"This plan is inhumane. I refuse, Director Nick."
"Your refusal is useless, Captain. The higher-ups have already passed it."
Nick looked expressionlessly at the protesting Captain America and stated the result sternly. Although he was completely putting on an act, given his usual style of suppressing employees and not paying them, combined with the proposal of this plan, it was hard for the Captain to see Nick as someone who protected the world anymore. He couldn't believe how the person who once helped him adapt to modern life had now become so cold-blooded, wanting to treat things that hadn't happened yet as threats and eliminate them. This made the Captain's heart go cold. What made him feel even colder was that the superiors had actually agreed to such an absurd plan; it was truly hard for him to accept.
Nick had long anticipated the Captain's reaction and was very satisfied. A trace of satisfaction flashed in his cold, feigned single eye. But seeing the other guy, Nick's originally relaxed heart instantly became heavy. Tony was currently looking at the proposal seriously. This shouldn't have been a problem, but this bastard actually had a look of satisfaction mixed with a hint of approval while reading this plan meant to lure out Hydra. This made the back of Nick's neck feel a bit chilly. This kid wouldn't actually want to do this, would he? Could he already be one of Hydra's people?
"I support... Ni... cough cough! I support the Captain."
He had originally wanted to say he supported Director Nick, as it was indeed a good idea. However, the plan had significant loopholes. If modified, it might allow them to discover individuals the very moment they committed a mistake, enabling them to receive the news and capture them. Such a convenient method was indeed very useful for crime prevention. Tony agreed with most of the plan, though he disagreed with a small part of it. This particular plan was quite good, but the Captain's gaze was a bit too pressuring. Tony decided to maintain a neutral stance and outwardly give the Captain some face.
"Nick, this matter must be reported to the superiors. What's the difference between this and pointing a gun at the people? At least at this moment, they are civilians, they are innocents. Once we view them as enemies, they truly become our enemies. We can't do this. If we do, what's the difference between us and those villains?"
Although Tony's behavior made the Captain uneasy, now was not the time to pursue that. He had to change Nick's way of thinking. If possible, he hoped to talk to the superiors and convince them to prevent this inhumane plan from threatening innocent civilians. He had to stand his ground.
"Captain, I'll say it again: I'm not asking for your opinion. I'm issuing an order."
Seeing the Captain still holding his ground, Nick felt gratified. However, the act had to be convincing enough to avoid revealing any flaws. Facing the Captain's opposition, Nick gave the order with a cold face. This made the Captain very awkward. As a figure from World War II, his soldier's file still bore the 'Killed in Action' mark, so his rank was still that of a soldier. Nick was his superior, and a soldier's duty is to obey orders. With Nick speaking so firmly, Captain America could only look at Nick in disappointment before standing up and leaving.
"Fine! I'm leaving too."
Seeing the 'Old Timer' leave, Tony had intended to stay and discuss the plan properly with Nick. But seeing Nick's 'angry' expression, Tony tactfully left. Though he was wild and unrestrained, he didn't like looking for trouble. If Nick was that angry, let him be! Anyway, this little thing wouldn't stump Tony; he would definitely create a more complete plan than Nick's for everyone to see.
"Truly a bunch of troublesome kids."
After Tony left, Nick breathed a deep sigh of relief and rubbed his forehead. Nick truly had a headache. In his eyes, even the 'nearly century-old' Captain was just a big boy; after all, he hadn't actually lived through those decades, and his experience couldn't compare to Nick's. But Nick's biggest headache was Tony, that troublemaker. He couldn't believe the guy actually took a liking to such a plan; he really couldn't understand the thought process of these geniuses.
"I Hope I can protect you all for a while longer."
Saying this, Nick took out Artoria's analysis file. He had originally planned to slowly let Artoria accept S.H.I.E.L.D.'s existence so she could join. He hadn't expected things to get so complicated; there were too many internal problems within S.H.I.E.L.D. It seemed Howard and Maria were right not to let Artoria join. Now, looking at the Special Agents in S.H.I.E.L.D., everyone looked like a Hydra mole, which made even him feel flustered. Letting a child like Artoria join now would undoubtedly be pushing her into this chaotic pit. Even if he wanted to do something so immoral, Howard would probably beat him to death.
"Achoo~~!"
"What's wrong, Artoria?"
In Hope's lab, holding the Wasp Suit that Hope had recently developed, the ahoge on Artoria's head suddenly twitched. Then, her nose itched, and she let out a sneeze, nearly knocking over the Pym Particles nearby. Hope didn't care about the falling Pym Particles; she rushed to Artoria's side and asked concernedly about her health. Although she had never seen Artoria sick, no one was a god. Perhaps Artoria had caught some germs somewhere she hadn't noticed.
"I'm fine, I just feel like someone's talking behind my back!"
She didn't feel anything wrong with her body, but Artoria felt a sudden chill, a sense that someone had ill intentions toward her. She couldn't think of who it might be. In the end, Artoria didn't think too much about it. After all, there was plenty of malice directed at her every day; she couldn't possibly eliminate everyone who had designs on her!
"Susan... I haven't seen her in a while. Where has she been lately?"
Looking at the jars and bottles in the lab, Artoria suddenly remembered a memory sent by her clone. Susan's brother, Johnny—that guy who looked almost identical to Captain America—seemed to have been injured while fighting those lizard-like creatures. Susan had taken leave to look after him. She hadn't seen her for a while; apparently, she was moving her brother to a place closer to the company. If it weren't for the emails she received from Susan every night, Artoria would have thought she'd gone missing.
Crackle~!
Hearing a name that made her unhappy, the test tube in Hope's hand was crushed instantly. For some reason, as soon as that woman was mentioned, Hope felt an anonymous fire burning from her liver to her heart and up to her head. That damn homewrecker had been gone for so long, yet Artoria was still thinking about her. She was so angry! But there was nothing she could do.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Hope suddenly fall silent followed by the sound of breaking glass, Artoria asked curiously. Even if she knew the two of them didn't get along, surely it wasn't to the point where her name couldn't even be mentioned? What was wrong with Hope? She always gave off a sense of sourness, which made Artoria feel quite helpless. Their relationship was poor, and she didn't know why; it probably had something to do with their personalities clashing.
"It's nothing. Let's continue."
With a flick of her hand, she threw away the test tube that had been crushed to pieces. A smile played on Hope's face as she spoke to Artoria, but this smile seemed so 'fake' in Artoria's eyes. Although she sensed Hope's strangeness, she didn't know what was odd about it. Artoria didn't dwell on it further; she had to continue her research on Pym Particles and the Quantum Realm.
"We can't let this plan proceed. Tony, let's steal the core of this plan and destroy it together!"
"What?! (⊙_⊙)?"
Walking out of S.H.I.E.L.D., Captain America had been waiting for Tony by the roadside. After hesitating, he walked up to Tony and spoke firmly. But hearing the Captain's words, Tony was completely bewildered.
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