Thor's hammer landed on the ground. At this moment, a group of regular people gathered around it, and a line of police officers had set up a barricade.
"You damn cops! Why won't you let us in?"
"We were having so much fun!"
"What gives you the right to kick us out?"
Although Nick Fury had given the orders, the police in New Mexico weren't taking them seriously.
By the time they arrived this morning, a crowd of burly men had already gathered, all with one goal in mind—lifting the hammer. But, of course, none succeeded.
Just then, another car pulled up. Agent Coulson stepped out, surveying the scene. "Finally made it, I was almost about to resign," Coulson said with a sigh of relief before directing his team to take positions.
---
Inside S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters:
"Sir, Coulson is in position. Barton is also on his way."
Nick Fury nodded. "Has Natasha reached Tony's house yet?"
"Yes, she went with Pepper Potts and has access to Tony's lab."
"Good, then I'll make preparations for Tony."
---
At Tony Stark's house:
Pepper Potts arrived at the entrance in Happy's car, and alongside her was Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, dressed in a sleek OL outfit that highlighted her perfect figure.
Happy, sitting in the driver's seat, couldn't resist whistling. But the next second, Natasha shot him a death glare, prompting him to immediately shut his mouth.
Pepper walked into Tony's house with no obstacles.
"Welcome, Miss Potts," J.A.R.V.I.S. greeted.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., where's Tony?"
"He's sleeping downstairs."
Pepper was puzzled. "Isn't downstairs the lab? Why is he sleeping down there?"
When she reached the lab, she was shocked by how unrecognizable it had become.
"My God, Tony, what have you been doing?"
In the middle of the lab, surrounded by several black pipes, was a couch where Tony and Yinsen were sleeping, exhausted from working all night. Pepper's voice startled them awake.
Looking around, Tony said, "As you can see, we've done some serious renovations."
She navigated the clutter, making her way to Tony's side, concern etched on her face.
"You look terrible. You should go upstairs and rest."
Tony quickly realized something—he had forgotten to drink his chlorophyll juice after working all night. "I... I'm fine. Trust me." He got up and rummaged through the piles of items, eventually finding a bottle of green juice and drinking it. After that, he looked noticeably better.
Natasha, who had been silently observing, quickly picked up on Tony's worsening palladium poisoning symptoms. She mentally noted that this needed to be reported to Nick Fury.
On the other side of the couch, Yinsen slowly woke up, groggy. "Tony, are we ready to start making the new element?"
"New element?" Pepper's ears perked up at the keyword, and she crossed her arms, staring at Tony. "What are you working on?"
Tony stammered, "You know... our arc reactor is a great source of clean energy, but..."
"But?"
"It's not environmentally friendly!"
"Yeah, not green enough," Tony echoed awkwardly. "So I'm developing a new element to make it more sustainable."
"Really?" Pepper was skeptical. She had no problem running a company, but understanding these inventions was another matter entirely. "Ask Yinsen if you don't believe me," Tony added.
Yinsen quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, we're developing an alternative, greener energy source."
Natasha stood in the background, analyzing the scene. Judging from the lab's setup and the behavior of Tony and Yinsen, it was clear they were working on a new element to replace palladium. And by the looks of the lab, they seemed determined to make it happen.
"Miss Potts," Natasha said, gently tapping Pepper on the shoulder, "could you point me to the bathroom?"
"Upstairs. J.A.R.V.I.S. will guide you," Pepper replied.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., please escort the lovely lady to the bathroom," Tony quipped.
"Please follow me, Miss Romanoff," J.A.R.V.I.S. responded, and a blue guiding light appeared on the floor.
"Just follow the light," Tony added, making sure Natasha knew the way.
Pepper, distracted by Natasha's question, momentarily forgot what she had intended to ask Tony. "As long as you're okay, go upstairs. I had Happy buy your favorite burgers," she said.
Tony felt a warmth in his heart. "Great, I'm starving after working all night."
As Pepper left the lab, she added, "I've got company matters to handle, so I won't be able to take care of you all the time. Just make sure to look after yourself. I'll give J.A.R.V.I.S. your meal schedule later."
Normally, if anyone else nagged Tony, he'd be annoyed, but since it was Pepper, he just replied calmly, "Okay, I'll follow your plan. But can we skip the milk at breakfast?"
Upstairs, Happy walked in with a bag of food. "Tony, you don't look so great," he commented.
"Yeah, big renovation last night. I'm just exhausted. I'll eat and take a nap."
Yinsen nodded in agreement, and Happy didn't question it further. "Alright, I brought your favorite burgers."
---
In the bathroom, Natasha knew Tony wouldn't be so crass as to install cameras there. She pulled out a small black earpiece from her bag, connected to a device resembling an MP3 player. After pressing a button, she quickly established contact with Nick Fury.
"Nick, I've got some bad news to report."
On the other end, Nick Fury, who had just gotten into his car and put on his own earpiece, immediately sensed something serious in her tone. His face darkened as he asked, "Is Tony Stark dead?"
Natasha: "??????"
...