"We see this as a very serious accident, Director Stark."

Mr. President himself sat in his chair and looked at Tony Stark, who was standing across from his desk.

"Or rather, I personally don't think it's an exaggeration to say it's a disaster." He said.

"I may agree with you, sir." Tony said expressionlessly.

Mr. President cupped his chin and seemed to ponder for a moment.

"Let me sort it out," he said, "I saw you say in your report that a lot of people, including yourself, superheroes, and high-level people from all walks of life, you have been locked up in alien spaceships before?" ”

"Yes, sir."

"In other words, for a very long period of time, the operation of many key systems in our world was actually handed over to extraterrestrial spies?"

"Exactly."

"And now you're telling me you're back, and those aliens have been driven away," Mr. President owed, "and the credit has nothing to do with you, S.H.I.E.L.D., or the Avengers." You said that it was an institution called ...... 'Heavenly Sword' that protected this world? ”

"It's true." Tony nodded in confirmation, "The commander of the Heavenly Sword, the Black Knight, detected the signs of an alien invasion in time and prepared a set of practical and effective countermeasures. The alien assault was disintegrated by them before it took shape, and all of our trapped people were rescued by them. ”

"Okay." Mr. President did not comment on these for the time being, but continued, "Leaving this part aside, I see that you mentioned it in your report...... The problem hasn't been solved yet? ”

"Yes. We haven't found a valid solution to crack the Skrull's mimicry abilities, which means we can't find them from humans. "Mr. Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four is still looking for a solution, but making progress...... It may take some time. ”

Mr. President frowned: "You might as well tell me directly, you are helpless." ”

"Yes, sir, I'm helpless." Tony said calmly, "All along. ”

"So Director Stark, tell me...... If you have nothing to do about the problem of world peace, if you are not up to your job...... So why should I let you sit in this position and no one else? ”

Tony looked at him expressionlessly, "You have a point, sir. In fact...... I'm thinking about that too. ”

***

Aegis, floating carrier, thousands of meters in height.

"Report, the commander has boarded the ship!"

"Roger. The northwest corner hatch has been opened. ”

Iron Man dragged a golden arc through the clouds and landed on the deck of the mothership with a wave of transparent air. He walked across the deck into the promenade as agents on either side of the road saluted him straight.

Mary Hill has been waiting here for a long time. She hugged her arms a little stiffly when she saw Iron Man: "Better tell me you're the deity this time, the aliens have had enough of me a little lately." ”

"It's me, Ciel." Tony lifted his helmet and paused, "At least I believe I am." ”

"Well, I guess that's enough."

Ciel sighed and led him inside.

"How's it going over here?" Tony asked, "How many Skrulls did we find?" ”

"There aren't many, they're all irrelevant." Hill sighed, "Most of the Skrulls slipped away before their disguised subjects returned, and we've only caught a few that are a little slower, but not very meaningful.

Hasn't there been any progress on Richards' side yet? If Mr. Fantastic doesn't give us a little help, I don't know how long this ship will be in the sky. ”

"There's still an effort over there, telling everyone to do their job."

Tony closed his mouth and was silent for a while, then asked, "If Nick Fury was still around, he wouldn't have let things fall out like this, would he?" ”

Hill didn't answer directly. But while the two were talking, they had already arrived at the door of the director's office.

Hill silently unlocked the authentication lock and opened the door: "Why don't you just ask him personally?" ”

Tony stood outside the door and looked inside, only to see that the former S.H.I.E.L.D. chief, Nick Fury, was sitting in the office chair again, just as they had last met.

Ciel and Fury exchanged glances, then exited and closed the door.

Tony stood in the doorway and looked at Fury for a few moments until Fury stretched out his hand and motioned, "Sit down." ”

He acted like it was still his office.

Tony ignored it and asked straight to the point, "What are you here to say?" If you come all the way to tell me that I'm a failure, that this whole thing is a disaster, then don't forget it, someone has already said it before you. ”

Fury leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs: "You went to talk to Mr. President?" ”

"Yes."

Fury pondered for a few seconds and asked, "You said you didn't want to go on?" ”

"You're still well-informed."

"I may no longer be around the world, but I still have my own channels." Fury said calmly, "Yes, I know that. ”

"There's nothing more to talk about." Tony said dryly, "I thought I could do this myself, and I thought that being the S.H.I.E.L.D. chief would help me do my job better...... Protect the world. But I found out that I was wrong, that I couldn't do it, that I couldn't do it. It's beyond my means, I'm just an arrogant, self-defeating idiot, so the world pays for it. S.H.I.E.L.D. ...... This is simply a mistake. ”

Nick Fury rests his elbows on the armrests and holds his chin in his hands.

"So that's what you think? Is it all your responsibility? ”

"Otherwise, who else could it be?" Tony squinted at the white tiles of his office, "If you were still around, things wouldn't have come to this." ”

"I'm glad you see it that way," Fury said, "but you know, when I was here, Aegis was crawling with Hydra spies. And for a long time, I really didn't notice it. ”

Tony didn't speak.

"Well, it's not bad if you're determined to abdicate." Fury said, "You're not really fit to do this, Stark. The good news is that things haven't gotten to the worst, and it's not too late for you to realize by now. Only, do you think about who should take your place? ”

"I ...... I don't know, I haven't thought about it yet. Tony shook his head, "But I think you look like a good fit." ”

Fury shook his head: "My time has passed, and those old guys won't agree to me coming back to sit in this position." And there's nothing bad about my retirement, and I haven't come back to take charge of Aegis yet. It's just that if you want to, I have one that may not be worse than me...... Probably a better person than me. ”

Tony was stunned: "Who?" ”

S.H.I.E.L.D. chief more suitable than Fury? Is there really such a person in the world?

"A guy you're no stranger to either." Fury leaned back in his chair and pondered for a moment before he slowly uttered the name, "Michael Paso." ”