At the same time...
Washington, D.C.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, the Triskelion.
Top floor, Director's office.
Before the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, Nick Fury stood with his back to the door, like a silent statue, overlooking the city — the city that glowed with countless lights, the very symbol of global power.
His signature bald head reflected the cold gleam of the neon lights, perfectly matching the long black trench coat on his body and that perpetually stormy face that looked like it could squeeze out water at any moment.
The atmosphere inside the office was suffocating.
On the holo-screen, Stark brothers' press conference was playing on loop. The frame froze on Tony Stark's confident and arrogant face as he declared: "I am Iron Man."
Then Henry Stark followed right after, with those deep eyes and a declaration of his own: "I am Superman."
Maria Hill, the newly transferred S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, stood behind Fury, holding a tablet in her arms, her tone as calm and efficient as ever as she gave her report.
She honestly had no idea why she'd been assigned here. This director didn't look like someone capable of handling big things.
Always turning his back to others — what, was he afraid people would find out he was actually a sunshine-rainbow-little-white-horse?
Please. In this country, who even cares about that anymore?
That's right — Maria Hill, originally under the World Security Council, had apparently arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D. earlier than planned, for reasons unclear.
"The press conference ended exactly fifty-two minutes ago. At present, more than 98% of mainstream global media are running it as their headline story, using titles like 'A Historic Moment' and 'The Dawn of the Superhero Era.' Stark Industries' stock price has skyrocketed ever since Tony Stark revealed the Arc Reactor New Energy Plan, climbing by 137% so far and still rising.
The Pentagon and the White House? Their phone calls blew up our external comm lines thirty minutes ago. They demand we immediately seize control of the Stark brothers and nationalize their weapons.
As for the World Security Council — the directors are demanding a reasonable explanation, along with a detailed assessment on how we plan to manage these two completely uncontrollable superheroes."
Hill finished her report and quietly awaited her superior's orders.
But Fury didn't speak.
He just stared out the window, that single eye flickering with a light no one could understand.
A long silence later, his deep voice finally sounded.
"Where's Coulson?"
"Agent Coulson tried to contact the Stark brothers immediately after the press conference ended," Hill replied as she scrolled her tablet.
"But… he failed."
She brought up a recording from Coulson's micro-camera, encrypted and replayed on another holo-screen. Henry Stark's mocking face filled the display.
"Coulson, go back and tell your bald boss to remember his place. S.H.I.E.L.D. is part of my father Howard Stark's legacy. It was built to protect this world, not to be some toy for people to play political games with and feed their control freak tendencies.
Since when does my family's property take orders from an outsider?"
The video ended. Silence returned.
Hill could practically feel it — her usually stone-faced superior seemed… even darker now?
What was this? Did he just get triggered?
No way, right? Surely the Director wasn't that petty?!
"Legacy?" Fury finally turned, walked to his desk, planted both hands on it, and stared at the youthful face on screen. His single eye carried a trace of fatigue.
"I knew Howard Stark," he said slowly, his voice tinged with memory.
"He was a genius — a real genius who could change the world. But he was also an asshole. An arrogant, paranoid, control-obsessed asshole. He always thought he could control everything. Always thought he was the smartest man alive."
He paused, shifting his gaze to Tony Stark's equally arrogant face.
"And his two sons? They inherited every last one of his flaws."
"But they're also completely different from him," Hill added.
"Howard Stark may have been arrogant, but at least he followed rules. These two…"
She shook her head with a bitter smile.
"They are the rules."
"Exactly." Fury nodded. He pulled out a chair and slowly sat down.
"One Tony Stark was already enough of a headache. Now there's Henry Stark too. A man we can't read at all — full of unknowns and variables. A monster."
He pointed at another top-secret file on screen — the evaluation report on Henry Stark.
"Superman?" He let out a mocking laugh.
"That codename's actually pretty fitting. Based on the combat data we gathered in New York — his strength, speed, durability, they're all at levels we can't even begin to comprehend. Not to mention the high-energy heat rays from his eyes."
"We even tried to run a 24-hour satellite surveillance on him. And the result?"
Hill sighed helplessly.
"He seems to have some kind of counter-reconnaissance ability. Our satellites can only catch glimpses before he takes off — we can't track him precisely. And… he actually left the atmosphere."
She pulled up another clip from a military spy satellite.
The image showed Henry Stark in casual clothes, eyes closed, floating leisurely in the pitch-black void of space. Behind him — a beautiful planet.
The shot looked like a sci-fi oil painting — breathtaking, yet radiating a crushing sense of oppression.
"Motherf**ker!" Fury finally cursed under his breath at the sight.
He felt like everything he'd built over decades of fieldwork, all his worldview and common sense, had just been shattered today by these two Stark brothers.
Well, everything except his biggest secret… Carol Danvers.
"What about Natasha?" he asked. "Any new findings?"
"Agent Romanoff has successfully infiltrated Stark Industries' senior management as a personal assistant," Hill reported. "She just sent back her latest intel.
She's done a preliminary personality analysis of the brothers.
Tony Stark — extremely arrogant, dismissive of authority, loves being the center of attention. His actions appear impulsive and irrational, but in reality, every decision has a clear purpose. He's a textbook self-centered pragmatist. At the same time, he has an extraordinary protective streak toward his younger brother, Henry Stark.
As for Henry Stark…" Hill hesitated, frowning slightly.
"Agent Romanoff only gave two words in her evaluation.
'Unanalyzable'… and 'extremely dangerous.'"
Fury fell silent again.
Staring at that image of Henry Stark floating in space, he felt his temple throb painfully.
One Iron Man. One Superman.
Two men who could wipe a city off the map with ease.
Two men with the most brilliant minds on the planet.
Two men with wealth rivaling nations.
And worst of all… two men are brothers.
Even worse than that — two men who can't be controlled.
***
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