A genius clashes with the king of spies: Tony demands answers from S.H.I.E.L.D.
Inside Stark Industries ' New York headquarters, in the deepest, most private underground laboratory.
Tony Stark irritably ripped off his tie and tossed it carelessly onto the alloy workbench littered with holographic blueprints and empty energy drink cans. The air was thick with his unique aroma, a mixture of solder and high-end coffee.
"JARVIS, double-check the coordinates of the Safe House. I need to make sure we don't trigger any medieval-style rolling stone traps or gas sprays when we go in," Tony said to the air, while taking a Pruning Armani suit jacket from the mechanical arm beside him and putting it on.
"Sir, the coordinates have been confirmed. Based on the backdoor protocol you provided, we can theoretically bypass 99.9% of the physical and digital defense systems. However, given that the target is Nick Fury, I must remind you that the remaining 0.1% is usually the most lethal." JARVIS's refined British accent echoed in the laboratory.
"I like excitement." Tony tidied his goatee in front of the mirror, a nonchalant smile on his face, but deep in his eyes was a cold seriousness.
The next second, a wall behind him silently slid open, revealing a futuristic, silver-white lifting platform. Tony stepped inside, carrying only a specially made, thin, and completely transparent Data Pad.
The platform rapidly descended, passing through a complex underground structure spanning dozens of layers, and finally embedded itself in a secretly constructed ultra-high-speed maglev tunnel.
Inside an underground structure disguised as an abandoned water pumping station on the outskirts of Washington, D.C..
This is one of Nick Fury's most secretive Safe House, codenamed "The Hive." The entire space is constructed of rough concrete, exuding a cold industrial and utilitarian feel. There are no windows; the only lighting comes from the stark white LED strips on the ceiling, illuminating everything in a lifeless manner.
Fury sat at the only table, his signature black leather trench coat draped over the back of his chair, wearing only a black tactical vest. He was scrutinizing an encrypted report on the cleanup efforts in Washington, D.C. with his single eye.
The only sound in the air was the monotonous hum of the ventilation system.
Suddenly, a two-meter-thick concrete wall behind him smoothly slid to one side with a low, mechanical clicking sound.
Fury didn't turn around, nor did he even move the hand holding the report. He simply spoke calmly, his voice hoarse as if squeezed from a crack in the ground. "Stark, the access I've given you doesn't include my bedroom."
"Come on, Nick, you call this a bedroom? What normal person sleeps in a concrete coffin?" Tony Stark strolled in as if he were wandering into his own backyard. He looked around, then curled his lip. "Terrible taste. Not even a bar."
He walked straight to the table and slammed the transparent Data Pad in his hand onto it, interrupting Fury's review.
Fury finally raised his single eye, his gaze sharp as a knife, piercing Tony: "You have three minutes."
"That's enough." Tony lightly swiped his finger across the Data Pad.
A blue Holographic Projection instantly unfolded between the two. It was a 3D dynamic model of Washington, D.C., D. C., accurate to the centimeter. Three enormous Helicarrier were being forcibly "frozen" from their out-of-control descent in a manner that defied the laws of physics, and then lifted by an invisible force, slowly descending into the Potomac River.
"The official report says that S.H.I.E.L.D.. activated the emergency Anti-Gravity braking system, successfully averting disaster." Tony crossed his arms, his tone laced with sarcasm. "A fantastic story, worthy of a science fiction award. But my basic physics tells me that for three 150,000-ton behemoths to land so 'gently,' the energy required would be enough to black out the entire East Coast for a week. And I haven't detected any similar energy fluctuations."
He pointed to the almost negligible energy dissipation data in the model. "Your 'braking system' is as efficient as if God himself intervened. So, Nick, don't take me for a fool, tell me, what exactly happened?"
Fury's facial muscles remained impassive. He closed the report in his hand, leaned back in his chair, and adopted an extremely imposing posture. "That's top secret from S.H.I.E.L.D.., Stark. You have no authority to know."
"Here we go again." Tony said impatiently, swiping across the Data Pad once more.
The Holographic Image switched instantly. This time, it was no longer a cold physical model, but three distinct yet intertwined, violent energy streams. One was Scarlet, full of chaos and distorted reality; another was Dark Gold, domineering and fiery, as if it could burn away the soul; and the third was dark green, full of deathly silence and decay.
"I don't care about your Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D.. family drama. What I care about is this." Tony's voice turned cold. "Three completely unanalyzable energy sources appeared simultaneously in Washington, D.C.. They turned your headquarters into a slaughterhouse and your agents into puppets. This isn't technology, Nick, this is mythology."
Fury's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
Tony caught this detail and pressed his advantage, switching the screen again. This time, a rapidly flashing data packet appeared on the screen, bearing a scrawled, graffiti-style spider logo.
"And what's even more interesting is that, all this was happening at the same time, I caught this little thing in the cracks of the digital world." Tony pointed to the spider icon, "An intruder calling herself ' Ghost-Spider,' from a place codenamed ' Earth-65.' She's like a ghost, moving in and out of my network, erasing... things she doesn't want me to see."
He took a step forward, leaned slightly forward, placed his hands on the table, and met Fury's gaze. The air between them seemed to freeze.
"Now, let's play a connect-the-dots game." Tony spoke rapidly, as if delivering a meticulously logical closing statement, "Three Deity- like forces, a mysterious visitor from across the world, and the convergence of all these points to one name..."
He paused, then said, word by word, "Lynn. A Level Three Logistics Agent reportedly 'heroically died' in Sokovia."
When Tony uttered the name "Lynn," Fury's eyes finally betrayed a barely concealed emotion. It wasn't surprise, nor confusion, but a deeper, more intense reaction to having a taboo touched.
"The file of a dead man is classified at a higher level than ' Project Insight ' itself. Any attempt to investigate his behavior through conventional or unconventional means will trigger the highest level of alert. All physical and digital traces related to him have been thoroughly wiped out by a force I have never seen before, a force akin to 'rules'."
Tony's voice was low and piercing. "At first I thought it was you playing tricks, Nick. But now I understand."
He stared intently at Fury's single eye, not missing a single micro-expression.
"You're not hiding a secret. You're afraid."
"You're scared to death."
This statement, like a needle, precisely pierced Fury's seemingly impenetrable facade as the king of secret agents.
Fury's body stiffened for a moment. His hand, which was under the table, unconsciously clenched into a fist. He had dealt with all sorts of threats his entire life, from politicians to aliens, and he had never truly been afraid of anything. But Lynn and the group of women behind him... that wasn't a threat, it was a natural disaster that was capable of overturning everything, incomprehensible and irresistible.
"You have no idea what you're touching, Stark." Fury's voice turned hoarse and low as he tried to regain the upper hand with his most effective intimidation tactic. "Some things are safer not to know than to know. Lynn's file was sealed away to protect the world, and also to protect self-righteous smarts like you."
"Protection?" Tony laughed as if he'd heard the biggest joke in the world. He straightened up and scoffed, "Your protection is letting those women throw a party over Washington, D.C., almost wiping the city off the map? Your protection is just watching a trans-world entity treat our Earth like its playground?"
He dropped all his playful expressions, his face now displaying only the absolute arrogance and determination befitting a genius.
"I see now, Nick. You're not in control; you're just a pathetic creature standing on the edge of the storm, praying you won't get caught in it. You've completely lost control."
Fury fell silent. He couldn't refute it. Because every word Tony said was true.
"Thank you for your honesty." Tony took back his Data Pad, turned and left without hesitation. "Your fears have given me all the answers I needed to know."
"Stark!" Fury jumped to his feet, his voice carrying a genuine warning. "Don't do anything foolish! You're facing an enemy that can't be dealt with with armor!"
Tony walked to the opened secret door, stopped, but did not turn around.
"I know," he said meaningfully, "But at least I won't kneel before them."
The heavy walls slowly closed, locking Fury back into his cold concrete "coffin."
The king of secret agents slumped down, his heavy breathing the only sound in the room. He knew that Tony Stark, the biggest uncontrollable variable, had officially set his sights on the untouchable center of the vortex.
Given Stark's character, he would never give up halfway. He would definitely use all his resources and spare no expense to dig into Lynn's past.
Little did he know that every page, every byte of Lynn's past, sealed deep within the S.H.I.E.L.D.. archives, might be connected to a deadly trap laid by a paranoid goddess.