After hearing the report, Nick Fury's first thought was—aliens.
Ever since 25 years ago, Fury had grown quite accustomed to strange phenomena. As far as he was concerned, when something totally defied logic, assuming it involved aliens was usually the safest bet.
So, upon receiving the intel, Fury immediately planned to send someone to investigate—maybe even initiate containment measures if necessary. However, after the Clark abduction incident, he was now sure that S.H.I.E.L.D. was deeply compromised.
Internally, there were very few people Fury could still trust.
After some thought, he concluded there were only three: Hill, Natasha, and Coulson.
Hill, being Deputy Director, was overloaded with responsibilities. Natasha was currently undercover—she couldn't be pulled out easily. That left only Coulson, who was at the moment keeping an eye on Tony Stark.
…Well, he could stop doing that.
Not long after Coulson left Tony's house, Fury assigned him a new mission.
"Am I being shameless again?"Coulson sighed, glancing at the disconnected phone in his hand. He had just said some kind words to Tony—and now, he was being reassigned. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little relieved.
Then again, maybe if he moved fast enough, he could return before Tony even noticed he was gone.
And so, just after delivering a tough-sounding speech to Tony, Coulson himself got reassigned—smacking himself squarely in the face with irony.
Meanwhile, on the road, Tony suddenly remembered something—there was someone waiting for him back in his office.
That person was Pepper Potts. They had argued a few days earlier, and she was deeply disappointed in him. Unfortunately, the city model his father left him was still sitting in his office.
"Damn it!"
But then, as he passed a roadside stand selling strawberries, Tony suddenly had an idea: Maybe a box of strawberries could win Pepper over.
—
Upon arriving at Stark Tower, Tony headed straight toward his front desk office.
"Mr. Stark, do you have an appointment?"
The receptionist at Pepper's door quickly stepped forward. She remembered Pepper's instruction: don't let Stark in.
But Tony didn't even stop to listen. He dragged her along toward Pepper's office.
"Miss Potts, Mr. Stark refused to—"
"Don't worry, it's fine. I just need a minute," Tony said, brushing past her.
Inside, Pepper was still on a call with someone from the military and couldn't respond right away.
A few minutes later, after the call ended, Tony stepped forward.
"Do you have a moment?"
"No."
Pepper didn't even hesitate.
"Come on, don't be like that. You just got off a call. I just need 30 seconds."
Tony placed the strawberries on her desk as a peace offering.
Pepper sighed, checked her watch, and muttered:
"29 seconds. 28 seconds…"
"You don't need to be like this, okay? I was going to come here and apologize in person. I just didn't know how…"
"Wait—you're not here to apologize?"Pepper was surprised. If not that… what was he doing here? Couldn't he see how busy she was cleaning up the military mess he left behind?
"Okay, look—you already know I've been trying hard. I just want things to go back to the way they were. Also, can I maybe get rid of this thing in front of me? It's like a Ferris wheel, just spinning endlessly."
Tony struggled with the words, but what he wanted was to apologize.
"No."
Pepper had never heard Tony say "sorry." She was fed up.
"Do you even know how hard it is running a company while everyone expects you to be Iron Man—and you just vanish? I had to clean up your mess. I took all the heat."
Tony hung his head, guilt weighing heavy.
"Tony, I'm doing your job for you. And then you show up… with strawberries. Do you know the one thing I'm allergic to?"
"Strawberries."
Tony knew. Of course he knew.
"That's… progress, right? I at least know you're allergic to strawberries."
"I need you to leave. Now."
Pepper had finally had enough. She ordered him out of her office.
"Now."
Tony was stunned. This was the first time he had ever been kicked out of his own office.
He looked at her in disbelief—but Pepper's face showed no weakness.
Just as the tension peaked, Natasha arrived.
"Miss Potts?"
Natasha froze for a moment when she saw the two locked in a cold stare.
"Ah, yes—come in," Pepper said, relieved at the interruption.
"Flight leaves in 25 minutes."
"Got it. Oh, Tony—since Natasha's here, you two can sort out what to do with your personal belongings."
Then Pepper stood, gathered her things, and left the room. After that argument, she figured they both needed some space.
As soon as she left, Tony turned to Natasha.
"You're amazing, you know that? The way you kept that act up… You're like a triple agent or something. Is anything you told me even true? Do you speak Latin?"
"Mm-hmm," Natasha replied in Latin.
"Wait, what did you just say?"Tony had no clue.
"I said you can either go home yourself—or I can send someone to take you back."
Then she turned and left before Tony could say anything more.
Frustrated, Tony grabbed the strawberries from the table and dumped them in the trash.
"Forget it. Let's just go home."
As his eyes fell on the city model—labeled Key to the Future—sitting beside the trash, something flickered in Tony's expression.
As Tony returned home with the key to the future, Justin Hammer arrived at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
"It's my birthday today? And this is what you made me? This is it?"
Hammer could barely contain his excitement as he looked at the prototype armor in front of him.
"Anyway, let's talk firepower. What can you give us?"
Rhodey, standing nearby, couldn't help but roll his eyes at Hammer's greedy gaze.
"You've come to the right guy."
Hammer gestured, and one of his men wheeled out a cart loaded with weapons.
"Nine-millimeter pistols? Too weak, I get it. Shotguns, SMGs, 40mm grenade launchers—whatever you want. I get it, size matters. Don't let anyone tell you different. And now…"
Hammer grinned.
"This is the M134 minigun. Not good enough yet? Fine—let me introduce my Eiffel Tower of destruction… the Ex-Wife Missile."
"Tiny but deadly. Can level a fortress. This is my crown jewel."
"So? Do you want it? Give me a hint."
"I want it," Rhodey said at last.
He knew he couldn't get Stark-level tech anymore. Even if Hammer's gear was second-rate, he didn't have a better option.
"Which one?"
go to "patreon.com/Hussain678" for more chapter