In the entire grocery store, Luke was, surprisingly, the least daunted person.
The real tension? That belonged to Natasha Romanoff and Phil Coulson, who had just stepped through the front door.
This time, they weren't acting as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. No badges, no official business.
They came undercover, hoping to quietly observe Luke Yale, understand his temperament, his habits, maybe even his threat level.
But the moment they entered, things immediately went off-script.
Natasha barely managed to say a few words before the chaos unfolded like a live soap opera. An emotional rollercoaster, courtesy of Luke and his "sister."
They hadn't even been inside for five minutes, and already it felt like they'd watched the season finale of some bizarre sitcom.
For a moment, they both completely forgot why they were there.
The silence that followed Wanda's storming exit was thick and awkward.
Luke sat slouched behind the counter in a gaming chair, looking like he'd just been through war. His expression was unreadable, eyes half-lidded in exhaustion or apathy, hard to tell which.
Natasha and Coulson stood awkwardly at the entrance, unsure how to proceed.
She couldn't shake the weird moment from earlier, how Luke had smirked at her, hummed at her, like she was part of some inside joke.
Was this guy... crazy perhaps?
Still, she took a breath and regained control. Emotional regulation was one of her strongest suits, after all. In the Marvel universe, few could rival her self-mastery.
Eventually, she nodded to Coulson and took a professional step forward, her smile looking practiced and composed.
But just as she spoke, the front door creaked open behind them.
The very door Coulson had closed for privacy.
Both agents instinctively turned.
The door had opened slightly, but no one entered.
Why wasn't anyone coming in?
Both agents frowned. Just as Coulson stepped forward to close it again, something poked through the gap.
Both agents froze in place.
It looked absurd. Ridiculous, even.
If they hadn't known about the New York Military District incident, they might have laughed right then and there.
But they had read the reports.
Instead of laughter, they stepped back, hands twitching toward their weapons.
Coulson was already reaching for his pistol.
Natasha's face turned hard.
That shade of green. That smug canine expression.
It was the same creature that tore through a military base like a hurricane in fur.
Sure, it looked smaller now, but the resemblance was uncanny.
Doggo's green head scanned the room with almost human-like curiosity. Then his eyes landed on Luke behind the counter and froze.
His ears drooped instantly.
Like a kid that knew he had done something bad.
The display of guilt was so unmistakable, it startled the agents more than the green fur had.
That was not how a normal dog behaved.
It was... intelligent. Self-aware.
At this point, both agents were convinced.
This was it. The "monster" that Director Fury had warned them about.
When Fury first proposed the theory, Coulson had been skeptical. A dog?
Hand still hovering over his weapon, he prepared for the worst.
Meanwhile, Doggo glanced at Natasha and Coulson with mild curiosity, then promptly proceeded to ignore them, as if sensing they weren't worth the trouble.
Weird visitors were nothing new in this household.
Still, he hesitated at the doorway. His instincts, or intelligence, told him he was in trouble.
Just as the tension was about to snap, Luke finally stirred.
He got up slowly, ignoring the agents entirely, and walked over to the door.
With practiced ease, he bent down, grabbed Doggo by the ear, and yanked.
Doggo gave a muffled yelp as his chubby green body was dragged inside.
A solid one, straight to the rear.
But Doggo was too fat to move much. He simply blinked, then looked up at Luke with a goofy smile.
'Wait… was that supposed to hurt? Felt more like a butt massage.'
Then, tail wagging, he cheerfully bolted up the stairs.
From above, Wanda's exasperated voice rang out: "Why did you come back covered in paint? What a silly dog!"
In this house, only Doggo was easy to bully.
Luke took a deep breath, finally feeling a bit better.
Then he turned around, expression calm, posture casual, and faced the two elite agents, Natasha Romanoff and Phil Coulson.
They, however, looked anything but calm.