Inside S.H.I.E.L.D.
Nick Fury stood by the office window, his expression dark as he looked at the blazing lights filling the sky over New York City. The firestorm had completely shattered his plans to recruit Ivan Vanko.
Even Maria Hill, standing beside Fury, wore a similarly grim expression. All her carefully laid plans had gone up in smoke.
"Director, this…"
Hill turned to look at Fury.
Fury's gaze was fixed on the scattered embers drifting down from the sky. "Hill, who do you think did this?"
Hill was taken aback. The question surprised her.
Wasn't it Tony? Who else had the ability to break into someone else's system and take control of an army of Iron Soldiers?
Although the satellite footage couldn't capture their conversation, Tony was the only one capable of such a feat.
But for Fury to ask the question meant he had his doubts.
Hill spoke up, "Director, do you mean you suspect someone else killed Ivan Vanko?"
Fury's suspicions were clear. "Tony isn't exactly a saint," he said. "But based on what I know of him, he wouldn't kill Ivan Vanko in this manner."
Fury looked at the sky where the flames had already died out and continued, "Send someone to investigate."
"I want to know every word spoken at the scene—don't miss a single punctuation mark!"
"Understood, Director!"
Hill, prompted by Fury's words, felt a spark of curiosity herself.
Following behind Fury, Hill asked, "Director, are we really not going to intervene with the military's situation? A general has died; this is no small matter."
Fury replied coolly, "It's not that I don't want to intervene. The military won't allow S.H.I.E.L.D. to get involved. You know what they're trying to protect."
"That bunch is terrified we'll uncover something they don't want found."
Hill nodded in understanding. "That does save us from quite a few complications."
"I'm heading over to Rogers' location. By tomorrow, I want everything I requested on my desk."
"Leave it to me, Director."
After watching Fury leave, Hill immediately activated her network and resources to investigate the entire sequence of events that unfolded that night, including Tony and the others' conversation.
Time was pressing, and Hill had to take matters into her own hands. After giving her subordinates a series of instructions, she too left S.H.I.E.L.D.
Shortly after Fury and Hill left S.H.I.E.L.D., a sharply dressed figure entered Fury's office.
After manipulating the controls on Fury's desk, the room played an audio recording.
The recording was of every word Fury and Hill had spoken that night.
When it finished, the man in the suit furrowed his brow into a deep crease.
"Ivan Vanko is really dead?"
Though he found it hard to believe, the conversation between Fury and Hill, coupled with the intense flames that had lit up the entire New York skyline, left little room for doubt. Surviving such an explosion was nearly impossible.
After analyzing the reliability of the conversation, the man took out a small satellite phone from his pocket and dialed a number cautiously.
As soon as the call connected, he spoke in a low voice, "Hail Hydra…"
...
"Alan, is the Red Queen really that powerful?"
Faced with Gwen's question, Alan smiled and said, "Just a match of specialties."
"If Ivan Vanko hadn't been so confident in his own network technology, the Red Queen wouldn't have been able to pull it off."
Gwen continued, "Can she do the same to Tony's suit?"
The Red Queen spoke up first, "No, Miss Gwen."
"Why not? Isn't Tony's suit also controlled by a network system?"
"Miss Gwen, although Tony's suit is controlled through a network system, his control terminal is J.A.R.V.I.S., and Tony is quite smart."
A hint of admiration flashed in the Red Queen's eyes as she explained, "Tony's suit is equipped with two integrated systems. One system is based on J.A.R.V.I.S.'s assistance, while the other is entirely under his manual control."
"If J.A.R.V.I.S. or the suit itself encounters a network intrusion, Tony can immediately cut off the connection and seize full control of the suit."
After hearing the explanation, Alan nodded in understanding.
No wonder, during the Ultron crisis, Ultron could only control other ordinary robots. He couldn't take over a single Mark suit.
So there was this level of technical safeguard in place.
In contrast, Gwen seemed a bit of a novice in this area.
She nodded with a look of partial understanding. "I think I get it."
"Miss Gwen, there's been a robbery at a jewelry store on Midtown Street, and the culprits are heading towards Thirteenth Street."
Gwen turned to Alan with a proud smile and said, "Looks like it's my time to shine."
Seeing Gwen's expression, it was clear she was eager to try out her new suit.
"Go ahead, it's getting late."
"Finish up and head back after."
"Red Queen, let's go!"
Gwen called out to the Red Queen and ran towards the small room.
As soon as she entered, the dark glass in front of her transformed into a panoramic map of New York City.
After a quick zoom-in, a video appeared on the screen.
The footage showed three robbers wearing black stockings over their heads, robbing a luxury jewelry store.
The staff in the store all had their hands up, not daring to make any sudden moves.
Once they succeeded, the three robbers quickly fled out the door, triggering the alarm as they left.
Click.
The dark glass in front of her suddenly opened, and a rush of cold wind blew in.
A smile tugged at the corner of Gwen's mouth as she leaped out.
In mid-air, Gwen pressed hard on her wristwatch, and liquid vibranium quickly spread across her body.
Within a second, Gwen was fully suited in her new Arch 5 suit.
"Miss Gwen, let me introduce some of Arch 5's new features."
The Red Queen's voice chimed in, and a display of the new suit's features appeared before Gwen.
"The Arch 5 is crafted from liquid vibranium, fully utilizing vibranium's physical properties."
"The defensive capability of the Arch 5 can be considered the pinnacle among all previous suits."
"Vibranium absorbs nearly all kinetic energy from impacts, is heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant."
As Gwen swung towards Thirteenth Street, the Red Queen displayed a test video.
"According to the test, the Arch 5 can directly withstand any bullet."
In the test footage, dozens of firearms unleashed a barrage on the Arch 5 for about ten seconds.
Smoke filled the lab, but the Arch 5 remained intact without even a scratch.
"This…"
"Unbelievable…"
If it weren't for the fact that the Red Queen had shown her this video, Gwen would have found it hard to believe that her Arch 5 had such overwhelming defensive capabilities.
Compared to this, the bulletproof vests used by the NYPD seemed utterly inferior.
"Cool, now I don't have to go through the trouble of dodging bullets…"
Gwen felt a surge of joy.
Relying on her spider-sense to dodge bullets had always been tiring.
Now, when facing armed thugs, she could confidently confront them head-on!
As Gwen entertained these thoughts, she quickly reached Thirteenth Street.
Having lived here before with Alan, she was very familiar with the area.
Following the sound of police sirens, she swiftly caught up with the three robbers.
The robbers had been smart enough not to make their getaway by car, as that would make them easier targets.
Instead, they darted through the alleys of Thirteenth Street, trying to shake off their pursuers.
Soon, they emerged in a spacious plaza.
"We're safe now."
"Hurry, change clothes!"
"Change and hide the jewelry and gold. We'll come back for it tomorrow."
Just as the three were about to switch their clothes to avoid detection, Gwen descended on a web strand.
"Hey, nice move."
"But I used to do that all the time, and I don't bother with it anymore…"
Gwen teased them.
She remembered how she used to struggle with changing into her Spider-Woman suit, but not anymore.
"Spider-Woman!"
"Another meddling hero."
"Shoot!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshots rang out across the plaza.
Gwen took all the bullets head-on and fell to the ground, motionless.
"We…we killed Spider-Woman…"
The leader, seeing Spider-Woman lying lifeless after being shot, felt an unexpected thrill.
...
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