[center][img]http://cinedesuperheroes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/manifold-eden-fesi-agents-of-shield-inhumans-marvel-abc-2.jpg[/img][/center] I'm there. It's a Saturday afternoon at Subiaco Oval, standing room only and Nic Naitanui is lining up for goal from outside the 50 metre arc against Collingwood. The final horn has gone and there's a Four'n'Twenty pie in my hand. I can hardly watch in excitement... It skews off Nic-Nat's boot. I sigh. The pie falls. I'm there. Before meat and pastry even sully the concrete in Perth's stadium I'm standing amongst gum trees on the eastern seaboard. A private Wolfmother concert is taking place on Russell Crowe's estate. It's night time and I'm rocking out to Andrew Stockdale's guitar and vocals as "Mind's Eye" hangs on the night's air. "Excuse me, sir? Do you have an invitation?" I turn and see a man in a suit, wearing an earpiece and sunglasses at night. "Aww yeah, mate. Sorry. I'm one of Rusty's rugby players. He gave us each an invite on the off chance we couldn't play down in Melbourne tomorrow..." I fumble behind me for the "invitation", he becomes less distracted by the words and more interested in the strange light that's being produced behind me. "...see I wrecked my finger in training. Ah! There it is!" I step back towards the light source. "It was this one! Sit and spin, dickhead!" I show him the middle digit, grab my crotch and fall away from the scene, letting my final words "YOU GUYS ROCK!" hang in the air, called by a man who isn't there. I'm there. I sit from a distance and watch the sunset across Uluru. I like to catch this every day. I never watch the sun go all the way down though. Kata Tjuta is about 25 clicks to the west and I like to race the sun and watch it finally fall from there. Music still hangs in my ears as I smile, I caught enough of the air that the sound waves were travelling through and second hand drums and guitar cross not just my own mindscape but the physical plane as well. A perfectly captured moment. I watch as the sun winks below the sandstone monolith. It's edge ever so slightly obscured to one side. My hands dance and reality sings. I'm there. I see the old man hovering. I look upon the mighty rocks. We perch upon the Mount like old Wanambi whose breath could forge cyclone-force winds. New protectors of this sacred earth. I look upon the sun and once again it is winking, as it falls below one of the colossal stones. It's not the only thing winking. He approaches. The spy. "It's time." I look back to my elder, Gateway. "Not him. Just you. You're an Avenger now." His name is Fury. His stern face doesn't show any right now but i could absolutely believe that plenty lies beneath the surface. Hidden. Like much in this man's life. I turn to farewell my elder but find him gone. The sound of his laughter hanging on the open air. Carried by the winds Wanambi, the protector of the past can control. Fury feels uncomfortable, but he doesn't understand. He's sending me this message by Wanambi's means to tell me that I'm ready. A perfectly captured moment. I hope I prove the old man right. [center]* * * * *[/center] [i]I’m there.[/i] [b]“Enough!”[/b] Fury’s anger starts to bubble to the surface. He’s weary of the jumps and just wants to get to our destination. “Settle down, mate. I’ve never been to Machu Picchu before. So far, I can’t say I see the appeal. I mean sure, it looks like its picture but what exactly does it do? What’s it for?” “Whatever it does, its doing it now and its not going to do any more or less than we’ve already seen. We’ve got a schedule to keep and we should have been there 4 hours ago.” “Well, we’re closer than we were, aren’t we?” “That’s because you took us to the Pyramids first…” “If the time has come for me to put my life on the line and save the world, universe or what-have-you, at least do me the pleasure of letting me see the Seven Wonders of the World. Look at that bloody furry little camel down there!” “That’s a llama.” “I thought that was a Buddhist thing…” “Not THE Lama. A llama!” Eden looked quizzically at Fury. “A LLAMA! A LLAMA! Not the Dalai Lama!” Eden held the same look of confusion as long as he could, before his grin widened and he cracked up laughing. “This—this has all been a joke for you?” “I’m sorry… I started off taking the piss and you didn’t seem to pick up on it, so I just had to see how far I could take it. I wanted to see how far you’d indulge me.” “We went—WE WENT TO PETRA!” “Yeah… I was sure you’d pick up on what I was doing by then. But nope. We got through all 7.” “Can. We. PLEASE. Go. To. New York. City. Now.” He spat between gritted teeth. There it is. That’s his namesake, right there. “Sure, mate. If you’ll allow me one more indulgence…” “WHAT?!?” Eden gestured to his own crotch and said just one word… [center][img]http://worldofblackheroes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/eden-fesi-3.jpg[/img][/center] [center]* * * * *[/center] Eden stepped out of the portal clad in his fresh new uniform and into the vast cityscape of Manhattan, New York. The city that never sleeps, and here he had himself four reasons why… a colourful costumed villain, Captain America, Spider-Man and… Duck…person? He’s a thing, right? Or would it be weird if I asked who he was? “I’m Manifold, and this here is Nick Fury.” “That’s not Nick Fury.” Said a woman who was standing with Captain America. “I’m—I’m pretty sure that it is. He said he was before, and that he was going to one day meet me again and drag me back here for some kind of big mission that was…” “That’s not Nick Fury.” She repeated. “Well, he certainly looks like the same Nick Fury who met me before and…” “It might be. I’ll tell you what. Give his forehead a tap.” Eden looked at the woman and then at Fury, then back to the woman. “I don’t think he’d like that.” “Just do it.” Eden shrugged and poked Fury between the eyes. Then stepped back. “Are you kid—“ He stepped back in and wrapped on his forehead with his knuckles, causing a distinct metallic sound. “The big head honcho spy of the free world is a robot..?” “No. But this Life Model Decoy of him is…” Explained Agent 13. “How did—How did you know?” “Well, I’ve met him before. I know him.” “Well, it is a good likeness.” Said the other spy who was standing with them, who would later be introduced as Coulson. “You know… if it weren’t for the race thing.” It was at this point that the Duck interjected, “Yeah, well he had me fooled too. But then I don’t see colour. You’re all the same hairless apes to me…”