Late at night, off the coast of New York.
The banquet has ended at the Justice League's artificial island base.
The restaurant was completely empty at that moment.
Only a few automated cleaning robots were cleaning the premises.
In a women's restroom at the base, the faucet was turned on full blast.
The rushing water drowned out all other sounds.
Natasha stood in front of the sink, looking at her exquisite face in the mirror.
She took a deep breath and reached into her hair to pull out a seemingly ordinary hair clip.
He then deftly unscrewed the hairpin, revealing a miniature transmitter that was barely larger than a grain of rice.
Natasha knew that JARVIS's intelligent surveillance system was everywhere on the island.
But she also knows that some old-school encrypted bands are difficult for artificial intelligence to intercept in the first instance.
So Natasha started tapping rapidly on the transmitter.
Beep, beep, beep...
A Morse code message, decipherable only by the S.H.I.E.L.D.., was sent as a secret signal across the Atlantic Ocean night sky, heading straight for Washington.
" Wakanda... Vibranium mines... A technologically advanced superpower... The Stark brothers set out tomorrow."
After sending the message, Natasha put the hair clip back into her hair and turned off the tap.
Looking at herself in the mirror, she sighed helplessly.
" Director Fury, this is a bombshell. I hope your heart can take it."
Natasha still felt a chill run down her spine when she recalled Luca's shameless remarks.
They portrayed the act of robbery as something noble and righteous, and even brainwashed Spider-Man, a naive child.
The Stark brothers are two completely lawless bastards.
Meanwhile, in the storage room at the other end of the base.
Jessica crouched behind a pile of cardboard boxes, holding a lipstick-shaped encrypted communicator in her hand.
Her fingers were moving rapidly across the keys.
"Shocking intelligence discovered... Wakanda in Africa harbors vast amounts of Vibranium resources and advanced technology... Luca Stark has designated it as a target. Justice League, action tomorrow."
After sending the message, Jessica let out a long sigh of relief.
Vibranium!
That's a miracle metal that can absorb kinetic energy!
Jessica was all too aware of the strategic significance of Vibranium to the organization.
If Hydra can obtain Vibranium, they can create a Vibranium army.
By then, no matter how much of a monster Luca Stark might be, Hydra would have the confidence to confront him head-on.
" Secretary Pierce, the rest is up to you."
Jessica put away her lipstick, straightened her maid outfit, and turned to leave the storage room.
She now only hopes that the higher-ups at Hydra will be smart enough not to provoke Luca again.
Instead, they secretly took a share of the profits while the Stark brothers were in Africa.
Washington, D.C.., on the Potomac River.
The basement of the Triskelion, S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters of S. H. I. E. L. D.
This is a safe house known only to Fury and a very few trusted confidants.
The surrounding walls are completely isolated, preventing any electronic signals from intruding from the outside.
At this moment, Nick Fury was sitting behind his desk.
His face was dark and extremely gloomy.
The coded receiver on the desk just ejected a slip of paper, printed with intelligence sent back by Natasha.
Fury watched it countless times.
Wakanda...
" Vibranium mines... a technologically advanced nation..."
Bang!
Suddenly, Fury slammed his fist on the desk.
"OMG Fuck!"
"A bunch of liars! They've fooled the whole world!"
Coulson, sitting opposite him, also stared wide-eyed, his face filled with disbelief.
"Chief, this... how is this possible?"
"According to various archives, Wakanda is merely a backward agricultural country in East Africa, whose main exports are textiles and crops, and it doesn't even have a decent road!"
Coulson pointed to the note on the table, utterly shocked.
How could they possibly possess technology so advanced for their time? And also own Vibranium mines?
"This just proves how perfect their disguise was!"
Fury sneered, his eyes blazing with anger.
"They fooled our satellites with holographic projections! They fooled United Nations inspections with the guise of Third World countries!"
"Then they sit atop the mountain of gold, watching us fight tooth and nail over a few barrels of oil, and think we're like a bunch of monkeys scrambling for food in a mud pit!"
Fury stood up and paced back and forth irritably.
As the head of the world's largest intelligence agency, he has always considered himself the mastermind behind everything.
But during this time, he felt like he was completely blind.
First, they discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D.. was infested with Hydra.
Now it has been discovered that there is another superpower on Earth whose technology far surpasses that of the United States!
"Chief, intelligence indicates that Luca Stark plans to take men to Wakanda tomorrow."
Coulson looked at the second half of the note and said with concern.
He even gave this operation a name:... Africa Poverty Alleviation.
Upon hearing that word, Fury was so angry he nearly flipped the table.
"Poverty alleviation? To hell with poverty alleviation!"
"That lawless bastard is blatantly robbing us! He wants to move Vibranium back to Stark Tower!"
Fury stood with his hands on his hips, panting heavily.
In the past, he would have immediately mobilized S.H.I.E.L.D..'s carrier strike group to stop the Stark brothers.
Or at least force the Stark brothers to share some of the profits with S.H.I.E.L.D..
After all, that's Vibranium.
Once they acquire Vibranium, S.H.I.E.L.D..'s equipment capabilities will experience a qualitative leap.
But that's not possible now.
Fury glanced at the other side of the table.
There was a thick stack of documents piled up there.
This is the internal audit report he compiled over the past two days, working day and night.
The list was densely filled with the names of senior agents from various departments of S.H.I.E.L.D..
Each of these names was marked with a glaring red cross.
"We can't handle Wakanda anymore, Coulson."
Fury slumped back into his chair, rubbing his throbbing temples.
"Let Luca Stark become a bandit if he wants to. Even if he sinks the Africa continent, we can only watch."
Fury pointed to the pile of documents, his gaze turning icy.
"To repel external aggression, we must first pacify internal strife."
"If we don't dig out all the venomous snakes from inside the house, S.H.I.E.L.D.. could collapse from within at any moment."
Fury looked up at Coulson.
"Is the action team ready?"
Coulson immediately stood up straight, his expression solemn.
"Ready, Chief."
"Agent Melinda Agent May has her team in position. All personnel involved in the operation have undergone repeated background checks to ensure absolute loyalty. They are not using internal communication systems; all communication is single-line."
"Very good."
Fury opened the drawer, took out a large-caliber pistol, pulled back the bolt with a click, and slammed it heavily on the table.
"Tonight, I will let the blood in this building flow into the Potomac River."
"Starting from the Second Operations Division, arrest them one by one according to the list. If anyone resists, shoot them on the spot!"
"Understood, Chief!"
Coulson accepted the order and turned to leave the safe house.