"Hahaha!"
Fury suddenly laughed, a hoarse, almost self-mocking sound.
"The Avengers," he muttered to himself.
"All those years I struggled to barely assemble a beautiful agent, a man with a bow. And now… these two guys managed to form the world's best team overnight?"
"Sir…" Hill said, watching him, a trace of worry in her voice.
"I'm fine." Fury waved a hand dismissively. He stood up again and returned to the floor-to-ceiling windows.
His silhouette remained upright, like a spear that would never bend.
"Send the orders," he said, his voice decisive.
"Temporarily cancel all surveillance and contact plans regarding the Stark brothers. From now on, raise their threat level to maximum. Also, raise their evaluation status to the highest."
"The World Security Council…"
"Let them wait," Fury said coldly.
"Tell them S.H.I.E.L.D. is handling it. If they have objections, they can send someone to talk to those two monsters themselves. And…" He paused, rubbing his brow. "Tell the finance department to prepare two billion dollars. I have a feeling we're about to receive a sky-high maintenance bill from Stark Industries."
Hill froze for a moment, then could only nod helplessly.
"Yes, sir."
She turned to leave.
"Wait." Fury suddenly called after her.
"Anything else, sir?"
Fury didn't turn around. He just stared at the deep night sky outside.
"Tell me… what exactly was Howard Stark thinking?" he asked slowly.
Hill hesitated. "I… don't know."
Nick Fury didn't speak again. He frowned, lost in thought.
The night deepened, and the sunlight in space was gradually swallowed by Earth's shadow.
Henry, still floating in low Earth orbit, had no idea.
He slept soundly, like a baby returned to its mother's embrace, serene and peaceful.
Every cell in his body felt charged, like a battery filled with power, radiating immense vitality.
Below him, on that brightly lit blue planet…
Malibu beachfront mansion, underground lab.
The atmosphere couldn't have been more different from the calm of space.
Tony Stark paced impatiently around the lab, his face screaming "I'm annoyed—don't mess with me."
He occasionally glanced up at the holo-screen streaming Henry in space in real-time and snorted dismissively.
"Look at that guy," he muttered to the empty lab, holding a cup of already-cold coffee. "Just floating there, not moving an inch… like a piece of abandoned space junk. Seriously, JARVIS, are you sure he's not brain-dead from oxygen deprivation and turned into a vegetable?"
"Sir, according to my remote vital monitoring, Mr. Henry is in a very stable state," JARVIS replied gently from the ceiling speakers.
"His body is efficiently absorbing and converting solar energy. In theory, each breath he takes now yields enormous amounts of energy."
"Oh? Really?" Tony pursed his lips, but there was genuine concern in his eyes.
"Well, that's impressive. Looks like we can save a ton on electricity. Just chain him to the roof and use him as a giant, free solar generator. Not a bad idea."
He walked over to another holo-screen.
It displayed top-secret S.H.I.E.L.D. files on Wakanda, freshly downloaded by JARVIS.
"A third-world agricultural country hidden deep in the African jungle?" Tony scoffed at the overly official text.
"JARVIS, do you think the guy who invented you would fall for this nonsense that even a three-year-old wouldn't buy?"
"Clearly not, sir."
"Exactly." Tony snapped his fingers, and his brain kicked into analysis mode.
"A country with vibranium enough to shift the world's balance of power… is a third-world agricultural nation? That's even more ridiculous than Henry claiming to be 'low-key.'"
His fingers danced across the holo-keyboard. Lines of complex code and commands flashed on the screen.
"JARVIS! Hack the CIA, MI6, KGB… every major intelligence database! Find me everything on Wakanda that hasn't been publicly released! I want to know what secrets that place is hiding!"
"Also…" he paused, continuing. "Contact the Wakandan ambassador at the UN. Give them twenty-four hours. If I don't get a satisfactory answer, I might just go to their isolated country myself for a little… field research."
His tone remained arrogant and confident.
"Understood, sir."
"Exactly, that's the way."
Half an hour later.
Tony sat on the sofa, face dark, holding a glass of whiskey. The ice was nearly melted. He had just received a polite but firm reply from the Wakanda Embassy.
"Sorry, Mr. Stark. Wakanda is a peaceful and self-sufficient nation. We are not interested in any form of external commercial cooperation."
Then the line went dead.
Just like that. Hung up.
"They hung up on me?!" Tony downed the whiskey in one gulp, feeling his pride insulted. "JARVIS, they hung up on Tony Stark?! This is a hilarious joke."
"Calm down, sir," JARVIS said.
"According to my emotional model, your current state is one of disbelief. I recommend—"
"I don't need recommendations!" Tony cut him off.
"What I need is a solution! One that lets me get to that damn Wakanda immediately, grab their king by the collar, and ask him what he thinks commercial etiquette is!"
"Perhaps a gentler approach, sir," JARVIS said helplessly.
"Gentle?" Tony scoffed. "I've already been gentle. They're just rude!"
He was about to pull up the global deployment map of the Mark armors and pick the one with the heaviest firepower when his gaze accidentally fell on the holo-screen showing Henry sleeping in space.
He watched that quiet, peaceful figure.
And for some reason, his mind suddenly calmed.
He remembered what Henry had said before leaving.
"If I can't handle it, wait until I've soaked up some sun and deal with it myself."
"Don't let him mess things up."
"F**k!" Tony muttered, tugging at his already messy hair in frustration.
He knew that bastard Henry had predicted exactly this outcome.
That guy always did that — speaking the right words in the most annoying way, then tossing all the messy problems to him like it was nothing.
And yet Tony could never argue.
Because he was the older brother.
Because Henry was his little brother.
***
we didn't make it to 150 but very close just few stones difference.
so I'll post 1 bonus for your support 💖
If you're interested and wish to support me, you can read advanced chapters:
p-atreon.com/Redestro666