Inside S.H.I.E.L.D.
In the special ground base where the Cosmic Cube was stored.
Nick Fury arrived here with his accompanying agents, with Agent Hill a step behind him.
"How's the research on the weapon coming along?"
Nick asked.
"Progress is very slow. Although the energy within the Tesseract is immense, it's highly inert and hasn't been fully activated yet," Hill replied after confirming all the data reports.
Then, she asked, "Do we really need to start this research?"
Hill glanced worriedly at the Tesseract embedded in the instrument and said, "We're keeping it from Captain America, from everyone. Secretly organizing a team, pouring in a large amount of manpower and financial resources, only to potentially gain a blade that could harm ourselves."
"Of course, it's necessary!"
Nick Fury said without hesitation.
"We need stronger weapons to deal with our enemies!"
"Where are the enemies?"
Hearing this question, Nick Fury stopped walking and stared at Hill with his one good eye. After tens of seconds, he finally spoke:
"In the sky..."
Or perhaps, right beside us.
Nick didn't say the latter half of the sentence. He continued to explain, "Threats from beyond the stars... those aliens who call themselves gods, their immense power and weapons. Are we supposed to fight them with bullets?"
"And the alien security officers from the Galactic Plumbers, arbitrarily interfering in Earth's affairs. Who do they think they are? The cosmic police?!"
Nick Fury scoffed.
America, accustomed to being the police, couldn't tolerate others playing the same role.
"We need power to face the coming threats, and the Cosmic Cube will be the key to bringing hope, infinite energy, and..."
He stopped talking.
Nick Fury thought of the Pegasus Project, of that woman with planet-level combat power. That was the power he was pursuing.
Compared to that, what was Steve Rogers?
Currently, his Avengers initiative was hitting a wall everywhere. Although the Security Council had relented after a series of supernatural events, it was useless if no Super Heroes were willing to join.
He couldn't just shout, "Avengers assemble!" and charge in with a handful of people.
Nick Fury was an agent, not a berserker.
As he sighed, his phone suddenly rang.
Nick reached into his trench coat pocket and pulled out a flip phone.
In reality, with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s budget, every agent had already been equipped with a Primus phone.
After all, those things were truly amazing.
With very high technological content, carrying one phone could eliminate the need for a lot of bulky equipment.
However, as highly confidential agents, they couldn't use Primus phones to transmit important information.
In fact, whenever Nick Fury went to an important location, he wouldn't bring too many electronic devices.
Besides a pager, only this old device remained.
He looked at the screen. The caller ID was Steve Rogers.
"Captain?"
Nick Fury was very confused. He hadn't expected Steve to call him.
You know, this old soldier wasn't that accustomed to modern life yet. The communication tools he was more familiar with were telegrams, and after telegrams, it was writing letters.
But no matter what, Nick Fury answered it.
"Hello, Captain. It wasn't easy to get this call through, was it?" Nick Fury made a small joke.
"It really wasn't easy,"
Steve said from the other end of the line. "The buttons on this thing are too small, my eyes are going blurry. If it weren't for something important, I wouldn't have called you."
"What is it?"
Nick asked.
He was genuinely curious what could be considered an "important matter" by Captain America.
"Spider-Man has agreed to join the Avengers."
Captain America's words were shocking.
"What did you say?" Nick Fury was stunned, and a smile immediately spread across his face.
Finally, finally, they had reached an agreement!
"It's not just Peter, but Ben Parker too. Both of them have agreed. Not only that, but they've also found the Helicarrier..."
Captain America said.
This almost turned Nick from surprise to shock.
Currently, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier wasn't in the sky but disguised as a regular aircraft carrier docked at sea. On one hand, this was to hide S.H.I.E.L.D.'s existence; on the other, flying constantly consumed a lot of fuel...
"How did they find us?"
"Ben Parker found us. He said he's a hacker."
On the deck, Captain America shrugged. He was just a veteran who had slept for over seventy years; what would he know about that?
"I'll be there immediately!"
Half an hour later, Ben and Peter, dressed in their Spider-Man suits, met Nick Fury on the Helicarrier.
Nick Fury looked unruffled. He sat in a chair and asked, "Spider-Man, can you tell me why you've had a change of heart?"
"This..."
Peter hesitated, looking a bit nervous.
Ben, however, was as relaxed as if he were back home—which, in a way, it was. This carrier would eventually be his property! He casually pulled up a chair and sat opposite Nick Fury, then said:
"Peter didn't agree immediately because he had to talk to me before making a decision. You know, I'm the one in charge."
Ben said.
Hearing this, Fury nodded, unsurprised.
He gestured for Ben to continue.
So Ben went on, "Since Hydra killed Peter's parents, it's obvious we have a common enemy."
Ben didn't plan to tell Nick Fury the truth directly for now.
This black person had too many hidden agendas. Even with a common enemy, they might not see eye to eye.
Poor Nick Fury was surrounded by traitors, not only his own subordinates but also the newly recruited Ben and Peter, who had ulterior motives.
Nick Fury: Damn, I'm surrounded by moles!
"Nick Fury, although we've had a few minor disagreements, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. As long as you're willing to fight Hydra with us, we'll be good friends."
"Those little friction points are nothing," Nick said generously.
With two new members joining, the Avengers' ranks had instantly doubled. Fury was in a good mood.
However, he still felt a bit unsatisfied and asked, "Just the two of you? What about Harry Osborn? We know he's the Green Goblin!"
"Harry has nothing to do with this,"
Peter said immediately.
Ben nodded and added, "Actually, it's because he doesn't really like the name Green Goblin and hasn't decided on a nickname yet, so he's planning to take a break. You can't expect some idle rich kid to risk his life for you, can you?"
"Sage advice!"
Nick Fury thought of the rebuffs he'd received from Tony and felt Ben's words were spot on.
"You have a very keen understanding of human nature?"
"Average. I occasionally read books like How to Win Friends and Influence People and The Way of the Wolf. Chinese books. I recommend every agent get a copy. They're much more useful than FBI Teaches You Face Recognition."
Ben said casually.
"Are those books expensive?"
"Only a few dollars."
"So cheap? Then I won't buy them!" Nick Fury said, shaking his head in disappointment. Ben quickly said:
"Why the rush? I have inside channels, and I can make them expensive!"
Hearing this, Nick tilted his head and said to Hill, "Did you hear that? Get some immediately and prepare the bill for the council to reimburse!"
Then he turned back to Ben and said, "We'll split it seventy-thirty."
"I only get thirty percent?"
"Seventy percent is mine!" Nick Fury said irritably.
"Wrong, seventy percent is mine, and you'll have to look at me for the other thirty!" Ben insisted.
Meanwhile.
Harry Osborn, whom Nick Fury had just mentioned, quietly arrived at the top of Stark Tower.
There, Tony, clad in his battle armor, sat with his legs crossed, hands resting on the sofa. He watched Harry, who was on a glider, enter through the usual landing entrance.
Tony frowned slightly.
"Ben Parker said he wanted to meet me, but he didn't say he wouldn't come himself. Instead, he sent someone from Osborn's side."
As everyone knew, Tony disliked Osborn.
"He's busy today."
Harry said nonchalantly.
Among the rich second generation, Harry was considered to have a good temper. He didn't smoke or drink, nor did he mess around with women. He rarely indulged in the pleasures of the world, focusing solely on gaining Norman's approval.
Of course, he had long since achieved his wish.
"He said he wanted to cooperate with me and that he had something I'd be interested in..."
Tony looked at Harry, noticing he wasn't carrying anything. It wasn't until Harry produced a small USB drive that Tony's expression became a little strained.
"Don't tell me he's discovered another new element or invented something..."
Tony felt a bit disheartened.
The arc reactor on his chest hadn't been around for long. Could that kid have really created something new again and planned to show it off?
"Of course not." Harry's expression was a little strange. He didn't understand why Tony would say that, but he didn't pay it much mind. He simply handed the USB drive to Tony.
"Put it on the table. I don't like taking things from others."
Harry rolled his eyes, thinking, I saw you reach out pretty fast when Benny gave you that new element!
Of course, the matter of the new element was just a transaction.
In exchange, Tony had provided a large amount of cash to help Ben buy Hammer Industries, forcing him to postpone even his plans for building a new tower.
"So, what are the specifics of this cooperation?"
Harry spread his hands. "He said you'll know after you look at it. I'm just a messenger."
With that, Harry prepared to leave.
However, after taking only half a step, he turned back and reminded him, "Oh, right. It's best to disconnect from the internet when you look at it. Don't let anyone know, and don't contact Benny for now. He's probably at S.H.I.E.L.D. right now."
"And this..."
Harry took out a disc with a black and green hourglass logo on it.
Tony recognized it at a glance.
"The Galactic Plumbers?!"
Thanks to the passerby who likes novels for the 700-coin tip! Want to become light again with 100 coins. Thank you, boss.
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