Mr. Stark waved his hand, signaling for everyone to sit. The four of them gathered around a small table. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes, tapped one free, and offered it to Ethan and Spider-Man. Spider-Man quickly waved his hands, saying he didn't smoke, and Ethan declined as well.
Mr. Stark placed the cigarette between his lips, and Nova hurried to light it for him. He inhaled deeply, exhaled a thin stream of smoke, and asked,"Have you ever seen movies like Starship Troopers or Alien?"
Everyone nodded. Nova spoke first.
"I remember watching Alien back in fifth grade. It scared me half to death. At night, I was terrified that a facehugger would leap out from some dark corner when I went to the bathroom."
Spider-Man raised his hand. Seeing all eyes on him, he said awkwardly,"I watched Edge of Tomorrow with Tom Cruise. The whole idea of dying, respawning, and fighting again really stuck with me."
Dr. Ethan, however, went straight to the point. With a grave look, he asked,"Tony, you're not suggesting aliens are about to invade Earth, are you?"
Mr. Stark smiled faintly."This isn't an exaggeration. In fact, a few months ago, aliens already visited Earth. But the one who came was a god."
"A god?"
The three of them spoke in unison, eyes filled with curiosity.
Satisfied with their astonishment, Mr. Stark continued,"That's right, a god Thor from Norse mythology. But Thor, with his big head and thick neck, isn't the brightest. He came to experience mortal life. Even though he carries the title of alien, deep down he's no different from a human."
"What? And you never told me?" Nova clutched his arm in protest, shaking it. Mr. Stark laughed heartily and held her hand.
"I didn't want you to worry. The matter has already been sealed by S.H.I.E.L.D. Other than those directly involved, no one knows a thing."
Everything suddenly clicked for the others. So the legendary "Area 7" really did exist. Who knew, maybe they were dissecting aliens right now.
Spider-Man pressed on,"If the alien you mentioned was a good one, then why did you scare us just now, saying an unprecedented disaster is about to strike?"
Mr. Stark chuckled."Among humans there are both good people and bad. Don't you think it's the same with aliens?"
Spider-Man instantly understood."So this time, the aliens are hostile? Then what is their goal?"
"That's exactly why I asked you here. These aliens arriving now are highly advanced. They not only possess powerful individual combat weapons, but also massive biological flight armor that adapts to multiple terrains and environments for battle. And their target is New York."
The three of them instantly looked grim. The word "aliens" alone was terrifying, but coupled with advanced weapons, it left them feeling powerless.
"Mr. Stark, since their primary target is New York, can't we issue an evacuation order in advance and prepare for war?"
Spider-Man, born from the streets, didn't think of running when faced with alien attacks. His first instinct was to fight.
New York was where he had grown up. If someone wanted to destroy the city that raised him, naturally he would resist.
"I've considered that. But do you think the good citizens of New York would listen?"
The truth was, after the recent virus outbreak, Mr. Stark had realized just how strange people could be. Everyone had rights freedom of thought, freedom of democracy, even freedom in life and death. But the stupidity he had witnessed truly reshaped his worldview.
So-called "happy education" was a scam. As the ancients said, "Endure the hardest of hardships to become the best among men" and there was truth to that.
Hearing this, the others fell silent. To be fair, had they not come to know Mr. Stark personally, if some stranger suddenly told them, "Aliens are invading New York tomorrow, run for your lives," they would've laughed in his face and walked away.
Faced with death, even Americans who prided themselves on freedom, equality, and fraternity wouldn't flinch. How could a mere alien scare them?
They'd probably say, "You're lucky we don't turn you into a specimen. I'll even pose for a selfie with an alien and upload it to YouTube or Facebook!"
Spider-Man lowered his head, realizing his plan had failed.
Ethan remained silent. Coming from a small country in central Europe, he felt no particular attachment to America or New York. For him, as long as he lived with his family, anywhere in the world could be home.
"Tony, I don't know how you learned about this alien invasion, but do you know what their goal is?"
Everyone perked up. Yes, why would aliens invade Earth? Just as Europeans once discovered the New World in search of wealth and expansion, these aliens must have their reasons.
Surely they weren't here for Earth's oil and natural gas?
Mr. Stark thought for a moment. Sooner or later, everyone would know. These three were his confidants. He finally said,"They're here for the Tesseract."
"The Tesseract?"
The three of them were baffled. The name meant nothing to them. It was like two cavemen talking: one said, "Someone's coming to steal from us," and the other asked, "Are they stealing our leg of lamb?" To which the first replied, "No, they're here to steal our smartphones."
Mr. Stark gave a brief explanation of the Tesseract, making Spider-Man and Ethan's eyes shine.
They had never imagined such a miraculous object could exist something that allowed spatial teleportation. Wasn't this what physics referred to as a wormhole?
That was the highest level of transportation humanity could imagine.
Even in science fiction novels, interstellar travel was envisioned this way and those were only theories. Yet now Mr. Stark was speaking of something real.
It was like a devout Catholic seeing the very cross Jesus had borne and discovering it still held power.
Nova, however, wasn't as shocked. After all, in countless fantasy and sci-fi stories in recent years, artifacts like "space gems" had appeared.
Even in the legends of the East, among the Ten Ancient Divine Artifacts, there were things like the Sword, the Axe, and the Mirror. The Mirror not only allowed spatial travel but even time travel.
Though myth and legend, the idea was already there. So for Nova, the existence of a Tesseract capable of spatial traversal wasn't so surprising.
(End of Chapter)
Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon
https://patreon.com/Glimmer09