Tony leaned back against the sofa armrest, tapped his chin lightly with his fingers, and spoke first.
"Helping to stop Loki and protect Earth is fine. But joining S.H.I.E.L.D.. is another matter... I don't agree. I've seen Fury's system before; it has too many layers, the internal workings are unclear, and most importantly, he won't tell us all the information."
Tony lowered his hand, his tone regaining its usual Stark- like certainty, "We only accept cooperation. Intelligence can be shared, but tactics and equipment are up to us."
Banner placed the paper on his lap and nodded slightly. "Helping to defend against an alien invasion is only right. But judging from your previous conversation, S.H.I.E.L.D.. isn't a good place to be. I also agree with your opinion to cooperate, not join."
Ivan reached up and gently tucked the white parrot on his head, which was still preening its feathers with its beak. He mumbled something in Russian that roughly meant "Don't move," then looked up at the three men. "Going into battle is fine, but command must be in my own hands. I don't trust anyone I don't know! Especially an organization that calls itself ' S.H.I.E.L.D.. '." He took the parrot off his head and placed it on his shoulder. "The name itself sounds suspicious."
Lynn mentally reviewed the three men's attitudes, picked up his phone, and dialed Coulson's number. The call was answered almost immediately.
" Coulson, I've asked Tony, Banner, and Vanko. We're all in agreement: cooperation, not joining. Intelligence can be shared; you tell us the objectives, and we'll decide on tactics and equipment ourselves. We won't accept your orders." After Lynn finished speaking, there was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. In the background, there was the deep roar of an engine and a male voice, deep, calm, and with an unquestionable sense of authority, saying something. Fury was probably eavesdropping next to Coulson.
" Director Fury has agreed," Coulson's voice rang out again. "We'll send a plane to pick you up. Stark Tower, still the location?"
"Yes. There's a helipad on the roof." Lynn hung up the phone and placed it on the coffee table.
Ivan stood up from the sofa, drew a circle with his hand, and orange sparks bloomed in the living room. The portal opened directly to the cave laboratory. His Sling Ring was given to him by Tony from Kamar-Taj last month. Tony's exact words at the time were, "You'll be going on field missions with us from now on, and we can't always have Lynn and me open portals for you. This Sling Ring can only open portals, so you'll have to learn how to open portals yourself. Rather than having you pester me to open portals every day, I'd rather give you the bare minimum and permanently remove you from my list of troublesome people."
Ivan said, "I don't need magic," but it still took him two days to learn how to open a portal. The white parrot hopped from his shoulder to his wrist, tilted its head, and glanced at him, as if asking why he was leaving again so soon after returning.
"I'm going to get some things ready. My equipment was designed for the anti- Tony campaign; it might not be enough to fight aliens." Ivan stepped into the portal, the sparks receding behind him.
Tony and Banner didn't move. Banner leaned back on the sofa, placed the paper on the coffee table, and unconsciously ran his fingers along the edges of the pages, seemingly lost in thought.
Lynn didn't reply. He leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the New York skyline outside, his fingers tapping lightly on the edge of the windowsill.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. plane arrived faster than expected. JARVIS's voice rang out in the living room, saying that a Quinjet was approaching the rooftop helipad of Stark Tower; the aircraft's serial number had been confirmed, and the pilot's identity had been verified. Ivan had just emerged from the portal, carrying a box that was smaller than the ones they had seen before. The four of them arrived at the rooftop helipad, the Quinjet's contrail creating rings of transparent ripples in the air around it. The hatch opened, and a Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for them to come in.
The Helicarrier rested on the sea. Engine arrays lined up on both sides of the fuselage, each emitting a low hum. Several Quinjet were parked on the deck, and ground crew were busily moving back and forth.
Lynn jumped down from the hatch and landed on the anti-slip deck of the Helicarrier. Before he could even look around, he saw the tall figure standing next to Coulson. Steve Rogers. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a straight nose, and a square jawline. But Lynn noticed his eyes; they were scanning the entire deck.
It seems he hasn't fully adapted to modern society yet.
Coulson stood next to Rogers, and the two were talking when they saw Lynn and the other three get off the fighter jet. He raised his hand and gestured "this way." Tony walked in front, Ivan was half a step behind, and Banner was at the back, still clutching the old thesis he hadn't had time to put down.
" Captain Rogers," Coulson and the other three approached, gesturing for introductions, "This is Tony Stark, Ivan Vanko, Bruce Dr. Banner, all of whom are in your files. And this is Mr. Lynn."
Tony didn't reach out. He simply nodded slightly, said "Captain" in a tone that was neither cold nor enthusiastic, and then put his hands back in his pockets. Ivan was more direct... He was wiping the engine oil off his fingers with a rag he'd pulled out from somewhere, and nodded slightly in Rogers ' direction as a greeting.
Lynn stepped forward and took Rogers ' hand. Rogers' hand was large and strong, and the grip was neither too firm nor too weak, but one could feel the strength hidden beneath that arm.
"Captain, hello, I'm Lynn. These two... Tony and Ivan are mad scientists, their hands are too oily, and they don't like contact with people." He released his grip, took a half step back, and made room for Banner.
Rogers nodded, a faint smile playing on his lips. He turned to Banner and extended his hand. Banner grasped his hand gently. " Captain Rogers. I've heard so much about you." Rogers looked into Banner's eyes, paused for a moment, and then said, " Dr. Banner, I've seen your file. They say you can find the Tesseract?"
Banner paused slightly. "Is that all you have to say about me?"
"I only care about this one thing."
While Rogers and Banner were still chatting, Lynn took a step to the side, grabbed Coulson's arm, pulled him in front of her, and exposed him in a low voice with a sense of helplessness.
"You knew all along that centenarian would be coming, didn't you? You clearly knew beforehand, couldn't you have mentioned it at all... Coulson, I used to think you were pretty honest, and we had a good relationship. You can't just drag me down like this because of my previous complaints!"
"Didn't we agree to settle him elsewhere first? Aren't the four of us enough of a hassle? Why do we have to invite him over too? He's not very open to modern society and doesn't understand anything. You're putting him among this group of people? And you're putting me with them? Either I sit here and watch them really 'fight' each other, or my workload skyrockets!"
Coulson maintained his usual gentle smile, offering no explanation and showing no remorse in his eyes, calmly accepting the accusations.