Tony brought Pepper to Melin's home, intending to ask why Melin had pushed him into the spotlight, but instead, he encountered someone he really hadn't wanted to see.
"Hey, Tony, congratulations—you've finally grown up."
"You two weren't supposed to be traveling around the world? What are you doing here?"
Looking at the faces of Howard and Maria, who were gazing at him with satisfaction, Tony felt his molars ache. At first, he thought this was one of Melin's surprises for him, but seeing his parents there made him instantly think of his kidnapping incident.
"You've stirred up such a storm, of course we had to come back and see for ourselves," Howard said with a smile, gesturing for Tony to sit down. Maria, meanwhile, took Pepper into another room. Tony had indeed brought Pepper with him to introduce her to people, but that would come later—this was a discussion between men, and it wasn't suitable for women to be present.
Besides, Maria wanted a chance to chat properly with her future daughter-in-law.
"So this is another one of your schemes?" Tony asked, sitting down and giving Howard a bitter look.
"How could it be a scheme!? Don't you like surprises? This is official recognition from the Sanctuary—something many people would beg for!" Howard retorted.
"But… could you not have told me in advance? Look at me now—I'm surrounded by stalkers everywhere I go!" Tony complained.
Howard gave him a meaningful look. "Weren't you always?"
"Uh… fair point. I have no counterargument."
"So then, what are you complaining about? Even I, your father, a so-called hero, never received public acknowledgment from the Sanctuary."
"Melin, Uncle, are you just going to let him keep fooling around like this?" Tony turned his wounded gaze toward Melin.
"This is a good thing, isn't it? Garon spoke very highly of you," Melin said calmly, with a gentle smile.
"Garon? He spoke highly of me? Heh, so I'm finally not a toy anymore?" Tony laughed, somewhat self-deprecating.
"You're still a toy—but a promising one," Melin replied, quoting exactly what Garon had said.
"…Alright, looks like I've got more work to do," Tony said, shrugging.
"You're still as stubborn as ever," Howard said. "Without Garon's praise, you wouldn't upgrade your armor anyway. Knowing you, even if you managed to save the whole world, you'd never stop."
No one knew Tony better than his father. Howard understood that Tony's personality was much like Fury's—he liked to have complete control over everything. The moment something slipped beyond his grasp, he became anxious and uneasy.
That "something beyond his control" naturally included Melin and the Saints.
Tony froze, a bit embarrassed—not because Howard had called out his stubbornness, but because he understood the hidden meaning in his father's words, which made him feel awkward in front of Melin.
"Relax, Tony. If you really have the ability to handle all that, we could retire early," Melin said.
"That's not what I meant, Uncle Melin, you know that… I just… um… okay, maybe that is what I meant, but you can't deny that the threat might exist, right? Even if it's negligible," Tony tried to justify himself.
"Haha, true," Melin said. "Even if it's minuscule, it's not impossible. But Tony, take smaller steps—don't stretch too far, or you'll hurt yourself."
"Uh… got it," Tony said.
He knew Melin wasn't scolding him for arrogance but reminding him to stay grounded. For now, aiming for the level of a Saint was too distant a goal—he needed to move step by step.
"By the way, someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. came to see me today—Nick Fury. He wanted to talk about forming a 'Super Boys Club'…"
"It's called the Avengers! And they shouldn't be called S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore, but Snake Shield," Howard corrected him.
"Uh… how do you even know that?" Tony asked, surprised.
"Of course I do! Snake Shield evolved from the Strategic Scientific Reserve—the same unit Peggy, Steve, and I served in. Fury's Avengers Initiative? Peggy and I signed off on that," Howard explained.
"So you're saying you… wait, Snake Shield? What kind of ridiculous name is that, Dad?!"
"Heh, that's because the new agency was infiltrated by every organization imaginable—Hydra included," Howard sneered.
"Hydra? Wait, wasn't that the terrorist group from World War II? Didn't Steve wipe them out?" Tony asked, his eyes wide. Today seemed full of big revelations.
"They only took out the headquarters and its leader. Hydra had already infiltrated every corner of society decades ago. You can't just erase them. When we first found traces of Hydra, we wanted to round them all up—but most were low-level operatives, brainwashed nobodies. Capturing them was pointless. So the three of us decided to watch them closely, to trace the real core members. Once we root those out, Hydra will truly fall."
Howard continued, "After decades of tracking, we've identified two leaders so far. One is Baron Teslaq—he's elusive and still being tracked. The other is Dr. Zola, who digitized his own consciousness. He's even harder to catch. And based on intel, Hydra still has at least two unidentified leaders. Until we find them, we can't risk alarming the rest."
"Wow, you guys are playing one long, big game. Impressive! But why didn't you ever tell me? I could've helped!" Tony said, giving him a thumbs-up.
"I was afraid you'd blab while lying on some woman's lap," Howard said, glaring. How had his son turned out like this?
Selective memory, perhaps—Howard himself used to live the exact same way.
"I! You! I—" Tony turned red with anger. He still hated Howard—no reason, he just did.
Melin quietly watched the father and son's silent standoff with mild amusement. He didn't intervene; if things turned into a father-son brawl, that would've been even more entertaining.
Unfortunately, he was destined to be disappointed.
After about three minutes, both men turned away at the same time.
"By the way, Uncle Melin, where's Garon?" Tony asked.
"He went to San Francisco."
"San Francisco? To do what—wait, don't tell me he went to see Hank Pym?" Tony smirked. He remembered that Pym Technologies was based there, and from what he knew, Hank wasn't too fond of Garon. Their meeting would be quite a show—Tony wished he could record it.
"That's right," Melin said, smiling.
"Wow, I hope he comes back alive," Tony chuckled.
"I'm thinking the same thing," Melin replied.
"Gentlemen, would anyone like some cookies?"
As the serious conversation wound down, Maria appeared with Pepper at her side.
"I'll have some, honey," Howard said.
"Me too! And a cheeseburger would be perfect," Tony added.
Howard and Tony—true father and son—raised their hands like schoolkids answering a question.
"Alright," Maria said with a laugh.
The pleasant afternoon passed quickly. Soon, Tony and Pepper were preparing to leave. Before they did, Howard tossed Tony a small storage device.
"What's this?" Tony asked, puzzled.
"The key to the future—and to mystery," Howard said with a mysterious smile.
Tony rolled his eyes. Seriously? How old was his father? Still playing games like this?
But he still pocketed the device carefully.
…
Meanwhile, back at S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury returned to headquarters and called Coulson and Black Widow—Natasha—into his office.
"Another mission?" Natasha asked casually, lounging on the sofa like she owned the place, her posture radiating effortless allure.
"This person—I want you to get close to her by any means necessary," Fury said, handing her a file.
Natasha took one look and immediately raised an eyebrow.
"Sir, I should remind you—that's illegal," she teased.
"Damn it, Natasha, it's not what you think! This mission is critical—it could determine the fate of the Earth and humanity itself. So take it seriously," Fury said, face dark but tinged with red, trying to keep a straight expression.
"You're kidding me, right? This little girl?" Natasha pointed at the photo.
"Yes. You heard me right. Your task is to gain her trust at all costs. And if necessary…"
"Kill her?" Natasha guessed.
Her assumption nearly scared Fury and Coulson half to death. They quickly waved their hands.
"No, no, no! If it comes to that—you die, and she lives!" Fury barked.
"Uh…" Natasha blinked, muttering something under her breath. This was the strangest mission she'd ever been assigned.
From the file, the girl seemed completely ordinary—just a rich family's daughter. Maybe the agency had some important partnership with her family?
"Fine. I'll get it done perfectly," Natasha said at last.
"You always do, Natasha."
"Of course. No one doubts that."
After she left, Fury and Coulson both wiped sweat from their foreheads.
"Sir, are we sure this is the right call?" Coulson asked nervously.
"What's wrong with it? We're just assigning protection detail," Fury replied as he flipped through another file—identical to Natasha's, except with a few extra pages.
And those extra pages were the most critical part.
"Alright, but I still think—"
"You don't need to think, Phil. I'll do the thinking," Fury interrupted, handing him the file. "File this. Classification level: 11."
"Uh… sir, when did we start having Level 11 clearance?" Coulson asked.
"Starting now," Fury said flatly.