"Tony, you're being too impatient."
Nick Fury's expression remained calm.
Although the Avengers were far weaker than the Justice League in terms of overall combat power, his composure at this moment surprised Tony, Hawkeye, and Natasha.
In their eyes, Fury seemed to be hiding some sort of trump card.
"There are some things I originally didn't plan to tell you at this stage."
Fury paused as he spoke. His gaze swept across the three of them, finally settling on Tony. Then he said slowly, "The Avengers… are not just the three of you."
"What do you mean?"
Tony narrowed his eyes, losing patience with Fury.
Fury picked up the remote and turned on the television in front of them.
Howling Commandos!Captain America!
On the screen was the most famous American superhero—Captain America—featured in wartime propaganda films from World War II, the very symbol of American spirit.
"Captain America. Steve Rogers."
Tony muttered, his face darkening as his tone turned cold. "Nick, don't tell me the spiritual leader of the Avengers is this man who's been dead for seventy years. So the Captain's spirit is with us, meaning we're not three people but four—and one of them's a ghost?"
"You're wrong. What I'm saying is… Rogers isn't dead."
Fury's voice was flat.
His casual statement struck like a thunderclap, making all three of them visibly pale.
Captain America isn't dead?
Tony and the others stared at one another, stunned. None of them had expected to hear something so shocking from Fury.
Steve Rogers had gone down with Red Skull in the war's final moments, crashing into the polar ice.This was a well-known, unquestioned fact worldwide.
And now they were being told he hadn't died?
It sounded utterly absurd.
"Even if he didn't die, it's been seventy years. He'd be a hundred years old by now…"
Tony recovered quickly.
He suppressed his shock, frowned again, and said sharply, "A centenarian—do you really expect him to fight on the front lines with us and be the Captain America he was seventy years ago?"
"No."
Fury said, "Rogers was frozen in the Arctic ice for seventy years. During those seventy years, his body remained youthful—just as it was at the moment he was frozen. But he's still asleep and needs time to fully regain consciousness."
Then he added with certainty, "Captain America will be an important member of the Avengers. Trust me—he won't disappoint you."
Tony froze, then took a moment to digest the information.
But he still wasn't ready to let Fury off so easily.
"Even so, we're still far behind the Justice League. Nick, how are you planning to make up for that gap—or even surpass them?"
"I'll look for more candidates who are worth recruiting."
Fury shot Tony a deep look. "And besides, we're not that far behind the Justice League. Tony… on this point, Batman could probably answer your question better."
This was clearly hinting at the hero who patrolled the cosmos helping alien civilizations—Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers.
If Batman knew about the Kree invasion of the 1990s, then naturally he would know about Carol Danvers as well.
Of course, Fury saw no need to tell Tony and the others that part.
After hearing Fury's explanation, Tony thought for a moment, then stood up to leave.
Before walking out, he left one sentence behind:
"My patience is limited. I hope you can deliver on your promises."
Bang!The door slammed shut.
Tony disappeared from sight.
Fury withdrew his gaze from the door and turned to Natasha.
He instructed, "Natasha, the next Avengers recruit is Dr. Otto Octavius, who's currently in prison. I've spoken with the relevant departments. As long as you can persuade Otto, they won't stop you."
"Doctor Otto?"
Natasha blinked, immediately recalling the "artificial sun experiment" that had occurred recently under the Manhattan Bridge by the Hudson River.
Because the event involved Stark Industries and had happened so recently, Otto hadn't been officially sentenced yet—but he was almost certainly facing a few years in prison.
Even so, no one questioned his brilliance.
Although the artificial sun had failed, Otto had transformed into Doctor Octopus during the incident. His mechanical arms had made a successful debut of sorts, drawing much attention.
That was why Fury intended to recruit Doctor Octopus into the Avengers.
Otherwise, he would go to prison.
Fury believed Otto wouldn't be foolish enough to refuse.
It was a perfect chance—avoid jail time and redeem himself…
—by becoming a celebrated superhero!
"Oh, and once Otto agrees, go to the NYPD. His mechanical arms are currently stored there as evidence."
After giving his orders, Fury turned and left.
With this meeting over, he still had others to attend.
Leaving Natasha and Hawkeye behind, he went elsewhere, took out his phone, and dialed a number.
It was the U.S. Secretary of Defense, John Keller.
"Nick!"
On the other end, Secretary Keller's voice was cold and heavy. "I want an explanation."
"An alien invasion."
Fury said, "That's all I know."
"You're telling me that the aircraft flying over New York was a spaceship? And that the armored figure defeated by the superheroes was an alien?" Keller gave a furious, mocking laugh. "If that's your story, I can't explain Ross's death to anyone."
"But it's the truth."
Fury replied, "The facts are right in front of you. Believe it or don't—your choice. I'll submit a full report to the World Security Council regarding the incident. If you have further opinions, discuss them with the Council."
With that, he hung up without caring about Keller's reaction.
…
Hoover Dam – Internal Base.
"Damn it!"
Secretary Keller cursed under his breath.
But in truth, his expression was far calmer than it had sounded on the phone.
"An alien invasion…"
The elderly, graying Secretary of Defense took a deep breath. Looking at the towering, frost-covered robotic giant before him—an automaton the size of a skyscraper—his face grew increasingly grave. "So it's finally begun… damn aliens."
As a top government official, he knew many secrets.
For example, one truth the U.S. government had been hiding from the public since the early 20th century:
N.B.E.
Non-Biological Extraterrestrial.
This classification was so secret that only a handful of officials within the government had ever seen the documents. Even Presidents weren't necessarily fully briefed.
From years of research, Keller knew that the alien before him had likely crashed on Earth thousands of years ago.
In 1934, the U.S. government transported this robot-like alien into the secret base inside Hoover Dam, studying the advanced technology within its body.
They designated it NBE-ONE.
Non-Biological Extraterrestrial—Number 1.
"So Ross was the one who provoked the aliens…"
Keller gathered his swirling thoughts, recalling Fury's explanation.
Outwardly he had acted skeptical—but standing here before NBE-ONE, he knew that what Fury said might well be true.
Given Ross's temperament—hot-headed, extreme, reckless—it wasn't impossible for him to have provoked aliens.
"What an unlucky bastard."
Keller murmured calmly, "But Ross… at least your death counts for something."
He looked up at the massive alien before him.
"It's time to accelerate the project."
-----------------------
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