Chapter 123

Frank was on the rooftop of a building as he looked down, in the distance, there was a rather elegant villa with many guards around it.

From a screen on his arm, he could see Ray, his former boss, calmly watching the Expo with a glass of wine in his hand.

Suddenly, scenes from the Expo appeared on the screen, where several robots started shooting at Stark before flying behind him. Chaos immediately erupted, and the police would surely concentrate all their reinforcements at the location.

After all, there were many important people in that place, including their own king.

Frank descended from the building before rushing towards the villa. It took him almost a minute to arrive, and he didn't stop; he simply pressed a button, and suddenly all the lights in the villa went out, causing panic among the guards.

Frank had investigated all these people; they were former members of the Cerberos squad who now protected Ray. Some of them were even old acquaintances.

So, he immediately began firing at all of them. In the darkness, he had the absolute advantage; it was a massacre, and the smell of burning flesh enveloped the entire villa.

Frank kicked the main door as he walked towards where Ray was. The spy camera hadn't lost sight of him; he had locked himself in a room that seemed to be reinforced.

Frank stood in front of the door, a metal plate had already descended, and on his camera, he could see that Ray was sending messages, probably asking for reinforcements.

Frank retracted his arm before striking the door, causing a dent, and the entire wall trembled.

Ray, who was inside the room, also trembled, but out of fear. He couldn't figure out who could be behind him with that kind of strength.

The only person that came to his mind was Iron Man, but he was clearly too busy at the moment to be the one. Ray had many enemies, but none with such capabilities.

The wall kept trembling and deforming more and more.

Frank finally delivered one last blow before the door collapsed, and Frank entered the room slowly, making Ray see who was attacking him.

Ray couldn't help but be surprised to see the iconic Madripoor armors that had become famous.

This one, in particular, had a white skull drawn somewhat clumsily but with a very intimidating look.

"What do you want? Why are you after me?" Ray said, stepping back slowly.

"Revenge," Frank said before removing his helmet and looking at Ray.

"Frank?" Ray said, taken aback as if he couldn't believe it.

He had always thought that Frank had died in Madripoor or would be in some hidden country with his family. He never thought he would succeed and even end up using armor.

"Frank, listen, it was nothing personal, I didn't mean to harm your wife; it was just business," Ray said fearfully.

"I understand, but I'm a vengeful person who punishes the slightest offense," Frank said, smiling faintly before making a hole in the middle of Ray's chest.

Frank took a ball from his belt before pressing the single button on it and throwing it into a corner. He quickly jumped out of the window before disappearing from the scene.

A few seconds after Frank left, the villa exploded in flames, spreading rapidly and consuming everything.

Looking at the fire consuming the village in the distance, Frank's heart had not yet calmed down, he really wanted to torture Ray like he tortured his victims, but he decided not to, he has a wife and children now, he doesn't want to touch his children with the same hands he tortured people with.

Finally he decided to tour the dangerous areas of New York to calm down, maybe he would find some criminals to punish.

...

Damian was getting ready to sleep when suddenly he felt the Bifrost opening on Earth.

"Is something happening?" Carol asked, looking at him while sitting on the bed.

"No, it's just that things are going to get more interesting," Damian said, smiling before lying down.

"Yeah, sure, Mr. Fortune Teller," Carol said, rolling her eyes before hugging his arm and closing her eyes.

Damian looked at Carol with a gentle smile as he played with her long blonde hair.

...

Jane was in a modified van with Erik and her intern, Darcy.

The three of them were waiting for a storm to arrive to take readings.

"You know, Jane, I don't understand your obsession with these things; I'm losing my beauty sleep," Darcy said bored at the wheel.

"Just shut up and don't fall asleep," Jane snapped, annoyed, as she looked at the sky. The storm she had predicted hadn't arrived.

"Jane, you're an astrophysicist, not a storm chaser," Erik sighed.

"You don't understand, these storms are really like Einstein-Rosen bridges," Jane said seriously, still looking at the sky.

"What did they fill your head within Madripoor?" Erik asked, shaking his head. What Jane was saying was impossible.

"Maybe the handsome face of the king? Or his delicious body?" Darcy chimed in from the wheel.

"Shut up," Jane said, giving Darcy an annoyed look.

"Let's just wait a bit," Jane said, looking at Erik.

"Guys? Look at that," Darcy suddenly said, pointing in the distance.

Jane and Erik turned and saw a kind of blue aurora.

"Let's go," Jane shouted at Darcy as she grabbed her camera.

The aurora in the sky suddenly lowered and formed a tornado.

"I thought you said it was a subtle aurora," Erik said, looking at the strange tornado forming in front of them.

"Get closer," Jane said, extending her arm with a camera in hand.

Darcy moved closer before turning the wheel in another direction.

"What are you doing?" Jane took the wheel and turned it in the direction of the tornado.

"I won't die just for a grade," Darcy said, fighting for the wheel with Jane.

As they fought for the wheel, they suddenly crashed into a man, and the storm dissipated out of nowhere.

Both women were in shock before quickly looking at each other and getting out of the van.

"If there are legal problems, it's your fault," Darcy complained as she ran after Jane.

"Please don't die," Jane murmured as she ran towards the man.

Jane crouched next to the man, and as soon as he woke up, he looked at her.

Both of them locked eyes for a moment before being interrupted by Darcy.

"Does he need CPR? Because I'm totally an expert," Darcy said, eyeing the handsome man they had hit.

Jane and the man looked at each other again before Jane turned to Erik.

"Where did he come from?" Jane asked; they were in the middle of nowhere.

The man regained his senses and began muttering before screaming at the sky.

"Erik, look at this," Jane said, looking at the ground, where there seemed to be runes. Jane stared fixedly at the runes as they were familiar to her.

"Father? Heimdall! Open the Bifrost!" the man yelled at the sky.

"Should we take him to the hospital?" Erik asked, looking at the man, who seemed either crazy or very drunk.

"Can't you see? He's fine," Jane said, taking photos of the ground.

"Which realm is this?" the man aggressively asked Erik.

Darcy was startled and pulled out her Taser gun, pointing it at the man.

"Do you challenge me? Thor, the god of thunder?" he asked aggressively, getting closer to Darcy when he saw her aiming something at him.

Darcy closed her eyes before pulling the trigger.

Thor let out a faint groan before falling to one knee, trying to lift himself up with his hands.

Darcy opened one eye and saw him still looking at her aggressively, so she looked at the Taser and realized she could increase the power. Without hesitation, she turned it up to the maximum.

Thor let out a final groan before trembling on the ground and falling unconscious.

Jane and Erik looked at Darcy in astonishment.

"What? He was scaring me," Darcy defended herself.

They quickly lifted Thor into the van and took him to the hospital. On the way, Jane looked at Thor suspiciously.

Finally, she stood up and looked for a first aid kit before taking a needle and approaching him.

"What are you doing?" Darcy asked, confused.

Jane ignored her and pricked Thor's arm with the needle. The needle easily pierced Thor's skin, forming a small dot of blood.

Jane let go of him, somewhat disappointed and returned to her seat to take notes.

"Tell me, don't you think in this kind of situation, you should call our big boss?" Darcy asked, occasionally glancing at the unconscious Thor.

"He's not our boss," Jane said, looking at Darcy annoyed.

"Oh, I see, he's our sugar daddy," Darcy nodded in understanding.

"You're annoying, I don't know why I told you everything," Jane ignored her.

"Come on, anyway, I would have found out; Monica was always with you. It wasn't hard to assume some things. At first, I thought you were Damian's daughter too, but you're not pretty enough to be his," Darcy joked.

Jane just covered her face with her documents and ignored her.

Finally, they took Thor to the hospital before heading back home.

....

The next day

Tony woke up to the sound of his phone. He couldn't help but frown before reaching out to find it.

When he found it, he answered and put it to his ear.

"Hmm?"

"Tony, I sent you a message several days ago to meet today, half an hour ago," Fury said, annoyed.

"For starters, I didn't respond, so you can't assume I'm going. Also, why do you have meetings so early? It's your fault," Tony said sleepily.

"It's 11 in the morning, you know what? Forget it, don't come," Fury said, getting ready to hang up.

"Wait, I'll come. I need you to do me a favor, send me your location," Tony said, getting up with a groan.

"Fine," Fury said, hanging up the call.

Tony got up lazily before putting on his armor and flying to the meeting point.

He was still tired from yesterday's fight, and many things needed to be resolved, so he slept late.

Tony flew for a few minutes until he landed in a fairly remote warehouse. A couple of agents were at the door, and they let him pass when they saw him.

Looking around, he saw a desk, two chairs on each side, and some documents.

Approaching the desk, he sat down, and the chair creaked under his weight. He extended his hand and picked up one of the files.

"Avengers Project," Tony murmured.

"I'm not sure if I should let you read that," Fury sighed as he approached Tony and sat across from him.

"What's the matter? Don't want me in your little superhero group anymore?" Tony asked, mocking.

"Tony, SHIELD has always been keeping an eye on you, although to a lesser extent before your abduction. After all, your father was one of SHIELD's founders," Fury said, looking at Tony.

Tony was secretly surprised as he really didn't know that.

"Despite many flaws, you have grown and surpassed what I ever thought possible," Fury continued.

Tony frowned, not liking where this was going. It seemed like a typical manipulation tactic.

"But Tony, the world is bigger than you think, and dangers lurk everywhere," Fury said.

Tony just looked at Fury in silence. After all, maybe he knew more than Fury thought.

"The universe is full of threats, extraterrestrial civilizations that could easily wipe out Earth, and even gods," Fury said, looking at Tony.

"Gods?" Tony asked, looking at Fury strangely.

"Indeed, they exist, though you could also see them as ridiculously powerful extraterrestrials," Fury said, seeing Tony's expression.

"That's why I initiated this project, to gather exceptional individuals who can protect Earth from these threats," Fury explained.

"For now, I want you to be a consultant for SHIELD. There are some things we need your help with."

"I'm afraid you don't have enough funds to hire me, besides, I really don't like working with other people," Tony said, smiling faintly.

"Tony, this goes beyond personality profiles. The world needs your help. Call me paranoid, but I feel that things are going to get bad."

"We can discuss your reward," Fury said, frowning when he saw that Tony didn't say anything.

"Fine, I'll help. After all, SHIELD is also partly mine," Tony said, looking at Fury with an arrogant smile.

"I'll be rewarded for yesterday's battle. I want Stern to host the ceremony, and I'll write his script. I'll make it really cheesy," Tony laughed as he stood up.

"I'll see what I can do," Fury nodded.

"See you," Tony said, leaving the hangar before flying back home.

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