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Coulson finally managed to persuade Darian after much coaxing.
After all, he hadn't summoned Darian to eliminate Director Fury.
Coulson continued, "Besides Clint Barton and Thor, the other Avengers have been assembled. They are in the command center now."
The two walked into the spacious command center of the Helicarrier and soon saw several familiar faces.
At this time, the two scientists, Tony and Bruce, were chatting excitedly, spouting various scientific terms that were incomprehensible. Anyone without a Dr. degree was simply not qualified to join their conversation.
"I knew you'd come, you scoundrel."
Tony was not at all surprised by Darian's arrival.
"Then why did you come?"
Darian was very curious how Coulson managed to assemble Tony, given his personality.
Tony shrugged, "Coulson told me that this time we were going to fight Director Fury, so I immediately canceled my date with Pepper, put on my new armor, and rushed over."
After all, a date with Pepper could be rescheduled, but the opportunity to fight Director Fury wasn't an everyday occurrence!
"No wonder."
Darian expressed understanding; this reason was indeed hard to refuse.
Then, he greeted Bruce beside him, "Hi, Bruce, how was your trip to Iceland?"
Bruce: "…"
It was better not to mention it; he felt uncomfortable just thinking about it.
He already knew who the mastermind was behind him frantically running to Iceland.
Since that Iceland incident, he and Betty had developed a psychological shadow of that place. What was originally an anticipated romantic aurora borealis had turned into a wilderness survival on a desolate island.
Betty was fine, at least she had clothes on.
After Bruce transformed back into his human form from the Hulk, he only had a pair of underwear on, and the underwear was too big and drafty.
By the time S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reconnaissance team found Bruce, he was already frozen into a 'predict' shape, like two popsicles.
After greeting the two, Darian also noticed Natasha, who was sitting alone in a corner.
Since Hawkeye, with whom she had a deep friendship, had betrayed S.H.I.I.E.L.D., she was in a very bad mood, comparable to a woman during those few days of the month. Darian was tactful enough not to go up and greet her.
"Where is Captain America? Didn't he also board the Helicarrier?"
Darian scanned the room but didn't find Steve, who was also part of the Avengers Initiative.
Tony spread his hands, "That old popsicle said a few words after getting on board, then said he was going to the restroom. It's been about twenty minutes now."
Darian raised an eyebrow, "Did he fall into a pit?"
"Who knows, he's an old man, so it's normal for him to take a bit longer in the restroom."
Tony was as sharp-tongued as ever.
He and Steve hadn't gotten along since they first met.
Their personalities were completely opposite, and their ideologies were poles apart, as if they were naturally incompatible.
Just as the group was chatting, Maria Hill walked over. She was a Level 9 S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent and also the Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Now that Director Fury was temporarily absent, Hill naturally took charge, becoming the current highest authority in S.H.I.E.L.D. and the supreme Commander of the Helicarrier. All Agents had to follow her command.
Hill said with a serious expression, "Currently, we are monitoring almost every networked camera, phone, and computer on Earth. Anything connected to the internet is our surveillance target. Once Loki and his accomplices appear, we will be able to capture their traces as quickly as possible."
With the World Council backing S.H.I.E.L.D., global surveillance was considered a basic operation.
Bruce asked suspiciously, "If that's the case, why haven't you found them yet?"
Hill paused and explained, "Director Fury secretly established many very covert safe houses, some not even registered with S.H.I.E.L.D. If they intend to hide, it will be very difficult for us to find them."
"Is Director Fury that rich? To have built so many safe houses," Bruce muttered.
Hill didn't respond.
This involved S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top secrets and Director Fury's personal conduct, so she found it difficult to answer.
"So, we're now dealing with a circus alliance consisting of a Bambi, a one-eyed pirate Captain, and a Robin Hood?" Tony summarized.
"Uh, you could say that."
Hill barely kept up with Tony's analogy, then solemnly said, "That's precisely why I need your help. Director Fury activated the Avengers Initiative at the last moment, trusting that you have the ability to deal with the threat Loki poses."
Upon hearing this, Darian waved his hand, "Don't worry, we will never fail Director Fury's dying wish! We will definitely stomp the evil Director Fury and his accomplices underfoot!"
Hill: "…"
Director Fury hasn't even sacrificed himself yet, so how did it become his dying wish?
And Loki is clearly the real mastermind, so how did he end up as 'and his accomplices' after Director Fury?
Bruce volunteered, "Bring all your spectrometers here and calibrate them all to the gamma-ray band. I can write a tracking algorithm to pinpoint the Tesseract's energy. That way, we can at least filter out some targets and narrow down the search area."
Hill immediately nodded, "No problem, I'll arrange for someone to prepare a laboratory for you right away."
Just then, the command center door slid open, and an American-style perky butt holding a star shield walked in. It was Steve, whom Darian hadn't seen in a long time.
At this moment, Steve was wearing the new uniform specially made for him by S.H.I.E.L.D. It was unclear whether the designer of this uniform was a fan or an anti-fan, but this uniform was tighter than any he had worn before, especially with its excellent butt-lifting effect.
Coulson, standing beside him, immediately brightened up.
He was a devoted fan of Steve, having loved Captain America since childhood, buying all sorts of merchandise and cheering him on. Now, seeing him live, he almost couldn't resist taking out his phone to take a commemorative photo.
Darian chuckled, "Finally done with the restroom?"
Steve was a bit embarrassed, "This uniform is really too tight; it's a bit troublesome to take off."
This is normal; goddesses are human and will also have their needs, and superheroes are no exception. Moreover, wearing such a tight suit is definitely inconvenient. Judging from Steve's uniform design, taking it off probably means taking everything off, which is indeed very troublesome.
But understanding is one thing; just imagining Steve having to strip naked to use the restroom somehow felt strangely comical.
Steve, noticing the strange looks from everyone, quickly shifted the topic to business, "So, what's the situation now? I just heard you mention Director Fury."
Darian nodded, "Yes, we are trying to thwart Director Fury's conspiracy."
Steve: "?"
I was only gone for a moment, how did the final BOSS suddenly become Director Fury?
Just then, Agent Sitwell, who had been responsible for signal tracking in the command center, suddenly reported.
"Officer, we've found a lead! The match with Agent Clint Barton is 47%, located at the Schaefer Security Services building in Stuttgart, Germany."
"Investigation reveals that Dr. Heinrich Schaefer was attacked not long ago. He owns a vault in the Schaefer Security Services building, which contains a large amount of iridium metal."
Bruce looked puzzled, "What do they want with iridium metal?"
As soon as he said this, Bruce immediately received several pairs of clear, innocent eyes.
Bruce: "…"
Well, even he, with 7 Dr. degrees, didn't know, so others would know even less.
"Iridium can be used as a stabilizer. It prevents the portal from collapsing on itself, allowing the operator to control the portal as they wish. Then, opening it as wide or as long as they want won't be a problem."
Fortunately, Tony, the academic genius, was present, rescuing Bruce who had fallen into a group of academic underachievers.
"If that's the case, then let's depart immediately and bring Clint back."
As soon as Natasha heard news of Clint, she immediately perked up, preparing all sorts of incapacitating equipment. Even if she had to break Clint's leg, she would bring him back.
Hill nodded, "Then this mission will be assigned to Captain America and Agent Romanoff, to go to the Schaefer Security Services building and apprehend Clint Barton."
As Director Fury's adjutant, Hill's professionalism was beyond reproach; she made a deployment decisively.
Considering that Loki and Director Fury were still lurking somewhere, Hill did not send Darian to participate in the operation. Bruce needed to focus on tracking the Tesseract, and Tony was unmanageable, so it seemed most reasonable for Steve and Natasha to carry out this mission.
After all, Clint only played with bows; he wasn't some super-powered individual. Two against one seemed like a sure win.
Clint: "…"