The Original Purpose of the Avengers Initiative
As soon as the two stepped outside, S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel picked them up and took them to the New York headquarters.
In a small conference room at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters in New York, Xia Yu and Tony Stark met up with Natasha and walked in.
"I knew there was no such thing as a free lunch. You government types are all the same. See, Xia? The bill's come due," Tony Stark said, looking at Nick Fury, who had been waiting for some time.
"Watch what you say, Tony. You're part of S.H.I.E.L.D. now. We just offended the Senate and the military for your sake, and you can't even say thank you?" Nick Fury said.
"If you consider me part of S.H.I.E.L.D., then helping me is only right. If you want me to pay for it, sorry, but I never say thank you for something I've paid for, because that's the service I'm entitled to," Tony Stark said.
"Stark, what I'm about to tell you concerns the lives and safety of billions of people around the world. I hope every one of you will take it seriously." Nick Fury glanced at each of them and spoke seriously.
"All right, I'm listening," Tony Stark said. Xia Yu and Natasha nodded in agreement as well.
"This goes back to 1995. I was still a level-three S.H.I.E.L.D. agent then, and Coulson was a rookie who'd just joined. I was in charge of training him..." Nick Fury began reminiscing.
Xia Yu interrupted him as soon as he started. "Um, let me ask you something. Was Coulson's hairline already that high back then?"
"Hey, I'm talking about something serious here," Nick Fury exclaimed.
"Actually, I wanted to ask that too. Go on," Tony Stark said.
"One day I got an assignment. A woman had fallen from the sky and smashed a huge hole in a Blockbuster video store. I took Coulson with me to find her. She was wearing a green bodysuit and looked like a character from a video game. She said she was from Starforce and that her name was Vers..."
Little by little, Nick Fury told them Captain Marvel's story: the Skrulls from the distant Andromeda Constellation, who could alter their genes; the powerful Kree, born warriors; Project Pegasus; and the Tesseract.
Nick Fury went into detail, revealing one side of the vast universe to everyone. Natasha and Tony listened with great interest, while Xia Yu pretended to be just as interested.
"So you already had the Avengers Initiative back then? Was it to prevent aliens from invading Earth?" Xia Yu asked.
"Yes. Those high-and-mighty politicians wouldn't agree to the plan unless aliens were attacking us right now. They're afraid they won't be able to control that kind of power. In fact, there haven't been any suitable candidates for the initiative all this time, either."
Nick Fury glanced at Tony and Xia Yu and continued.
"Then Tony was kidnapped and taken to Afghanistan, Xia went to rescue him, and Tony became Iron Man. I saw hope that the initiative could be realized. Then the Hulk appeared, and he escaped the military's notice. Because you two had appeared, I stepped up our surveillance of him."
"Even when Bruce Banner went to the uninhabited region at the northernmost end of Greenland, we kept a satellite trained on him at all times. Bruce Banner shot himself there, but after he died, he turned into the Hulk and spat out the bullet. He also caused an avalanche in Greenland, and then we found this." Nick Fury pulled up a photo on his phone and showed everyone.
"Is that... Captain America?" Natasha said in surprise.
Tony Stark cut in. "Are you sure that isn't a circus dancer?"
Nick Fury glanced at Tony. "We've found him. He's still unconscious, but it's only a matter of time before he wakes up."
"So first, the personnel problem is solved. We have Tony Stark, Xia, Captain America, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s two best agents, Black Widow and Hawkeye. Hawkeye is away on a mission and isn't here for now. There's also a big green guy who can transform at any time. He's dangerous, but I think we'll find a way to control him. What do you think, Xia?" Nick Fury addressed that last question to Xia Yu.
"Why are you looking at me? I can't control the Hulk," Xia Yu hurriedly said.
"I didn't say you could. I think you'll find a way, just like you can put me to sleep with a needle. There's always a solution," Nick Fury said.
Tony Stark cut in again. "You seem to have forgotten the most important problem. Your plan won't get those politicians' approval."
"That's right, Stark, but we can't wait for a crisis to arrive and then scramble to respond. We can't gamble with people's lives and safety. Back then, I only met people from two planets. With so many aliens out there, who knows what race might land here one day and take an interest in Earth? We need the power to protect ourselves. This world needs the Avengers Initiative," Nick Fury said.
"You want to carry out this plan in secret? Turn us into fighters who can't show our faces?" Tony Stark said.
"No, that's not it. I want to form an emergency response team, and only keep most of its members' identities hidden from outsiders, like Bruce Banner's. Natasha and Hawkeye already work for S.H.I.E.L.D., so they can keep those identities. Captain America can join S.H.I.E.L.D. too. I'll use missions as an excuse to have them join you for training or to carry out assignments."
Nick Fury glanced at Tony again and continued. "So we need a base and equipment that nobody knows about. I can't make any major moves, but now we have you, Stark."
"Oh, damn it. You should be saying that to Xia. He's made a lot of money lately. He's practically a stock market god now." Tony passed the ball straight to Xia Yu.
"I don't have a luxury yacht worth eight hundred million dollars," Xia Yu said, rolling his eyes.
In the end, Nick Fury didn't ask anyone for a formal answer, because this was no small matter, and they needed time to think it over.
Xia Yu's arrival had already brought about considerable changes. Captain America had emerged at least two years early, and if the plan went smoothly, the Avengers would make their debut in the Marvel Universe ahead of schedule. All they needed was a major event to bring them before the public, such as the Battle of New York.