at them. They burst into nervous chuckles and signaled back.
Felix caught a mildly familiar shade of bright copper in the corner of his vision. The woman with auburn hair who had guided him towards the library two weeks ago was waiting for her turn near the cashier. He moved towards the woman and tapped her shoulders. An amused smile showed up on his face due to the similarity between the two events. The words "Excused me" escaped his mouth.
The woman turned around in a surprising motion. Her face clearly showed confusion. Finally, after a moment of awkwardness, Felix spoke up, "I want to thank you again for showing me directions last time. It was very helpful."
A flash of recognition ignited on her face. "You're the young-lady guy," she said, which instilled a puzzled expression on Felix and a regretful look from the woman. Then, the awkwardness returned to the two.
"Excuse me, what would you like to order?" the barista asked the two.
"Please, I would like to repay you for the help you provided last time." Felix broke free of the mood first and urged the other.
"Are you sure? It was really nothing." May questioned the man.
"I insist." He said.
"I would like a BLT sandwich and a hot coffee with milk and no sugar," May answered with a grateful look to Felix.
"And you?" The barista turned towards Felix.
"I'll have the same." He replied.
"Thank you for the lunch. It was really nothing before." She turned back to Felix now.
"Still, a good deed should not go unrewarded," Felix commented.
"I'm May Parker, by the way." Her hand reached out for a shake.
Felix answered with his own hands moving forward. It was a very human way of greeting. "Felix. Felix Wright. A pleasure to meet you., Ms. Parker." He saw a wince from the other at his last words. It was a hint of pain, he wondered why it was so.
"It is nice to meet you too, Mr. Wright. Are you new to New York?" She questioned, happily moving away from the greetings.
"Yes, I just moved here two weeks ago. I am still getting used to the city." It was not a lie, after all.
…
Their conversation continued with small comfortable talks until their orders came up. May had to return to work, but Felix spoke up before she left, "Do you come here often, May Parker?" Despite Felix's mastery of English, he would sometimes revert back to calling people by their full names when his emotions took hold of him. This was not one of those occasions. He made sure to deliberately use her full name to avoid making her uncomfortable.
"Almost every Tuesday for lunch," her smile brightened up, but there was restraint in her eyes.
"Well, I do hope to see you again, May Parker." He finished and returned her smile with one of his own.
Parker walked out of the shop, with Coulson entering the shop. The two men greeted each other and sat down on one of the tables inside the cafe. May's eyes lingered at Felix for a moment, then she returned to her daily routine.
"So, Mr. Wright, I see you are finally ready to build friendships with us, humans." He chuckled at his own comment, hinting at what he saw just a moment before.
"Even Viltrumites need friends." Felix shrugged his shoulders. "Now to the important parts, take a look at these synopses." He shoved a piece of paper towards Coulson.
The agent read the paragraphs with wide eyes. "Mr. Wright, are these…" Phil asked.
Felix dropped two stacks of papers on top of the table from his suitcase and continued, "In these books are some of the experiences I've had throughout my years of service as a Viltrumite soldier." His hand caressed each of the stacks. "I transcripted and edited them into a couple of books to sell for the wider public. Help me publish them, and in the books, you'll learn more about the species and races I've encountered." Felix finished.
"I will talk to Director Fury about this, but our answer will most likely be yes." If that was true, these were a gold mine to SHIELD. Coulson would need to have a publisher company in his contact to look over the transcripts, but what was printing a few books compared to gaining knowledge of the vast expanse. Little did they know that the creatures in his books most likely did not exist here.