Hearing that Fang Yuan was going to help him recruit, Fury's first reaction was that Fang Yuan had an ulterior motive.
"Don't bother guessing—I do have my own agenda." Fang Yuan bluntly confirmed Fury's suspicion.
With an old fox like Fury, any attempt at cover-up would only invite suspicion, so he might as well be straightforward.
Fang Yuan laid it out: "I don't want teammates who are impossible to get along with. I intend to pick them myself—and I'm going to be the team Captain!"
"No. The Captain's position isn't yours," Fury refused flat-out.
Let Fang Yuan be Captain? Who knew what sort of culture the whole team would slide into?
Fang Yuan spread his hands. "Got a better candidate?"
Fury was choked for words; where would he find one? At this point the team consisted of nobody besides Fang Yuan, Black Widow, and Hawkeye.
"Let's leave the captaincy aside for now. I'll give you the right to choose members; we'll decide who commands once the team's formed." Fury offered a compromise.
Mainly because, in this matter, he also needed something from Fang Yuan.
Fury had wanted to build a Superhero team since 1997, but after more than ten years he had only Black Widow and Hawkeye. Progress had hardly been smooth.
Though it had been only a rough plan, the fact remained: Fury's involvement in the super-human sphere was quite shallow.
Fang Yuan was different. Above Kamar-Taj there was a crowd of extraordinary mages, and he also knew powerhouses like the Iron Guardian. Recruiting would be far easier for him.
Giving Fang Yuan recruiting authority, therefore, was also a way for Fury to relieve his own pressure.
"Who are you planning to invite? The Iron Guardian?" Fury asked curiously.
Fang Yuan shook his head. "No, I'm going to a party first."
May 2—Stark's birthday bash.
Unlike the original plot, where Tony treated the birthday as if it were his last and wrecked his house with a wild crowd, this time… Tony invited even more people.
Joking aside, Tony had successfully created a new element and gained a new lease on life—of course he would celebrate in grand style!
He invited even more guests.
At Pepper's request, many business partners were allowed to attend as well.
After all, when you're about to die you can ignore the company, but if you're going to live you ought to do something for it—especially if Pepper asks.
Pepper Potts was a strong businesswoman, so the business figures she invited were wide-ranging.
Justin Hammer, for instance, received an invitation.
"How does this suit look? Will it photograph well?"
Justin asked the little old man beside him.
"Absolutely perfect." The old man bowed with an obsequious smile.
"Okay. I'm wearing this to stand in front of Tony Stark after he's taken down and tell him—Hammer Industries didn't need twenty years, only twenty days!"
Every time Justin recalled Tony's arrogant public claim that "the World will need five to ten years to copy it, but Hammer will need twenty," he burned with anger.
"Where's Ivan?" he asked again.
The old man shook his head blankly. "Ivan? How would I know?"
"Damn it!" Justin was exasperated. "What do I pay you for, Pennyworth?"
"I'm the Butler," the old man muttered, "but my name's not Pennyworth…"
Justin asked in a low voice, "What's my favorite movie?"
The Butler knew this one: "Batman!"
"Bingo! Exactly—Batman!" Justin snapped his fingers. "Though the film was made by Tony's dad, it really is great."
"Batman has money, a combat suit, and a Butler who can work miracles."
He enumerated the differences between himself and Batman.
"I've got the money and the combat suit; all I lack is that miracle-working Butler!"
"That's why I hired you." Justin sighed in resignation. "But you disappoint me, Pennyworth."
"Sir, my name isn't Pennyworth." The Butler interjected again.
Justin was exasperated: "I only pay a Butler's wage to Pennyworth!"
"Oh." The Butler instantly corrected himself, "Pennyworth is happy to serve you."
Money talks.
Justin had to head to Ivan's workshop himself to see if preparations were finished.
One look, and Justin was stunned.
"I believe I asked for armor—something you can wear." Justin pointed at the rows of machine soldiers in the workshop. "Pennyworth, can you squeeze into that?"
The Butler actually tried, found he couldn't fit, then trotted back.
"I can't wear it," he reported.
Justin was displeased. "Can't wear it? Then how am I supposed to be Batman?"
He immediately rounded on the culprit: "Ivan, I was quite clear about the requirements, wasn't I?"
Ivan stood nearby, calmly watching their little skit while playing with his bird.
Don't misunderstand—it wasn't a yellow bird, but a white one.
"Trust me, remote control is better," he answered calmly.
Justin wouldn't have it. "But I want to be Batman!"
"I'm paying, so you'll meet my demands!" He planted his hands on his hips and yelled, "Or I'll confiscate your bird!"
Ivan simply replied calmly, "His Lordship has already agreed."
The "His Lordship" he spoke of was naturally Fang Yuan.
Having them call him "Master" was too conspicuous, and "Black King" didn't work either—Fang Yuan planned to use that name as his Superhero codename—so he had his underlings call him "Your Lordship."
The moment Fang Yuan's name came up, Justin shut his mouth.
The Butler had no idea who this "His Lordship" they kept mentioning was, but he was quite happy to see Justin leave disappointed.
After all, no matter how you looked at it, his boss didn't seem like someone who could fight in an Iron Man Suit.
If this were a movie, he felt Justin wouldn't even pass the audition to play Iron Man.
Tony's birthday party went ahead as scheduled; invited guests packed his seaside Villa.
He and Pepper kept greeting the guests—almost every attendee got a personal hello from him.
Tony's level of cooperation even felt off to Pepper; she quickly whispered, "What's with you today? You've never been this enthusiastic."
"You actually went up and greeted Justin Hammer!"
She was even a little worried: "Did something happen? Are you sick?"
Pepper pulled Tony this way and that, afraid she'd spot some sign of illness.
Tony had been outrageous before, but Pepper had thought that normal; now that he was acting normal, she found it outrageous and even wondered if he'd entered some "final words of the dying" phase.
Tony caught Pepper's wandering hands and pressed them to the brand-new Arc Reactor on his chest.
"No, I'm truly reborn!" He couldn't stop grinning.
"Still… there really are too many people here today." Tony changed tack, sounding troubled. "I'm thinking of kicking a few out."
Pepper shot him a glare, but her worries slowly eased.
Now this is Tony Stark.
"Kick people out?"
Just then a tall, lanky Black guy popped up.
"I strongly suggest starting with Justin Hammer!" he offered eagerly. "Of course, I'd definitely be the last to go."
"Oh, or Rhodey, you could be second—how about helping keep order outside?" Tony replied with a wicked grin.
This was Tony Stark's best friend, James Rhodes, nicknamed Rhodey.
They'd met back at MIT and had been close for years.
But what Fang Yuan remembered most was the whole "real vs. fake Rhodey" controversy—he was arguably the biggest victim of Secret Invasion, his official character arc collapsing.
As for the claim that Rhodey was replaced right after the Civil War, Fang Yuan didn't buy it; what kind of garbage was Secret Invasion? He treated it as a parallel World.
Hearing Tony say that, Rhodey looked as if a weight had lifted.
"So you're fine. I thought you'd taken the wrong pills—no fireworks inside the Villa." Rhodey said.
He really knew Tony; in the original plot Tony had indeed set off indoor fireworks, trashing the Villa.
Tony looked instantly inspired: "You're a genius, Rhodey. I really could prepare some fireworks…"
Boom!
Suddenly a deafening blast came from outside; even inside the Villa they felt a strong tremor.
Rhodey stared at Tony in shock.
"Jarvis is that efficient now?" He thought Tony had done it.
But Tony's face turned grave in an instant.
He knew it wasn't him, so that noise… "To the Underground Room—now!"
Tony grabbed Pepper and charged downstairs—where he kept his Iron Man Suits.
Rhodey realized something was wrong and quickly said, "I'll go get backup."
Tony knew there was no time and shouted, "No—come with me!"
The guests were still laughing when Tony's group startled them; while they stood bewildered, two more thunderous blasts rang out.
Boom!
Boom!
Two humanoid robots smashed through the Villa's ceiling; more bots dropped through the hole, leveling guns at everyone.
Only then did people realize they were under attack; they had to crouch with hands on heads under the Steel Soldiers' orders.
The crowd panicked, but one person, while squatting, secretly rejoiced.
"I'm trashing Tony Stark's house—hahaha."
Justin Hammer gloated inwardly.
But his face changed drastically the next second: Ivan dropped down too, wearing a burly suit of steel armor!
Though his face was hidden, Justin naturally knew who it was.
"Ivan!"
Justin screamed inside.
"Liar!"
"You bastard, you told me remote-control was better, but you secretly built yourself an Iron Man Suit?"
Justin Hammer raged, eyes locked on Ivan; nearby guests who didn't know the story looked stunned.
"Never noticed before—Hammer's got guts?"
"But why's he so mad about an attack on Tony Stark's house?"
"Huh… don't tell me he… likes Tony?"
You will get 90 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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