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Some truths remain unspoken until the moment words finally give them form, and until then, time only magnifies the weight of speculation. But once spoken, some truths are as glaring and undeniable as lice crawling across a bald head.
Arthur's words may have sounded insane, but Coulson could see the logic in them clearly. That understanding made their conversation flow with ease.
Out on the balcony, the two men spoke at length, discussing, among other things, the exporting of advanced technologies.
On this matter, Coulson fully supported Arthur's vision: proceed efficiently, but raise humanity's scientific and technological level step by step.
Time, after all, is the greatest cure.
It mends the rifts caused by sudden leaps in progress, letting humanity naturally absorb concepts that once seemed impossible.
When the telephone was first invented, who could have imagined it one day doubling as a computer, or becoming the means for people on opposite ends of the world to speak face-to-face?
What once sounded like myths, within just a few generations, became commonplace.
Time always grants humanity far too many surprises.
From any single page torn out of technological history, the same events, if forced abruptly, could drive people insane. But when allowed to unfold in their natural rhythm, even the most fantastic breakthroughs feel seamless.
On this matter, Arthur and Coulson found common ground, their discussion branching into countless other topics.
Arthur spoke of his thoughts when he first saved Coulson, of the drifting solitude he endured in space, and the merciless hardships he faced while searching for a way back home.
He traced for Coulson the jagged path of those long passing years, leaving him stunned and filled with reverence.
Very few could survive a seventy-year leap across time and still blend quietly into this Earth. Fewer still could leave a peaceful world behind, venture into the abyss of outer space, and maintain their composure.
That kind of despair is impossible to grasp without living it.
Even Coulson himself, when Arthur hurled him into Asgard, the loneliness almost broke him; on Xandar, the sheer foreignness of everything weighed unbearably upon him.
But Arthur… Arthur had been thrown into prison, utterly blindsided, sentenced before he could even understand what had happened.
To break free was already the kindest choice. Any later, madness might have consumed him enough to drag the entire prison into despair alongside him.
Only when dinner was finally ready did the two of them return inside.
At first, Arthur was the one who enjoyed Banner's cooking the most. Later on, though, Tony quickly stole that title for himself.
Now, with nearly everyone gathered together, the entire Superhero Alliance felt like one big family. A few members were still missing, but the atmosphere crackled with warmth and laughter.
"This feels just like a year-end party…" Arthur glanced at the crowded room and couldn't hold back a laugh. "Come now, my friends, tonight we eat and drink our fill!"
Cheers erupted instantly, and soon every single person left the table with a full belly and a satisfied grin.
They drank freely, ate until bursting, and sprawled across the floor trading wild stories. Almost everyone there was a seasoned adventurer, each with their own brand of arrogance and scars. And once Tony, playboy among playboys, loosened up the mood, the chatter ignited like wildfire.
In one corner, Natasha leaned in with Coulson to quietly discuss future operations. Meanwhile, Tony grinned at his glass while secretly ordering J.A.R.V.I.S. to slip into Xandar's central network and dig up every scrap of data possible.
To be fair, that little stunt nearly blew their cover!
For a brief, gut-wrenching moment, Arthur imagined their merry dinner dissolving into an armed standoff against the Nova Corps.
Fortunately, the crisis passed at the last possible second!
Even better, J.A.R.V.I.S., dependable as ever, managed to pull crucial intel right out from under their noses.
It was reckless. It was madness. And yet Arthur understood exactly why.
Tony had always stood as the brilliant spearpoint of Earth's weapons and technology. But now, after seeing the wider universe with his own eyes, he knew how small Earth still was. The more he learned, the more he realized how much he didn't know.
Like a shriveled sponge, he desperately needed to absorb knowledge, to soak up everything he could… because Earth was counting on him to help drag it forward.
Arthur felt the same gnawing urgency, a hunger so sharp that even stealing foreign technologies outright felt like a desperate necessity.
After dinner, when the celebration had wound down, Arthur exhaled a strange sigh of relief as he watched his comrades scattering to their tasks.
Tony worked feverishly to sort through the new data, Banner supported him with steady hands, and even little Spider-Man threw himself into the processing. T'Challa quietly drafted an official report for his father, hoping to gain royal approval to share Wakanda's cutting-edge technology openly with Camp Lehigh.
Everyone contributed in their own way, except Venom.
That idiot was gnawing at the secret facility's transmission device, using it to try and sharpen his teeth.
Naïve and ridiculous, like a child with too much power, Arthur almost marched over and beat him half to death, simply out of exasperation!
Seeing everyone so immersed in their work, Arthur couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. He had been holding back on one particular plan for far too long.
In truth, he had always intended to draft it, and had even mentioned it to Tony in passing, but Tony's plate was always overflowing with other priorities.
Now, though, Arthur felt that if he didn't put it forward immediately, it might get buried until next year.
That night, he sat in silence, pouring all his thoughts into shaping the idea. It was an enormous undertaking, the kind of project that could redefine Earth's relationship with the universe. But realistic execution wouldn't come easy. The scope was too vast, the challenges too unforgiving, and success would hinge on rigorous calculations Arthur couldn't possibly manage alone.
By dawn, what he had produced was little more than an empty framework, an outline without substance. A title, nothing else.
Yet when Arthur handed the thin draft to Tony the next morning, it set off an explosion.
Tony jumped straight up from his chair, his eyes wide as though he'd been shocked.
"Are you serious? Hey, I'm asking you, are you actually serious about this? Because you know this isn't some kind of joke! If we really go through with this… oh, God, the mind of an old man is terrifying!"
His loud, animated outburst snapped everyone else's attention. One by one, the team drifted over as Tony brandished the proposal like it was a bomb about to go off.
"Hey, everyone, look at this! Just look at the name he's written here… this old man has gone and cooked up a massive plan!"
Tony shook the front page dramatically, pointing straight at the bold words on the cover:
"The Lunar Core Reconstruction Plan!"
(End of Chapter)