The day after, Darren received a terse summon from Nick Fury. A few seconds later, the world blurred around him as he used his teleport anchor and reappeared inside the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.
When he pushed open the door to the Director's office, both Fury and Coulson were already there, waiting.
"Director," Darren greeted, arching an eyebrow. "You called?"
Fury's tone was unreadable. "We've retrieved something unusual. A crashed aircraft was discovered in the Arctic Circle. Inside, our search team found a… relic. The relic has since been transferred to our New York division. Your new assignment is to guard it until it wakes."
Darren blinked. "Wait, it?"
Without a word, Fury handed him a file.
The first page showed a black-and-white photo of a man with a square jaw, a broad smile, and eyes that radiated a kind of old-fashioned sincerity that hadn't existed since the fifties.
Below the photo: Name: Steve Rogers. Alias: Captain America.
Darren whistled. "You've got to be kidding me."
[New Mission: Guard Captain America]
[Objective: Watch over the unconscious Steve Rogers until he awakens.]
[Reward: +1000 EXP, +20 S.H.I.E.L.D. Reputation, 2 Random Items]
The attached file was practically a history book. Darren skimmed the highlights , Steve Rogers, America's golden boy, born frail but brave, volunteered for the super-soldier project, turned into the world's first enhanced soldier. Led the Howling Commandos, smashed Hydra operations across Europe, personally defeated the Red Skull, and destroyed Hydra's main base.
Then disappeared in action. Presumed dead.
Until now.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had found him , encased in ice like some heroic popsicle. And unbelievably, the man still had a heartbeat.
Even more unbelievable: after being thawed, his vitals were climbing. He was about to wake up.
Darren flipped through the pages and muttered, "Frozen for seventy years and still rebooting fine? Yeah, that's definitely this game's logic."
In a world where gods, aliens, and nano-suited billionaires walked around, one cryogenic boomer was the least absurd thing he'd seen.
Still, there was something odd about this mission.
Hydra's number-one enemy, being guarded by Hydra's undercover agent?
Darren squinted. "This doesn't feel like good HR policy."
Fury ignored his look and continued, "One more thing. Our recovery team also located Bruce Banner and Betty Ross near Iceland. They didn't look… great. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
Darren scratched his head. "I just helped them fulfill a little wish."
Fury's eyelid twitched. "A wish? You nearly gave them last rites."
According to reports, when S.H.I.E.L.D.'s team found Bruce and Betty, the two were huddled together in the snow, half-frozen, half-starved , looking like survivors of an apocalypse, not a romantic getaway.
Apparently, "helping them escape" had turned into a week-long arctic marathon featuring one Hulk transformation and several near-death experiences.
Fury rubbed his temples again. They're never going to stop flinching at the word 'Iceland'.
When Darren left, Coulson finally spoke up. "Sir… are you sure it's wise to trust him with this? Captain America's revival project is Level 8 clearance. He's barely cleared for Level 6. He shouldn't even know it exists."
Fury's expression softened just a little. "Relax, Coulson. Darren's one of our most reliable agents."
He meant it.
When Darren first joined S.H.I.E.L.D., he had voluntarily signed up for the most rigorous loyalty screening in the organization , a gauntlet designed to break spies, liars, and traitors. He'd passed every stage with flying colors.
Psych evaluation? Perfect composure.
Interrogation under pressure? Zero cracks.
Truth serum? Not even a twitch.
Every sensor, every expert, every algorithm had concluded the same thing: the man's loyalty to S.H.I.E.L.D. was absolute.
Fury had even cut the test short, skipping the final stage , the classic honey trap. Because, as he reasoned, "Anyone who can resist a serum designed to rip open the mind can resist a pair of legs."
He'd believed in Darren ever since.
A soldier with unmatched skill and unwavering loyalty , that was a rare combination.
Fury leaned back in his chair, a faint gleam of satisfaction in his single eye. To have such a man under my command… truly, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s greatest fortune.
...
A few hours later, Darren arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s New York branch , a sleek facility tucked beneath several layers of security. Beyond D.C.'s main HQ, S.H.I.E.L.D. maintained secret divisions across the country.
There were even rumors of a special mobile unit , a massive flying fortress capable of global deployment. Darren had heard whispers of it but never seen it in person.
After passing through biometric scans, retinal locks, and at least two guards who looked like they hadn't blinked in a decade, Darren was finally escorted into a sealed containment chamber.
The room was eerie , staged like a 1940s hospital ward. Vintage wallpaper, old-style IV drips, a radio quietly playing a baseball broadcast from seventy years ago. Even the nurses wore period uniforms.
It was meticulous , the kind of detail only S.H.I.E.L.D. could afford.
Darren had to admit , this was next-level commitment to immersion. He almost wanted to clap.
The purpose, of course, was psychological. When Steve Rogers woke, the familiar environment would help him adjust before they dropped the reality bomb: "Surprise, it's 2012!"
If they woke him in a sterile lab full of holograms and touchscreen panels, the poor man would probably faint on the spot.
Steve Rogers , the legend himself , lay still on the bed, his skin pale but unaged, his breathing slow but steady.
The system pinged softly.
[NPC: Steve Rogers]
[Alias: Captain America]
[Favorability: 0]
[Description: The Marvel man. America's ass. Swear jar enthusiast. "Hail Hydra" (Special dialogue trigger , highly effective on this subject).]
[Status: Unconscious]
Darren blinked twice, staring at the evaluation.
"'Hail Hydra'? Seriously?" he muttered. "You freeze the guy for seventy years and he comes back as the wrong faction?"
He rubbed his chin, squinting at the man on the bed.
Don't tell me the real twist is that Captain America's been a Hydra sleeper this whole time.
Darren leaned closer, smirking. "If that's true, buddy, we're going to get along just fine."