The Bald Man Kept Outside

"I am Iron Man… You think you’re the only superhero?"

That evening, Tony Stark returned to his seaside villa, only to be stopped outside by a one-eyed bald man so dark he practically did not reflect light.

"Mr. Stark, there are actually many others like you. You simply don’t know it."

"Who are you? Some rabid superhero fan?"

Stark raised an eyebrow and mocked him.

He had seen plenty of people who came looking for trouble out of nowhere. Normally, security handled such matters, and few people could make it past the perimeter to stand before him.

As for what this Black Charcoal Head had said about others like him…

Stark thought of that stuffed rat that had pinned Mark II down and beaten it up, and his mood immediately soured.

"Were my security guards slacking off, or did you use some special method?"

The one-eyed bald man before him wore a black leather coat and carried an imposing air. He did not look ordinary, and since he had mentioned superheroes, perhaps he really did know something.

Faced with Tony Stark’s flippant attitude, Nick Fury could not help twitching his lips. He had not wanted to block Tony Stark at the door like some hater either, but he had no choice. S.H.I.E.L.D. could not breach the defense system in Tony Stark’s home.

Though that made the agency’s programmers seem pretty pathetic, it also made Nick Fury even more determined to bring Tony Stark into his Avengers initiative.

Stark’s home defense system had not originally been so strict. However, after Kraft hacked it, Stark had upgraded Jarvis several times. Then Obadiah Stane had secretly broken into his home and nearly killed him, so Stark had become far more stringent about screening anyone entering or leaving. As a result, Nick Fury could not sneak into Stark’s home and show off as he had planned.

Without the stylish entrance of silently appearing inside Stark’s home, Stark naturally did not take Nick Fury all that seriously now.

"Nick Fury, head of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Unable to intimidate Tony Stark as planned, Director Fury chose to get straight to the point and introduced himself.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.? That agent… um…"

"Coulson."

"Right, I was just about to say that."

Stark snapped his fingers and smoothly covered for himself without the slightest embarrassment. His attitude improved a little as well, since Coulson had been quite helpful during the Obadiah incident.

"Come in and have a seat."

Stark tilted his head toward Fury, then opened the villa door.

"Jarvis."

"Welcome home, sir."

Jarvis turned on the lights in the hall, and Stark casually gestured inside.

"Sit wherever you like. Want something to drink?"

"No."

Nick Fury shook his head. As a veteran agent, he basically never consumed food or drink that was outside his control, even in Tony Stark’s home.

"So, what did you come to see me about?"

Stark poured himself a drink, dropped onto the middle of the couch, and lounged back lazily.

"I want to talk to you about forming the Avengers."

"The Avengers? What’s that, the name of a rock band? Sounds pretty good."

Stark swirled his glass, the ice cubes clinking crisply against the glass.

"No. It is an organization, or rather a team, that gathers people with special abilities like yours."

Nick Fury ignored Stark’s teasing and explained.

"Wow, not a bad idea." Stark took a sip of his drink, then curled his lips into a smile as he asked Nick Fury, "So, how much salary are you planning to pay me?"

That was a rejection. With Tony Stark’s net worth, no amount of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s funding could afford his salary.

Nick Fury understood the implication. He gave Stark a deep look, then rose to take his leave.

"I will come back for you."

"Remember to make an appointment next time."

Stark raised his glass, considering that a farewell.

Kraft, who had been holed up in his laboratory lately, finally paid another visit to the FEAST Homeless Shelter built by Martin Lee.

Come to think of it, this had something to do with Tony Stark. Because of his battle with Obadiah, New York City had gained quite a few injured people. As a charity, the FEAST Homeless Shelter not only took in homeless people but occasionally served as a temporary hospital for poor people who could not afford hospitalization.

Although Stark Industries had stepped in to provide compensation this time, hospitals in America, especially New York, were not places you could stay in just because you had money. So the shelter still took in quite a few patients.

Originally, this had little to do with Kraft. But Alice, that softhearted robot, could not bear to see others suffer. After learning about it, she often went over to help on her own. Since the shelter had been short-staffed recently, she ran to the laboratory and dragged Kraft along while he was playing with a wrench inside.

"Brother! The patient in bed five needs their dressing changed! Quinn, help me throw these things into the trash!"

When helping patients, Alice seemed like an entirely different person. She was incredibly forceful. Not only did she order Kraft around, she even had Quinn the dog helping as an assistant.

"Coming, coming…"

After exchanging a look with Quinn, who was carrying a bag of trash toward the bin, Kraft helplessly picked up the bandages and medicine and headed for bed five.

Could it be that the personality I adjusted for Alice only showed up at times like this?

Kraft sighed as he skillfully changed the wounded patient’s dressing. He had become very familiar with this sort of thing when he was young. During the days after he and Martin escaped from the Magia Gang, the father and son had been injured almost every day.

"Hey! Kraft! Your sister is much cuter than you! You should learn from her!"

While he was busy, Peter Parker popped out from somewhere, reached over to pat Kraft’s shoulder, and teased him.

Kraft turned his head and gave him a sidelong glance.

Was he asking to be taught a lesson?

This was the first time Peter Parker had taken the initiative to provoke Kraft, and it surprised Kraft slightly.

Unfortunately, Peter’s toughness did not last long. After Kraft glanced at him, he seemed to recall his miserable past experiences and instantly backed down again.

"By the way, how did you train Quinn? He’s so well-behaved."

Peter, choosing self-preservation, decisively changed the subject.

However, Kraft did not answer. Instead, he frowned and looked Peter up and down.

"W-what is it…"

Peter Parker quietly shifted half a step back, watching Kraft warily. Given Kraft’s long record of misdeeds, he could not help being careful.

Kraft continued staring silently at Peter Parker, his gaze repeatedly sweeping over Peter’s face until Peter’s skin crawled.

Just as Peter Parker could no longer resist the urge to run away, Kraft finally spoke.

"Where are your glasses?"

Thanks to Bai Jiushi, You Canye, and Ye Feng Who Is Losing Weight for the tips.

Actually, the movie version was pretty unreasonable too. Jarvis clearly existed in Stark’s home, yet after Obadiah and Fury got in, even if Jarvis could not stop them, he never even warned Stark.

Over the weekend, Zhongyuan was put in a new environment, and there was construction going on outside. He was probably frightened. He was incredibly obedient while curled up in my arms, otherwise he hid under the bed or behind the curtains. He just would not eat much, so he probably needed time to adjust.