Looking at the information in his hands, Stark fell silent. After taking medicine from the family doctor and getting some sleep, his mind had stabilized somewhat, and he was able to clearly distinguish which memories had always been there and which had been added later on.
It seemed his origin story had been altered.
The first part remained unchanged: Howard, due to his genius inventions, had caught the attention of both Hydra and Congress, and had to withstand pressure from both sides.
Then, someone appeared—Shiller, who became the adopted son of the Hamilton couple. He staged an accident, which made Howard realize the horror of Hydra even earlier.
To save his own family, Howard chose to collaborate with a Soviet scientist, and together they developed the Ark Reactor technology.
But before the technology was perfected, those who had their eyes on Howard had already started causing trouble. Howard had no choice but to stage his death and escape across the ocean to the Soviet Union with Shiller.
There, not only did he and Anton, along with other scientists, make the Ark Reactor technology more perfect, but he also raised Shiller, who became a psychiatrist.
Many years passed, and Shiller chose to return to his homeland, went to America for university education, but because of Howard's past, he always harbored hatred towards Hydra and eventually committed murder.
Because of this murder, Shiller had no choice but to cooperate with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but Stark had a doubt, and he looked at Natasha and asked, "Was this case really an accident?"
Natasha looked into his eyes and slowly shook her head.
"The dead Hydra leader was the very person who directly killed the Hamilton couple," Natasha said.
Stark stared at her, and Natasha began to recount the past she had investigated.
"Pratcha Hamilton, the elder son of the Hamilton family, had been admitted to Cambridge University before his parents came into contact with Shiller, and he had traveled across the ocean to Europe for his studies."
"Due to the long distance and the underdeveloped communications of that era, he didn't frequently keep in touch with his parents. Just as he was about to graduate from university, he suddenly received news of his parents' deaths. He hurriedly obtained his diploma and rushed back to the Hamilton household."
"Later, with his excellent academic credentials and abilities, he successfully joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation, becoming an FBI agent, but for years he had been investigating the true cause of his parents' deaths."
"Until one day, a mysterious person contacted him over the internet, claiming to know who killed the Hamilton couple and could help him take revenge, but Pratcha had to agree to a condition."
Stark was slightly taken aback at this point, and he looked at Natasha, saying, "Was that person Shiller?"
"Yes, that person was Shiller, who had once again stepped onto American soil. As a former adopted son of the Hamilton couple and a witness to their misfortune, he naturally knew who their enemy was."
"The deceased female Hydra leader?"
"Exactly, Shiller killed her, attracting the attention of the FBI, and smoothly entered the FBI."
"Was it deliberate?"
"Of course, because only within the FBI could he erase his Soviet origins from his records; otherwise, it would only be a matter of time before it was discovered."
"Wait, if he came from the Soviet Union, how could he possibly enter Columbia University?"
"Obviously, because someone helped him," Natasha said with a smile.
Looking at Natasha's smile, Stark narrowed his eyes and said, "It wasn't you, was it?!"
"Not at all, I found out about it later. The ones who helped him were the KGB, which lets you know why he wanted to get into the FBI—it was clearly arranged by the KGB."
Stark pursed his lips, not knowing what to say; it was all just a game of spy versus spy.
"But that's not right," Stark suddenly shook his head and said, "Shiller would not be content to be a mere tool for intelligence agencies to probe each other."
"Of course," Natasha said, nodding with a smile, "He was never just a tool; someone else had other plans."
"Who?"
"Howard," Natasha sighed softly, "Your father wasn't as benign as he appeared to be. Even if he was just a profit-driven businessman in his youth, after everything he'd been through, he couldn't possibly be without his own schemes."
"What did he do?"
"The most important, of course, was you," Natasha said, looking into Stark's eyes, "He didn't really abandon you for all those years; he was actually watching over you from the shadows."
"Is that so? How come I never felt it?" Stark said, not without sarcasm.
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"He obviously couldn't let you catch on, or he would have blown his cover, but he did use the internet to keep an eye on you as much as he could. Fortunately, you're quite famous, making it into the gossip magazines seven or eight times a week."
Stark blushed slightly and said, "It's not that often…"
"In any case, Shiller is back, and as Howard's adopted son, how could he not pay attention to you? But a regular medical student wouldn't have any way to get close to you, so he's been trying to mingle with high society."
"But you know that's not easy, especially for an unarmed medical student. There's no way to enter high society circles in a normal manner. To find a breakthrough, he had to play dirty."
"So he joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation?"
"Exactly, getting a hold of those big shots' dirty secrets is much simpler than winning their favor, and that's just Shiller's style," Natasha said. "And he never failed, not only did he succeed in entering high society, but he also gained a good reputation and finally got into the New York Elderly Association Hospital."
Stark seemed to understand now, and he said, "That's why Pepper chose him at that time. Out of all the psychologists mingling in high society, he was the most famous and had the strongest professional ability. And among all those with strong professional abilities, he was the youngest."
Natasha nodded, affirming his perspective, and then said, "Pepper understands you well, knowing that with your character, Mr. Playboy, it's unlikely you would sit down and listen to those experts and professors analyze you. You particularly detest those stodgy old doctors, and without finding someone who matches your temperament, you absolutely wouldn't take your medicine."
Stark touched his face somewhat awkwardly, but he still felt something was not quite right. Weren't these events a bit too coincidental?
What he didn't realize was that Shiller had taught Strange how to be a hostage, Strange had taught Stark to be a hostage, and Stark found being a hostage had its benefits with Pepper, which made him behave that way all along, triggering Pepper's protective instincts.
Pepper knew how difficult he was to manage, and helping him get his way had become a habit over the years. Noticing his poor mental state, she naturally made early preparations and, after choosing carefully, settled on Shiller as the one meeting the criteria.
Indeed, it still was a job position Shiller had created for himself. It could only be said that everything was a cyclical chain of cause and effect, the retribution was precise.
"Of course, there's also this part." Natasha handed Stark another document, saying, "Of course, Nick Fury's involvement couldn't be absent from this affair. He might well be one of the first to know the truth."
Natasha crossed one leg over the other, hugging her knees and said, "Back then, Nick was reluctant to let the Ark Reactor technology leak out, but he was even more eager to save Howard, so he single-handedly managed that fake death accident and successfully fooled everyone."
Stark nodded and didn't feel surprised. At that time, Howard was cornered and probably couldn't arrange such a seamless accident himself, not unless the entire setup and approval were conducted by his own people. Otherwise, it couldn't have been kept secret for so long. With Nick's abilities, it wasn't hard to achieve.
Although Nick knew that Howard had an adopted son in Soviet Union, he had only heard of him and hadn't seen him. So many years had passed that he didn't recognize him, and Howard hadn't told him either. Therefore, when Shiller first appeared within his sight, Nick didn't know who he was.
"Then how did he find out?" Stark asked. "He must have realized that Shiller is one of us, otherwise he wouldn't have let Shiller get close to me."
This was a question Stark had been pondering for a while now. Nick was a suspicious and incurable head of agents, and Stark, a genius scientist, was one of the most important assets in his hands. He wouldn't let just any Tom, Dick, or Harry get close to him.
Moreover, those lurking in the shadows had never given up on their dreams of using scientific technology to overturn the world. With Howard as a precedent, Nick would only be more vigilant with Stark.
A psychologist is a particularly sensitive occupation. If one is skilled enough, they can almost peek into all a patient's thoughts and exert influence. How could Nick Fury let a person with an unknown background be Tony Stark's psychologist?
Unless Nick had known all along that Shiller was one of his own.
Stark knew that Nick had indeed installed surveillance equipment in his office and lab, but he genuinely needed S.H.I.E.L.D. for his safety. This meant that when he first met Shiller, Nick definitely had someone investigate Shiller.
"What did he find out?" Stark asked. What he really meant was that he didn't think there would be any issue with the identity that Shiller had established. Having been at the Federal Bureau of Investigation for so long, with Shiller's methods, probably all suspicious aspects had been smoothed over.
"So how did Nick confirm Shiller's identity as one of our own?"
Shiller knew Nick would investigate him, so he intentionally left certain things in his office. Natasha handed Stark another file, saying, "Some files that appear to be records of the regular ramblings of patients."
Stark took a look and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, but suddenly, he saw a strange pattern among the scribbles and lines.
Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he said, "This isn't the Ark Reactor…"
Then he realized something, lowered his voice, and looking at Natasha said, "So Shiller drew part of the structure of the Ark Reactor Model to gain Nick's trust?"
"Not just that," Natasha said. "What he drew was not a simple model, but the very original one. Nick had seen Howard's Ark Reactor Model with his own eyes."
"He remembered it from just one glance? Isn't he not technically inclined?" Stark said, somewhat astonished.
Natasha snorted coldly and did not reply. Stark also realized, although Nick had now become a modern-day ruthless slave driver who was all over the place drafting men, back in the day, he was truly worthy of the title of the King of Special Agents.
Stark understood then that Shiller had used this method to tell Nick that he was one of them because the original model was something that only four people had ever seen: Nick, Howard, Anton, and little Shiller.
The only person who could possibly draw this design at this point was Howard's adopted son, who had been taken to the Soviet Union, and "Xier" was just a nickname for "Shiller."
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