Avengers Assemble (Part Two)

A black Quinjet tore through the night sky.

The cabin was stuffy.

Tony Stark sat in the corner with his arms folded, his expression uglier than the stock he had just bought. The blue glow of the reactor in his chest remained steady, but his mood was anything but.

"JARVIS," he called in his mind.

"Yes, sir."

"Analyze that power outage again."

"Sir, the energy systems, including all physically isolated backup lines, were cut off simultaneously within the same Planck time. There were no signs of intrusion, no energy source, and no physical contact. The conclusion is... inexplicable."

"Inexplicable." Tony muttered those four words, feeling his teeth itch.

He was a scientist. He believed everything could be measured and explained. Yet that man called Anthony Chen was a walking embodiment of the word "inexplicable."

Was it some kind of high-frequency electromagnetic pulse? Or something even more absurd, like spatial technology?

He could not figure it out. It gave him a worse headache than palladium poisoning.

Coulson sat across from him, rubbing his hands together with the excitement of someone about to meet his idol.

"Mr. Stark, it's such an honor to meet you. I collected the complete set of your father's invention briefs, along with every newspaper clipping from when you first revealed your identity."

Tony glanced at him without saying a word.

Coulson did not mind and continued, "We all have high hopes for you. The Captain does too. Oh, right, I also have a complete first-edition collection of Captain America trading cards in perfect condition. All I'm missing is his autograph."

"Is that so?" Tony's tone was sharp. "Then you should go find him instead of bothering me. Maybe he can sign your little shield too."

Coulson's smile stiffened for a moment.

Chu Hang leaned against the cabin