"Welcome to New York Express News, I'm XXX. According to the latest reports, the world's leading billionaire Tony Stark has publicly admitted that he is Iron Man, acknowledging the possession of some kind of high-tech weaponry. Following the emergence of Captain, our nation once again has a superhero. Meanwhile, during the press conference, a mysterious figure claiming to be from the Sanctuary suddenly appeared—not only to offer blessings for the birth of Iron Man but also to explicitly voice support for his actions…"
Unable to bear it any longer, Tony turned off the TV and collapsed on the couch with his face buried in his hands.
"This is killing me…" Tony groaned.
"What's wrong? Was that a bad move?" Pepper asked with concern.
At this point, she was not only the CEO of Stark Industries but also Tony's girlfriend. And with Galon being her colleague, she naturally needed to stay informed about what was going on.
It was fine when she knew nothing, but once she dug into things through various channels, she realized just how significant Galon's background was—and how massive the Sanctuary truly was as an organization.
From what she currently understood, as a person, Pepper held a deep respect for the Saints. But as Tony's girlfriend and the executive of a major corporation, she had to think about a lot more—most importantly, Tony's safety.
"With great power comes great responsibility." That phrase wasn't just for show. Greater power meant greater danger. Sure, each Saint wielded destructive power—but what about their enemies? Were they weaklings? Obviously not.
Tony, despite having advanced tech armor and being viewed as a powerful superhero by the public, was still just a normal person. And Pepper didn't believe his suit was on par with beings of the Saints' level.
From a corporate standpoint, as a businesswoman, her priority had to be the interests of Stark Industries. Tony publicly revealing himself as Iron Man and gaining recognition from the Sanctuary was undoubtedly a good thing—it brought huge profits. The clearest sign: the skyrocketing stock prices.
But profit always came hand-in-hand with risk. Stark Industries wasn't without rivals—like Oscorp. And beneath them were countless companies ready to topple Stark Industries and split the pie. Hammer Industries was the prime example, recently holding constant press conferences and spreading conspiracy theories.
"Problem? It's a massive problem!" Tony complained as he had JARVIS pull up all the media reports about Iron Man and the Sanctuary, along with surveillance camera feeds showing swarms of reporters staking out his house and company. "Look, I'm officially a celebrity now!"
"That's it?" Pepper blinked, puzzled.
Weren't you already famous? Haven't you always been in the headlines? What's the difference now?
"The biggest problem isn't that—it's…" Tony pulled up a gender breakdown of the reporters. "Damn it! I already told the press I have a girlfriend! Why are they still sending female reporters? And every single one is gorgeous!"
Pepper: (﹁﹁)
"Shouldn't you be happy about that?"
"Ahem… That's slander!"
"Oh really?"
"Ahem, let's change the subject. Pepper, come with me to meet someone." Tony quickly shifted gears, thinking it was about time Pepper knew a few things. No point letting her stress out unnecessarily.
"But I have a meeting soon…"
"Cancel it."
"…Alright."
That upcoming meeting was important. Normally, Tony wouldn't ask her to cancel work unless it was something really major.
But they hadn't even left yet before someone came knocking.
"Sir, Agent Coulson from S.H.I.E.L.D. is here."
"Tell him to go back and schedule an appointment."
"I'm afraid that's not going to work…"
Before JARVIS could even finish, Coulson had already entered—with a bald stranger leading the way.
"Well, there goes the security system," Tony muttered.
Under Tony and Pepper's wary gazes, Fury acted like he owned the place. He sat down across from them, helped himself to a cup of coffee, and drank casually.
"Hey man, who are you? You know this is trespassing, right?"
"Need me to call you a lawyer?" Fury asked back, completely unfazed.
"Who are you?" Tony's finger subtly moved, activating the lab doors and prepping the suit. If things went south, he'd grab Pepper and suit up instantly.
"Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. You can call me Fury. You've caused us quite a mess, Tony," Fury said.
Tony didn't answer him directly but turned to Coulson, looking a little odd. "This your boss?"
Coulson nodded with a polite smile.
"Oh. So S.H.I.E.L.D. really doesn't care about appearances, huh?"
"Should I take that as discrimination?" Coulson half-joked. Fury's face darkened as he glared at Tony.
"What? Just a joke."
"Alright then, let's get to the point. Tony, thanks to your reckless behavior, we've had to spend considerable effort cleaning up the fallout. Don't you think you owe us an apology?" Fury asked.
"I don't see it that way. The Obadiah thing? That was your people being useless. If you'd arrested him earlier, none of this would've happened. As for the rest—go find Galon. You guys know him, right? He stirred this up. I'm the victim here." Tony pouted.
"You really washed your hands of everything, huh? I can't touch the Sanctuary's people—but you, Tony, are a different story."
"Confident, aren't you? Go ahead." Tony extended both arms, as if to surrender.
"Hmph." Fury shot him a glare and tossed a file at him. "Take a look and sign it. Then we'll call it even."
Tony glanced at the first page: The Avengers Initiative. His eyebrow raised as he flipped through it.
It didn't take him long to finish. But rather than signing it as Fury had hoped, he set the file down.
"This is your plan? A superhero boy band?" Tony chuckled, clearly unimpressed.
"Earth faces countless threats—some from deep space, others right beside us. We can't just sit back and do nothing," Fury said.
"I know that better than you do, Fury… Director."
That single sentence shut down whatever Fury had prepared to say next.
"But I don't think your superhero boy band—uh, I mean, Avengers Initiative—is going to help much." Tony had preferred "boy band," but one look at Fury's death glare made him switch.
"You think you can save the world alone?" Fury asked, his face darkening again.
"Of course not. I can handle terrorists and arms dealers. As for the real monsters? Call the Saints." Tony shrugged.
"Listen, Tony, we can't keep relying on outsiders—"
"So I'm an insider now?" Tony interrupted with a smirk. "We just met today, and you're already pulling the 'we're family' act? Isn't that a little too soon?"
Fury had no comeback. Did he really consider Tony one of his people? Of course not. Heck, he didn't even fully trust Coulson, who had been with him since the beginning, let alone Tony, whom he had just met.
But Tony was the second person he was trying to recruit.
The first, naturally, was his old boss Steve. Though Steve functioned more as a symbol than a subordinate. Because of his legacy and current status, Steve was someone Fury couldn't command—only cooperate with.
"Oh, and one more thing…" Tony figured the conversation had reached its end. Continuing any further was pointless. He stood up, taking Pepper with him. But before leaving, he gave Fury a final piece of advice: "Some words… can really chill the heart."
With that, he and Pepper left, not bothering with how long Fury and Coulson would stay.
If anything went missing, they'd just bill them. Pepper had their business cards in her purse anyway.
After Tony and Pepper left, Fury fell into deep thought.
"Director?"
"I'm fine. Let's go."
"Should we assign someone to monitor him?"
"Monitor him?"
"Er… guess not."
"Exactly. We've got to move. The intel on the big guy just came in. Let's hope we're not too late."
Coulson didn't mind that Fury didn't completely trust him. A true agent maintained suspicion toward everything, even their closest allies. Fury simply took that trait to the extreme.
Still, Coulson understood and respected Fury's vision—and was willing to follow him.
…
Meanwhile, on the road to Melin's house, Pepper voiced her doubts.
"Why didn't you agree to their offer?"
"Why should I?" Tony countered.
"Tony, I know I can't stop you—but I still worry. Wouldn't having more allies make things safer? Phil has helped us a lot."
"Yes, I know. But this isn't the same."
"Why not?"
"Coulson is Coulson. S.H.I.E.L.D.—fine, let's just call it that—is S.H.I.E.L.D.. A person and an organization are two very different things. Pepper, you're smart. You know what it means if I join them, right?"
Pepper paused, went silent for a few seconds, then began mentally piecing it together. Once she understood the bigger picture, she didn't try to convince him anymore.