Tony's Dinner

Beep! Beep!

The top-floor hall of Stark Tower was bathed in soft, warm light. In the center of the hall stood a dining table covered with a white cloth, where a man and a woman sat facing each other.

The wine glasses they were about to clink froze in mid-air, and the smiles on their faces stalled at the sound of Jarvis's notification.

"You have a call, sir." Jarvis's voice was so close to a human's that if one didn't listen carefully, they would truly believe a real person was speaking.

Tony could have made Jarvis's voice sound one hundred percent human, but that wasn't a good idea; it would keep him constantly immersed in memories.

The smile on Tony's face slowly faded. He glanced at the unknown caller ID on the holographic screen to the side, then looked at the beautiful woman before him.

Pepper Potts, the current CEO of Stark Industries and also Tony's girlfriend, wore a playful smile on her face. She didn't speak, just watched Tony quietly.

"You really are a mood killer. Tell them I'm on vacation, currently dining with a beautiful lady!" Sensing the meaning behind the subtle smile on Pepper's face, Tony decisively chose to decline the call. He turned back, raised his wine glass again, and said, "Whatever that was, this dinner will definitely have a perfect ending. Cheers!"

"You know what I'm thinking."

Pepper was finally amused. She just wanted an attitude from Tony; if something were truly wrong, she wasn't the type of woman to be unreasonable.

Clink!

The wine glasses clinked in mid-air, and both took a sip of the champagne.

The intelligent butler Jarvis lived up to his name. He simulated Tony's voice to convey his message to the person on the other end of the line. After hearing what the person had to say, he once again interrupted Tony's dinner, judging by the urgency of the matter.

"Sir, this is a call from Steve Rogers. He says there is a rather urgent matter."

Jarvis was much better than the intellectually disabled Red Queen; the Red Queen was, at best, a large-scale intelligent program.

In the end, the call was connected by Tony.

At the farm, after a long period of reflection, Steve and Natasha finally accepted Duncan's suggestion to seek Tony's help.

"Oh, come on! Do you really have to bother me while I'm on vacation? I'm enjoying a wonderful dinner! Is there anything that can't wait until I've finished my meal?"

Facing Tony's grumbling voice, Steve said with a serious expression, "There is no time to waste. We need your help. Let Natasha explain the situation to you!"

Staring at the phone held out to him, Natasha rolled her eyes directly. "Why is it always me who has to explain?"

"The situation is too complicated, and you have a better way with words, so you say it." Steve offered encouragement.

"Oh, right!" Natasha looked at Steve, wiped her lips with a smirk, and then held the phone to her ear, greeting the person on the other side, "It's me, Tony. How have you been lately?"

Inside the top floor of Stark Tower, Tony replied while cutting his steak, "Not bad. It would be even better if dinner weren't interrupted! How about you guys?"

"Not so good..." Rubbing her temples, Natasha had already organized the chaotic information and began to speak: "We've encountered a lot of things. Remember Hydra? They weren't wiped out during World War II. The remaining members of Hydra infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. They turned Project Insight into a terrible weapon to slaughter over two million people who threaten them. Because we discovered Hydra's conspiracy, they killed Fury!"

The hand holding the steak paused. The relaxed expression on Tony's face in the tower vanished, replaced by a look of shock.

How did that guy Fury die so suddenly?

It didn't give him any mental preparation at all.

Pepper also withdrew her smile. She could tell that things were not simple; it seemed today's dinner was going to be ruined.

"Yes, our experiences over the past few days have been very bad."

Being hunted by Hydra, accidentally meeting a visitor from another world, and going through so many life-or-death situations—she didn't want to encounter such tense and stimulating experiences ever again.

"We have 10 hours left to stop Hydra's Project Insight. Also, the person from the other world suggested we ask you for help. If it weren't for his suggestion, we actually planned to act on our own. Now, Hydra members have infiltrated all walks of life, perhaps including Stark Industries. There might even be Hydra agents around you."

"What? There are parasites stealing my salary in my company? Why didn't I know!" Tony's expression was quite colorful. He hated traitors more than anything in his life, especially those who took the salary he paid while selling his intelligence. "You guys wait, I'll be there immediately."

After the anger passed, he planned to go and deal with those Hydra members.

"Wait!" Natasha hurriedly stopped the impulsive Tony and soothed him: "You just finished surgery; I don't suggest you come in person. Just provide us with some technical support. We might need a hacker to breach S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal network."

Tony sat back down. After his mood calmed, he suddenly discovered the key point and asked suspiciously, "Wait, you just said something strange. Other worlds? Aliens?"

"Uh..." Natasha turned her head to look at Duncan, who was sleeping in the car, and then at the two Umbrella squads organizing their equipment nearby. "This matter is more complicated, but I guess you'll be interested in him. You can meet later; for now, stopping Hydra's plan is more important."

Tony, who was at Stark Tower, didn't hesitate and immediately made various arrangements for Jarvis. "OK! Jarvis, clear all unnecessary computing power and prepare some gadgets for our Captain. The equipment will be delivered within ten minutes. If you need anything else, you can speak up now."

The members of the two action squads guarding Duncan watched silently as the three of them sought help, hearing every word they said.

When Natasha turned back and asked if they needed any equipment, they looked at each other and shook their heads in unison.

They had brought most of the equipment they needed, and it would be hard for them to master new gear without time to adapt, so they might as well stick with their standard Umbrella equipment.

Fifteen minutes later, a small unmanned spacecraft descended from the sky. It had no lights or noise; if it hadn't instantly activated its engines to slow its descent just before landing, Steve and the others wouldn't have even noticed the arrival of the small ship.

Seeing the crate arrive, the three of them immediately walked out of the barn to "loot the drop."

The Umbrella members, who had never seen such high-tech flying objects, stared with wide eyes. This kind of exquisite and detailed craftsmanship was not something that could be easily imitated in their world.

The small unmanned spacecraft was not small; it had a shuttle-like structure, about three meters long and about 1.6 meters high, with a relatively large interior space.

After the hatch opened, three crates were neatly stacked inside.

One was the suit Steve had specifically requested, another was the stealth gear Natasha needed, and the last contained Falcon's equipment along with the connection and communication devices needed to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal network.

Seeing the sci-fi creations of Marvel, James turned his head with difficulty to look at Duncan, who was still slumped in the car, his face somewhat pale.

It was real; the world-crossing was all real.

The other members of the squad, seeing these unprecedented high-tech creations, felt their last shred of doubt vanish. They looked at their captain in silence.