Inside the carrier.
The heroes gathered together.
Ben, wearing the black Spider-Man Battle Suit, sat in the back, like a rather unremarkable minor character.
He wasn't the core of this incident, at least not on the surface.
So, there was no need to steal the spotlight at a time like this.
"Who remembers, we just wanted to clear out a few Hydra Bases at the start."
Nick Fury found it amusing.
"The biggest nest is gone now, what more could you be unhappy about?" Tony leaned back in his chair, eating snacks he'd gotten from who-knows-where.
"Yeah, my home is gone too."
"You still have so many Safe Houses..." Hill said, but Ben interrupted her.
"Most of them were confiscated. Those funds had questionable origins, so it's either he embezzled them or they're his." Ben then turned to look at Nick Fury, "Now do you know why you have to pay taxes on embezzlement, Old Fury?"
That's protection money!
"He left me one, but I can't use it anymore." Nick Fury said, tossing a small box to Ben.
"What's that?" Tony raised an eyebrow.
"The key to my last Safe House. It's a thank-you gift, because he put in a good word for me, so I don't have to go to jail."
Nick Fury patted his backside and stood up.
He was preparing to leave.
Steve stopped him and asked, "The disbandment of S.H.I.E.L.D. is inevitable, so what should we do?"
"You guys?"
"I mean the Avengers."
Steve said.
It was worth noting that the original Avengers were assembled by Nick Fury, and he was the one giving the orders.
Now, because of the Hydra incident, Nick Fury had been dismissed and naturally could no longer lead the Avengers.
To be honest, a bunch of Super Heroes gathered together might not necessarily follow his command.
"There's no shortage of smart people among you, why don't you ask him?"
Hearing this, Tony thought Nick Fury was referring to him, so he immediately stepped forward in a playful manner and said:
"My suggestion is, let's just disband."
"I wasn't talking about you!"
"You, who were silenced by an EMP, have the nerve to show your face."
Nick Fury rolled his remaining eye and then pointed his finger at Ben, who was sitting in the corner.
"This guy."
This Egghead wasn't an idiot. After experiencing so much, he looked back and immediately noticed something was wrong.
At first, he didn't know S.H.I.E.L.D. was Hydra's base, so he thought the cyberattack was planned by Hydra. But looking back now, there were obviously problems.
Who would attack their own crystal?
Many things couldn't stand up to scrutiny, but with things as they were, Nick Fury had nothing more to say.
Rather, he actually felt Ben did a pretty good job, after all, Ben had truly cleared out Hydra.
And the starting point for all of this was simply him telling Peter that his parents were killed by Hydra.
After the job was done, the Galactic Plumbers, represented by Ben, did not interfere in the human power center. Instead, Norman Osborn began to contact those important figures.
If nothing else, the Galactic Plumbers' attitude was presented, which made Egghead feel quite good.
Tony wasn't actually angry that Egghead considered Ben a smart person, because he also acknowledged Ben's intelligence.
But what was the point of praising one while belittling the other?
"My new Battle Armor has overcome that weakness. Besides, you have the nerve to say that, who prepared that EMP bomb? You black-hearted guy were guarding against me long ago, weren't you?"
"If you say so, then so be it."
Nick Fury couldn't even be bothered to make excuses anymore and left.
The Super Heroes immediately turned their attention to Ben, expecting him to respond.
"Go ahead, I don't want to be unemployed, sis." Natasha winked at Ben.
Ben remained unmoved: "Unemployed?"
"You should be old enough to collect a pension. Grandma Natasha?"
Natasha didn't get angry, shrugged, and said, "Can't be helped, who told you I'm Russian? I can't get a pension."
"You know, they complain when there aren't enough people paying in, and complain when there are too many people collecting."
"Shut up, that's enough. Who are you trying to map?" Ben covered her mouth and said righteously, "India might be like that, but you can't say it out loud."
"Then the Avengers..."
"I think the Avengers can be kept," Ben said after thinking.
"Although S.H.I.E.L.D. has been disbanded, there will always be new organizations to replace it. I'll say it in advance, Norman Osborn will form H.A.M.M.E.R. to replace S.H.I.E.L.D."
"But just like this Hydra invasion, no one can guarantee that H.A.M.M.E.R. will always maintain its original intention and remain clean forever."
"The Avengers are necessary. As a small team, we don't have to be together all the time, nor do we fight together every moment, but when we are needed, we can stand up."
Hearing this, everyone nodded, acknowledging Ben's words.
Especially Steve Rogers.
Just like this time, even S.H.I.E.L.D. became Hydra, so what else could he trust?
Only himself, only the Avengers!
"Then, since no one has any objections, I recommend Steve Rogers as the captain of the Avengers, and Tony Stark as the technical advisor."
"The leadership and technical skills of these two are outstanding, there is no better candidate."
This immediately made Tony Stark overjoyed.
He glanced proudly at the others, especially those who questioned whether his intelligence was inferior to Ben's.
Look, even Ben approves of me!
You bunch of mediocre people, what do you know!
He immediately said, "I'll cover all the operating funds for the Avengers, and Stark Tower can be converted into Avengers Tower. I was planning to build two new ones anyway."
Upon hearing this, everyone had no objections.
Tony Stark, it sounded like he understood technology.
"Very good, everything is settled. The rest of you go register with Natasha," Ben waved his hand and prepared to leave.
Tony stopped him.
"Wait, what are you going to do?"
"What does it have to do with me? I'm with the Galactic Plumbers."
Ben indicated that they had found the wrong organization.
"You can still be an Avenger if you join the Galactic Plumbers," Steve said.
Tony also nodded, "That's right, we don't discriminate against aliens."
"As long as Peter joins, that's fine. Honestly, I don't want to waste my energy on the superhero business," Ben shook his head.
Steve felt a little regretful about this, but he didn't say anything more.
In his opinion, Ben was indeed a genius. He could fight on the battlefield and conduct research in the laboratory, and he was also his good friend.
But everyone has their own aspirations.
"I don't want to turn into a monster again."
Connors also chose not to join.
In the end, Harry also did not choose to stay with the Avengers, and Daredevil returned to the streets, but Falcon stayed.
After confirming who was staying and who was leaving, there were still many trivial matters waiting for them.
Tony found Ben, but didn't speak. Instead, he stood with him, looking at the thick clouds below the aircraft carrier through the glass.
"Have you and Steve buried the hatchet?"
Ben broke the silence first.
The two of them had been singing each other's praises just now, and they seemed to be on very good terms.
Tony shook his head and said, "We avoid talking about it, pretending that it never happened."
"A new team has just been formed, and neither of us wants this organization to fall apart because of personal matters."
In simple terms, don't say anything that is not conducive to unity.
"But have you ever thought that if a rift is not repaired, it will eventually become a weak point?"
Hearing this, Tony didn't offer any opinion. He just asked, "When that day comes, will you stand on my side?"
"As long as you don't bully my cousin."
Hearing this, Tony gave a wry smile and said:
"Actually, I know that the person who was most wrong was my father. He was the one who betrayed Steve Rogers first, but it's hard for me to let go."
"He doesn't care about betrayal."
"You're right." Tony made a swallowing motion, as if swallowing bitter tears.
"He's so magnanimous, if I were petty, wouldn't I be the one who lost?"
The implication was clear: Tony Stark would no longer pursue Bucky's matter.
This was inevitable.
Because he knew who was truly responsible for all this tragedy.
"Since Hydra has been destroyed, let's just put it all behind us," Tony said, appearing selfish and self-centered, but in reality, he understood better than anyone.
Ben said, "It's not completely destroyed yet."
The Hydra members captured now were all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and many Hydra officials hidden in high levels had not yet been exposed.
The algorithm for the Anti-Project Insight had been running continuously, but it wasn't able to find all of Hydra's members instantly.
The algorithm's underlying code was to constantly monitor information and find any trace, any clue, related to Hydra.
Norman had been working on this task ever since the war ended.
Find Hydra, eliminate Hydra.
Every day, senators, officials, or wealthy individuals were being arrested.
Only now did people realize how close Hydra had been to them. Everyone was in a state of panic, yet they admired Norman for finding them.
The establishment of H.A.M.M.E.R. was a done deal.
In fact, it wasn't long before Norman arrived with the documents to take over the Helicarrier.
"Starting today, H.A.M.M.E.R. will replace S.H.I.E.L.D. in fulfilling its functions and will take over all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s previous work and research projects."
"This means these three Helicarriers will belong to H.A.M.M.E.R."
"The Avengers will also, in name, be under the jurisdiction of H.A.M.M.E.R."
Norman said to the assembled Avengers.
"Of course, I have great trust in all of you, and I witnessed your bravery during this war. Therefore, I am very confident that you have the ability to protect America without the interference of H.A.M.M.E.R. or anyone else."
Norman Osborn spoke very politely, which earned him a lot of goodwill from Tony and the others.
Steve, having just gone through the S.H.I.E.L.D. incident, was most worried at this moment that the Avengers might become tools for others, just like Bucky.
"You're much better than that Egghead Fury," Tony said, crossing his arms.
Norman smiled slightly and said, "I hope H.A.M.M.E.R. can establish a cooperative relationship with the Avengers."
"You all have your own lives. H.A.M.M.E.R. will share intelligence with the Avengers and will only summon the Avengers when absolutely necessary."
Most people had no objections to what Norman said.
However, Natasha raised her hand and asked, "What about those of us who don't have our own lives? What can I do in my free time?"
This was also something Steve wanted to ask.
"Life can begin at any time; the difference is whether you want it to," Norman said. "Agent Romanoff, Captain, I hope you can both let go of the past and start anew. Of course, if that is too difficult for you, H.A.M.M.E.R. can also offer you positions."
"Any S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, after passing the review, can choose to continue working at H.A.M.M.E.R."
H.A.M.M.E.R. was just starting out and still needed people.
"That would be for the best."
Natasha and Steve both breathed a sigh of relief.
To be honest, without a job, the two of them really didn't know what they would do.
Natasha could integrate into modern life, but as an agent who came out of the Red Room, she wasn't particularly concerned with enjoyment.
Once she had free time, it was easy for her to recall those unbearable times in the past.
For Steve.
It wasn't so much that he couldn't integrate into modern society, but rather that he was afraid to.
He was afraid of forming connections with people outside, and he still couldn't move on from 1945.
His era had already ended. His former lover had become a senile, white-haired old woman, and his friends had all passed away.
This era had Iron Man flying around in his Battle Armor, Spider-Man with powers, reactions... all far exceeding his own, a Hacker, Connors who was as strong as a monster, and countless Aliens...
And he was just an ordinary person who had been injected with the Super Soldier Serum, his superpowers insignificant.
Perhaps this era no longer needed him.
But fortunately, there was Bucky.
Fortunately, there was still Bucky.
He thought.
Soon, Norman was officially appointed as the Director of H.A.M.M.E.R.
To be honest, the Security Council members were more anxious than he was.
After the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., America had essentially lost a shield. Although that shield had been full of thorns before, they hadn't known it at the time.
Now, without S.H.I.E.L.D., but with that country across the Pacific having S.P.E.A.R., they felt inferior and insecure.
Therefore, the Security Council had Norman take office almost immediately.
And unlike S.H.I.E.L.D.'s usual secretive style, after the war in Times Square, secrecy was no longer what people wanted to see.
The American people, having witnessed Hydra, would prefer an organization they can see and touch to protect them.
Therefore, the existence of H.A.M.M.E.R. was directly made public.
On his first day in office, Norman completed a political performance, akin to a fashion show, with the Super Heroes who had decided to join the Avengers at that time.
Afterward, two of the three aircraft carriers were stationed in the Pacific Ocean, while the remaining one served as H.A.M.M.E.R.'s base, floating high in the sky.
H.A.M.M.E.R. was truly established.
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