Just Happened to Have Wings

Tony sat in the car and instructed Happy:

"Take a detour and get me a burger. I'm starving."

He did not choose to hold a press conference immediately. Instead, he decided to return home first.

At that moment, his curiosity about the mysterious Angel had completely overshadowed his thoughts of disbanding Stark Industries' weapons division.

He could not wait to find out just who this mysterious figure that had suddenly appeared really was.

The moment he got home, Tony immediately ordered:

"JARVIS, pull up everything we've gathered recently about the Angel."

Soon, all kinds of data and information appeared on the screen.

As Tony read through the materials, his eyes widened further and further, and he stared in disbelief before exclaiming:

"Flying at Mach 900? Its unarmed attacks are as powerful as tactical nuclear bombs?? What kind of monster is this?"

JARVIS replied in its usual matter-of-fact electronic voice:

"Sir, based on all available data, the target appears to be some Angel from mythology."

Tony pointed at Lu Xi's obvious wings on the screen and said irritably:

"I can see that! Did you really need to tell me?"

JARVIS continued:

"Sir, this portion consists of data collected by Stark satellites."

"The other portion is publicly available information from the internet."

Then, more information began appearing on the screen.

Videos of Lu Xi beating up Hulk and instantly killing Abomination were spreading like wildfire online.

Moreover, because the original footage had been filmed with professional television equipment, its clarity was practically comparable to a movie.

That made many people unwilling to believe it at first.

Some even suspected it was a joke by some film crew, a promotional clip for a special-effects movie.

It was not until they saw authoritative reports from major New York media outlets that people had no choice but to accept the truth.

Some enthusiasts had already created a website called "Angel's Descent," filled with fanatical worship of this Angel.

"Look at those holy wings and that invincible power. This must be an Angel sent by God to save us!"

"That's right, Judgment Day has arrived. The Angel must have come to the mortal world to cleanse the heretics!"

Of course, quite a few people remained skeptical.

"You actually believe myths from storybooks? Maybe he's just a superpowered person who happens to have wings?"

Tony frowned deeply as he read those comments, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Tony was far from the only one being driven to distraction by all the information online.

At the S.H.I.E.L.D. New York Branch, inside the conference room.

Nick Fury stared intently at the flood of information about Lu Xi on the screen before him and could not help muttering a curse:

"Motherfucker, there's no keeping this under wraps now."

He rubbed his temples irritably, then looked up, swept his gaze across everyone in the conference room, and said:

"All right, tell me what we've got so far."

Maria Hill cleared her throat and spoke first:

"Director, ordinary civilians may not be able to find Lucifer's specific address, but powerful groups are not so easily brushed off."

"People from the White House and Congress, as well as Norman from Oscorp, have all tried to contact the target. We stopped them according to protocol."

She frowned slightly and added, "But it's put us under tremendous pressure. Some people have already passed word to us through Director Pierce, telling us not to meddle. They're also demanding Lucifer's file."

Fury sighed helplessly. After thinking for a moment, he said:

"Since Lucifer himself chose to appear in the public eye, there's no need for us to forcibly stop him."

"Let's do this. We won't interfere in that matter. We'll just notify him of the situation in advance."

He paused and fell into thought again. After a while, he continued:

"As for the file... just create a public one. Give him the codename 'Angel,' include some information that doesn't involve core data, and give every side an explanation."

Maria nodded. "Understood, Director."

Just then, the conference room door was violently shoved open with a BANG.

Alexander Pierce rushed straight in, his expression hurried.

Nick Fury frowned, clearly displeased:

"Pierce, we're in a meeting."

Although Pierce had once been his superior and still held a position in a higher agency, he was no longer formally part of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Under the confidentiality agreement, Pierce had no authority to directly interfere in S.H.I.E.L.D. affairs.

Yet Pierce seemed not to have heard Fury at all. His face grave, he said directly:

"Fury, something serious has happened. Peggy Carter... she isn't going to make it."

Nick Fury's one eye widened in utter disbelief, and he could not help swearing:

"F**K, how could this happen? Didn't those damn doctors say she still had several years left?"

Pierce slowly shook his head, his tone heavy:

"It seems a nurse made a mistake at work and gave her something she was allergic to."

Fury asked anxiously:

"How is she doing now?"

Pierce sighed helplessly:

"Not well. She's already advanced in age, and she also has quite a few old injuries from her years as an agent."

"The doctors' conclusion is that they can only keep her alive with various machines and medications. She probably has two or three days left."

Nick Fury could hardly believe his ears. Peggy Carter was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founders, a highly respected living relic who had rendered tremendous service to the agency.

Given Peggy Carter's former rank and seniority, the classified information she knew was certainly no less than that known by Fury, the current director.

That was why, after her retirement, all the medical staff around her had been carefully selected and assigned by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal medical department.

The purpose was to ensure that no classified information could ever leak out.

Now that such an important person had suffered an accident, the blame would undoubtedly fall on Nick Fury, the current director.

Maria had clearly thought of that as well. She frowned slightly and reminded him in a low voice:

"Director, in theory, all the medical personnel are under your jurisdiction too."

Fury cursed again, his expression turning extremely ugly.

"Shit! Fuck! Why did this have to happen now!"

After all, quite a number of people within S.H.I.E.L.D. were dissatisfied with him as director.

The reason was simple. First, he was Black, and those racial supremacists had disliked him from the start.

Second, the agency's funds often went missing without explanation, and many people suspected Fury had pocketed them.

That also made those who wanted to skim benefits from the appropriations deeply unhappy with him.

Nick Fury's expression kept shifting. If something happened to Peggy at a time like this, someone might seize the opportunity to make trouble.

It would probably be difficult to shake his position as director, since Pierce fully supported him.

But if someone used this chance to uncover problems with the funds, his authority over funding could very well be severely affected.