Fury's eye narrowed dangerously. "Let's not teach kids the wrong things."

"We both know it's the truth." Arthur's smile was sharp as broken glass. "But let's move on. Fury, after our last meeting, what have you developed to counter me or fight me?"

"Nothing," Fury said flatly.

Arthur studied him for a moment, then asked casually, "Where's the Tesseract these days?"

The temperature in the room seemed to drop five degrees.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Fury said evenly.

"The glowing blue cube of infinite power? The one that's definitely not in a SHIELD facility being studied for weapons development?" Arthur's tone was light, but his eyes were serious. "Come now, Fury. We're all friends here."

"Even if such a thing existed—"

"Which it does."

"—it would be purely for defensive purposes."

Arthur laughed, genuine and surprisingly warm. "Of course. Just like HYDRA was developing defensive weapons in the forties. Just like every arms race in history was defensive." He leaned forward. "Here's some free advice: whatever weapons you think you're building, they won't be enough. Not against the threats coming from the stars, and definitely not against me. I'm not boasting—it's simple mathematics. I keep growing stronger, and you can't develop countermeasures fast enough."

"So we should just trust you?"

"You should avoid annoying me. There's a difference."

The tension was thick enough to cut when Monica, with the timing of a natural peacemaker, asked, "Can you really turn into animals? Aunt Carol mentioned something about a falcon."

Arthur smiled, grateful for the redirect. "I can. Would you like to see?"

"Yes!" Her enthusiasm was infectious.

Without standing, Arthur shifted. One moment a man sat in the chair, the next a peregrine falcon perched on its back. He ruffled his feathers, fixed Monica with one sharp amber eye, then transformed back in a ripple of magic.

"That's incredible!" Monica bounced in her seat. "Can you teach me?"

"Unfortunately, you need to be born with magic. But I could turn you into an animal temporarily, if you'd like."

Monica's eyes went wide with excitement. "I want to be an owl!"

Arthur raised his hand toward Monica, but Maria intervened quickly. "Wait—is this safe?"

"Very much so. I promise no side effects. It's temporary transfiguration, completely reversible."

With Maria's hesitant nod, Arthur pointed his hand at Monica and cast the spell. Everyone watched in fascination as Monica's form shimmered and shifted, and within seconds, a beautiful snowy owl sat where the teenager had been.

The owl trilled with pure joy, spreading her wings experimentally. Within moments, she was flapping around the room, though unfortunately, the space was cramped and her first-time flying skills as an owl left something to be desired.

After she nearly knocked over a lamp and tangled herself in the curtains, Maria commanded, "Okay, that's enough excitement!"

Arthur changed her back with a gesture, and Monica reappeared, hair slightly mussed but grinning from ear to ear.

"Why, Mom? I was having so much fun! Let's do that again—maybe outside where there's more room!"

Arthur smiled. "Maybe later."

Fury, unable to let anything pass without analysis, asked, "Was that wandless magic?"

"Indeed it was." Arthur's tone grew slightly mocking. "Someone's been doing their research on wizards. Maybe thinking if you take my wand away, you can neutralize me? Unfortunately for you, Fury, I haven't needed a wand in quite some time."

"Speaking of my research," Fury said, apparently unable to let things go, "your friend. The vigilante. You're helping her because she's driven? Dedicated?"

"You're not letting this go, are you?" Arthur sighed. "Yes, among other reasons."

"She's attractive."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Your point?"

"Would you be this invested if she weren't?"

"Are you really asking about my romantic interests, Director? Should I prepare for a SHIELD dating profile?"

"I'm establishing patterns of behavior."

Arthur sighed dramatically, playing up his exasperation. "Fine. Yes, Ariadne is beautiful. She's also brilliant, deadly, and possibly the most stubborn person I've ever met. I'm helping her because her cause is just and because I respect her dedication. The fact that she could kill any of your SHIELD agents seventeen different ways with a paperclip is just a bonus."

"So you do like her," Carol said with a knowing grin.

"No. I admire her drive. Her goals. Her terrifying combat abilities."

"But do you like-like her?" Monica asked with all the subtlety of a thirteen-year-old.

"This conversation has taken a disturbing turn," Arthur said. "How about we discuss your love life instead, Fury? How's Varra these days?"

Fury went very still. "There is nothing–"

"Oh please. We've been over this before. No need to keep it secret among family." Arthur's grin was wicked. "I actually think it's quite sweet. Though isn't it against SHIELD regulations to mix work with romance?"

"She doesn't work for SHIELD," Fury said stiffly.

"So she is your girlfriend."

"No."

"Right, right. Well, when you do get married—and you will, Fury, everyone caves eventually—don't think you can keep it secret from me. You have to invite me. I'll be deeply offended if I'm not there to give a truly inappropriate best man's speech."

"Over my dead body," Fury growled.

The tension was building again, and Arthur decided to defuse it with humor. He pointed a finger at Fury with theatrical flair. "You know, Fury, you've been looking a bit... tense. Maybe you need a change of pace. Or a change of face."

"Hayes, don't you dare—" Fury started, but it was too late.

The transformation was instant and thorough. Where Nick Fury had sat, now a Skrull stood—green skin, pointed ears, ridged chin, the whole alien package. Still wearing the eyepatch though, which somehow made it infinitely funnier.

Monica burst out laughing, nearly falling off her perch. "Oh my god! Fury's a Skrull!"

Maria covered her mouth, shoulders shaking with suppressed giggles. Carol threw her head back and laughed so hard she nearly choked on her tea. Talos just looked... professionally confused.

"CHANGE ME BACK!" Fury roared, jumping to his feet, his Skrull form somehow making him look even more intimidating.

Arthur tilted his head with academic interest. "Can you try shapeshifting? I'm curious if this gives you actual Skrull abilities."

The Skrull-Fury's face was turning an interesting shade of purple with anger.

"So that's a no. Unfortunate." Arthur turned to Talos with mock seriousness. "By the way, Talos, be honest. How does he look? On the Skrull scale of handsomeness, I mean. Is this an upgrade?"

Talos, after a moment's careful consideration, nodded solemnly. "He cleans up nice. Very... distinguished. Good bone structure. Could probably get a date at any Skrull bar in the galaxy."

Fury made a noise that sounded like a teakettle about to explode.

"Fine, fine." Arthur waved his hand, and with another shimmer of magic, Fury returned to his human form. "But if you ever want to go on a date as a Skrull, let me know. One spell and you can be the universe's most attractive Skrull. Think about it."

Fury was breathing heavily, clearly restraining himself from violence. Maria, who'd been silent throughout, finally spoke.

"Boys," she said in the tone that had probably stopped a thousand fights between Air Force pilots, "enough. We're supposed to be having a nice breakfast, not starting World War Three in my kitchen."

"She's right," Carol said, though she was clearly still fighting laughter. "Let's just... eat. Talk about normal things. Monica, tell us about school."

The conversation shifted to safer ground—Monica's classes, Maria's work, Talos's adjustment to Earth customs. But underneath the normalcy, the tension remained.

As Arthur helped clear dishes later, just waving his hands as magic whisked plates to the sink and began washing them, Fury approached him by the sink.

"Your friend," Fury said quietly, "my intel says she plans on hitting the Hand headquarters soon."

"Your intel is good. She has that plan."

"It's obvious. She's been too quiet lately, like the calm before a storm. The Hand has noticed too—they're fortifying their defenses, bringing in mercenaries. If I were your friend, I'd abort the mission."

"She's stubborn as a mule. I tried to make her see sense, but she still wants to hit them." Arthur's concern bled through despite his casual tone.

"What if she loses?"

"No worries. I have contingencies in place to extract her if she's in mortal danger."

Fury studied him carefully. "I hope she comes back safe. We're not ready to face an angry you. The weapons aren't ready yet."

"They never will be." Arthur's voice carried absolute certainty. "But no need to worry. If I ever truly lose control, people will come to stop me. You won't need to act."

"Carol?"

"No, someone much older." Arthur's expression grew distant. "You don't think Earth has survived alien attacks all this time due to luck, right? There have been many protectors of this world. Many whom I know of but have never met."

Arthur was thinking of the Celestials, and forces even older than human civilization.

"So Earth isn't as simple as it seems."

"Nothing in the universe is simple. Even the mighty Kree Empire is nothing compared to some civilizations out there." Arthur's voice carried the weight of cosmic knowledge.

"Are you playing with me?"

"You can think so if it helps you sleep at night. But there's no need for paranoia—those greater dangers will be handled by suitable people when the time comes. You just focus on the smaller dangers here on Earth. You'll have your hands full with those soon enough."

"What do you mean?"

Arthur smiled mysteriously. "Become the Director of SHIELD, and I'll give you a gift that will turn your world upside down."

He was thinking about revealing HYDRA's infiltration of SHIELD when Fury took the top job. That would be an interesting day indeed.

Fury's eye narrowed. "I don't like gifts or surprises."

"You'll appreciate mine. Trust me on that."

As the day wore on, the tensions gradually eased. They spent hours talking, sharing stories, and finding common ground.

Arthur even made a quick trip to fetch Goose from wherever the Flerken had been wandering, and the alien cat's presence added a surreal normalcy to the gathering.

Monica delighted in playing with Goose, while Talos kept a wary distance from the creature that could swallow him whole. Carol and Maria sat close together on the porch swing, talking quietly about the past, filling in gaps since Carol had not completely recovered all her memories yet. Each recovered detail brought either laughter or tears, sometimes both.

Fury, in a rare display of humanity, had decided to forget about his work and aliens for the evening, actually accepting a second glass of Maria's sweet tea and even cracking what might have been a smile when Monica demonstrated her newly learned card tricks. Even Arthur found himself relaxing, allowing himself to just be present in the moment.

But even as he laughed at Talos's terrible jokes, Arthur couldn't shake the worry gnawing at the back of his mind. Somewhere across the ocean, Ariadne was making final preparations for what might be a suicide mission.

Winky would protect her if things went catastrophically wrong, and that was the only reason he was her in Louisiana and not keeping tabs on Ariadne.

As the Louisiana sun dipped below the horizon, painting the farmhouse in golden light, Arthur pushed his worries aside. Tomorrow would bring what it would bring—tonight was for laughter and unlikely friendships.