Chapter 68: Methods of Wage Settlement

Nick Fury furrowed his brow; even he hadn’t heard of some of these metals.
“There’s only Vibranium, Adamantium, and Carbonadium.”
Michael, naturally, knew the limits of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s resources—after all, one must ask for the moon to settle for the stars.
“Only three? That’s a little disappointing. Give me a dozen tons of each, then.”
Motherf—he almost blurted it out. This guy really dared to ask for a dozen tons of each.
“Vibranium, at most, five pounds. The new Adamantium—twenty pounds. As for Carbonadium, fifty pounds.”
“Well, aren’t you a skilled bargainer, haggling straight down to pounds.”
Nick Fury’s head was about to explode—he hadn’t even made an offer, and this guy was already brazen enough to ask.
Michael’s brow tightened. True Adamantium, without Vibranium in its formula, absorbed energy less efficiently and was extremely heavy. Wolverine’s Adamantium skeleton alone brought his weight well over three hundred pounds. Twenty pounds of Adamantium would probably look much the same as five pounds of Vibranium in terms of volume.
“That’s too little. It’s not like Adamantium can’t be produced. Give me five hundred pounds of Adamantium per month, and a hundred pounds of Vibranium.”
“Every month?”
Nick Fury’s brow furrowed again—he’d thought this was a one-time payment.
“If you only provide this much, it’s really hard for me to work for you.”
Nick Fury took a deep breath. “Do you have any idea how rare Vibranium is?”
Michael chuckled. “Rumor has it Wakanda is covered in the stuff.”
Nick Fury frowned again. Wakanda? What kind of place was that? He’d have to look it up. Maybe those Vibranium dealers knew something.
“Vibranium will be paid annually, eight pounds at a time. That’s the limit. Adamantium, fifty pounds per month. Same for Carbonadium.”
Michael calculated the volume of fifty pounds of Adamantium in his mind. Wolverine was a small guy, and his Adamantium skeleton accounted for about sixty percent of his body weight—roughly one hundred and eighty pounds. Fifty pounds—barely enough to build a single suit of armor.
He was beginning to prefer calling his creations “battle armor.”
Carbonadium, on the other hand, was what Deadpool’s weapons were made of—a metal refined from natural ore, containing a toxin that could impede regenerative abilities. It was sharp enough to slice through high-speed bullets without dulling.
Deadpool often played with death, but he’d never stabbed himself with his own blade, which spoke volumes about the terror of this metal.
Some comics depicted Deadpool’s swords as being made of Carbonadium alloy, leading to confusion between the two. In truth, Carbonadium alloy was merely an Adamantium imitation, developed by Oscorp. Its metallic properties were superior, but it lacked the anti-healing factor component.
For example, Doc Ock’s mechanical arms were made of Carbonadium alloy—though they could injure Spider-Man, his wounds always healed, showing that no anti-regeneration factor was present.
“Fine,” Michael agreed.
Vibranium was also found in Antarctica. Antarctic Vibranium, also from extraterrestrial meteors, was called “Anti-Metal.” This metal caused other metals’ atoms to vibrate, liquefying them—a veritable nemesis of all metals.

The deal was more or less settled. Nick Fury turned to Gwen.
Gwen smiled and said, “I still have to go to school.”
“I understand. This organization exists to deal with supernatural crime and threats beyond Earth—like the Lizard, Iron Monger, and Green Goblin, or alien invasions. Everything else is handled by agents.”
“So, in other words, there’s not much for me to do most of the time?” Gwen pressed.
“There’s still work,” Nick Fury replied. “There could be hostile forces plotting against us.”
“But I firmly believe certain special tasks require special people. That’s why I found you.”
“And how is the pay?” Gwen asked.
“Top agent rates.”
Gwen grinned. “Make it rare metals instead. Vibranium, for example.”
Nick Fury glanced at Michael—this was pure extortion.
“Sorry, but Vibranium is currently valued at over a billion dollars per kilogram.”
Michael smiled. “Since when does the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. buy things at market price?”
Nick Fury sighed. “In reality, we have very little stock. I do know a Vibranium dealer—perhaps you’d like to buy from him?”
“That won’t be necessary. I’ll look into it myself.”
That dealer did know where Wakanda was, but he didn’t have much stock.
“How much Adamantium and Carbonadium can you give me?” Gwen asked.
“Twenty pounds of Adamantium, ten of Carbonadium.”
Adamantium was an alloy and could be produced, but Carbonadium was a mineral—nonrenewable.
“Alright,” Gwen agreed.
Nick Fury quietly breathed a sigh of relief; he planned to give Michael some secondary Adamantium alloy, which was nowhere near the level of Captain America’s shield.
Cap’s shield was a specially developed Adamantium alloy, with Vibranium added to the mix and fused under a unique catalyst.
Later Adamantium alloys were merely imitations, lacking Vibranium, thus inferior in hardness and energy absorption—though still better than the Carbonadium Michael used.
Watching them haggle, Tony’s mood soured.
The gold-titanium alloy he used was only on par with Carbonadium alloy. He’d never imagined S.H.I.E.L.D. actually had Vibranium.
“Don’t try to pass off secondary Adamantium alloy—I want genuine Adamantium,” Michael demanded.
Fury shot him a look—did he really seem like the kind of man to cheat him?
Adamantium came in four forms: Original, True, Secondary, and Beta.

The Original referred to Captain America’s shield, fused with Vibranium.
True Adamantium was used for Wolverine’s skeleton—only forgeable in molten form at high temperatures, and nearly as tough as Cap’s shield. Beta Adamantium was Adamantium that had changed inside Wolverine, fusing with his healing factor and allowing for bone regrowth.
Secondary Adamantium was inferior, a mass-produced, weakened alloy—much more plentiful, but with poorer properties. Even the Hulk had bent it.
Any Adamantium that could be damaged by brute force was considered secondary.
True Adamantium, however, could only be destroyed by metals of the same grade. Cap’s shield was only shattered by Thanos’ great blade. The U.S. only provided trace amounts of this alloy to select allies.
Of course, some scientists with the right formula could produce it by the poolful.
Nick Fury had just turned to Peter when Peter piped up, “Sir, may I ask—what exactly are Vibranium, Adamantium, and Carbonadium?”
Nick Fury snapped, “Quiet. Trust me, you won’t need them. He’ll use them to make armored suits—top-of-the-line tech. You just collect your steady paycheck.”
“Oh.”
Peter asked again, “So how much does the job pay? Any benefits? What are the exact duties? Am I on call? What do I have to do? Can I still be the neighborhood’s friendly guy?”
Nick Fury’s head throbbed—clearly, this kid was a bit too excited.
“One thousand dollars a week, with room and board, unlimited weapons. If you die, you get a grave. But you’re an intern, so half that. You can keep being Spider-Man.”
“Alright.”
It was a good salary—better than his Uncle Ben ever made.
Michael did some quick math. That worked out to about three hundred forty thousand RMB a year.
The average American made about twelve hundred to fifteen hundred dollars a month; high earners could make four thousand. An agent’s monthly pay was over four grand—a clear entry into the high-income bracket.
Be content, kid—this time Nick Fury wasn’t shortchanging you.
Captain America only made about four hundred fifty thousand RMB a year—a bit more than Peter’s offer. In the movies, Cap even complained he couldn’t afford a home in Brooklyn.
As for Prince Thor, he hadn’t asked for any salary—all he wanted was food and drink. Perhaps that was one of the reasons Jane Foster left him.
But was S.H.I.E.L.D.’s pay really that low?
FBI agents made between $64,365 and $73,634 a year, with the top earners between $182,133 and $208,360.
Put simply, Cap’s annual salary, converted to dollars, was about $64,339—less than the lowest FBI agent’s salary.
And Nick Fury recruited his agents from the FBI; there was no way S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were paid so little.
It could be said that the heroes of the Avengers truly did it all for love.