Elsewhere.
In the Triskelion, inside Nick Fury's office.
Coulson was reporting:
"Director, during this crisis, Smith Dole once again displayed a new ability—flight."
"And his movement speed is extremely fast, even at close range Obadiah's missiles couldn't lock on."
Nick Fury frowned slightly. The abilities Smith Dole displayed reminded him of an old friend: immense strength, an indestructible body, terrifying flight…
The similarities were striking. Except that Carol Danvers got her powers from the Tesseract—so where exactly did Smith Dole's powers come from?
"Coulson," Fury said, "since Smith Dole and Tony Stark have now stepped into the public eye, our original plan needs some adjustments."
"It's time to activate the Avengers Initiative. I'll handle inviting Tony Stark."
"You go and invite Smith Dole."
Coulson hesitated.
"Isn't that a little fast?"
Fury replied flatly:
"Since they're already in the public eye, we can't just sit back and ignore it."
"It's our duty to manage the extraordinary. And if we don't have arrangements in place, the Security Council will start breathing down our necks."
Coulson nodded. He didn't say more, only asked:
"What about Natasha? Should we pull her back?"
"According to her last report," he added, "the Assassin League has made a fortune through Stark Industries, and they're also constructing something big—likely a new base."
Fury thought for a moment.
"If Smith Dole joins the Initiative, then recall Natasha."
"If he refuses, then let her continue to observe."
Coulson understood: if Smith joined the Avengers, Natasha's infiltration would no longer be necessary.
"Understood, Director. I'll go invite him now."
With that, Coulson left the office.
Fury, meanwhile, rose to his feet—time to meet Tony Stark himself.
······
On the other side.
After Pepper Potts left, Smith Dole picked up his phone and called Tony.
On the other end, Tony had just arrived at an Air Force base at Rhodey's invitation.
Seeing the caller ID, Tony answered without hesitation.
"Hey, Tony!"
"I really like the AI. Thank you for the gesture."
Tony smiled, a glass of whiskey in his hand.
"We're friends, aren't we?"
"And besides, isn't my life worth more than that thing? So don't thank me too much."
"If you really want to thank me—when I finish my next armor upgrade, we can spar again."
Rhodey, nearby, raised his brows in surprise. They'd sparred already?
Who won? Probably Smith, given how easily he dealt with the Iron Monger compared to Tony.
Smith chuckled.
"OK. When your new armor is ready, we'll spar again."
Tony added:
"Smith, no holding back next time."
That made Smith laugh.
"Ha. Then you'd better beef up your armor's defense."
After a few more words, the call ended. Rhodey couldn't help but ask:
"You're really that close with him now?"
Tony smiled faintly.
"Well, everyone's calling us the real-life Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent."
Rhodey blinked. He thought to himself: you do know Batman's always got a plan to take down Superman, right?
Would Tony build an anti-God armor?
Rhodey sighed.
"I really regret it now. The higher-ups chewed me out for not working with you on this…"
Tony just smiled and sipped his whiskey. He didn't comment. Rhodey got the message.
······
Meanwhile.
The door to Smith's office was knocked on again. When it opened, John Wick stepped in.
"Boss, SHIELD's Agent Coulson is here. I've brought him to the lounge."
Smith rubbed his temples. One thing after another. He'd just handed the AI over to Bulma, and now SHIELD again.
"Well, since he's here, let's see what he wants. Hopefully it's not bad news."
Smith didn't hold out much hope for SHIELD, but figured he could at least remind them about his product launch in a week.
Coulson sat in the lounge with a cup of coffee before him.
He'd only been here yesterday, but now he was back already. He hoped the mission would go smoothly.
When the doors opened, Smith walked in and sat down across from him.
"I thought it'd be a while before we met again—not just a few hours."
Coulson gave a rueful smile.
"I didn't want to trouble you so soon, Mr. Smith, but orders are orders."
Smith waved his hand.
"Alright, out with it. What now?"
Seeing Smith's directness, Coulson steadied himself and began:
"Mr. Smith, the world may look calm on the surface, but underneath it's full of storms."
"As someone with extraordinary abilities, you must already be aware of things the public isn't."
Smith raised an eyebrow, interested.
"Oh? So there are plenty of other 'extraordinaries' on Earth?"
Coulson nodded slightly and continued:
"SHIELD is a special agency under the Security Council, tasked with handling just such matters."
"Some powered individuals become arrogant and dangerous after awakening their gifts. And there are also alien technologies and potential threats."
"And beyond Earth itself, we also need to be ready for extraterrestrial crises."
As the man in charge of the Tahiti Project, Coulson knew full well that Earth's enemies weren't just terrestrial—they came from the stars.
He pulled out a tablet and played some footage of super-criminals in action to help make his case more compelling.
······
(End of Chapter)
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