Chapter 137 – The Choice
"You're right. Perhaps we have been too conservative."
Agent Hill finally admitted it. Compared to Nick Fury's ingrained paranoia, she was always more open-minded. After all, she was the one who had spearheaded the Devil Fruit task force in New York—she had never truly been opposed to the existence of these power users.
"There's something you don't understand, or rather, something Director Fury chooses to ignore," Qin Xiao said, his tone biting. "Thor, an Asgardian god, has eaten one of my Devil Fruits. I have even been to their realm, Asgard. But look at Thor—does he seem 'corrupted'? Does he reject the power? Fury saw this with his own eyes, yet he chooses to forget. You sit there lamenting that your own powers aren't strong enough, yet you refuse to actually develop them. It's laughable."
"I agree with Qin," Thor interjected, stepping forward with Loki in tow. "My mother has also consumed a Devil Fruit. And my father once told me that the 'Devil' behind Qin might not be from Hell, but rather an 'Abstract Entity.' Do you even know what an Abstract Entity is?"
The group fell silent. Hill seized the opportunity. "What is an Abstract Entity?"
"They are dimensional beings that exist beyond concepts of good or evil," Thor explained. "They lack the consciousness of living beings; in a sense, they are merely energy sources that grant abilities. Only when such an entity adopts a specific trait does it become a true god of good or evil. My father suspects that the fruits the Envoy distributes are simply providing 'emotions' for this entity to feed upon."
Qin Xiao's eyes flickered. Odin and the Ancient One were remarkably sharp—they had translated his system into terms they could understand. It wasn't entirely accurate, but the logic held up. And for the listeners, it was a relief: the entity behind Qin wasn't necessarily a world-ending monster, at least not yet.
"Then... can I match with a Devil Fruit?" Hill suddenly asked.
The question caught Qin Xiao off guard. Hill was compatible with a fruit, but he hadn't sought her out—partly because he didn't want to "waste" a fruit on S.H.I.E.L.D. if they refused to train, and partly because he wasn't sure if she was ready.
"Agent Hill, you should consult Director Fury first!" Coulson interjected, instinctively protective of his director's oversight.
"I make my own decisions," Hill snapped. "Fury has his concerns; I have mine. Besides, you made the decision to eat your fruit on your own, didn't you? I've seen the power these fruits hold. I want to try. Qin, do you have one for me?"
"You are compatible," Qin Xiao said slowly, "but I'm hesitant. You're acting on impulse after seeing Kingpin and Abomination fight. I don't want to give you a fruit just for it to sit in a drawer gathering dust."
"It's not an impulse," Hill insisted. "On the Helicarrier, I realized how vital a squad of powerful individuals is. If Rogers, Hulk, and Thor hadn't stopped that first wave, the military would have made a horrific choice."
"A choice?" Qin Xiao asked. "You mean the nuclear option?"
The silence that followed was heavy. Rogers looked stricken. "They wouldn't... they wouldn't use nukes on their own city?"
"They absolutely would," Qin Xiao said. "They don't care about the millions living in New York. To them, wiping the board clean is a 'successful military operation.' They'd sacrifice the city to 'save the Earth' and then hold a somber memorial ceremony to wash the blood off their hands."
Tony Stark chimed in, projecting data from his HUD. "He's right. I intercepted their communications. They had planes armed with nukes in the air. Fury shot the first one down, and now he's being investigated by the World Security Council for it. If the invasion hadn't been pushed back, they would have dropped the bomb regardless of who was left on the ground."
Hill looked at Qin Xiao, her eyes burning. "That's why I need this power. I don't want to be useless on the Helicarrier anymore. I want to be able to act."
Qin Xiao sighed, a ripple appearing in the air as four fruits materialized.
"There are three defensive fruits—the Diamond, the Barrier, and the Bean-Bean fruit. But this last one," Qin Xiao gestured to a strange, swirling fruit, "is called the Slow-Slow Fruit. It allows you to fire beams that render anything they touch sluggish for thirty seconds."
Hill stared at the fruits. She didn't hesitate. "I choose the Slow-Slow Fruit."
She took a bite, choked back a gag, and swallowed. A sudden, terrifying clarity flooded her mind. She turned toward the horizon, where Abomination and Kingpin were still tearing the earth apart, and extended her hand.
"Slow..." she whispered.