White Fox

Ami Han checked her phone one more time. He was late. And as Director of Korea’s top secret superhuman intelligence agency, Tiger Division, every second mattered. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that, of all the heroes she’d crossed paths with — in this timeline or any other — Lin Lie was one of the few who was worth the wait.

“Ami!” Lin Lie called as he rushed into the busy café in Lower Manhattan. “Sorry, I was running behind. You know how it is. Saving the world and all.”

“Oh, I know,” Ami replied. “That’s why we’re here today.”

“And here I thought I was just grabbing a cup of tea with an old friend,” Lin Lie said, playfully raising his eyebrow.

“That, too,” Ami said, her stoic expression softening as Lin Lie grabbed a seat across the table from her.

“Good,” Lin Lie said, “because we’ve got a lot of catching up to do. You’re not going to believe everything that’s happened since the last time I saw you!”

“Let me guess,” Ami responded. “You found yourself wrapped up in Doctor Doom’s plot to steal the power of the Iron Fist from you, which led to an all-out battle in the unified Capital Cities of Heaven. And then Shou-Lao found a loophole to Doom’s challenge and announced a grand tournament that you and your fellow heroes are still preparing for. That sound right?”

“How… did you know all that?” Lin Lie asked, astonished. “Does Tiger Division have spies in K’un-Lun?!”

“No,” Ami replied with a laugh. “Seol Hee called me after the battle and filled me in.”

“Glad you and Luna are still tight,” Lin Lie said, his demeanor suddenly shifting. “I wish we were…”

“I know it’s been a while since our days with the Agents of Atlas,” Ami said, “but nothing has changed between us. You’re still the same brave hero who sacrificed his family’s sacred sword — and almost his own life — to save me from a demonic Kumiho.”

“That’s the thing,” Lin Lie replied. “I’m not. For all intents and purposes, the old me — the Sword Master — died that day. And when I washed up on the shores of K’un-Lun, I became someone else. And I don’t just mean the Iron Fist. I became the sworn protector of an entire culture. An Immortal Weapon in an unending war that I never asked to fight. And, well, it’s been… a lot…”

“I can imagine,” Ami said. “And I can relate. When I first started out as the White Fox, all I wanted was to do some good. To honor my legacy and my country in a way that would make me proud. And for a while, it seemed so easy. But then, I was given command Tiger Division. As the responsibility grew and I got buried in the logistics of one global crisis after another, I felt like I was starting to lose sight of who I was.”

“I still see you,” Lin Lie said gently.

“Thanks,” Ami replied, turning her gaze to the window. “But as much as I wish I could still spend my nights leaping across the rooftops of Seoul tracking down arms dealers and thugs, there are more important matters that require my attention… and yours…”

“Ah,” Lin Lie chuckled. “Here comes the recruitment pitch.”

“Not quite yet,” Ami said. “First, there’s something you need to understand. Tiger Division has been making efforts to regulate cross-timeline travel.”

“Wait, why?” Lin Lie said, immediately realizing the implications of what his friend was saying.

“The intel we collected through our previous collaborations with S.H.I.E.L.D. and Mayor Fisk indicates that the recent surge in super heroes traveling between dimensions is accelerating the Timestream Entanglement,” Ami said. “If the data is right, it could even trigger a massive Incursion in the future if the activity continues at this level.”

“We haven’t had a choice,” Lin Lie said, a bit taken aback. “Or does your data not take into account the part about how we’ve been fighting across time and space to save the fabric of reality itself from unraveling?”

“I know how high the stakes are,” Ami continued, “but what good is it to fight for a universe if you’re actively contributing to its destruction by doing so?”

“So what do you suggest?” Lin Lie asked.

“You fight for one universe,” Ami replied, an unexpected coldness in her voice. “Ours.”

“Whoa…” Lin Lie said, the shock on his face was undeniable. “Are you saying we leave those other timelines to die?”

“Not at all,” Ami said. “Quite the opposite, actually. I’m suggesting we let the heroes from each timeline fight for the future of their own worlds. We’d still provide them any tactical support we can, but —”

“Tactical support isn’t enough,” Lin Lie interrupted. “If all of us hadn’t shown up to face some of these threats, billions would have died. It might be hard to see from a control room, but if you had been there when we fought Ultron or Knull or the Collector, you’d know better.”

“I know everything I need to,” Ami said. “And frankly, I’m shocked that a group of heroes including Reed Richards, Tony Stark, and T’Challa haven’t already rung the alarm bells themselves.”

“Maybe they’re too busy saving lives instead of reading spreadsheets,” Lin Lie said, his tone growing bitter. “You remember how to do that?”

“I…” Ami paused and took a deep breath, not wanting to let her old friend’s emotions overshadow the reason for this meeting. “I remember. That’s why I came here to face this latest crisis in person, not from behind a desk.”

“Okay,” Lin Lie said, trying to calm himself. “You’re here to help. I get that. And so am I. So, what can I do?”

“Tiger Division is still working up a strategy to deal with a surge in chronal activity we detected here in Lower Manhattan,” Ami said, “but for now, you and I can focus on the bigger picture.”

“I’m not sure it gets much bigger than a timestream event in New York City,” Lin Lie said, a bit of humor returning to his voice.

“Actually… it gets a lot bigger…” Ami said. “I’m planning to establish an independent Pan-Pacific Intelligence Agency. One that operates free from the influence of governments and geopolitics. It would allow us to respond to global crises more freely and proactively. In other words, we could save the world without all the red tape.”

“Sounds like your dream come true,” Lin Lie said. “What’s it got to do with me?”

“I want you to be my first agent,” Ami said.

“Wish I could,” Lin Lie replied, “but I’ve already got a boss — a big cranky dragon who would not handle it well if someone tried to poach me.”

“I’m not looking to be your boss, Lie,” Ami said. “Think of it more as a partnership, like when we were Agents of Atlas. You and me, working in tandem to do what’s best for our world.”

“That’s the catch, though, isn’t it?” Lin Lie asked. “You said, ‘our world.’ You want me here full-time.”

“This is your timeline,” Ami said. “It’s where you belong.”

“Not according to the people in K’un-Lun,” Lin Lie replied. “I made a promise to protect them, no matter what. And that means my time there is just as important as my time here.”

“And if we find a way to stop heroes from traveling between dimensions and timelines as a means of protecting the increasingly fragile borders between them?” Ami asked. “Where do you end up then?”

“Wherever I’m needed,” Lin Lie said confidently. “No matter the cost.”

Ami and Lin Lie looked down into their cups of tea, which had grown cold despite their heated conversation. They had come to this meeting with hopes of rekindling a friendship they once held dear. Neither had expected to run out of words to say to each other so soon.

Ami reached into a pouch on her belt and pulled out something wrapped in cloth, setting it on the table. She pushed the cloth over toward Lin Lie. Without a word, he slowly unwrapped the object, revealing a shard of metal that gave off a strange green glow.

“This… It can’t be…” Lin Lie gasped, realizing what he was looking at.

“It is,” Ami replied. “A fragment of the Sword of Fu Xi.”

“I thought it was lost forever,” Lin Lie said. “I absorbed all of the other shards, but I figured its power would always be incomplete. Where did you —?”

“After you saved my life,” Ami explained, “when you fell from that cliff and vanished from this world, this was all that was left. I held on to it, hoping I’d be able to give it back to you someday. It helped me through a few tough battles along the way… but it belongs in your hands.”

“Literally,” Lin Lie said, watching in awe as the shard was suddenly sucked into his forearm, as if being magnetically pulled by the other sword fragments embedded within his body. “How can I ever thank you?”

“You can pay for the tea,” Ami said. “I may technically be in charge of Tiger Division, but our accounting department really runs the show. They triple-check every receipt… and I’d rather keep this meeting off the books…”

“The tea’s on me,” Lin Lie said, fully aware of how he was disappointing his old friend. “I just wish I could do more…”

“You will,” Ami said. “In your own way. You’ve never been one to play by the rules, Lie. I shouldn’t have expected you to play by mine… even if I know they’re right.”

“We’ll see about that,” Lin Lie said, giving Ami a hug as she stood to exit the café.

“You’re right… We will…” Ami said, her attention drifting toward the Alchemax building looming over Lower Manhattan. “Sooner than you think…”