"Besides that, there's one more thing."
Before Tony could react, Nick Fury intertwined his fingers, elbows resting on his knees as he leaned forward.
"Your father was a hero, Tony. He made many contributions to this world."
"And now, this world needs your help as well."
"Do you want to be a hero like Howard, or are you planning to continue being a playboy, playing your little Iron Man game?"
"It's time to make a decision."
With that, Fury patted his legs, struggling to stand up, and with Coulson, he limped toward the door.
"I believe you'll make the right choice. When you do, contact me."
"You'll know how to reach me, right?"
Using his usual cryptic style, Fury left half of his words unsaid, giving Tony no chance to ask questions, and mysteriously disappeared out the door.
Tony watched them leave with an exasperated look.
"Does he think he's some kind of limping Forrest Gump, trying to recruit me with just words?"
He spread his hands toward the suit of armor nearby.
"Just as Lyon said, this baldy is nothing more than a show-off idiot."
"Using my father's stuff to win me over?"
"Me wanting to be like my father? Heh, who wants to be like that?! What a joke!"
Tony casually picked up the box on the table, but when his eyes fell on the black case, his expression softened, tinged with nostalgia and seriousness.
"L-Let's see what the old man was trying to tell me, hiding all this..."
He still remembered what Lyon had mentioned—that Howard had left messages for him in there.
…
Half an hour later.
When Tony returned to his lab, he was unusually quiet.
His silence seemed to come from deep within, written all over his face, with every small expression steeped in memories.
The contents of the box Howard left weren't particularly surprising.
Just some manuscripts, blueprints, and a few reels of videotapes.
In the dusty footage, the old man showcased a conceptual model of the Stark Industrial Park, hinting it was a groundbreaking invention.
But Tony had already uncovered the secret hidden in the display, thanks to Lyon's earlier hints.
What left Tony speechless for so long was actually the final message from Howard in the video, spoken with great weight and sincerity.
— "Tony, out of all the things I've created in my life, you are the greatest."
Those words left Tony standing at his lab bench, lost in thought for a long, long time.
The men of the Stark family never seemed good at expressing their emotions.
In Tony's memory, not even on the day of their final farewell had Howard ever said "I love you" or expressed any affection toward him.
So Tony was always rebellious.
As a child, his rebellious behavior and attitude were his way of trying to get Howard's attention.
That rebelliousness became a real part of his personality, even after Howard passed away.
But now, through this conversation that spanned time, Tony suddenly realized the deep love Howard had never openly shown.
And for Tony, that meant the world.
After a long silence, Tony dialed Lyon's number.
"Hello? Calling me in broad daylight—do you miss me? To be honest, I'm kinda getting used to not seeing your smug face every day~"
Lyon teased as soon as he answered, ever the most straightforward member of the Stark family.
"Miss you? Don't be ridiculous... at best, just a little, like a sprinkling of cheese crumbs," Tony replied, Lyon's words bringing a smile to his face.
"Come on, if you miss me, just say it out loud! I won't make fun of you," Lyon laughed heartily.
"…Ahem, well, I just watched some of the stuff the old man left behind," Tony awkwardly changed the subject.
"Nick Fury gave it to you?"
"....How do you feel?"
Tony hesitated for a moment: "There was a video... the old man said a lot of things. Uh, he didn't mention you, though, because it was recorded a long time ago..."
"You don't need to explain. Explaining like this makes it sound like I'm overly sensitive. So, what do you need from me?"
"When are we going to deal with Hydra?" Tony took a deep breath.
After feeling an emotion from Howard that he had never experienced before...
He could no longer suppress the urge to seek revenge.
"Don't you know?" Lyon's words made Tony twitch, "We've already started."
"Really? Damn it! Why didn't anyone tell me!?" Tony's eyes widened in shock.
...
Hydra moved quickly.
Pierce, leading S.H.I.E.L.D.'s operatives, cleared the way through all levels of bureaucracy in just one day.
During the Council meeting, representatives from various nations voted in favor of S.H.I.E.L.D. taking charge of coordinating all efforts to capture or eliminate Hydra's hidden forces.
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were ready for action.
Among them, Hydra operatives disguised as agents remained deep in thought.
To ordinary agents, their expressions seemed like the fearless resolve of those ready for a life-or-death battle.
Both new recruits and veterans couldn't help but be moved by these Hydra elites, thinking of them as role models for everyone to aspire to.
And it wasn't just the regular agents.
Even the representatives from various nations, present on-site to observe, couldn't help but nod in approval.
The scene was so inspiring that they felt an overwhelming urge to immediately sign off on the next phase of the operation.
Little did they know, when the battle commenced, those seemingly proud agents would be the first to turn their guns on their fellow comrades, killing them without hesitation.
Soon, all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s requests for deployment were approved.
A total of three helicarriers were prepared for launch from the S.H.I.E.L.D. base.
This time, Pierce had brought out everything at his disposal, preparing for an epic and grand show.
Meanwhile, at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base in the suburbs of New York, the real "good guy" Nick Fury is as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
"Motherfucker!!"
Fury paced around the table, kicking the wall with his bandaged foot. "How could the council be so blind not to see Pierce's ulterior motives!?"
"Fury, didn't you used to think he was trustworthy?" Hill, standing nearby in her full combat uniform, reminded him, her appearance sharp and commanding.
Fury's already dark complexion darkened further.
"I was just as much of a fool! Back in Bogotá, Colombia, Pierce fooled me with his 'follow the rules' act!"
In 1995, Nick Fury was still just a deputy station chief for S.H.I.E.L.D. stationed in Bogotá.
During a rebellion, when it came to the issue of rescuing hostages...
At the time, Pierce, who was serving as the ambassador of diplomacy, insisted on negotiations, arguing that the hostages' lives couldn't be gambled with.
However, Fury took a risky approach, disregarding orders and launching a swift rescue operation, successfully saving all the hostages.
Among them was even Pierce's own daughter.
That's why Fury couldn't believe it.
How could Pierce, someone who shared a life-and-death experience with him, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. director, be a Hydra agent?
"Any word from Tony Stark?" Fury asked with a grim expression. "We need him!"
"Sorry, sir, still no word," Coulson shrugged. "Could it be because we didn't leave any contact information?"
"Contact information? He's got a super artificial intelligence! What contact info does he need?"
Fury cursed again, "We can't just sit around and wait. Even without that playboy, we've got to take action."
He looked at the satellite images of the S.H.I.E.L.D. base.
"We need to infiltrate the helicarriers and stop Hydra's plan!"
He slammed his fist onto the table. "Otherwise, this world is finished."
____________
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