Reminder

Back at Wayne Tower, Aeo and Bruce discovered that not only was Stark idly chatting with Old Alfred, but Nick Fury and Maria Hill also stood with grim expressions, lost in thought.

"Hey, Aeo, are you alright?" Tony, with sharp eyes, was the first to call out. Seeing this, Nick and Hill also stood up.

"...Master, Young Master." The old butler looked in shock at Aeo, who was shirtless with his lower body in tatters.

"I'm fine." Aeo shook his head. "Find me some clothes, Old Alfred."

Alfred looked at Bruce with uncertainty, but Bruce merely nodded. Thus, Old Alfred, filled with questions, went to find him replacement clothes.

A moment later, Aeo, now dressed, reappeared before everyone.

He looked coldly at the head agent. "Alright, do you have something you need to tell me?"

"Listen," Nick Fury said with deep concern. "I don't know who attacked you, but I can guarantee it wasn't one of ours..."

Aeo interrupted him. "Are you sure?"

He slammed the Winter Soldier's shattered mechanical arm in front of him (he had picked it up earlier). "Do you know whose this is?"

Nick Fury and Hill looked confusedly at the advanced artificial technology, their thoughts somewhat led astray by him. "Sorry, this is..."

"This is from the leader of the men who attacked me today. One of his arms was modified into this. He looks to be in his early twenties, wearing a mask, so I couldn't see his face... And this attack involved F22s and Tomahawk missiles. This is war! Is your S.H.I.E.L.D. prepared!" the young man said deliberately to intimidate them.

"Prepared for war!"

Nick and Hill's expressions changed, and Stark was also startled. Just as he was about to say something, Bruce secretly shook his head at him. Iron Man, who had been invited by Bruce to provide backup (though he wasn't needed), blinked slightly but quickly recovered, his gaze shifting uncertainly between Bruce and Nick, and then to Aeo.

"Besides Captain Rogers, who is not present, you are the only ones who know about my affairs," Aeo accused Nick Fury without politeness. "And you left not long ago, and I was attacked. I have to suspect that either you sold me out, or you're putting on a show, trying to force me to submit through violence..."

"No," Hill shook her head quickly. "We didn't..."

"Why do you think someone among us betrayed you?" the Black man, as expected of a top agent, keenly grasped the crux of the matter. "Are you saying there's a mole in S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Why not?" Aeo sneered. "As an intelligence organization, is it hard to accept being infiltrated and corrupted by foreign spies?"

Aeo looked at him coldly. "Perhaps someone by your side is a double agent, collecting and processing intelligence for S.H.I.E.L.D. on one hand, and working for some country or organization on the other. Are there not many such cases in history, Director Fury?"

"No, that's impossible!" Nick still couldn't quite believe the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. had long been corrupted by Hydra. He just shook his head and said, "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s security protocols mean that no one can possess all the intelligence! Even Agent Hill and Agent Natasha only possess a portion of the classified information. The entire organization..."

"The entire organization is in your heart," Bruce finally spoke. "Is that what you were going to say?"

Nick Fury's single eye flickered with a somber gaze, and he looked uncertainly at Stark, who remained silent, and at Batman, whose attitude seemed to have shifted.

"..."

Bruce ignored him and simply continued, "But don't forget, above S.H.I.E.L.D. there is the World Security Council, and there is Secretary Alexander Pierce, who is assigned by the Federation and deals with S.H.I.E.L.D..."

"With so many people, how can you guarantee that S.H.I.E.L.D. is absolutely airtight and makes no mistakes?"

Even Tony Stark, who hadn't thought much of it initially, couldn't help but curl his lips slightly upon hearing this. It seemed Batman's words had struck a chord with him.

"Alright, I thought S.H.I.E.L.D. was very powerful, but it seems it's nothing special after all," he quipped. "Listen, Director Fury, I also think someone among you must have sold out Zod's information. Otherwise, there's no explanation for why Zod was attacked right after you left! There are no such coincidences in the world..."

"As for the F22s..." Stark looked at Aeo worriedly and hesitated. "Was it really the Federation's doing?"

Bruce took an iPad and dropped a bombshell. "No, on my way back, I hacked into the military database and discovered that just now, Lieutenant General Wex Riley, who gave the attack order, died in a car accident! So..."

Under the astonished gazes of the Black agent leader and Hill, Bruce said calmly, "The mastermind must have realized their plan was exposed and acted to kill Riley, to prevent us from uncovering their identities and information from him..."

Nick Fury's expression was terrifyingly grim. He stared silently at the mastermind who was always one step ahead, and at Aeo and the others. After a long moment, he said, "In that case, do you have any suspects? Who among us sold out General Zod's information?"

Seeing that S.H.I.E.L.D. had finally taken the bait, Aeo and Bruce exchanged a smile.

After the "Agent King" and his beautiful female agent left, Aeo, with a touch of gratitude and apology, said to Stark beside him, "Thank you for coming, Tony! After knowing I was attacked..."

"No need to be polite." This guy, seeing that everyone was fine, reverted to his usual flippant self. "You know, although Bruce and I always bicker, our two families have been close family friends and strategic partners for half a century, so I naturally couldn't refuse his request. I just rushed over to see, and you had already dealt with the enemy..."

Recalling the hellish scene, Iron Man couldn't help but tremble slightly. "...In the end, I couldn't help much. By the way, Aeo." He forced a smile.

"I have to say, your abilities are truly god-like. Being hit by a Hellfire Missile and being fine, you're practically a god..."

"Young Master Tony!" The old butler interrupted him. "I know you've always been unrestrained, but please show some respect to God!" The old man, who believed in the Holy Light, oh, no, believed in God, looked at him earnestly.

"God is merciful!"

Stark wanted to retort but didn't want to anger this respectable and lovable old man, so he just shrugged and muttered, "That's not necessarily true."

Aeo smiled.

Patting Iron Man's shoulder, Aeo said meaningfully, "You're right, Tony. Gods are sometimes not as... gentle as we imagine."

"!"