Be Careful Not to Catch a Cold

Overwatch: William

Level: 3

Gold: 1200

Energy: 5 points

Skill: Sprint

Items: ??

Heroes Unlocked: 2

It had been nearly two months since William had arrived in the Marvel Universe. During that time, he had unlocked two heroes, Soldier: 76 and Hanzo, and his transformation time had reached five minutes.

Last night, he had entered the Virtual Training Grounds to practice archery as Hanzo. He hadn't expected it to be harder than he'd imagined.

It wasn't like a game, where you could just move the mouse and shoot an arrow. Archery in the real world wasn't that simple. You had to hold the bow properly, find the right angle, and be able to predict your target's movements.

Especially when facing a fast-moving enemy, any arrow you fired could miss. He'd struggled all night before finally getting the hang of it. By the time he left the Virtual Training Grounds, it was already three in the morning.

So much for going to bed early. Hah.

On paper, William was a pizza delivery guy. In reality, he was an agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. No, he should say a consultant. Even if his identity was a cover, he couldn't just skip work—even if he showed up late.

With dark circles under his eyes, William arrived at the fast-food restaurant, where his boss, Jonathan, gave him another harsh scolding for being late.

But he couldn't be bothered to talk back. He'd already asked S.H.I.E.L.D. for an advance on his salary. He'd long since stopped caring about his delivery wages, so he didn't have to worry about his heartless boss docking his pay.

There weren't many deliveries today. He'd been planning to slack off and catch a nap, but then he spotted Coulson in the restaurant again.

"Hey? Didn't sleep well last night?" William asked. He'd noticed Coulson had dark circles under his eyes too, and they looked even worse than his own.

"It's nothing. I'm just not used to sleeping in a different bed. I have trouble sleeping away from home." Coulson took a sip of coffee and answered listlessly.

He'd been monitoring William the whole time. After he reported his findings to Director Fury yesterday, Nick Fury had ordered him to keep watching. Coulson had no choice but to sit on the sofa and wait in silence. Nothing changed on the monitor.

After a while, Coulson grew drowsy and nearly fell asleep. With no other choice, he kept drinking coffee until three in the morning, when William finally reappeared.

Coulson hurried to report to Director Fury, only to find that the other man had already gone to bed. Once Nick Fury heard what had happened, he thought something was off. He told Coulson to keep monitoring William, then hung up.

After staying up so late, Coulson had been desperate to sleep. But when he finally lay down, he realized he'd drunk so much coffee that he couldn't sleep at all.

Of course, William still had no idea he was being watched.

"Tonight, Disney Concert Hall will host a grand event." Boss Jonathan turned on the TV, where a news report was playing.

"The third annual Soldier Family Support Fund Gala will be held here. Our guest of honor, Tony Stark, hasn't been seen since that unusual press conference. He probably won't show up tonight either..."

William smiled. He knew Tony would definitely come tonight.

Just then, Coulson got a phone call. He exchanged a few words, hung up, then stood to leave.

"Why are you leaving?" William walked over and asked.

"New assignment." Coulson drained his coffee. "You'd better behave while I'm gone."

"Oh?" William said with a smile. "You're going to see Tony Stark, aren't you? I hear the guy's terribly arrogant. Want me to give you a hand?"

Night gradually fell over Disney Concert Hall. A bright red carpet had been laid out in front, and the area was crowded with people—industry leaders and celebrities everywhere.

A silver Audi R8 raced up nearby, and a man in a suit stepped out.

"Tony Stark!" someone with a sharp eye called out, recognizing him.

Tony's arrival caused a commotion. Everyone, whether they knew him or not, hurried over to curry favor with him.

Obadiah, who was in the middle of an interview, hadn't expected that pest to show up again. Tony exchanged a few words with him, then strode into the venue.

"Get me a whiskey. I'm dying of thirst."

"Mr. Stark."

Tony had just ordered a drink when Coulson appeared behind him. He seemed to have been waiting for a while. "I'm Agent Phil Coulson with S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Oh, it's you. S.H.I.E.L.D.? Did you change your name?" Tony asked, lifting his whiskey.

"I know you may not be keen, but we need to sit down and talk sometime." Coulson did his best to sound polite. "There are a few things we need to tell you. Time is tight, so it'd be best to set a time."

But Tony wasn't really listening. His attention was fixed on someone else. Pepper Potts had appeared in the crowd in a sexy blue backless dress. Her golden hair and dazzling smile made her look utterly captivating.

"I think you're right," Tony said distractedly. "I'll go set a time with my assistant."

Coulson tried to shake his hand, but Tony ignored him and turned to walk toward Pepper. Coulson was left with his hand hanging in midair, in an awkwardness that could hardly have been worse.

"You're going about this all wrong," a voice said beside him. He turned and saw William.

William was wearing a suit too, but it was clearly the wrong size. It was a little too small on him.

There was nothing he could do about it. He'd borrowed the suit from another agent. He hadn't been involved in tonight's operation, but no one had expected him to volunteer to help. Still, it was for the best. He was a S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant, after all. It wouldn't make sense to pay him to sit around doing nothing.

"Tony Stark isn't an ordinary person," Coulson said helplessly. "We really don't know what to do with him."

"He's just rich, isn't he?" William scoffed. "That rich guy in the black cat suit has way more money than him!"

"The guy in the black cat suit?" Coulson didn't understand what William meant.

"Never mind. Just watch me." William smiled and headed toward the dance floor.

Coulson was stunned. Did this guy actually have a good plan?

William didn't go over to interrupt Tony and Pepper while they were dancing. Instead, he headed toward another woman. She was a blonde beauty too, except her hair was tied up.

If he remembered correctly, this beauty had once been involved with Tony.

"Hello, I'm William Lister with S.H.I.E.L.D. There's something I'd like you to help us with."

A while later, Tony returned to the bar looking like he'd seen a ghost. He'd realized that he might have fallen for his own secretary.

Pepper Potts was his personal secretary. She was beautiful and good at her job. But Tony was never short of beautiful women. He only had to beckon, and countless women would throw themselves at him.

It wasn't until tonight that he noticed Pepper's beauty. She'd been by his side for so long; perhaps she'd already left her mark on his heart.

"Isn't this the famous playboy?"

As Tony sat lost in thought, a voice came from behind him. It sounded a little mocking, though it was hard to tell if the speaker meant it or was just pretending.

"Oh, hey. Who are you?" Tony turned around and saw a blond young man in a suit. "Do we know each other?"

"No," the young man replied. "I'm William Lister with S.H.I.E.L.D."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. again." Tony frowned. "What exactly do you want with me?"

"Have you ever heard of a city called Gulmira?" William asked, handing him some photos.

Tony looked at them in confusion. The photos showed scenes of war-torn villages, dead children, and all kinds of weapons. On those weapons, he saw a familiar logo—

Stark Industries!

"When were these pictures taken?" Tony asked angrily.

"Yesterday," William said gravely. "Can you explain why we're still finding these weapons, when you've already shut down your weapons division?"

Tony's expression changed at once. He started to turn and leave, but William patted him on the shoulder. "It gets cold up there. Be careful not to catch a cold!"