Challenging the Limits of Misunderstanding

A moment later, the call connected, and a soft, clear female voice came through. "This is Mr. Tony Stark's private line. May I ask where you are?"

"This is Henry Brown. Please transfer me to Mr. Stark. Tell him I have something interesting here and need his help."

Please wait a moment.

The call went to a waiting list. A moment later, it was answered again. Judging from the background noise, it sounded like a lively party was going on on the other end.

"What If...? this isn't interesting, I'm coming to Los Angeles tomorrow to kick your ass! As punishment for interrupting my date chase," Tony Stark the Wolverine said menacingly over the phone.

"I have two aliens here, one dead and one alive. Are you interested?" Henry stated his offer directly.

"E. T., huh? I have a life-size model at home, which I got from Amblin. It's the one they used when they were making the movie."

You and I both know what this is. Tomorrow you'd better wash your ass clean and not get my shoes dirty.

Henry laughed and said, "They're not the kind of dolls you imagine, they're living aliens. It's just that one of them splattered a lot of brain matter and kicked the bucket."

"I know Stark Industries doesn't deal in biotechnology. But are the organizations your uncles and aunts run interested in this? What If...? they aren't interested either, then I'll call the police."

"I have no problem with the state troopers taking those two aliens back and deciding whether to bury them or put them in a museum for people to see. What do you say?"

"Fuck!" Tony cursed, then asked, "Where are you?"

"Yes, it's roughly on Louisiana Route 165, near the Arkansas section."

"Wait." Tony Stark rudely hung up the phone.

Henry certainly didn't regret not saying goodbye. On the contrary, this guy's arrogant personality was becoming more and more like the future Iron Man. Henry didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

Barbara, on the other hand, stared at Henry with a strange look in her eyes. "You have a way to contact Tony Stark directly?"

"Haha, I'm the CEO of Stark Studios, what's so special about contacting that big boss? Having the ability to get him to do things is what really matters."

Looking at the man's smug face, Barbara was unsure whether to flatter him or give him a good dressing down.

Before Barbara could decide her stance, Henry's satellite phone rang again.

He'd just made the call; it certainly wasn't a scam. So Henry answered quickly. A deep, aged voice came through the phone. "Henry Brown?"

"Yes, that's me. And who are you?"

"You don't need to know that. Remember my words: stay where you are, don't leave. A helicopter will come to your location to pick you up shortly. All of you, including the aliens and their bodies, will follow the helicopter back to base. Understand?"

The persuasive voice compelled people to obey its instructions. Even Henry was no exception. "Yes, sir. But what about the car we brought?"

"Just leave it there; someone will come and collect it."

"OK."

The person on the other end didn't say anything more and simply hung up.

Seeing this, Barbara asked, "Aren't we going to take the car?"

"We just got in touch and they said they'd send a helicopter to pick us up," Henry replied.

Are there any bases nearby?

Henry's smile was forced, and he said, "Such a question shouldn't be asked of an ordinary citizen like me."

Barbara Gumme, pouting, said, "That's true."

At this moment, the agent who was being held at gunpoint spoke up, saying, "Gentlemen, I think there's a misunderstanding between us."

Henry was determined not to waste his breath on these people.

He doesn't care what others say—soft words, hard words, nonsense, or harsh words. In the end, it's just a physical phenomenon of air vibration.

How insecure and sensitive a person must be to be so hurt by such weak words.

But Henry couldn't accept people repeatedly challenging his bottom line! Especially when someone said one thing to his face and another behind his back.

Henry's patience had been worn thin by the Skrulls ' self-righteous cleverness.

However, Barbara didn't share Henry's disappointment. Partly because she wasn't the target, and partly because she still suspected the identity of the agent in front of her.

So Barbara asked, "What do you think we've misunderstood?"

"General Ross sent us to make sure that you two have really left and will not hinder our next operation."

But you killed one of our comrades without even asking a question. Can you call that being an ally?

"Damn it, you really are Skrulls!" Barbara didn't care about the doubt in his words. She raised her gun higher and straighter, as if she wanted to put the muzzle directly on his forehead.

Henry scoffed, "Only those who enjoy lying are constantly worried about being lied to. I can't be bothered to ask what other lies you've told; you can explain them yourself later. Don't try to convince me."

It's often said that the most effective way to deceive isn't to tell lies, nor is it to be nine parts truth and one part falsehood. It's to tell the whole truth, but choose not to state certain facts, leaving the audience to fill in the blanks with their own imagination.

General Ross's explanation to Carol Danvers omitted many facts. This guy's version wasn't much better.

At the same time, Henry noticed a military helicopter approaching in the distance.

The helicopter was a UH-60, the famous Black Hawk helicopter of the U.S. military. As a medium-sized utility and attack helicopter, the Black Hawk often performs tactical personnel transport missions. Being sent to transport Henry and others was no surprise.

Could a helicopter really be used to transport a Tiger? Henry, looking at Kitty beside him, couldn't help but ponder this.

The biggest problem with helicopters is noise. To achieve hovering and vertical takeoff and landing capabilities, the helicopter's engines are used to drive the overhead rotors. In addition to controlling the helicopter's movement in the air, the rotors also provide additional buoyancy.

In contrast, the buoyancy of a typical propeller-driven aircraft is provided by the wings, while the propeller only provides forward propulsion.

Therefore, the output power of the two engines is vastly different, and the volume of the sound they produce is naturally also different.

Animals are naturally anxious in unfamiliar environments. Adding deafening noise to that situation only makes them more irritable.

So, should we use Kitty as an excuse to get rid of these troublesome people and things?

Looking into the clear yet foolish eyes beside him, Henry actually saw a hint of kindness in its expression. This made him chuckle; it seemed this Tiger had been spoiled.