In Nick's office, they were still discussing Shiller's disappearance. Stark sighed and said, "He intentionally went missing, trying to cause us to worry and lead us to find him. If we do as he wishes, there will definitely be a mess of plans waiting for us."
"I don't approve of everyone going to find Shiller either." Nick also sighed. "I think his disappearance must be reasonable. If we hastily find him and mess up his plans, it will not be good. But we can't do nothing either, to avoid being unprepared when his 'big surprise' comes."
"How about this, you guys go ahead and do what you need to do. I will arrange for agents to search the Earth, and also contact Loki, and ask him to see if there's any trace of Shiller in the cosmos, always keeping an eye on Shiller's movements."
The others looked at each other, thinking this was the best solution. After all, everyone was busy right now. Nobody could just not do anything else and run around the world searching for someone because of a possible glimpse of a big plan.
"At the end of the day, Doctor Shiller won't harm us, right?" Peter turned around and said to Steve as he was walking.
Steve shrugged and said, "Every time Shiller prepared a 'big surprise', it has advanced Earth's civilization a big step. If the way of revelation was not so shocking, we would not be so worried."
Others left the office while Eddie stayed in Nick's office. He sat across from Nick and said, "Regarding the documentary plan I mentioned to you previously, I rethought and have a preliminary draft for it. Take a look and tell me what you think."
Nick took the stack of papers from Eddie's hands. He carefully scanned through it and nodded as he read. Looking at Eddie with a slightly surprised look, he said, "Your vision is quite long-term, Mr. Brock. Indeed, group-based drama-style documentaries are much livelier than individual biographies."
Nick sat down, with the stack of documents in one hand and his glasses in the other. He put the glasses on and said while reading, "Telling someone's character from God's perspective always seems somewhat thin and pale. If combined with historical context and reconstructed scenes, it would become a lot more vivid."
"But nothing beats many members within a group evaluating each other, presenting their connections from multiple perspectives. People prefer to discuss their relationships more than the superheroes themselves, right?"
Eddie placed both hands on the table, saying, "That's what I think too. When I was still working at Global Times, I often heard my colleagues discuss the relationship between Iron Man and Captain America. Some said they were close, some said they were enemies. They always had such passionate discussions."
"Complex multi-angled relationships can easily attract attention. The exploration of relationships will have a high volume of discussion, which can also ensure financial income. However, the initial investment will definitely be huge, and cooperation from all sides is needed."
Nick pushed his glasses slightly and said, "You can be assured of that. S.H.I.E.L.D. will make sure the superheroes under our jurisdiction cooperate with your shooting. Unfortunately, Doctor Shiller is not here now, otherwise, he would be the perfect person to coordinate relationships between all parties."
"Oh, actually, it was his idea." Eddie was afraid Nick might misunderstand and quickly clarified, "I did not steal this idea. He proposed the broad framework and I built on it with a detailed preliminary plan. But the idea is certainly Shiller's."
Nick immediately widened his eyes. He slightly turned his eyeballs, put down the documents in his hand, looked into Eddie's eyes and said, "You're sure this idea is Shiller's?"
Eddie nodded. He didn't understand why Nick suddenly changed his attitude, but soon Nick controlled his emotions, returned the documents to Eddie, and said, "You go ahead and flesh out the planning for the first episode. I will raise funds and coordinate staff. Shall we meet next Monday?"
"Certainly, if there's any problem, I'll call your office."
After Eddie left Nick's office, Nick immediately stood up from his seat and ran to the security telephone. One hand pulled the telephone line and the other one put the receiver to his ear.
"Hello, Natasha, come to my office immediately."
Natasha arrived in no time. Seeing Nick's serious face, she was a little confused. But Nick looked at Natasha and said, "You heard about Shiller's disappearance, right?"
Natasha nodded. The female agent indifferently shrugged and said, "Shiller must be planning something cunning again. Anyway, in this cosmos, no one could hurt him. There's no need to worry."
"Yes, he's certainly preparing a plan. And I have received his hint."
Nick sat back at his desk after picking up a piece of paper. He doodled on it and said, "We just discovered Shiller's disappearance and gathered here to discuss. Eddie stayed and gave me the draft of a documentary plan thought up by Shiller. This is the clue he left for me. He certainly hopes I cooperate with him on something."
Nick lightly tapped his fingers on the desk, "The question is what the connection between the documentary shooting plan and his disappearance is, and what I need to do..."
Natasha sat opposite Nick, with her forearms crossed on the table. She knew Nick needed another perspective to clear his mind, so she immediately said.
"I've heard about ABC's shooting plan. But I remember their initial concept at that time was to shoot biographies of key figures. Since this plan was an ongoing major project, they were not sure about the shooting scale, so they reached out to Eddie."
"Eddie approached Schiller with this idea," Nick began, "which isn't surprising. If anyone knows the superheroes of New York, it's Shiller."
"Shiller thought this was a good idea, but he altered the plan from shooting personal biographies to shooting a team series... exactly, that's the key."
Nick furrowed his brow, thinking aloud, "If you're shooting personal biographies, it's surely going to focus on an individual superhero's charisma. But, if you focus on a team biography, it's inevitably going to involve the concept, thought process, and member relations within a team..."
"There are many superhero teams. However, we haven't paid them much attention," Natasha said, furrowing her brow, "ever since the implementation of the Solar System Development Plan, the focus of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s work has shifted from intelligence to coordinating human and resource development on Earth. It has been quite a while since we last paid attention to the New York Superhero Team."
Nick sighed, "Shiller isn't one to act without purpose. It seems that there might be some issues with the superhero teams in New York. Let's put our current work aside and send out a few teams to investigate. I want to see detailed files on all the teams before this evening."
Natasha set out to fulfil this task. However, even before nightfall, she returned to Nick's office with a stack of files, her eyebrows furrowed in a serious expression.
When Nick saw Natasha's expression, he stood up immediately. It had been quite some time since he last saw such a solemn expression on the Black Widow's face, ever since Earth entered its rapid development phase.
"What happened?"
"The situation is not good."
Natasha shook her head, presenting two files to Nick first. "Agents investigated the situations of all the superhero teams currently stationed in New York. Unfortunately, more than 80% of the superhero teams are virtually defunct, including the Avengers you formed."
Nick widened his eyes slightly, glancing down at the files. The most striking data was that the Avengers' base hadn't submitted any cleaning or maintenance requests for more than three months.
In the past, the flashy Tony Stark would demand that S.H.I.E.L.D. send cleaners to thoroughly clean the place after every usage by the members of the Avengers.
This implies that the Avengers haven't gathered there for at least three months, not even for battle meetings.
He looked at the remaining investigative reports on the superhero teams in Natasha's hand. Over sixty superhero teams under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s jurisdiction and sponsorship were based in New York. The majority were small groups of five to ten people. However, the logistics reports showed that in the past three months, roughly 60% of these teams showed no signs of activity; the members had disappeared without a trace.
From the remaining forty-plus superhero teams within their monitoring range, their activity had decreased by 50% when compared to a year ago.
Nick furrowed his brows, theorizing, "This might be due to the improved security situation in New York. Particularly, the reduction in supercriminals that ordinary people couldn't handle. Without supercriminals, there's naturally no need for superheroes, and certainly no need for a united superhero team."
"So, what do we do now?" Natasha asked.
Nick paused, sighing, "The Superhero Registration Act is not entirely a bad thing. At least it lets us know which superheroes are controllable. and which ones aren't."
"Those superheroes whose powers are completely controllable, who could choose to lead ordinary lives, we should naturally suggest that they return to their original lives. However, if the original power and character are unstable, disbanding the superhero team might actually exacerbate security risks."
"If we forcibly maintain the superhero team, those who have already returned to a calm life will certainly not be willing to be forced together. Or, the stable and unstable factors within a team can lead to contradictions and create even bigger chaos."
Nick rubbed his forehead, "I've been constantly busy over the past year, only looking to the stars. It completely slipped my mind that there was such a big problem in New York that remains unsolved. Good thing Shiller reminded me."
"I bet he couldn't stand it anymore," Natasha said with a chuckle. "Don't forget, those superhero teams we sponsor aren't doing their jobs but still using our funds. How could Shiller stand this?"
"Neither can I," Nick rose from behind his desk, straightening his tie as he headed for the door. "Notify all departments, we're holding a meeting in ten minutes. The meeting's subject is the consolidation and reorganization of New York's superhero teams."
"Oh, and make a call to Captain America and ask him to join the meeting. If we're going to establish a new superhero team system, we need a leader, and he's the best candidate."
"What about Iron Man?"
"If he wants to come, he better pay for the cleaners first. He isn't getting a penny of my logistics funds anymore. Haven't I lost enough already?"