Earth, North America, Missouri.
This place was originally United States, an inconspicuous state in the Midwest.
If it weren't for a famous writer named Mark Twain, people's impression of it would almost entirely remain on farms, pastures, large virgin forests, and beautiful natural scenery.
But now, it has become the focus of the world.
Whether it was the government, the military, S.H.I.E.L.D., or Avengers Alliance, which had just undergone a demolition and reconstruction, they all gathered here to look at the dark blue unknown substance that swallowed up large areas of land, forests, buildings and roads.
Obviously, these dark blue and shining mysterious substances are nothing else. They are the plants that Ego planted back then, or they can be called their clones.
His initial purpose was very simple, which was to assimilate more planets by replicating a large number of his own cells, or even create people of the same kind as himself.
Because in his opinion, the vast majority of intelligent life in this universe are too low-level and disappointing, and are not qualified to coexist with them in the same world, so he wants to transform them according to his own will.
This is very similar to Thanos.
In other words, many villains in Marvel Universe have similar characteristics.
That is, what they do is not for the pursuit of personal power, rights and desires, but for ideals and to create what they think is a better future.
But unfortunately, these seeds were only half activated, and Ego was eaten by Vilnalasath.
The cells that have lost control remain in a semi-activated state, neither expanding nor contracting.
If attacked by the outside world, it will also release energy and explosions to fight back.
This kind of counterattack often produces the destructive power of tens of millions of tons of nuclear weapons explosions, so much so that even US Government doesn't know what to do and can only maintain the status quo temporarily.
After all, no matter how crazy those shameless politicians and bureaucrats are, they would not dare to continuously cause such strong explosions on their own land. If they accidentally trigger natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, it will be great fun.
You must know that the previous Washington government's brazen invasion of the two neighboring countries, the north and the south, has caused unimaginable diplomatic, military and security pressure.
The border, which was originally not very fortified, now has to accumulate heavy troops to barely control vicious cases such as cross-border vendettas.
At the same time, after the inside story that S.H.I.E.L.D. was completely penetrated and controlled by Hydra was exposed, the people of United States were in an uproar.
Operation Paperclip, who caused all this, became the target of siege.
Suddenly, "McCarthyism", which once made countless people change their minds after hearing it, reared its head again.
In order to cater to the people's extreme ideas, various politicians have put forward their own radical ideas. Even the word "Great Purge" frequently appears in various campaign rallies and speeches.
Poor Justin Hammer and Hammer Industries, which he founded, were directly and forcibly state-owned because of their deep involvement with Hydra. Their internal management was then reorganized, and finally they were listed on the market and acquired by major chaebols and capital groups.
In contrast, Stark Industries, which has always been very stable internally, took advantage of this opportunity to expand wildly.
Now it has become the Americas's strongest multinational giant, covering all aspects from energy to electronic products.
Although Iron Man's attitude towards US Government and the military is getting worse and worse, even full of naked and undisguised contempt, these people still hold him up like an ancestor.
no way!
As the technology provided by Allen begins to enter the application field, the technological hegemony established by America since the end of WWII can no longer be maintained. The decline of technological hegemony also means that military hegemony is crumbling, and military hegemony is the most important fulcrum supporting financial and monetary hegemony.
The three complement each other, and the lack of any one will lead to the loss of the other two positions.
So even if it is for their own benefit, they must serve Stark Industries carefully.
Otherwise, once the willful Tony·Stark announces a change of nationality or takes technology to other countries, these politicians, senior officials and capital groups may not even have a place to cry.
In particular, the space war caused by Project Insight has allowed several powerful countries to see the development direction of future wars, and have launched their own space warship R&D and manufacturing plans.
As for United States's plan, the most important energy source and engine can only be produced by Stark Industries.
Of course, for Iron Man, these despicable and dirty political tricks have never been his consideration.
Right now, the man wearing Iron Man suit was standing in front of a large group of dark blue cells that were four or five stories high, and asked in an uncertain tone, "Is this thing alive?"
"That's right! After detection by the instrument, these unknown cells contain extremely amazing energy fluctuations. The previous explosions, which were comparable to nuclear warheads, were the result of a large number of cells releasing energy instantly." Coulson touched his half-bald head and replied.
It can be seen that Nick Fury died and S.H.I.E.L.D. was torn down and rebuilt, which almost exhausted his energy, and the whole person looked very tired.
After all, although my previous job was dangerous and busy, I didn't need to consider issues from an overall perspective, let alone worry about political troubles.
But now, as Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. died together, US Government and the military finally began to persecute the remaining forces of S.H.I.E.L.D., trying to annex these forces and manpower and turn them into a knife in their own hands.
In short, the reconstructed S.H.I.E.L.D. is not going well.
As for having the right to freely enter and exit, collect intelligence and conduct activities in major countries and regions in the world as before, don't even think about it.
Funds have also been cut to a bare minimum, and we can barely maintain a rough structure.
If possible, Coulson would not want to take over this so-called director's position at all.
But the problem is that Maria Sil is no longer trusted by International Security Council because she helped Nick Fury hide a real alien battleship.
In order to ensure that the rebuilt S.H.I.E.L.D. would not be infiltrated by Hydra again, Coulson could only reluctantly take this position with little power but considerable trouble.
From the time he took office until now, what he has done most is to hunt down the fugitive Hydra members and clean up the mess left by Nick Fury.
Like now, this is the first time that we have truly come forward to deal with a threat that affects the life and death of the earth and mankind.
"In other words, these cells are like giant bombs with consciousness. If we attack it, it will fight back by self-destructing?" Tony·Stark opened his visor and touched his chin, lost in thought.
Coulson nodded solemnly. "Yes! Judging from its current area and the power of the previous explosions, if they were to detonate together, not to mention Missouri, the entire United States would be wiped off the map."
"What do you say Thor? This thing shouldn't be a product of the earth no matter how you look at it." Iron Man tried to get more useful information.
You must know that among Avengers, if anyone knows the most about the universe, it is Thor.
Although he has a carefree personality and is not exposed to too many secrets, he is still a hundred times better than these people trapped on the earth.
In fact, more than half of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal records about extraterrestrial civilizations come from Thor's dictation.
Although Allen knew a lot about alien civilization through Sakura, he did not reveal too much to International Security Council.
"After Thor saw it, he has already taken Rainbow Bridge back to Asgard to ask other people. If there is any news, he will come back soon to inform us." Coulson sighed helplessly.
Obviously, instead of being helpless here, he would rather continue to hunt down the fugitive Hydra members and study the use of the Obelisk he just obtained not long ago.
But unfortunately, as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., dealing with supernatural threats is his most important job.
So even if he was squatting here doing nothing, National Security Council would not allow him and his men to leave to perform other tasks.
After all, from the perspective of all mankind, although the threat of Hydra is not small, it can be described as insignificant compared to this kind of disaster that may lead to the destruction of mankind and even the earth.
Tony·Stark was obviously very aware of how difficult S.H.I.E.L.D.'s current situation was. He gently patted the other party's shoulder and comforted him, "Relax, we will find a solution. By the way, where are the magic apprentices I gave you some time ago?"
"They have all been transferred by International Security Council and plan to set up a separate department after identity investigation."
As soon as this matter was mentioned, Coulson's face became extremely ugly.
Because International Security Council has made it clear that he no longer trusts S.H.I.E.L.D., let alone his management and leadership abilities.
"All of them? None left for you?" Tony·Stark's eyes widened in surprise.
Coulson smiled bitterly and nodded, "Yeah! Not a single one was left. Not only that, they also prohibited me from conducting transactions and contacting Sky City without authorization."
"Hydra's Project Insight scared them quite a bit this time." Tony sneered and mocked.
"Anyway, let's find a way to deal with these unknown cells first. Based on the images captured by the satellite, we can conclude that the location where it first erupted was in the woods not far from a gas station on the road. From start to stop, it only took a total of ten minutes to expand to the current area. Although it is not clear why it suddenly stopped, if it had not stopped, it would have swallowed the entire planet in up to twelve hours."
While talking, Coulson took out the tablet computer from his pocket and showed Iron Man the whole process of this unknown cell explosion.
Staring at the images that continued to play on the screen, Tony frowned subconsciously. "Have Alesia seen it?"
"Have seen it. She said it has nothing to do with magic. And since Your Excellency Allen has not come back yet, Sky City is temporarily in a semi-closed state. Unless we are really in danger of extinction, they will not take action." Coulson hurriedly explained.
This is why he can still remain calm until now.
Since Sky City is not taking action, it means that these blue cells will not continue to expand for the time being.
"Damn it! Where did that guy go? He hasn't come back after so long..." Tony couldn't help complaining.
You must know that after Allen left, both Wonderful House and the grocery store were completely closed.
The important materials he used to make the magic version Iron Man suit have now lost their sources.
If Thor hadn't brought a few pieces of Uru metal, even repairing it would have been a moderate problem.
"I have some guesses about this." Coulson lowered his voice and whispered in Iron Man's ear.
"Oh? What a guess!" Tony's eyes flashed with strong curiosity.
Coulson looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then took a deep breath and said, "As far as I know, one of Your Excellency Allen's companions entered the universe a few years ago and launched an attack on the Kree Empire, one of the three Rider countries. If nothing else, he may have gone to help destroy this powerful alien civilization."
"What?! Kree Empire!" Tony's face suddenly changed. "You mean... they launched a war that could affect the entire universe?"
"Yes! Their goal from the beginning was to destroy Kree Empire. Because this civilization once came to the earth and even tried to enslave humans and turn the earth into their colony." Coulson rarely said something good for Allen.
After all, as Earthlings, he had no favorable impressions of these blue-skinned and extremely strong alien invaders, and wished they could all be killed as soon as possible.
Only in this way will the earth become safer.
"No! I mean, it's such an interesting thing, why didn't Allen call me?" Tony pointed at his nose and roared angrily.
This is a veritable space war!
As a member of the generation who grew up watching the Star Wars series, he is filled with all kinds of longing for the grand and gorgeous universe.
But now, he unexpectedly missed such a rare opportunity. The pain and regret simply made this proud Iron Man go crazy.
Just when Coulson wanted to say something to change the subject, a portal suddenly opened out of thin air.
Before the busy agents around him could react to what was happening, the figure of Allen appeared directly in everyone's sight.
Not only him, but also Mantis who was extremely curious about the surroundings.
As for Vilnalasath, it has long been turned into a badge to completely hide itself.
After all, she is a red Great Dragon. Even if she is reduced to the size of a palm, it will cause a series of troubles.
Dragons are not creatures that can be seen everywhere on earth.
But after Vilnalasath hid, the attention of all the agents was immediately attracted to the tentacles on Mantis's forehead.
Especially senior agents who had come into contact with alien things instantly judged that this was a 100% alien creature, and they all pulled out their guns and got ready for battle.