Chapter 96 Teresa in Action
Inside the HYDRA Base, Vasily Karpov was, as usual, 'patrolling' with two of his subordinates...
...his own territory.
He was the supreme Commander of this Base.
He held the power of life and death over everyone in the Base.
However, when Vasily was halfway through today's inspection, the communicator at his waist rang.
"What's the matter?" Vasily asked in a deep voice after connecting.
"Officer, Ms. Teresa invites you to her laboratory; she has important information to report to you!" the subordinate reported over the communicator.
"Teresa? I understand, I'll head over now!" Vasily was a bit surprised, but he didn't suspect much and immediately led his men toward Teresa's laboratory.
Soon, they arrived at the destination and entered the laboratory after passing permission authentication.
Upon entering the laboratory, he saw a blood-covered figure struggling incessantly on the test table inside the isolation room!
Teresa, along with several assistants, stood outside the protective glass, quietly watching everything.
"What's going on here?" Vasily asked, walking to Teresa's side.
Due to Teresa's positioning, the door to the isolation room was currently right behind Vasily.
"Sorry for disturbing you. I originally thought I had made new progress in the research of the Super Soldier Serum. Everything was fine just a few minutes ago, but now it has turned into this—it seems I've failed again!" Teresareplied indifferently, as if recounting a very ordinary matter.
At that moment, the person on the test table in the room stopped struggling and became completely still.
"You two, go in and take a look!" Teresa ordered.
At her command, the two assistants beside her moved to pass by Vasily and his subordinates.
"Wait, why haven't I seen you two before?" Vasilysuddenly asked as the two assistants passed by him.
But by then, it was too late.
The two assistants displayed extraordinary skill. Catching them off guard, they slit the throats of Vasily's two subordinates with scalpels before they could react.
Realizing what was happening, Vasily instinctively reached for his gun.
But Teresa in front of him wouldn't give him that chance.
This female researcher, who in Vasily's eyes was once "powerless," took down this former Soviet colonel in just two moves!
However, unlike Vasily's two subordinates...
Teresa did not kill him.
The reason was simple: as the supreme Commander of this Base, Vasily's value was incomparable to anyone else in the Base.
Not only was he the only one who held the brainwashing codes for the five dormant Winter Soldiers in the Base.
He was also the one who guarded Bucky Barnes back then and directly ordered him to intercept and kill the Howards.
In the original plot, after Alexander Pierce's faction of HYDRA was wiped out, he realized something was wrong early on, dismissed and sealed the Winter SoldierBase, and went into hiding with the Winter Soldier's secrets.
However, years later, he was still found by Zemo and ultimately executed by waterboarding for refusing to cooperate with him.
Of course, for Cole, the value of a few Winter Soldiers was just so-so.
Super Soldiers might be considered "high-end combat power" for various forces on Earth at the current stage of the Main Universe.
But for Cole, they posed no threat at all.
Aside from Captain America's fifty-fifty odds, the combat capability of a normal Super Soldier might not even be as strong as an Android from the Alien Universe.
Not to mention the spider serum being developed by the Red Room.
If the spider serum could exert even half the power of Spider-Man, it wouldn't be something the Super Soldier Serum could compare to.
Therefore, for Cole, the only value of the Winter Soldiers besides Bucky was to serve as test subjects for Melina's reference.
So in Cole's eyes, Vasily's greatest value was the fact that he ordered the assassination of the Howards back then.
Cole could imagine that once he delivered him and the truth about the Howards' deaths to Tony...
Tony, who already owed him countless favors, would probably never be able to pay him back in this lifetime.
It could be said that with this gift, unless Cole wanted Tony to die or do something that completely violated his personal beliefs...
Tony would simply be unable to refuse any of Cole's requests.
"Teresa, are you betraying HYDRA?" At this point, Vasilystill didn't know what he was about to face, looking at the seemingly transformed Teresa with a heart full of confusion.
"Betrayal? Don't be ridiculous; I was never one of your HYDRA people!" Teresa said disdainfully.
"Are you an undercover agent? S.H.I.E.L.D.? United States? Great East? Russia?" Vasily's eyes widened.
He never expected that HYDRA, who excelled at undercover work, would actually be infiltrated one day!
"There's no need for you to know that!" Teresa didn't even look at him.
"Cut off one head, two more shall grow! HYDRA will not let you go!" Vasily said unwillingly. "And do you think you can control this Base just by capturing me? Wishful thinking!"
Vasily was able to become a HYDRA Base leader, so he was naturally no fool.
With just a bit of thought, he knew that Teresa's painstaking long-term undercover work in the Basecertainly wouldn't be just to capture him or steal some intelligence.
The other party likely wanted the entire Base.
But in his view, this was simply delusional.
The Base guards were all HYDRA loyalists; they wouldn't choose to surrender just because their Base leader was captured.
"Don't worry, you're not as important as you think. In fact, if it weren't for the Master's orders, you'd be dead by now!" Teresa said nonchalantly.
Hearing Teresa's words, Vasily's heart sank.
Not because of what Teresa said about him not being important.
But because of that one word: Master.
This meant that behind Teresa, it was definitely not a country or an organization like S.H.I.E.L.D.
Such a title would only exist within a private organization.
But an unknown private organization had actually planted an undercover agent in HYDRA so long ago?
And dared to strike at a large-scale Base like the one he was in?
What kind of fantasy was this?
While Vasily was thinking, alarms suddenly blared throughout the Base.
But Vasily didn't feel happy because of it.
Because along with the alarms...
There were also the sounds of gunfire and explosions coming from all directions.
The opponent's strength was far greater than he had imagined, and they had already infiltrated every corner of the Base.
Chapter 97: Gwen's Realization
"Die, monster! Hail HYDRA!" A HYDRA soldier raised his head, looking at Gwen as she approached him, and shouted with a sinister grin.
In his arms were several grenades with their pins already pulled.
Seeing this, Gwen's pupils constricted, and she immediately wanted to retreat, but it was already too late.
The next second, the grenades exploded.
However, the situation Gwen had anticipated, being blown to pieces, did not occur.
An invisible energy barrier blocked the impact force generated by the explosion.
It was Wanda, not far away, who had reacted immediately and conjured a magic shield for her!
"Thank you for saving me, Wanda!" After the explosion, Gwen, still somewhat shaken, thanked Wanda.
"Don't thank me. I saved you only because I didn't want the teacher's work to be destroyed!" Wanda said expressionlessly.
"Oh, no, Wanda, that's too hurtful!" Gwen said, feigning delicacy upon hearing this.
After joining Rosen's small group, she had become familiar with Natasha, Yelena, and Wanda over these past few days.
And she clearly understood that, compared to Natashaand Yelena, Wanda, Rosen's disciple, was not as easy to get along with as she appeared, and even harbored deep reservations about her.
Specifically, Wanda would only act very harmoniously with them when Rosen was present.
Gwen wasn't stupid about this; as a girl herself, she naturally understood where this wariness came from.
But she also understood that to have a good relationship with Rosen, his disciple was unavoidable.
So, with her high emotional intelligence, she often voluntarily humbled herself when facing Wanda.
And it seemed to be working quite well so far.
Even without Rosen present, Wanda wouldn't completely ignore her.
She even saved her; Gwen truly thought she was going to die just now!
"Hmph, I'm just stating a fact. Also, I know you don't want to kill, and you want to be a good person like Peter, but against some heinous enemies, your mindset will only become your fatal weakness. I can save you once, but I can't always save you in time! Furthermore, if the teacher is implicated because of your soft-heartedness, I won't let you off!" Wanda snorted, warning Gwen, then went about her business with the other Black Widow Agents, continuing to clear out the remaining HYDRA forces still resisting inside the Base.
Just like many Spider-Men in the Universe, including Spider-Gwen, this Spider-Gwen, created on a whim by Rosen, also possesses their common "flaws."
One is that after putting on the mask, she seems to let go of her nature, becoming a bit talkative and "annoying."
The other is not killing—or rather, not actively killing.
So, even though she participated in this operation and captured Winter Soldier, a key enemy combatant.
Gwen has indeed not actively killed anyone so far.
Fortunately, Gwen isn't so pedantic as to prevent Wandaand the other Black Widow Agents participating in the operation from killing.
So, Wanda hadn't specifically criticized her about this matter before.
Until Gwen almost got into trouble this time.
Facing Wanda's criticism, Gwen couldn't refute.
Because it was indeed her problem.
In fact, the situation was even more serious than Wandadescribed.
Because she clearly understood that the mistake she made was not just being "merciful."
She had also underestimated the enemy.
After gaining Spider-Man's power, she had indeed become a bit conceited.
Especially before, when she almost effortlessly subdued Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, whom Rosen referred to as HYDRA's top combatant.
This made her feel that HYDRA, this so-called powerful dark organization in Rosen's words, was nothing special.
At the same time, she underestimated the fanaticism of an extremist organization like HYDRA.
Before that HYDRA soldier launched his suicide attack, Gwen's spider-sense had actually been warning her of danger.
But she subconsciously believed that with the opponent's abilities, they couldn't harm her at all.
This gave the opponent the chance to die with her.
"I understand, there won't be a next time!" Watching Wanda's retreating figure, Gwen's eyes flashed with determination, and she immediately rejoined the battle.
That's right, she is Gwen Stacy, she is Spider-Gwen.
But that doesn't mean she has to follow the same path as another Spider-Gwen.
So, when Gwen rejoined the battle, although she still didn't actively use lethal weapons.
When she made her moves, she consciously increased her strength, no longer holding back seven-tenths of her power as before!
Yes, except when facing Winter Soldier, in most cases, Gwen only used at most three-tenths of her strength.
Otherwise, with Spider-Man's strength, she could easily kill someone with her bare hands.
The current Gwen was like this.
Without intentionally holding back, HYDRA soldiers hit by her attacks suffered broken bones at best, and died on the spot at worst.
Her change was quickly noticed by Wanda and the Black Widow Agents.
And she received a certain degree of approval—even though they had been fighting side by side before, Gwen's deliberate restraint from killing might have been somewhat acceptable to Wanda, but it was utterly disdained by the Black Widow Agents who had emerged from piles of dead bodies.
What, exactly? So, we fight together, and you're the good guy, and we're all bad guys?
And she can't clean up her own mess, so they have to do it?
It was only because Gwen's participation in the operation was Rosen's order that they couldn't refuse.
Otherwise, they wouldn't even bother to cooperate with her.
But even so, Gwen had actually been largely isolated during the operation.
Otherwise, what happened just now wouldn't have occurred; it wouldn't even have needed Wanda to rescue her, a timely reminder from experienced Black Widow Agents would have sufficed.
However, the previous Gwen thought that this was just how Black Widows operated, so she hadn't taken the situation too seriously.
After Wanda's "reminder" just now, Gwen finally realized this point.
And as Gwen's mindset changed, the Black Widow Agents finally began to gradually accept her and cooperate with her more tacitly.
When encountering situations Gwen hadn't experienced before, the Black Widow Agents would also proactively offer reminders, greatly increasing Gwen's practical combat experience.
And when Rosen finished dealing with Captain Americaand the Valkyrie fighter jets and arrived here.
The entire Base had already been completely secured.
And throughout the entire process, HYDRA hadn't even been able to send out a distress signal.
Chapter 98: Pierce's Response
Rosen did not stay long at the HYDRA Base.
Although Teresa acted as an inside agent throughout the process, ensuring that no distress signals were sent out,
it was only a matter of time before HYDRA discovered that the place had fallen.
So, with Teresa's help, valuable items within the Base—including various research data, product samples, equipment, and scientific personnel—were quickly filtered out.
The scale of this Base was quite large, so naturally, there was a lot of stuff.
Rosen used Group Teleportation several times to empty the entire Base, leaving not even a single corpse behind.
By the time HYDRA noticed the Base had lost contact and sent people to investigate, several days had already passed.
This wasn't because HYDRA was slow to react.
Rather, for such highly classified Bases, it was impossible to maintain constant contact with the outside World for the sake of better secrecy.
Basically, they would report to the outside at fixed intervals every few days.
Emergency contact would only be made in special circumstances.
So, by the time HYDRA's high-level officials realized something was wrong, the trail had long gone cold.
"Officer, that's the situation. No useful information was left in the Winter Soldier Base, not even a single corpse was found. Furthermore, aside from the Winter Soldierescort team from that day, there are no signs of large-scale transport in the area. It's as if everything just vanished into thin air!" In Washington, at Alexander Pierce's residence, Rumlow, who had just led a team to investigate the disconnected Base, reported to Pierce.
Smash!
After hearing the report, a furious Pierce smashed the coffee cup in his hand onto the floor!
He had lost count of how many cups he had broken since learning that something had happened to the Winter Soldier Base.
He couldn't help it; the Winter Soldier Program could be said to be HYDRA's sharpest blade and most important research project over the past few decades.
And now, it had vanished without a trace.
Although there were research backups in some other Bases,
if the research backups were actually useful, HYDRAwouldn't have only Bucky and the other six until now.
Moreover, except for Bucky, the other five Winter Soldiers could only be considered 'defective products.'
While they were stronger than Bucky in terms of power, their uncontrollability was far too great.
In this situation, how could Pierce not be enraged?
More importantly, the Winter Soldier was also an important cornerstone for maintaining his own status.
There were so many heads of HYDRA.
Why was Alexander Pierce the primary leader?
Wasn't it because he held the trump card of the Winter Soldier in his hands?
Now that this trump card was gone, heaven knows if the other heads would start having other ideas.
In any organization, once there are many people, it's impossible for the interior to remain a monolithic block forever.
HYDRA was naturally no exception.
Otherwise, a thing like the Red Skull wouldn't have appeared back then.
Even though during World War II, Red Skull made HYDRA's name resonate throughout the entire World to the point that most people thought HYDRA was founded by Red Skull,
only those inside HYDRA knew that Red Skull was nothing more than a 'traitor' and a 'usurper.'
In the early days, Johann Schmidt wasn't even a head within HYDRA; at most, he could only be considered a mid-level cadre.
It was only by virtue of being the first product of the 'Super Soldier' program and gaining the support of the Little Mustache,
thereby occupying most of HYDRA's resources in Europe,
that he became the so-called 'Leader of HYDRA.'
But in reality?
The essence of HYDRA had actually long since transferred to the land of the United States.
They established various Financial Syndicates.
They were simply not on the same page as Johann Schmidt.
It was precisely because of this that HYDRA was able to rapidly grow and expand after World War II.
Otherwise, could those researchers absorbed by the U.S. government alone have developed HYDRA to its current extent?
What a joke!
"Officer, should we expand the scope of the investigation?" Rumlow asked cautiously after Pierce's anger had mostly subsided.
"No, we cannot expand the investigation. Not only can we not expand it, but we must also blockade all news!" Pierce said after a long silence. "Rashly expanding the investigation will only make the other fellows even more restless, and it would also be easy for that guy Nick Furyto notice!"
In order to better control S.H.I.E.L.D., Pierce could be said to have integrated the entire essence of the HYDRAfaction he controlled into it.
However, while this provided enough control over S.H.I.E.L.D.,
it also firmly bound his own forces and S.H.I.E.L.D.together.
Making small moves occasionally was fine.
But if the movement was too large, it would be hard not to be noticed by a vigilant fellow like Nick Fury.
In fact, Pierce had already felt something was a bit off over the past few years.
Especially since Nick Fury's annual funding requests were getting higher and higher.
Although every account was very clear, Pierce could still detect some fishiness in them.
After all, he had also been the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
He believed that Nick Fury must have secretly intercepted a lot of funds for other uses.
Regarding this situation, if Pierce were just an ordinary official, he naturally wouldn't care too much.
But he was HYDRA!
His relationship with Nick Fury was merely one of mutual exploitation.
How could he sit by and watch Nick Fury make small moves right under his nose?
But Pierce happened to have no good way to stop the other party.
Because every time Nick Fury made a budget, it was done very beautifully and was perfectly reasonable.
Pierce couldn't even find a reason not to approve it.
Moreover, given his ostensibly good relationship with Nick Fury, it wasn't easy to deliberately make things difficult for the other party in this regard.
That would only make Nick Fury suspicious of him.
Of course, Pierce had also sent people to investigate, but they had come up empty-handed.
This made him feel quite uneasy.
He always felt that Nick Fury still held a force in his hands that he knew nothing about.
And in fact, it was true.
If Rosen were here, he would tell Pierce that this force he didn't understand was called the Skrulls!
Despite HYDRA having been hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D.for so many years and controlling the vast majority of resources,
when it came to hiding abilities, HYDRA couldn't even compare to the Skrulls.
In fact, if it weren't for the fact that the identities of various political figures were limited, Nick Fury might not have actively assassinated politicians to replace them with Skrulls.
S.H.I.E.L.D. and even various political figures would have all been Skrulls long ago.
"So we're just going to let this matter go?" Rumlowasked, somewhat unwillingly.
"Of course we can't just let it go. Our people cannot investigate with too much fanfare, but that doesn't mean we can't ask someone else to do it!" Pierce said with a cold snort.
They, HYDRA, were not running a charity.
Having suffered such a loss, how could they just let it slide?
"Then what do you mean?" Rumlow asked, somewhat puzzled.
"I want you to take a trip to this place!" Pierce took out a business card.
On the back of the business card, a Ten Rings logo was clearly drawn!
Chapter 99: Xu Wenwu and the Gift
The next day, in the mountainous region of Ha Giang Province, Annam.
A helicopter flew through the mountains.
Before long, a courtyard-style Base, slightly ancient yet not lacking in modernity, appeared in a distant mountain hollow.
Facing the arrival of the aircraft, a burly white man who had only one hand—the other arm replaced by a short blade—was already waiting on the helipad below with a team of subordinates.
This was the headquarters of the Ten Rings—naturally, not the fake Ten Rings in Central Asia destroyed by Tony, nor the Ten Rings forged by Killian.
It was the real Ten Rings, belonging to the legendary powerful figure, Xu Wenwu.
And the current headquarters of the Ten Rings was not in The East, as many people in Rosen's past life believed when watching movies.
Instead, it was in Annam.
The reason was simple: although Xu Wenwu and his Ten Rings were historically famous in The East of this World,
in the eyes of the current official authorities of The East, they were a genuine source of instability.
Moreover, although Xu Wenwu was very strong, he was not an uncontrollable force for the current official authorities of The East.
Xu Wenwu was well aware of this, so decades ago, he had wisely withdrawn all related forces from the jurisdiction of The East.
He chose to settle in Ha Giang, a place close to his homeland yet far from conflict.
Soon, the aircraft landed on the helipad. As the cabin door opened, Rumlow, clad in a tight suit, stepped off the plane with several HYDRA soldiers carrying boxes.
"Follow me, Mr. Wenwu is already waiting for you!" the blade-armed giant said to Rumlow. He was one of Xu Wenwu's main enforcers, Razor Fist.
He then turned and walked toward the Base located within the mountains.
Seeing this, Rumlow didn't hesitate, signaling his subordinates to follow with the items.
Led by Razor Fist, Rumlow and his group soon arrived in a courtyard and saw Xu Wenwu, who was leaning comfortably in a lounge chair, leisurely sipping tea.
"Mr. Wenwu, I am Brock Rumlow. Mr. Alexander Pierceasked me to convey his greetings to you!"
Rumlow greeted Xu Wenwu very respectfully.
Although, as a member of HYDRA, he was usually arrogant,
he knew clearly who he could provoke and who he couldn't.
Especially when facing a living thousand-year-old legend.
"HYDRA and I have always kept to ourselves. I only met your Security Council Chairman once. What business brings you here this time?" Xu Wenwu said lazily, not even bothering to stand up.
However, inwardly, he was quite surprised by HYDRA's arrival.
Although in the movies, HYDRA and the Ten Ringsseemed to have no connection,
in reality, as organizations that had both existed on Earthfor thousands of years, both sides were very familiar with the other.
In fact, the intersection between the two sides dated back to a thousand years ago, when Xu Wenwu was still using the title "Genghis Khan."
At that time, HYDRA already had a deep foundation in Europe. It could even be said that the inability of Europeto unify after the fall of Rome was largely HYDRA's doing.
Over eight hundred years ago, Xu Wenwu, under the identity of "Genghis Khan," led a massive army into Europe.
Naturally, it was impossible for the two sides not to cross paths.
To a large extent, the reason Xu Wenwu failed to completely conquer Europe was also because of HYDRA.
Although Xu Wenwu possessed extraterrestrial wonders like the Ten Rings,
the HYDRA of that time also possessed considerable supernatural power—namely, the Inhumans.
This was because HYDRA itself was founded by Inhumans.
Back then, the Kree used biotechnology on a portion of humanity on Earth to create the Inhumans.
And the first of the Inhumans was Hive, who was Banished to an Alien Planet in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Hive's abilities were, needless to say, extremely formidable.
Thus, he easily became the ruler of the Inhumans.
He even led the Inhumans to break free from the control of the Kree, forcing the Kree to retreat from Earth.
However, Hive's rule was quite tyrannical.
This led to some people later rebelling against Hive's rule, using the technology left behind by the Kree—the "Black Stone" that appeared in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
to Banish Hive to an Alien Planet.
Although Hive was Banished, he still had many supporters.
This resulted in the Inhumans of that time splitting into at least several factions, even excluding those scattered throughout the human World.
Attilan was merely the largest of these branches, and this branch was the main force that Banished Hive back then.
Among the Inhumans, Hive's former loyalists also formed a faction.
It was precisely they who founded the organization known as HYDRA.
Therefore, for a considerable period, there were quite a few Inhumans within the HYDRA organization.
Even during Xu Wenwu's Western Expedition back then, there were still many.
Individually, these Inhumans were naturally no match for Xu Wenwu.
However, their bizarre and varied Abilities gave Xu Wenwu a headache—after all, he wasn't afraid of these Inhumans, but his ordinary troops were powerless against them.
This led to Xu Wenwu's Western Expedition being very unsuccessful.
Coupled with other factors at the time, such as the obstruction from forces like K'un-Lun.
This forced Xu Wenwu to abandon the Western Expedition and even his own empire back then.
From this perspective, Xu Wenwu and HYDRA could actually be considered enemies.
But for a powerful figure like Xu Wenwu, such minor grievances were not worth mentioning.
Furthermore, with the passage of time, Xu Wenwu was still alive and well, but those Inhumans in HYDRA from back then had long since turned to dust.
In fact, due to internal organizational conflicts and war, among many other reasons,
the presence of Inhumans in HYDRA had essentially vanished over a hundred years ago.
However, records concerning Xu Wenwu were still passed down.
Moreover, with modern development, because the Ten Rings also operated many underground forces, they still maintained some cooperation and contact with HYDRA.
But this was limited to relatively low-level collaborations.
As for higher levels, both sides tacitly agreed not to interfere with the other.
Because neither side wanted to expose its existence to the outside World.
"It is like this, honored Mr. Wenwu, recently we—" Rumlow recounted the Base attack in full detail, "The Asian Region has always been under the sphere of influence of your organization, so Mr. Pierce hopes that Mr. Wenwu can help investigate. These items are a small token of Mr. Pierce's appreciation."
Following Rumlow's signal, the several HYDRA soldiers behind him stepped forward simultaneously and opened the boxes.
"These items are some 0-8-4 Objects that S.H.I.E.L.D. has collected over the years. We hope there is something among them that interests Mr. Wenwu!"
As the leader of HYDRA, Alexander Pierce knew very well that money was meaningless to a person like Xu Wenwu.
Therefore, he specifically selected a few items from the 0-8-4 Objects they had secretly controlled and embezzled and sent them over.
Upon hearing this, Xu Wenwu indeed showed some interest.
His gaze swept over the items one by one, finally settling on a particularly unique object.
"Interesting. Tell Pierce, I accept this task!"
Rosen was unaware of what was happening in Annam.
He was even less aware that HYDRA and the Ten Rings, which had no connection in the original plot, were actually linked.
Of course, even if he knew, he wouldn't pay too much attention.
He certainly didn't think he was weaker than Xu Wenwunow.
At this moment, he was taking Wanda and Gwen and pressing the doorbell of the Stark Residence again.
Yep, he was here to deliver a gift!
"Welcome, Mr. Rosen. Mr. Stark is not currently home. I have notified him, and he is expected to return in fifteen minutes. You and your friends may come in for a cup of coffee!" Before a few seconds passed, the door opened automatically, and Jarvis's voice sounded.
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"Thank you, Jarvis!" Rosen didn't stand on ceremony, leading the two women swaggering into the Villa.
"Wow, Rosen, is this Jarvis an Artificial Intelligence? That's so cool!" Gwen exclaimed in surprise, gasping and shouting about everything after entering the door.
"Yes, madam, I am Mr. Stark's Intelligent Butler. My name is Jarvis, and welcome!" Jarvis introduced himself cooperatively.
"Don't be too surprised. Everything here is the most advanced in this World!" Rosen added.
Compared to the Universe she came from, the technology in This Universe was already advanced.
Not to mention Stark's Villa.
"Jarvis, do you know what Tony has been busy with recently? And why isn't Dr. Ethan here?" Rosen was quite familiar with Tony's home, so he naturally led Wanda and Gwen into the living room and sat down.
Although it was Wanda's first time here, she naturally began looking around.
She had even beaten Stark himself; how many reservations could she possibly have?
Only Gwen seemed slightly constrained!
"Mr. Stark and Dr. Ethan have recently been busy preparing materials for the new Stark Expo!" Jarvisquickly replied.
Because Rosen had helped Stark solve many problems, including palladium poisoning,
Tony's life was now quite smooth, making the Stark Expothe thing he cared most about recently.
Of course, in his leisure time, he also spent time upgrading and modifying his battle suits.
However, compared to the same period in the original timeline, the number of Tony's battle suits was significantly lower.
But in terms of quality, because he had manufactured the New Element earlier, the quality was actually higher than during the same period.
"Expo? What kind?" Rosen and Wanda were not surprised about the Stark Expo, as they had known about it last time, but Gwen was extremely curious.
"A Technology Expo. At that time, Stark Industries will exhibit all sorts of advanced technology currently available to the whole World. Hmm, I think you'll be quite interested. You can take some time off, and I can bring you here to visit!" Rosen explained with a smile, making a promise.
He naturally knew how attractive such a Technology Expo would be to an eager, excellent student like Gwen.
In fact, it wasn't just Gwen; Rosen himself was also very interested.
Although he had seen the movies, what was displayed there was merely the tip of the iceberg of the entire Expo.
Moreover, in the real World, there were many things that the movies simply couldn't show.
Of course, Rosen was only just interested.
If they were to talk about technological advancement, Rosen felt it definitely couldn't compare to the Alien Universe.
"Then it's settled! Be sure to let me know when it happens!" Gwen said, beaming happily upon hearing this.
Before long, accompanied by a sound of rushing air, two—no, three figures wearing Iron Man Suits appeared on the distant sea horizon and rapidly approached.
They finally landed on the Villa's balcony.
As the faceplates of the suits opened after landing, the true appearance of the third person, besides Tony and Ethan, was revealed—it was Colonel Rhodes, War Machine from the original timeline.
However, the War Machine in the original timeline, apart from the main suit body and the reactor, had the rest modified by Hammer Industries initially.
Yet, the suit Rhodes was currently wearing was not significantly different from those worn by Tony and Ethan.
Clearly, this suit must have been given to Rhodes actively by Tony, rather than "passively" given after Tony suffered from palladium poisoning in the original timeline.
"Wow, are those Iron Man Suits? That's so cool!" Gwenexclaimed again upon seeing them.
"Hmph, they're just three iron coffins!" Wanda, standing nearby, said with a look of disdain.
Hearing this, Gwen let out a dry laugh and said nothing more.
Before coming, she had already learned about the feud between Wanda and Stark from Rosen.
As an outsider, it wasn't appropriate for her to say much about this matter.
She figured it was best just to follow Rosen, her boss.
However, she also knew that Wanda said this not just because she disliked Tony, but because, as a Sorceress, she had the right to say it.
Even now, Gwen felt that magic was simply too unfair.
In the past few days, she had practiced with Wanda.
The result was that facing all sorts of strange magic, even with a formidable, near-precognitive Ability like Spider-Sense, she ultimately had nowhere to run.
"Rosen, I've been looking for you this whole time, but I couldn't get in touch! What have you been busy with?" Tony walked into the living room without even waiting to take off his suit, punching Rosen lightly on the shoulder.
"I was busy with something important, and there was no signal there," Rosen said casually. "But I brought you a gift. I believe you will definitely be—well, very concerned about it."
"Very concerned? Shouldn't it be 'very fond of it'?" Rosen's words made Tony pause.
"—No one would like this kind of gift, but it is extremely important to you!" Rosen said, twitching the corner of his mouth.
Liking that kind of thing would be too ridiculous!
Chapter 100 – They're All Still Alive
The air in Tony's palatial private cinema was so heavy it felt crushing.
Dr. Ethan, Colonel Rhodes, and even Pepper—who'd arrived a little later—were all staring at the figure hunched on the sofa in silence after watching the footage, none of them sure how to offer comfort.
[Remember this site's domain—super convenient for catching Taiwanese novels!]
Gwen, the newcomer, didn't dare breathe, infected by the suffocating tension.
Even Wanda, who had "history" with Tony, chose to stay quiet.
She and Tony had their grievances, yes, but after Rosenarranged for The brother and sister pair to give Tony a beating last time, they'd vented most of their anger.
While she still didn't think much of Tony, the raw hatred was gone.
And now, faced with the death of his parents, she felt no satisfaction—only empathy.
She knew better than anyone that, behind this tragedy, she and Tony shared a common enemy.
Only Rosen, seated beside Tony, kept his composure.
So every gaze soon fixed on him, hoping he'd say something.
Meeting their eyes and seeing Tony nearly shut down, Rosen gave a helpless shrug, patted Tony's shoulder, and asked, "What are you thinking?"
"Who is this Sergeant Barnes? Why did he kill them?" Tony rasped.
Although Bucky's face showed in the footage—and Howard had even recognized him—
that was only because Howard had worked with Buckyfor a long time thanks to Captain America and knew him well.
After becoming the Winter Soldier, Bucky's looks had shifted from his Howling Commando days.
The long hair alone was enough to keep anyone who hadn't known him from placing him.
And in most people's minds, Bucky Barnes, like Captain America, had died seventy-plus years ago.
So none of them—Tony included—could connect the Sergeant Barnes on the tape to the war hero lost in 1945.
They assumed he was just some Military man Howardhad once met.
This was completely different from the original timeline, where Tony had already learned about Bucky through the HYDRA reveal.
"You've all actually heard of this Sergeant Barnes," Rosensaid without hesitation. "His full name is James Buchanan Barnes."
Bucky, of course, was only a nickname close friends used;
his real given name was James.
"What? James Buchanan Barnes? Captain America's best friend? A Howling Commando? Impossible!" Colonel Rhodes, the active-duty officer, was first to exclaim.
Though Bucky had been a war hero and Captain America's closest friend,
his fame didn't rival the Captain's.
Dr. Ethan, Pepper—neither of them American nor Military-history buffs—and even Tony needed a moment to place him.
But Rhodes, a soldier, knew the legendary commando well.
Once Rhodes spelled it out, recognition—and disbelief—flashed across their faces.
"Captain America's best friend? That would make him a 1940s relic—pushing ninety by now," Ethan said, zeroing in on the key point.
"But the incident happened seventeen years ago. The Barnes in that footage looks like a young man," Pepperadded, stunned.
Rosen gave a soft laugh. "Exactly why Howardrecognized him at a glance—they'd been comrades and colleagues. And decades without aging? That's not unique to Bucky. Captain America Steve Rogers is also alive—and just as young."
"Impossible!" the rest blurted—Tony and Rhodes, even Ethan and Pepper—while Wanda and Gwen, already in the know, stayed silent.
The double shock actually lifted Tony's gloom a little; he looked thoughtful.
"Cryo? Or the Super Soldier Serum?" he asked.
As the smartest man on Earth, he quickly saw the possibilities.
Captain America had taken the serum and vanished in the Arctic;
either factor could explain survival without aging.
Bucky, too, had disappeared in the snow-covered Alps.
"—Knew you'd get it. Yes, they're both super-soldiers, but the reason they never aged is cryostasis," Rosenconfirmed, then laid out what had really happened. "After Bucky Barnes fell off that train, HYDRA found him and used him for genetic experiments—"
"Seventeen years ago, a HYDRA mole inside S.H.I.E.L.D.learned your father had re-created a new Super Soldier Serum. They sent the Winter Soldier to kill him and steal it."
Since everyone present was trusted, Rosen didn't hold back: S.H.I.E.L.D. had been infiltrated by HYDRA.
Like the truth about the Winter Soldier and Captain America, this revelation was meant for Tony.
"You mean S.H.I.E.L.D. is basically run by HYDRA now?" Tony and Rhodes exchanged a horrified glance.
After Rosen told him Howard had founded S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony and Rhodes had dug deep into the clandestine agency—
which had already drawn Fury's counter-investigation and a personal talk with the two of them.
They knew exactly how vast and terrifying the organization was.
And now Rosen claimed it was completely compromised?
Rhodes, not knowing Rosen well, felt a twinge of doubt.
Tony believed it instantly—and was shaken to the core.
"Exactly. They've infiltrated it top to bottom," Rosen affirmed.
Chapter 101 – Give Me a Reason
"So that guy named Nick Fury is with HYDRA too?" Tonyasked; the first person who came to mind was Nick Fury, who'd visited them a few days earlier.
"He's not HYDRA, but he's pretty much down to just him and a couple of kittens," Rosen answered.
"Hah—well, that's comforting," Tony said, not without sarcasm.
Right now, the grief he'd felt over the truth of his parents' deaths had been blunted by the bombshell that S.H.I.E.L.D. was under HYDRA control.
That didn't mean his mood had improved.
Instead, he'd fallen into an even deeper anxiety.
After all, the matter had escalated from a private grudge to the safety of the entire World.
"Tony, if this is true we have to move fast—but first we need proof, hard evidence that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been infiltrated," Colonel Rhodes cut in at the right moment.
Yet his gaze kept flicking toward Rosen.
Unlike Tony, who now trusted Rosen almost unconditionally, the Air Force colonel still harbored doubts about this mysterious "prophet."
"Right—evidence. As long as we have that, I can act. S.H.I.E.L.D. is huge, but not invincible. With the Militaryand our resources, catching them off guard should let us contain the fallout," Tony said, looking to Rosen with hope.
"Evidence? Of course. If I want, I can produce physical proof, witnesses—even force Alexander Pierce to confess," Rosen replied calmly. "But why should I help you? Give me a reason."
"A reason? Rosen, we're friends, aren't we?" Tony was taken aback by his tone.
"We are, which is why I brought you the footage and I'll even hand Bucky Barnes over to you," Rosen nodded. "But Tony, that doesn't mean I'm obligated to dig up evidence or fight HYDRA for you. That's beyond the scope of friendship."
"Tony, friendship isn't bottomless assistance."
"Especially when HYDRA is a mundane dispute; it's not my place to intervene."
"I get that, and I know I owe you more than I can repay. But Rosen, this concerns the safety of the nation—of the whole World," Tony said, frowning.
Tony of course realized that, as a friend, Rosen had already given far more than he'd received.
He was deeply grateful.
But this wasn't just a favor between pals anymore.
It involved global security.
"Tony, let me correct you: HYDRA is a threat to the U.S., yes, but it's nowhere near strong enough to endanger the entire World," Rosen answered, unperturbed.
His words hit Tony like a thunderclap. Right—who was Rosen? A prophet. A magician.
Rosen had briefly explained the mystical side to him before.
Tony knew that mages rarely meddled in worldly conflicts.
That was why, throughout countless human wars, almost no sorcerers or wizards had ever appeared.
It was also why Rosen had repeatedly warned him not to expose his identity.
HYDRA might threaten nations, even the World, but it still fell under "mundane disputes."
From Rosen's standpoint as a "magician," refusal was natural.
The main reason Rosen had saved and helped Tony was that so-called "Savior" status of his.
"I understand, Rosen. My mistake. HYDRA is the government's problem; I shouldn't drag you into it," Tonysighed after thinking it through.
"Good. Our friendship is personal, and only extends to threats against the whole World," Rosen nodded. "But I'm not entirely unwilling. Bucky Barnes and Captain Americaare—thanks to some mishap—in my custody. I'll hand them over; the rest is on you."
"Also, if you need help, New York's famed hero, the Homelander Jessica Jones, is a friend of mine and can lend a hand."
Of course, the "no meddling in mundane affairs" line was just an excuse.
Mainly, Rosen was reminding Tony about "repayment."
If he kept giving without getting anything back, Tonymight start taking it for granted.
Besides, joining their HYDRA operation would hinder Rosen's quiet absorption of HYDRA assets.
"I understand. Thank you, Rosen," Tony said, grateful that Rosen would entrust Winter Soldier and Captain America to him.
Thanks to Rosen's "pointer," Tony racked his brain for ways to repay him.
He owed Rosen far too much, yet beyond a few research favors Rosen had asked, he'd never actively offered anything in return.
True, to Tony, Rosen was a near-omnipotent "prophet" who lacked nothing.
Whatever Tony had, Rosen might not need.
But whether Rosen needed it was one thing; whether Tony offered it was another.
It was a matter of attitude.
Thinking that, Tony felt a pang of guilt.
Seeing Tony's attitude—and Ethan and Pepper's expressions that said "of course"—Rhodes swallowed whatever he'd planned to say.
"No need for thanks. We're friends, aren't we?" Rosensmiled.
"Mr. Stark, how do you intend to deal with Bucky Barnes?" Wanda suddenly spoke up.
Her question made Rosen glance at her in surprise.
He hadn't expected his disciple to chime in here.
Still—it made sense.
"Of course I'll—" Tony began to say "get revenge," then stopped.
Now fully rational, he easily saw why Wanda had asked.
"Thank you for the reminder, Ms. Maximoff. I'll weigh carefully how to handle Bucky Barnes."
Tony spoke solemnly.
How to deal with Bucky Barnes was indeed something he needed to consider carefully.
Chapter 102 – Agent 13
Ms. Potts, I have a few urgent documents that need your signature—hope I'm not interrupting.
When Rosen's group left the screening room and stepped into the living room, a young woman in business attire rose from the sofa, folder in hand.
At the same time she let her gaze slide—very discreetly—over Rosen, Wanda, and Gwen.
Nick Fury had sent her to keep an eye on Tony; naturally she had to watch the people around him.
And strangers like Rosen, who clearly enjoyed a good relationship with Tony, were prime targets for scrutiny.
What she didn't realize was that, to anyone with abilities, her idea of subtle observation might as well have been a searchlight.
Wanda and Gwen, however, didn't pay it much mind.
They chalked it up to instinctive caution when meeting new people.
Only Rosen was different—he recognized the woman, had even met her before, though she had no idea.
She was Agent 13 of S.H.I.E.L.D., Peggy Carter's niece: Sharon Carter.
Rosen simply hadn't expected her to show up here.
Apparently she had even become Pepper's assistant.
A moment's thought told him exactly what was going on.
Clearly, Nick Fury had sent her to "monitor" Tony.
In the original timeline that job had fallen to Natashaafter she joined S.H.I.E.L.D.
But Natasha had been poached early by Rosen—Red Room and all—so Fury had to assign someone else.
He just hadn't thought that "rookie" would be Sharon Carter.
"Interested in the girl? She is rather good—bright, capable. Want her number? I can get it for you," Tonywhispered, noticing Rosen's lingering gaze.
No matter how low his voice, sharp-eared Wanda and Gwen caught every word.
Both women frowned simultaneously, shooting Tony a look that branded him incorrigible.
Then they turned their attention to Sharon Carter and sized her up.
"Heh, she's S.H.I.E.L.D.—of course she's good," Rosenreplied, making no effort to hide her identity.
He and Tony were speaking softly, a dozen metres away; there was no risk of Sharon overhearing.
She didn't have Gwen's acute senses.
"What? She's S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Tony's tone shifted; fortunately he kept his composure. "She's not HYDRA, is she?"
A flash of anger sparked inside him.
He didn't need to guess who had planted her.
All because he'd turned down their last recruitment pitch?
"Relax—she's clean, and someone you can win over," Rosen said. "She's Peggy Carter's niece. Don't tell me you've never met Peggy."
Though Howard had kept Tony in the dark about S.H.I.E.L.D., there was no way he didn't know Peggy personally.
"Ah, right—I should even call her Aunt Peggy, but she's always been mysterious. So she's S.H.I.E.L.D. too?" Tonyquickly connected the dots.
"Exactly. She co-founded S.H.I.E.L.D. with your father and fought HYDRA her whole life. You can trust her—and her niece—but you'll have to work to bring Sharon to your side."
"Got it. So 'Emily Karp' is fake. What's her real name?"
Emily Karp? Rosen's mind instantly pictured an old man munching senbei.
"Sharon Carter," he said, shaking the image away.
"Much better. I'll send her off before Cap and Bucky arrive—can't let her see them," Tony muttered, striding toward Sharon.
"Settling in all right, Emily? At Stark Industries, I mean," he greeted her.
"Yes, Mr. Stark—thank you for asking," she replied with a professional smile.
"Good. If you're done for today, head back to the office—Happy will drive you. I've got private guests to entertain with Pepper," Tony dismissed her smoothly.
Caught off guard, Sharon hesitated.
Since joining Stark Industries both Tony and Pepper had been nothing but approachable.
They'd never asked her to leave, even during personal gatherings.
Professional reflex took over; she smiled politely and departed.
But as she left she covertly memorized Rosen's face.
She hadn't heard their conversation, yet she knew Tony's sudden change of manner stemmed from that talk.
She intended to dig into the stranger's background as soon as she left.
Rosen noticed, but wasn't bothered.
However deep S.H.I.E.L.D. dug, they'd find only the high-school-graduate Rosen.
Anything beyond that would be a miracle.
Tracking him in person would be even harder—Rosenhimself couldn't be sure where, or even in which universe, he'd be next week.
"Happy, make sure Emily gets all the way back to headquarters," Tony ordered over the phone as Sharon exited.
He wasn't about to let her double back just as Captain America and Bucky Barnes were delivered.
"Tony, what was that? You've always spoken highly of Emily—why the sudden change?" Pepper asked, puzzled.
Sharon's competence had won both their trust; that was why she'd been made Pepper's assistant in the first place.
Rosen just told me—Emily is a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent," Tonysaid calmly.
"What? How—" Pepper was just as stunned.
"Don't worry, she's not HYDRA. Apart from anything concerning Rosen, ordinary company business doesn't need to be hidden from her—doing that would only raise suspicion. I'll find a moment to talk to her alone," Tonyreassured her.
"As long as you've got a plan. In that case, should I start looking for a new assistant?" Pepper relaxed and began thinking about candidates.
Given the current situation, her present assistant's days were clearly numbered.
As the new CEO of Stark Industries, the assistant's role was crucial and the requirements were steep.
Finding someone as outstanding as Emily wouldn't be easy.
"I'll ask Rosen in a minute—maybe he'll have an idea." Tony took Pepper's concern seriously.
Unlike the original timeline, where palladium poisoninghad convinced him he was dying and he'd dumped every responsibility, even forgetting Pepper's strawberry allergy.
Now, freed from that worry ahead of schedule, he hadn't abandoned Pepper or the company.
He understood the difficulties she faced—formerly his personal assistant, she had little footing inside the company and badly needed someone she could trust.
Tony had planned to groom Sharon for the role.
Discovering she was a "spy" forced a rethink.
"Won't that trouble Rosen too much?" Pepper asked.
After all, moments ago Rosen had refused Tony's invitation to fight HYDRA.
"That's different. Taking on HYDRA involves governments, nations, politics; choosing an assistant is personal. The stakes aren't comparable. And I've prepared a gift—he won't refuse," Tony replied.
He led Pepper over to Rosen and laid out the problem.
"A top-tier female assistant who can also protect Pepper? Your standards are high," Rosen sighed after hearing the request.
"If there really isn't anyone, I'll find another way," Tonysaid.
"There are candidates, but recruiting them won't be easy—some even have history with the Stark family," Rosenmused, names already flashing through his mind.
Natasha would have been perfect.
But Rosen had promised to let her choose her own life.
She was currently a star and investor in Universe 96283, living comfortably.
Dragging her back to be Pepper's assistant would break that promise.
Yelena or other Black Widow Agents excelled as spies, yet few could step into the role of assistant to a World-class CEO.
Not every Black Widow possessed Natasha's versatility.
There were exceptions—Berikova of Sokovia, for instance.
But women at that level were running their own enterprises.
Asking them to drop everything and work for Tony was a losing deal for Rosen.
Besides, he had no need to plant spies inside Stark Industries.
After running through the list, only a handful of names remained.
"Oh? Let's hear them—" Tony was intrigued by the idea of candidates even Stark Industries couldn't easily hire, especially ones with family grudges.
"First one is—hold on, delivery's here. Let's go take a look." Rosen's communicator chimed.
The message said his people had dropped off Captain America and Bucky Barnes.
"Let's see them!" Tony said eagerly.
Though he no longer planned to kill the Winter Soldieroutright, he still wanted custody of his parents' murderer.
"They're just outside the Villa," Rosen said.
The group hurried out.
Except—
"This is Captain America and Bucky Barnes?" They knew both men had survived WWII in ice, but seeing them delivered in a meat-refrigeration truck was hard to swallow.
These were people, not sides of beef.
"While ultra-low-temperature flash-freeze can preserve life, their state doesn't look survivable," Dr. Ethanobserved.
Theory held that only temperatures below –150 °C prevented ice-crystal damage.
Higher than that, cells would rupture.
"The theory's right—but you're applying the wrong one," Rosen said.
"They survived because they're super-soldiers. Their blood contains high-concentration glucose that acts like antifreeze, preventing cellular freezing damage," he explained.
That wasn't fiction; Marvel had confirmed it, and Red Room scientists including Melina had verified it.
"Got it. That's a relief," Tony said.
If that was true, thawing them would be far simpler—and he wouldn't accidentally kill them.
Chapter 103: Nick Fury's Trouble
On the other side, after returning to Stark Industries, Sharon Carter immediately found an opportunity to report the abnormalities on Tony Stark's end to Nick Fury.
She particularly emphasized the sudden appearance of Rosen, a mysterious man who clearly possessed the ability to influence Tony Stark.
Her report immediately caught Nick Fury's attention.
Don't be fooled by the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. seemed to have ignored Tony from the time Howard died until Tonywent missing.
That was merely an appearance.
As the sole heir to Stark Industries, Tony's identity naturally made him a key focus for the U.S. government, S.H.I.E.L.D., and even HYDRA.
As for Tony's previous kidnapping, it can only be said that Obadiah's disguise was too good.
In the decade or so since Howard's death, he had remained patient and hidden his true colors.
So much so that even S.H.I.E.L.D. felt he was Tony's most 'loyal and reliable' uncle.
As for arms smuggling and such, that was just standard operating procedure for these military-industrial complexes.
Even if it were discovered, various agencies, including S.H.I.E.L.D., wouldn't take it seriously.
Obadiah's crime was never arms smuggling; he had only one fatal original sin—and that was conspiring to murder Tony Stark.
After Tony Stark became 'Iron Man,' S.H.I.E.L.D.'s level of attention toward him was instantly raised to the highest level.
So much so that Nick Fury personally stepped in and had a first private meeting with Tony.
Even though the process wasn't pleasant, S.H.I.E.L.D. still wouldn't give up their surveillance of Tony.
Therefore, anyone who suddenly appeared by Tony's side warranted an investigation.
Not to mention that, according to Sharon, this person seemed to be able to easily influence Tony's thoughts.
So, after receiving Sharon's message, the massive intelligence machine of S.H.I.E.L.D. immediately began running at full speed.
In just a few minutes, Rosen's file appeared before Nick Fury.
But with just a cursory glance, Nick Fury couldn't help but frown.
There was no doubt that there was a problem with Rosen's file.
The problem was that starting from last year, almost all of his past social connections had been severed.
Except for a very small amount of shopping information, there were almost no other relevant records.
He had hardly even appeared under surveillance cameras.
While the records from before that were extremely detailed, they were useless.
Because according to the early data, Rosen was nothing more than an ordinary Chinese-American high school graduate.
There was no valuable information at all.
The only thing certain was that something must have happened to this Rosen last year, and he had crossed paths with Tony.
Immediately, Nick Fury also thought of two incidents involving Tony that remained unexplained to this day.
One was Tony's sudden return to New York after being kidnapped for over a month, and the near-simultaneous disappearance of Obadiah Stane.
The other was what happened between Tony and another mysterious mecha just before he publicly announced his identity as Iron Man over a month ago.
Especially regarding the latter, according to the report from Coulson, who was present at the scene afterward, he had witnessed the appearance of two mysterious figures who ultimately stopped that battle.
However, Coulson was too far away at the time; by the time he arrived, the two people had already mysteriously vanished, and it was impossible to track how they had left.
Furthermore, they were wearing long robes at the time, so Coulson couldn't even determine their gender through their silhouettes.
Thus, Nick Fury couldn't help but speculate that Rosenwas likely one of them.
Perhaps the other person was among the two other women who had appeared in Tony's Villa.
However, because no information on the other two women could be found in the database, he couldn't perform a further analysis.
It must be said that as the King of Spies, the 'Black Egg's' intuition was very sharp.
The two figures Coulson saw back then were indeed Rosen and Wanda.
"Is there really no clue about the other two ladies who appeared in Tony's home?" Nick Fury asked Coulson, who had delivered the files, unwilling to give up.
"No, Officer. We haven't found any information on the other two women in our database. Preliminary judgment suggests they are not from the United States or any other allied nations," Coulson replied.
Although S.H.I.E.L.D. is the World's largest intelligence agency and possesses population data for most countries in the World,
it is still only 'most' countries.
In a chaotic country like Sokovia, it's almost impossible to clearly tally the population.
Moreover, not all countries are willing to disclose their citizens' information to S.H.I.E.L.D.
For instance, the Great Eastern Nation is a typical example.
As war refugees, the Maximoff brother and sister pair only had official Sokovian records from their birth until their parents' death.
During the subsequent decade or so of wandering, they essentially belonged to the 'missing' population.
Without specific clues, it would be strange if S.H.I.E.L.D.could find any relevant information on her.
As for how the Avengers could find them so easily in the original plot, that was because their information had been updated by HYDRA when they joined the experiments.
The Avengers at that time had already obtained HYDRA's database, so they could clearly get the main history of The brother and sister pair.
Even so, what they knew was limited to events before their parents' death and after they joined the HYDRAexperiments.
The period in between was still a blank.
As for Gwen, not to mention her, this person didn't even exist in the Main Universe.
If S.H.I.E.L.D. could find her, that would be truly impressive.
"It seems that to figure out the background of Tony Stark's mysterious friends, we need to have a face-to-face encounter with them. Agent Coulson, I'm assigning this task to you!" Nick Fury ordered.
"Yes, Officer. I'll head out immediately." Coulson accepted the order briskly and left Nick Fury's office.
After he left, Nick Fury fell into deep thought once again.
He was pondering one question: why did Tony send Sharon away back then?
And why did he have the driver watch her return to the company?
What important matter were they discussing that even Sharon, the assistant to the Group President, couldn't hear?
Or could it be—that Sharon had already been exposed?
Whichever it was, it wasn't good news for him.
However, Nick Fury wouldn't have to worry about this problem for long.
The next day, the emergency communicator on Nick Fury's desk rang, and Maria Hill's report came through.
"Officer, just now, Tony Stark applied for a flight permit to Washington. The target is our headquarters!"
Upon hearing this, Nick Fury's heart skipped a beat.
Chapter 104 – The Colossal Hub Space Station
Rosen had no idea Tony had gone to settle accounts with Nick Fury.
By then he had already returned to the Alien Universe.
Had he known, he might have stayed a little longer to watch Black Egg eat humble pie.
After all, planting a spy beside an heir of a military-industrial dynasty like Tony was the kind of thing…
…that stays quiet if no one looks too closely—but once it's weighed in public, even the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. can't cover it up.
If you can slip an agent next to Tony today,
does that mean you'll slip one beside someone else tomorrow?
Maybe even beside the President?
We created S.H.I.E.L.D. to keep us safe and watch those who might threaten us—not to watch us!
So you can imagine the fireworks once Tony starts making noise.
Alien Universe!
More than two weeks had passed since Rosen's last departure.
Barring surprises, Carlo and the other Epsilon Space Station survivors should have reached the Hub Space Station they kept mentioning.
But with no intel on the station's surveillance or defenses—or whether the ship itself was safe—
and given that the vessel legally belonged to Weyland-Yutani Corporation, not to Carlo and his fellow "employees,"
the fall of Epsilon Space Station meant Weyland-Yutani would put every survivor under a microscope.
So Carlo's group was almost certainly still in custody.
The ship, too, would have been seized.
Rosen wasn't worried, though, that Weyland-Yutani would immediately repurpose it or send it off on a new voyage.
To prevent that, he'd had Carlo's team sabotage a few non-critical systems before docking.
The damage wouldn't stop the ship from flying, but it would force a lengthy repair and resupply cycle.
As the Hub Space Station served as the Three Realms Empire's primary yard in this sector, complete with repair docks and construction slips, the vessel wouldn't be towed elsewhere.
For those reasons, Rosen hadn't brought Wanda and the others along right away.
Instead he activated Gale Step and came alone to scout.
He didn't want a repeat of their first arrival, when they'd been spotted by patrollers like Carlo.
When Rosen stepped through the dark portal into the ship, still cloaked in Gale Step,
everything was just as he'd predicted: plenty of unfamiliar maintenance techs aboard,
but none of the crew already under his control.
Luckily he'd opened the portal inside the crew quarters—currently empty and camera-free—
so no one witnessed the breach.
A quick mental sweep located Carlo and company: corralled over a hundred kilometers away.
The mechanical critter he'd left with them wasn't there; it was locked in a supply crate aboard the ship.
Carlo had clearly hidden it to keep it from being found.
That distance set off alarm bells in Rosen's mind.
Not because of the hidden toy,
but because of the sheer span.
A hundred-plus kilometers—
was the Hub Space Station really that enormous?
He hadn't asked Carlo the last time.
The already-impressive Epsilon Space Station had sprawled across dozens of square kilometers,
and if the Hub measured a hundred klicks across, it would dwarf Epsilon by more than tenfold.
And that might not even be its full extent.
Or were Carlo's group being held on some distant docked ship?
If the station itself was that big…
Rosen decided not to summon Wanda yet; he'd slip out and look around first.
But he had no ID, no clearance, and no knowledge of the layout—Blink required line-of-sight.
So he prowled the corridors until he found a maintenance tech fresh from the restroom, isolated from cameras and crew, and swiftly took control.
"What's your name?" Rosen asked.
"Ravenna Stran, Master!" the tech replied.
"Tell me, Ravenna—how large is the Hub Space Station?"
"I'm sorry, Master; I don't know its true size. And 'area' isn't really accurate—it's three-dimensional, not a flat city on a Planet. But its diameter is at least two hundred kilometers, with over three thousand berths."
Two-hundred-kilometer diameter—and three-dimensional?
How massive was that?
The tech of the Alien Universe had already outstripped Rosen's imagination.
Yet the thought only whetted his appetite.
He would control this station—
no, build an entire fleet in this Universe.
And when the Chitauri invaded the Main Universe…
he'd jump back with that armada—heh, heh, heh.
Wait—no, getting ahead of himself.
Even with a thousand ships here, his personal dark portalwas only big enough for a person.
Anything larger than a small rover wouldn't fit.
Better to ferry the tech back and see if he could build an Epsilon-level station in the Solar System.
"Ravenna, can you move freely inside the station?"
"Most public zones are open with an ID badge, Master, but they're blanketed by infrared monitors. Without a badge you'll be flagged instantly."
"Doesn't matter—I can hide. Just walk me through. Show me the highest-ranking person you can reach."