Fury blinks awake slowly, immediately glaring at the figure hovering above his head once his vision clears. “Rogers, I don’t know how you’re here, but back the fuck off.”
The blond above him startles then blinks owlishly. “Who’s Rogers?”
Fury attempts to sit up, but drops forcefully back when his face hits a shimmering barrier. “What the fuck?”
“You’re rather fond of that word, aren’t you?” A feminine voice asks from his right.
He turns his head to see a petite, golden-haired woman casually holding one hand out in front of her and seemingly absently flicking through a tablet with the other. “You responsible for this?” He pokes at the force field.
She finally looks up at him with shrewd blue eyes and a cautious smile. She shrugs apologetically. “You kinda appeared out of nowhere and we can’t be too careful, you know?”
He groans. “Where exactly am I?”
“The Baxter Building.”
He levels an unimpressed eyebrow at her.
She blushes. “New York.”
Fury narrows his eye. “So I didn’t go anywhere?”
She raises a brow back.
He sighs. “Will you at least let me sit up?”
She points to the man still hovering at his other side. “I will let him fry you if you try anything stupid.”
The man snaps his fingers and lets flames dance up his bare arm.
Fury nods. “I ain’t planning on causing you any problems, miss.”
She lowers her hand.
He sits up slowly and glances around. They’re in a lab - Stark level tech, but… different. Something is off and he can’t put his finger on what. The skyline out the window is wrong too. “How long have I been out?”
Firebug shrugs. “You popped up about two hours ago. Threw all kinds of weird ass energy signals. Reed’s having a field day.”
“Reed?”
The woman flushes. “Oh! We’re being rude. Sorry. I’m Sue Storm and this is my brother Johnny. Reed Richards and Ben Grimm are the other members of our team. They’re down on the street where you appeared getting energy readings.”
“Nick Fury. You’re scientists?”
“Among other things.”
“Also known as the Human Torch and Invisible Girl,” Johnny grins.
“Woman,” Sue growls.
Fury closes his eye and thinks quickly. It snaps open when a tall, dark-haired man bursts through the doors chattering excitedly about energies, followed by a… rock man? Fury is by no means an expert, but you don’t spend as long as he has around an organization like SHIELD and not pick up a few things. The bit he’s catching of man’s excited chatter helps him put together the last pieces. “Motherfucker!”
The man freezes. “Excuse me?”
“This is Reed, and behind him is Ben,” Sue offers quickly. “Reed, Ben, this is Nick.”
“It’s Fury,” he corrects, almost absently. “You said this is New York?”
“Yeeeahhh,” Johnny drawls.
“What year is it?”
“2018.”
Fury takes a deep breath. “SHIELD, Stark Industries, Avengers… any of that mean anything to you?”
“Not a damn thing.”
“And you lot,” Fury waves vaguely to the four of them, “are this world’s superheroes?”
“Pretty much… you from another world?”
Fury shrugs. “More like another version of this world, I think.”
Reed’s eyes light up. “Dimensional travel?”
“Seems like.”
“Wait,” Ben protests. “Shouldn’t we maybe start with the assumption that this guy is nuts?”
Sue shrugs. “Not necessarily. Not when the evidence supports it.” She turns to Fury. “You called Johnny another name when you woke up.”
Nick nods. “Boy looks a damn sight like Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America. He is… was the leader of the Avengers, my world’s superheroes. Any other reports of people popping out of thin air?”
Sue shakes her head. “Not that we’ve heard of.”
“Any idea how to send me back?”
Reed shakes his head. “Not yet. There’s a lot of data to sort through.”
“In the meantime you’re welcome to stay here,” Sue offers. “We’d be glad to help you figure out this world, just in case…”
“I appreciate the hospitality.” Fury nods. “Not sure what other options I have at this point.”
Sue smirks. “You seem like a resourceful type. I’m sure you’d figure something out.”
Fury smirks back. “So what do you guys call yourselves?”