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Ten minutes later…
Jiro had one of the Skrulls by the throat, lifting him high into the air.
The alien's green skin shimmered eerily under the sunlight as it struggled in pain.
"Turing, start recording," Jiro said coldly.
"Recording started, sir," Turing's voice replied from his watch.
Jiro stared straight ahead, his golden eyes glowing with authority. "I'm Superman. Everyone, this… is a Skrull—an alien planning to invade Earth."
He shook the alien in his hand. "They can quietly take the form of your family. Of you."
His voice dropped lower. "Now imagine waking up one day and realizing that your family... has been replaced by one of these things. What would you do?"
The Skrull let out a hoarse growl, its skin shifting rapidly between various human faces, as if proving Jiro's point.
"Recording complete, sir," Turing reported.
"Upload it to every major platform." Jiro casually tossed the alien to the ground.
Within minutes, the video spread across the internet like wildfire.
Social media exploded. Governments worldwide scrambled to hold emergency meetings. The public fell into panic and fury.
"Support Superman!""Wipe out those alien freaks!""They could be in our governments already!"
Posts like these flooded every corner of the web. A global wave of outrage against the Skrulls was rising.
Jiro activated his x-ray vision, scanning the Skrull on the ground. Its cells, DNA, and shape-shifting mechanisms were laid bare before his eyes.
"So that's how it works," he muttered. "They copy memories and restructure their cells to imitate others—even replicate powers."
Wanda walked over, her scarlet energy restraining more than a dozen shape-shifted Skrulls. "Where to next?"
"Outer space," Jiro said, slicing open a portal. "Time to claim their ship."
The three of them stepped through and instantly appeared in the control room of the Skrull mothership.
Adam was floating mid-air, surrounded by ghostly blue anti-matter energy. Dozens of Skrull corpses lay at his feet.
"You're here," Adam said as he landed. "The rest have been contained."
Jiro nodded, using his super hearing to scan the entire ship. "No survivors."
He pressed a hand to the control panel. With a thought, the massive mothership vanished, absorbed into his system's storage.
They were now floating in space. Jiro had already wrapped them in a bio-field, though they were perfectly capable of surviving on their own.
Adam's pupils narrowed. "What was that?"
"Just a little trick."
Jiro didn't explain further. He opened another portal. "Come on. Let's head back."
Later, at the Long Island villa…
The sunset painted the sea gold as Jiro stood on the terrace, leaning against the railing.
"Turing, tell Tony and the Avengers to come over for dinner tonight. Tell them I've got something important to announce."
"Invitations sent, sir," Turing replied. "Mr. Stark says he's bringing drinks."
Wanda walked over, her red hair fluttering in the evening breeze. "So, what are you going to tell them?"
Jiro looked out toward the horizon, a firm smile on his face. "It's time the world learned who their real protector is."
Night fell, and the villa glowed with warm lights.
Tony was the first to arrive—true to his word, holding two bottles of fancy champagne.
Then came Banner, Natasha, Clint, and Adam, who had just come back from visiting family.
Tony Stark pushed open the villa door and stepped inside.
The moment he entered the living room, he saw Wanda standing by the dining room doorway.
Her red hair lifted slightly, and scarlet chaos magic swirled at her fingertips.
A perfectly grilled steak floated mid-air, gently gliding toward the table.
"Whoa!" Tony raised an eyebrow with mock drama. "Looks like our little witch isn't just good in a fight—she can cook too?"
Wanda rolled her eyes. With a flick of her finger, the steak landed neatly on a plate. "What, Mr. Stark—thought I only knew how to blow up buildings?"
Natasha followed him in, chuckling. "Looks like someone's found a hobby that doesn't involve blowing up labs."
Clint casually grabbed an apple from a floating fruit tray. "Way better than S.H.I.E.L.D.'s auto-feeding drones."
Banner adjusted his glasses and smiled warmly. "And a lot safer than having Hulk serve dinner."
Adam crossed his arms, even cracking a rare smile. "Efficient."
Tony shrugged, pretending to be disappointed. "If I knew magic was this useful, I would've hired Jiro as my personal chef."
Natasha sighed and stuffed a piece of bread into Tony's mouth. "Shut it—unless you want to be turned into a pretzel."
Everyone burst into laughter. The mood instantly lightened, and they began to take their seats.
Tony chewed the bread and mumbled, "Not bad… though the delivery method's a little violent."
Jiro walked out of the kitchen with a salad in hand. His golden eyes swept over everyone as he smiled. "Looks like you're all getting along."
Tony swallowed and raised his glass. "Of course. No one can resist billionaire charm."
Natasha smirked. "Let's hope your charm can save the world too."
"Alright," Jiro said, taking a seat. "Let's eat first. We'll talk business after."
They sat around the long table. The air grew slightly tense.
Jiro raised his glass, his golden eyes locking with each person.
"To the dawn of a new era."
Tony clinked his glass on the table. "Okay, Jiro, time to spill. Why'd you gather us here?"
Natasha rubbed her temples. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is a total mess. Fury's gone. The Skrull infiltration is way deeper than we thought."
Clint mumbled through a mouthful of bread, "I wasted at least a few hundred green freaks today."
Banner pushed his glasses up and gave a wry smile. "Hulk had a blast."
Adam leaned back in his chair, arms folded. "So, what's your plan?"
Jiro glanced around, tapping his fingers on the table. "Eat first."
Tony rolled his eyes. "Not this again…"
Wanda laughed softly. A piece of steak wrapped in red energy floated onto Jiro's plate.
Once everyone had eaten their fill, Jiro finally spoke. "Fury's gone—but that's not the real issue."
He paused. "The real problem is that a regular person was trying to lead a team of superpowered heroes. That was never going to work."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "So?"
"So... S.H.I.E.L.D. needs a new Director." Jiro's eyes locked on Tony."And that person is you."
Pffft!Tony spat out his wine. "What?!"
Banner nodded. "I agree. You're the strongest. You should lead."
Natasha and Clint exchanged a glance, then shrugged. "No objections here."
Adam added coolly, "Neither do I."
Tony pointed at himself in disbelief. "Hold on—me?! I'm a playboy, billionaire, philanthropist, inventor—I save the world sometimes, yeah—but I don't want to be a Director!"
Jiro grinned. "S.H.I.E.L.D. was co-founded by your father. It makes sense for you to take over."
Tony ruffled his hair and stood up, frustrated. "You know I hate bureaucracy!"
"But you hate watching things go to hell even more." Jiro met his gaze.
"Think about it. If S.H.I.E.L.D. falls into the hands of extremists again, what happens next?"
Tony fell silent. After a moment, he sat back down and sighed. "Fine. But I've got conditions. I want full autonomy—budget, personnel, everything. And I'm not sitting in some office all day. You can forget that."
Jiro nodded. "Deal."
"Alright then…" Natasha clasped her hands. Her eyes sharpened."What's our next move?"
Jiro's expression turned cold. "We root out every last Hydra and Skrull inside S.H.I.E.L.D."
He swiped his finger through the air. A holographic projection lit up, revealing a detailed blueprint of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal structure. Several names were marked in red.
"Especially Alexander Pierce—he's the biggest Hydra boss of them all."
Tony let out a low whistle. "Well, this is gonna get fun."
Banner frowned. "Are we really just gonna take him out? Isn't that… a bit extreme?"
Jiro replied coolly, "Extreme? No. Efficient."
Adam nodded. "I'll handle the European division."
Natasha and Clint looked at each other. "We've got HQ."
Tony spread his hands. "What about me?"
Jiro looked over. "You're the Director. Start by tearing through the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. database. Make sure no rats slip through."
Tony scowled. "That sounds like grunt work."
Jiro chuckled. "You can always get JARVIS to help."
Tony rolled his eyes. "Great. My AI butler's now moonlighting as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secretary."
Jiro stood up, golden eyes sweeping over them all. "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s power is shifting. And you… are the ones driving that change."
Tony raised his glass with a wry smile. "To the new era."
"....."