Children, I'm Back

Afghanistan.

To ensure their safety, the three of them did not linger. Instead, they sat atop the low-flying Jet Glider and slowly drifted back toward home.

Several hours passed.

The sound of armed helicopter rotors suddenly came from the distant horizon.

"Hey, over here, Rhodes!"

Tony waved excitedly and shouted.

The armed helicopter landed in response. Several special forces soldiers followed the fully armed Rhodes over to the travel-worn trio.

Rhodes did not ask why Leon was here, nor did he ask how Tony had escaped. He merely joked with the two of them:

"You brothers should try taking the same car as me next time, okay?"

Tony gave a bitter smile, while Leon merely shrugged indifferently. Ethan watched it all with a smile.

With Rhodes's help, Tony, who did not want to squeeze into a car with Leon, boarded a massive transport plane with Ethan.

Leon was more than happy to take it easy and boarded the plane with them.

As for the Jet Glider, it had already headed to the airport ahead of them under JARVIS's control.

The moment they got off the plane.

Emergency stretchers and rescue personnel rushed in front of the two brothers, only to be impatiently waved away by Tony.

Happy had already been waiting there in a car for a long time.

Pepper's eyes were red as she cried and laughed at the sight of the brothers returning safely.

Moving incredibly fast, Leon threw himself into Pepper's arms like an overgrown child and hugged her.

"Pepper, I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, Leon."

"Shoo, shoo!"

"Kids, move aside!"

Tony's eyelids twitched wildly. He impatiently pulled Leon away from Pepper for taking advantage of her so openly, then strode up to her.

"Oh? You cried?"

Tony forced a calm smile. "Were you sad because your missing boss was gone?"

"I was happy. It saved me the trouble of looking for another job."

Pepper replied with a soft heart and a sharp tongue.

"Really?"

"Mm!!!"

Tony gave Pepper no time to react before leaning in and kissing her.

Leon, Rhodes, and Ethan all wore auntie-like smiles at the sight. As for the other soldiers present, they had long since grown used to it.

After all, Tony Stark's reputation as a playboy was not for nothing. Leon Stark, on the other hand, seemed more honest than they had expected.

What they did not know was that Leon genuinely regarded Pepper as both an older sister and his future sister-in-law. He still had that bottom line and would never turn this into some forbidden affair.

Otherwise, Tony would probably develop an Anti-Leon Armor just to hang him up and spank him.

Wait!

Anti-Leon Armor?

Leon suddenly thought of this, his expression turning grave as he looked at Tony's back. He couldn't already have a draft in his head, could he...

After a long while.

Their lips parted.

Tony's expression turned serious. "Time to get to work, kids."

He looked back at Leon, who nodded at him.

Afterward, Tony and Ethan got into the car with Happy and Pepper. Instead of heading to the hospital as Pepper had initially decided, they changed course for the press conference venue Tony had repeatedly insisted on.

Before leaving.

"Hey, skinny old man, don't forget your burger."

Leon took two Burger King burgers from the Jet Glider's seat and accurately tossed them through the car window to Tony and Ethan.

He had asked JARVIS to prepare them beforehand.

"Nice, kid. You get it!"

Tony took a huge bite of his burger, looking thoroughly satisfied.

After surviving such a near-death experience, Tony reflected deeply and decided to shut down Stark Industries' weapons division.

Leon had no objections, but there was no need for him to attend the press conference. Right now, he just wanted to go home and take a hot shower.

"JARVIS, remember to wash my uniform later. Patch up the torn parts while you're at it."

"Yes, Master Leon."

When Leon returned to the Seaside Villa, an unexpected yet entirely unsurprising figure appeared at his front gate.

"Mr. Leon, may I have a word with you?"

The man had the same refined temperament as Ethan. Dressed in a crisp black suit, he approached Leon.

"And you are?"

After telling JARVIS to park the Jet Glider, Leon raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Hello, Mr. Leon."

The man shook Leon's hand amicably, then introduced himself. "I'm Agent Phil Coulson. I work for the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"Oh, hell, that's a mouthful of a department name."

"So why not just use the initials? S-H-I-E-L-D. Shield. Why not just call it S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Leon complained, conveniently simplifying the name of Hydra S.H.I.E.L.D. before Motherfucker could.

"That is an excellent suggestion. I'll bring it up with my superiors."

Coulson's eyes lit up. He had long thought the name of his department was far too awkward to say.

S.H.I.E.L.D., huh? It sounds meaningful, Coulson thought.

"But why you people instead of the Department of Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or the Central Intelligence Agency? I've never even heard of your department before."

Leon asked with an utterly convincing expression.

"Compared with the DOD, FBI, and CIA, we are a more independent department with more focused responsibilities," Coulson answered, then asked:

"Mr. Leon, I hope you can describe in detail how you and Mr. Tony escaped."

As he spoke.

Coulson handed Leon a photograph. Leon took it and saw an extremely blurry crimson beam of light, captured from an overhead angle.

Others might not have been able to make anything of it, but Leon recognized it at a glance. This was obviously a photo of him firing the Chest Cannon at the Ten Rings base.

However, because the Chest Cannon released a massive amount of radiation when it fired, the satellite image was blurrier than censored porn.

"At the time, radiation levels in that area spiked abnormally. We suspected a nuclear reactor explosion, which caught S.H.I.E.L.D.'s satellite surveillance, allowing us to capture this image in time."

"After investigating, we found that this area was precisely the Ten Rings base where Mr. Tony was held captive."

"Mr. Leon, can you tell me what weapon fired this beam of light?"

Coulson asked with a polite smile.

"Uh..."

Leon was almost speechless.

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s efficiency was fucking insane.

Or was there some kind of villain bonus?

After all, apart from Agent Coulson in front of him, only Hill, Sharon Kate, Motherfucker, Black Widow, and Hawkeye could be considered genuinely loyal within S.H.I.E.L.D.

Every other one of them, without exception, was Hydra reserve material.

Leon truly had no idea how Motherfucker had managed to become director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

When it came to undercover work, Leon was willing to call Motherfucker the strongest!

"Agent Coulson, you know how it is. I'm just the younger brother. For the details, wait for my big brother to announce them. It probably won't take long."

After saying that.

Leon did not waste any more breath.

Right in front of Coulson, he climbed over the wall into his home, giving him no chance to come in for a visit.

"..."

Looking up at the more than three-meter-tall white wall before him, Coulson's friendly smile stiffened and twitched slightly. No one knew what he was thinking.

Not long after.

A Bluetooth call came in.

Coulson, who had returned to his car and was preparing to leave, answered it.

"How did it go?"

"Sir, the target showed no intention of cooperating."

"Motherfucker, he's tight-lipped..."

The voice on the other end fell silent for a moment before giving instructions. "Since the kid is a dead end, go contact Tony Stark's secretary, Pepper Potts, first."

"As for Leon Stark... oh, shit, Natasha is on a covert mission in the Far East. She probably won't be back for another couple of days, so send Sharon instead."

"Isn't that kid famous for playing around?"

"Then let him play to his heart's content!"

"Yes, sir."

Leon, who was taking a bath, had no idea what kind of feast S.H.I.E.L.D. was preparing for him. If he had known, he definitely would have said: There's such a good thing?