They Won’t Give Us Time

"Pepper, don’t worry."

"I’m not who I used to be."

After receiving word of the meeting location, Tony looked at Pepper, who was watching him from the side. His mask retracted, revealing his handsome face, and a confident smile appeared on his lips.

"Mm, I believe in you."

Pepper also knew that Tony had evolved more times than she had. With the added help of his armor, he was incredibly powerful, so she smiled as she spoke.

"Sir, could it be that Mr. Harvey foresaw this situation and deliberately had you stay on Earth?"

Jarvis asked.

"With his abilities, that isn’t impossible."

"Still, it’s fortunate he had me stay on Earth."

"Otherwise, I might’ve gone off to have fun in space and come home to find it gone. That would’ve been a real disaster."

Knowing the gathering would take place the day after tomorrow, Tony removed his armor and felt utterly relaxed and cheerful.

Tony felt no fear whatsoever in the face of the incoming enemy. Instead, he was filled with fighting spirit, all because of his strength.

"This time, S.H.I.E.L.D. seems to be planning to bring in Hulk."

Jarvis said after hearing this.

"You mean Bruce Banner, the man who has power but doesn’t dare use it and won’t find a way to control it?"

Tony thought for a moment after hearing Jarvis.

With Jarvis around, even matters the military deliberately tried to keep under wraps could not escape his notice. Naturally, Tony knew about Hulk.

"Yes."

Jarvis replied.

"If they can really bring him in…"

"Then this Avengers Initiative will finally look somewhat like an Avengers Initiative."

A look of interest appeared in Tony’s eyes after hearing Jarvis’s report.

Without Hulk, the Avengers Initiative had only one real combatant: Tony himself.

After all, only he could step onto the battlefield when facing truly powerful enemies.

People like Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Captain America could be extremely useful against certain enemies on Earth.

But against those invulnerable enemies from space, being able to survive would already be lucky, let alone proving useful.

However, adding Hulk to the mix would change everything.

Even if Bruce Banner could not perfectly control Hulk’s strength, all he needed to do was transform and choose the right battlefield.

Tony had also looked into Hulk. He was the kind of being who could shrug off bullets and tear tanks apart with his bare hands.

By the standards of the cosmos, someone like that counted as a superpowered individual.

Bruce Banner not only refused to use his power, he was even afraid of the power inside him.

Tony could understand that mindset. Bruce Banner was exactly the kind of person Harvey had mentioned before, someone afraid of being treated as an outsider.

Moreover, Bruce Banner feared that after transforming, he would unconsciously destroy everything around him.

But Tony would make Bruce Banner understand that even if Hulk went berserk, Tony could forcibly stop him.

Once Bruce Banner knew that, he definitely would not fear his own power so much anymore.

Tony did not know how strong the enemy would be this time, but he was not worried.

After all, the alien invasion Harvey had mentioned was likely referring to this unknown enemy invading Earth.

It was not like the Destroyer from before. Tony had simply interfered in that matter on his own initiative.

Otherwise, the other side would likely have retreated after killing Thor.

Still, Tony did not regret interfering, because he had gained Uru metal and Thor’s friendship.

He just did not know what Thor had been doing. More than half a year had passed, yet Thor had not come to Earth to visit.

According to Thor, Tony knew that Thor could travel back and forth between Asgard and Earth hundreds of times a day.

If Tony had that kind of ability and could travel between Earth and space at will…

He would definitely run off into space every day. He had no idea what had been keeping Thor occupied.

Thinking of Thor, Tony became thoughtful.

If the Avengers Initiative could recruit Thor as well, then it would truly have the power to protect Earth.

Otherwise, the strength of Tony and Hulk alone might still not be enough.

But Tony was not worried. If a truly powerful enemy attacked, Earth still had Ancient One, Sorcerer Supreme, and God King Odin.

Harvey was also on Earth. Though Harvey did not care about Earth…

If the enemy blew up Harvey’s home, Harvey might casually deal with them in one move.

Although drawing the battlefield to New York would cause some casualties, if they could not defeat the enemy…

Then it would no longer be a matter of merely a few casualties, but immeasurable destruction.

Tony still understood the principle of not sacrificing the greater for the lesser.

The next morning.

Nick Fury personally went to find Captain America Steve Rogers.

He knew Tony did not have a very good impression of S.H.I.E.L.D., so trying to command Tony was unrealistic.

And within the Avengers Initiative, aside from Tony, Captain America Steve Rogers was the strongest.

Nick Fury also knew that during this period, Steve Rogers had been training like mad. Not only had his strength returned to its former peak, it had become even greater.

When facing enemies from space, it was best to have these superhuman heroes deal with them.

Unless absolutely necessary, they would never consider using large missiles or Mushroom Clouds. Once deployed, the affected area would be too vast, and the casualties would be severe.

"You’re saying this enemy came from space?"

"You’re sure you’re not joking with me?"

Steve punched the sandbag. With a bang, it flew away and slammed heavily into the ground. He turned back with an expression that plainly asked whether Nick Fury was messing with him.

"I already told you before."

"Times have changed. Earth has entered the sights of other civilizations in the cosmos."

"Enemies from space could arrive at any time."

Nick Fury’s eyelids twitched slightly at the strength Steve displayed as he spoke.

"You must have provoked them on your own, right?"

Steve did not believe him at all.

"We were only studying the Tesseract. We had no intention of activating it."

"But they activated the Tesseract themselves, opened a door, and came to Earth."

Hearing that, Nick Fury knew he could not hide it from Steve, so he explained.

"The Tesseract is too dangerous. Don’t study it carelessly."

"That isn’t something humanity can control yet."

Steve had expected as much, but hearing Nick Fury admit it still left him speechless.

"I would prefer to wait until our technology is more advanced before studying it further."

"But the other civilizations of the cosmos won’t give us that much time."

Nick Fury replied.

"That’s complete bullshit."

Steve did not believe him at all.

"Tony Stark will also be at this gathering."

Seeing Steve’s expression, Nick Fury paused before speaking.

"Where are we gathering?"

Steve’s expression immediately changed when he heard Tony’s name.

"Just come with me."

Nick Fury said with a smile.

They had kept a close watch on all of Tony’s movements, so naturally, they knew that Steve and Tony had some history between them.

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