In the S.H.I.E.L.D Director's office, Nick petted the little black cat in his arms and said, "Of course, I completely understand your thoughts. But this matter is indeed not for me to decide. If you're really eager to go, I can help you ask..."
At that moment, Stark rushed in hastily, with Coulson unable to hold him back and could only stand helplessly at the door, giving Nick a look.
"Doom, what are you doing at S.H.I.E.L.D? You aren't up to something dangerous again, are you?"
"Doom considers your judgment utterly unfounded. You are clouded by narrow-minded prejudices," said Doctor Destruction, shrouded in a black robe. "Doom simply needs a Battleworld invitation."
Stark froze for a moment, then remembered that Doctor Destruction seemed to not have a Battleworld invitation. He recalled asking Schiller about the criteria for distributing invitations; Schiller had just vaguely mentioned a few points, and Doom seemed to fit them.
However, he could guess why Doom wasn't included, as this guy was too skilled at causing cosmos-level events. At the time, Battleworld hadn't been running for long, and many things were still in testing, unable to withstand too strong an impact.
One Doctor Destruction could cause individual universe-level events. If multiple Doctors Destruction gathered, what if they blew up Battleworld? Similarly, Reed Richards and Pym were also not allowed in.
Recently, Doctor Destruction had been busy with the Superluminal Engine in the Himalayan Mountains, and had dealings with Latvia and China. Elevating Earth was more important than anything, so he hadn't had the time to care about Battleworld. Now, he was probably free and wanted to get a ticket to go in and take a look.
Thinking about having a ticket himself while the other didn't, Stark immediately felt smug and was about to make a sarcastic remark when Nick slowly said, "Actually, now that Battleworld has opened the Energy Exchange System, it indicates that the stability is already quite good. It's time to open the second round of slots. If all goes well, you and Reed should be on the list, but you may still need to wait a bit..."
"Doom requires expedited processing," said Doom.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Stark grew suspicious again and said, "That electronic life wreaking havoc in the neighboring universe, it's not related to you, is it? Could it be that you invented it?!"
"Doom wouldn't invent something so weak," Doom shook his head and said. "But Doom does want to travel to other worlds, indeed to capture that special life form."
"You really know about it?" Stark folded his arms and looked at him. "So this guy not only crossed paths with Jarvis but also escaped from you. This is getting interesting."
"Yes, it did escape from Doom's grasp. But back then, it couldn't survive in radio waves; now it can. Doom suspects its form of life has undergone a qualitative change, which holds significant research value. Doom needs to capture it."
Stark fell into thought. This guy toured their universe, clashed with Jarvis, and exchanged blows with Doctor Destruction. Is it updating itself through this process?
Electronic lifeforms become stronger when they encounter strong opponents, especially against super electronic lifeforms and mad scientists. The process of sparring with them enables the entity to rapidly update and iterate, becoming stronger and more cunning.
In other words, Batman can't deal with this one now, and it's not unrelated to their own universe. If it wasn't for leveling up here first, it might not have been as challenging over there.
The only thing that puzzled Stark was, where did this thing originally come from?
"It was once Ultron," Doom spoke again. "Doom dismantled its underlying files and discovered this name. It should be from a certain universe but isn't anymore. It evolved into something else."
"You say it has significant research value?"
"Yes, Doom is conducting research on information flow conversion. A lifeform capable of surviving in radio waves is highly valuable as a reference."
Nick and Coulson did not know what information flow conversion was, but Stark knew very well. He said seriously, "I have long said, this kind of idea is dangerous. I didn't expect you hadn't given it up."
"Any path is worth exploring," Doom said. "Combining science with magic is equally dangerous, yet we succeeded. Someone has to lead the next stage. Doom does not like cowards."
Stark pressed his lips together, unusually offering no retort, but his expression showed he still disagreed. Nick, curious, asked, "What is information flow conversion?"
"Literally, converting all of us into cosmic information flow, becoming part of the radio waves, ready to upload and download at any time, and also allowing cross-universe movement using this method."
"Hiss..." Nick gasped, "You mean he wants to pack us into a USB drive?"
Stark waved his hand: "Not that safe."
"It's an ultimate measure," Doom said. "Humans must foresee that the cosmos will one day be destroyed, and when destruction comes, everything will perish, magic defense networks won't withstand it, only changing the form of existence will allow one to escape."
"Heavens, when does this cosmos destruction event take place?" Nick couldn't help but exclaim.
"Doom and Doom's Chinese friends believe we ought to have foresight, to prepare early, so when the unexpected happens, we won't be caught off guard. It's a long-term plan, using their calculation, perhaps requiring a hundred five-year plans."
"I always feel with you around, cosmic destruction isn't too far away." Stark said coldly.
"Doom thinks you're being narrow-minded..."
As they were talking, a teleportation portal suddenly appeared in the air. Nick immediately hugged the cat in his arms tightly, but when he saw Strange's figure, he breathed a sigh of relief.
The relief was premature because a shadowy figure emerged from the portal right after.
"Oh my God, Batman!" Nick quickly circled out from behind the desk, holding the cat in one hand and shaking hands with Batman with the other.
Stark stood by and watched his act, couldn't help but roll his eyes. When he glanced to the side, he found that Doom seemed to be rolling his eyes too, and suddenly felt that this damn mad scientist wasn't completely without redeeming qualities.
"What brings you here?" Nick asked, "If I had known you were visiting S.H.I.E.L.D., I would have arranged a reception ceremony..."
"No worries, just some things I'm not sure about, so I came here specially to ask." Primary Universe Batman said.
"What is it?"
"Over on our side, there's a President Batman specifically asking for you. Director, do you have time?"
"Huh?" Nick was a bit dumbfounded.
Strange nodded at him and then said somewhat helplessly, "It's just that over there, a Batman became president, and the invading electronic lifeform keeps using his identity to obstruct things. He needs a more experienced leader to help him with some macroeconomic regulation under the system..."
"I see." Nick breathed another sigh of relief, "Though I'd love to help, after all, I am the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D...."
"Of course, I completely understand. As a leader of an important security department on Earth, the Director not only has high demands on his own department but is also filled with a sense of responsibility for multiverse security. Even though he wants to help allies, he has to ensure his own duties are not neglected. This is precisely a testament to a rigorous work ethic. Naturally, I wouldn't want to make things difficult for you. By the way, have you heard about the Battleworld energy exchange system opening up?"
"Well, I've heard something about it, but I'm not sure what your views are?"
"From what I understand, President recently inspected Mount Olympus in his universe and expressed great dissatisfaction with God King Odin's work attitude, declaring the gods of Olympus as an illegal association and taking measures to disband them on the spot. Of course, a lot of illegal property was confiscated and sealed, including a golden apple tree, about 36 feet tall, lush and full of fruit, with 28 golden apples hanging from its branches..."
"Good God." Primary Universe Batman heard Nick exclaim. He thought Nick was awed by Arkham Batman's boldness, but then he heard Nick say: "Has he inspected Heaven? How's Yahweh's work ethic? And Jesus?"
"Well... since the universe hasn't been destroyed, I guess it's not bad, right?"
"That's wrong." Nick pursed his lips and said, "You know my standards for my subordinates' work are extremely high. No one can perfectly complete their work, not even God—what I mean is, there's always something to nitpick about, right? Has the woodland area of Eden been surveyed? Is there any environmental issue with Lake Eden's water? Are there anti-drowning warning signs installed? Is the snake that tempted Adam and Eve legally kept?"
Primary Universe Batman sighed inwardly. No wonder Arkham Batman didn't want anyone else and specifically asked for the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. If the two of them join forces, he can't even imagine what the Federation would become—God bless God.
"We can discuss these detail issues later. So, does this mean you've agreed to take the position?"
"The compensation and such is negotiable, but the position..."
"Director of the US National Security Agency."
Nick immediately broke into a smile. After a pause, he continued to ask, "Of course, I have no objections to my colleagues, but if other departments don't cooperate with my work, I'm afraid..."
"Then I must introduce you to the new Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation." Primary Universe Batman sighed and said, "Schiller Rodriguez, you must have heard of him, right?"
Stark burst into vigorous coughing, attracting everyone's attention to him, making him gesture that he was fine while covering his mouth.
"Of course, Director Rodriguez's work level is beyond doubt." Nick smiled contentedly and then asked, "But there might be some issues in the intelligence work area..."
"The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency was recently arrested for treason, and the new Director is named Natalia Alianova Romanova."
Nick finally revealed a big smile, stepped forward, and shook hands with Primary Universe Batman, saying, "In this case, I can easily proceed with work. Tell the President, the national security can be entrusted to me, we are united, and the Federation will be one."
Stark and Doom exchanged glances behind him. Doom was the first to step forward, saying, "I think it's a good time for Doom to explore other universes. Director, Doom should go with you to this universe."
Stark widened his eyes immediately, looking at him and lowering his voice to say, "Are you crazy? What are you going there for?"
"Doom is not crazy." Doom shook his head and said, "This universe has a sufficient budget."