On the other side, Agent Coulson spotted Lux. A genuine smile finally broke through the lingering sorrow on his face. He took a deep breath, straightened his black suit, and hurried over to greet her.
"Miss Luxanna! It is truly an honor to see you again!"
Coulson immediately tapped into his professional expertise as a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, launching into a smooth stream of flattery—
"Your heroic display during the Battle of New York was like the first light of dawn. If you hadn't intervened in time, the citizens of all New York would have been in dire peril. S.H.I.E.L.D. expresses its deepest respect for your kindness..."
Lux maintained a polite smile, quietly listening to this middle-aged man with a worrying hairline talk a mile a minute.
After a full two minutes of praise, Coulson finally revealed his true intentions. He rubbed his hands together and asked eagerly, "I wonder, Miss Luxanna... would you be interested in joining our Avengers?"
Hearing this, Lux's bright eyes blinked, and she put on an innocent look, asking despite already knowing the answer, "The Avengers? That sounds really cool. So, who else... is in this alliance right now?"
"There are currently five official members!" Seeing a glimmer of hope, Coulson quickly listed them off like precious treasures. "Besides Captain Steve, Natasha, and Agent Barton, whom you already know, there is the genius inventor Mr. Tony Stark, and..."
He glanced at Banner, who was trying his best to minimize his presence nearby. "Dr. Banner."
Banner was somewhat surprised. Fury hadn't directly removed him from the roster despite his terrible performance of going on a rampage and smashing the streets?
For a moment, Banner didn't know whether to cry or laugh. Was this supposed to be a good thing?
After speaking, Coulson seemed to remember something. He turned to look at Thor, who was quietly sulking to the side, and added tentatively, "Of course, if Mr. Thor is willing, we would also very much desire your joining."
Upon hearing this, Thor's blue eyes instantly lit up. He was so excited he nearly jumped for joy on the spot.
He wanted so badly to make up for the massive losses he had caused to Midgard this time!
Ever since being freed from mind control, he had been so worried that he'd lost clumps of hair.
He had been agonizing over finding an excuse to compensate for the huge damage he had inflicted upon Midgard.
Coulson's words were like a pillow being delivered just as he was getting sleepy!
Just as Thor was about to raise his hand and shout "I'm willing," an annoyed voice cut in from the side.
"Wait a minute, Coulson."
Tony frowned, his gaze sweeping over everyone before finally landing on Reze, who was yawning nearby.
"The numbers don't add up. Why wasn't she in the list of names you just called? Is she not an Avenger?"
"Huh?"
Reze, who was about to slip away, paused in her tracks.
She turned her head and glanced at Tony. "When did I become an Avenger? I'm just an external consultant, okay?"
Now it was Tony's turn to get anxious.
"No, when you guys were tricking me into joining before, you clearly said she was on the team too!"
"I only came because of that!"
Hearing this, Reze felt a chill down her spine and got goosebumps. She looked Tony up and down with disgust, crossed her arms, and muttered, "You only came to see me? You're a pretty disgusting old man..."
After saying that, Reze turned around without hesitation and gave a cool wave of her hand.
"I can't be bothered with you guys. This lady is going home to catch up on sleep. Bye-bye, everyone."
Clearly, Reze knew Tony was looking out for her as a daughter, but Tony didn't know that Reze knew.
The misunderstanding was massive!
Tony watched as his awkward 'fatherly heart' was misinterpreted as having a special fetish for underage girls. His face turned so red it looked like it might bleed.
He glared at Coulson in a fit of rage and said through gritted teeth, "Your S.H.I.E.L.D. really doesn't have many good people. You teamed up to lie to me again?! Fine, since she's not in, I'm out too! Whoever wants to stay can stay, I'm not doing this anymore! I'm leaving!"
With that, Tony gave a cold snort and turned to stride toward his sports car.
He left just like that, decisive and swift.
He left Coulson standing alone in the evening breeze, staring at the stubborn backs of the young girl and the older man.
He stood there bewildered in the wind, his face full of confusion.
Director QAQ... I can't lead this team!
"Cough, Coulson." Natasha watched this ridiculous scene, suppressed her laughter, and stepped forward to pat his shoulder. "After such a high-intensity battle and attending a funeral, I think I should have a few days of paid leave, right?"
Coulson nodded blankly.
"Thanks."
Natasha gave a slight smile and quickly caught up with Reze ahead.
She familiarly put her arm around her fellow Soviet compatriot's shoulders, and they slipped out of the cemetery laughing and chatting.
Seeing this, Barton also gave a dry cough and made up a random excuse about needing to rush to the supermarket to buy milk powder to feed his kids before taking his leave.
In the blink of an eye, the once-bustling lawn was left with only a helpless-looking Steve, an awkwardly spectating Banner, Lux watching the drama with wide eyes... and Thor, who was so excited he looked like he was about to wag his tail.
Thor seized the opportunity, fearing Coulson might change his mind. He eagerly raised an arm thicker than a thigh and announced loudly.
"I! I want to join! Friends of Midgard, the Thunder God Thor is willing to fight for you!"
He really looks like a Golden Retriever, don't you think?
Seeing Thor without any divine airs, looking even somewhat... charmingly naive, Coulson's heart, which had been broken by Tony and Reze, finally found a bit of solace. He nodded gratefully and then turned to wave.
Two Agents who had been waiting nearby immediately stepped forward.
They were carrying a heavy, explosion-proof briefcase.
Coulson solemnly took the briefcase and handed it to Thor.
"Mr. Thor, this is the Tesseract you mentioned earlier."
Coulson's tone carried a hint of helplessness and clarity.
"The Battle of New York has made us deeply realize our own limitations. After careful evaluation by the higher-ups of S.H.I.E.L.D., with humanity's current level of technology and defense capabilities, we are neither qualified nor able to safely safeguard it."
Standing to the side, Lux stared at the case containing the Tesseract, a flicker of greed passing deep through her clear eyes.
Of course, this intense emotion did not belong to Lux, who had little interest even in the Eye of Agamotto; it came from Su Modie, who was watching from behind the scenes. She was frantically complaining in her mind—
This S.H.I.E.L.D. is really something, being polite at the exact moment they shouldn't be!
You humans can't protect this thing, but our Su family can!
Hand it over to us! I guarantee Thanos won't be able to touch it for the rest of his life!
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