Everyone fell silent, thinking it over.
Hill was right. Lucas's caution was absurd.
Sure, the Butterfly Effect existed. But Lucas was just a street-level hero—same fame tier as Daredevil. He cleaned up gangs in his neighborhood. That was it.
People like Kingpin? S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't even care. Just another crime boss.
At that level of influence, who would even notice him?
Under normal circumstances, Lucas wouldn't even register on their radar. If he hadn't approached Tony Stark, Tony would have lived his whole life without knowing this vigilante existed.
In other words, normally, no one would care about Lucas.
But Lucas was convinced that if he stood out, someone would notice.
Who?
"Who would notice him?" Hill continued slowly. "Or rather, who would notice anyone who 'stands out' on Earth? Plenty of people have stood out. Tony Stark. The Hulk. Thor. Captain America... They're all famous now. None of them got erased."
"So why does Lucas fear exposure?" Hill pressed. "Is it because standing out gets you eliminated?"
"I get it!" Fury snapped his fingers. "It's like S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mission. We exist to handle supernatural events that affect civilians. We don't care about low-profile supernaturals. But vampires? Werewolves? If they make headlines, we step in. We erase them and bury the incidents as urban legends."
"Fury, are you saying Lucas fears an organization like ours? A supernatural S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Natasha caught on.
"Obviously, he doesn't fear us," she clarified. "Before he got powers, maybe. But now? We can't touch him. So he fears someone else. Another organization."
"Exactly. Let's think big," Fury leaned forward. "Assume there is an organization monitoring Earth. Anyone who stands out—human, god, alien—gets eliminated. Lucas fears them. And they're likely magical beings."
"Because none of Lucas's enemies so far are magic-based. Yet he's terrified of the magical side. He prepared for years. He risked exposure to go to Asgard. That's the proof."
Fury paused, frowning. "But that doesn't make sense. If going to Asgard counts as 'standing out,' why did he do it? Based on his personality, he could have just taken Tony's ten million—or even the hundred million—and lived as a rich civilian forever."
"I think," Hill interjected, "the two fears are separate."
"The organization that punishes 'standing out' is different from the magical threat he needs to prepare for."
"That explains everything," Hill continued. "He stays low-profile to avoid the Watcher's attention. But later, because of the Purple Potato's Snap Event, everyone might die—or at least everyone without magical resistance. So he had no choice but to learn magic to survive."
"It's a calculated risk. And it proves how catastrophic the Snap Event will be. Lucas is preparing years in advance."
Everyone nodded grimly.
Hill's analysis made sense. But the implications were depressing.
"But Earth is a backwater," Hawkeye protested. "Even in our galaxy, we're the sticks. No resources. No strategic value. Why would anyone monitor us?"
"Because," Fury said dryly, "the writers outside the Fourth Wall are also Earthlings. Of course Earth is the main stage."
"What I really want to know," Natasha said quietly, "is what this person or organization considers 'standing out.' What's the red line?"
"Is it becoming a globally famous superhero? Or something else? If we don't know the standard, how do we avoid crossing it?" she asked, her voice tense. "What if one day, we accidentally cross the line? Will we be eliminated too?"
If they knew the rule, they could avoid it. But without knowing? They were blind.
And only one person in the world seemed to know the standard: Lucas.
A chill ran down Natasha's spine.
She imagined a massive shadow looming over Earth. An unseen gardener, pulling weeds from a garden. Anyone who grew crooked, anyone who disrupted the crop—plucked out without mercy.
And they were just vegetables, praying they wouldn't be next.
It was terrifying.