S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, the Triskelion.
Director Nick Fury sat in his office chair, watching the footage on the monitor in front of him—recordings of the battle between the Kamen Riders and the Bugster monster outside Stark Industries.
"Director, you called for me?" Coulson knocked and entered, reporting to Fury.
Fury leaned back in his chair, his tone calm and unreadable as he looked at one of his most trusted subordinates."You're aware of the monster that suddenly appeared in front of Stark Industries and wreaked havoc, right?"
Coulson immediately understood the Director's meaning and nodded."The monster that appeared this time should be the same type as the one from the battle between Tony Stark and Obadiah."
"So, have you discovered any useful information?" Fury tapped the table lightly, eyes fixed on Coulson.
Coulson made a bitter face, organized his words, and spoke:"From the intelligence we've gathered, these monsters seem to be… born from inside human bodies…"
"Say something more useful," Fury interrupted bluntly."For example, what causes these monsters to emerge? And who exactly were those two armor-wearing individuals who appeared out of nowhere and defeated the monster? They looked like they walked straight out of a video game."
Coulson hesitated slightly before answering:"We still don't know. Their appearance and disappearance were far too strange—there's nothing to trace."
"So you're telling me, after all this time investigating, you have no substantive intelligence?" Fury tapped the table again—not hard, but enough to show pressure.
"This monster appeared in broad daylight in front of Stark Tower. The President has already called me, demanding S.H.I.E.L.D. uncover the truth as soon as possible.And you're telling me that after all this time, you found nothing of real value?"
Coulson exhaled softly, embarrassed."We've already pushed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence network to its limits. But there are simply too few clues to work with. At best, we can form limited hypotheses.
"Our intel analysts believe the two armored individuals might be connected to Tony Stark. We've investigated every top-tier physics and engineering expert in the United States—no one else has the capability to create such a full-coverage exosuit."
"Hypotheses…?" Fury stared at him."In that case, approach Stark again. See if you can directly ask him what these monsters are."
Coulson forced a bitter smile."I already tried last time. He completely ignored me. I reported this to you, Director.
"For Tony Stark, I believe a female agent would have a better chance. I suggest sending Agent Natasha—she'll be far more effective with someone like Stark."
Fury frowned, then said after a pause:"Natasha is still in Europe on assignment. We'll wait."
Coulson's eyes flickered slightly, but his face remained unchanged as he nodded in agreement.
Yet inwardly, he couldn't help but speculate.Even if Natasha was abroad, S.H.I.E.L.D. had no shortage of female agents. But Fury was clearly unwilling to send someone undercover into Stark's personal life.
It made sense.Stark already expected to be monitored from afar—he was Iron Man and one of the world's top engineers.But sending someone to infiltrate his personal circle would be a direct betrayal of trust.If he discovered such deceit, he'd likely never cooperate with S.H.I.E.L.D. again.
Thus, S.H.I.E.L.D. had always kept their distance, merely watching him from afar.
Fury disliked Stark's personality, but greatly valued his genius. He hoped that one day this playboy would mature enough to be brought into his initiative.
Originally, in the "original timeline," S.H.I.E.L.D. only sent Natasha after realizing Stark was acting wildly out of character—like someone with a terminal diagnosis spiraling into self-destruction.
Her mission resulted in discovering the new element Howard left behind, allowing Tony to resolve his palladium poisoning.
Stark never said it out loud, but he clearly remembered the favor.
Fury then asked:"Do you really think those two armored individuals who fought the monsters are connected to Tony Stark?"
Coulson thought for a moment."Logically, such an advanced exosuit could only be created by Tony Stark. But…"
"But what?" Fury's single eye glinted.
"I don't think those two suits were built by Tony," Coulson said, uncertain but sincere.
"Think?" Fury's tone was sharp."I want evidence and logical deduction—not some vague feeling."
Coulson nodded."Based on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence capabilities, only someone with arc reactor technology could create such full-body exosuits equipped with energy weapons.
"And Tony treats his Iron Man armor like part of his soul. Congress and the military have been trying to obtain his suit-design specs for years—he refuses every time.
"If he truly built those two suits, why didn't he use them himself? Why hand them to someone else?
"And besides… the exterior design… doesn't resemble Stark's style at all.
"More importantly, during the battle, Stark's armor was ineffective against the monster, while those two unknown suits dealt real damage.
"So my personal judgment is:These monsters and those two suits might have nothing to do with Stark."
"That's speculation," Fury said, though he admitted it was logical."But without evidence, it's not strong enough.
"If not Stark, then who else on Earth has the capability to build such suits?"
Fury fell silent.
[Nah they tryna make SPEAR, the Chinese SHIELD OP by Glazing it saying they ca't infiltrate it lmao. I removed it]
Then a bold idea struck him.
What if the monsters—and the suits—aren't from Earth at all?
As someone who had firsthand contact with alien civilizations, Fury knew well that countless advanced species existed in the universe, capable of interstellar travel and wielding unimaginable technology.
"Alright. Continue monitoring Stark Industries and Tony Stark," Fury said as he absently touched the old pager left by a trusted friend.
"And find a chance. I may need to speak with Stark face-to-face."
Fury then narrowed his eye dangerously at Coulson."Don't tell me you've brought me nothing. You must have some actionable intel."
Coulson stiffened."We couldn't trace the monster directly. But—
"After conducting full investigations of the individuals who gave birth to monsters, although no anomalies were detected…
"Based on their symptoms before transforming, we've identified a group of people in New York showing similar signs—potential future monster hosts."
Fury nodded."And how are these people being handled? Assigned agents to monitor them?"
But upon seeing Coulson's bitter smile, Fury frowned."What happened?"
"They were taken by the U.S. military," Coulson said helplessly."On grounds of 'infected with a new contagious virus requiring quarantine.'Our agents can't directly clash with the U.S. military."
Fury's expression darkened—then relaxed.
"Let the military deal with the frontline disasters, then. Those monsters aren't easy to handle—even Stark struggled.If the military wants to take the risk, let them.
"But keep eyes on their quarantine facilities. If another monster appears, S.H.I.E.L.D. must obtain the first-hand data."
"Yes, Director," Coulson responded.