When Nick Fury arrived at the donut shop with Howard's belongings in tow, he expected to find Tony Stark in the same desperate, self-destructive state that Natasha had described in her recent reports. Instead, he discovered the billionaire genius lounging casually on top of a giant donut sign, wearing designer sunglasses and eating a chocolate glazed donut with obvious relish.
The picture of relaxation was so complete that Tony looked like he was on vacation rather than dying of palladium poisoning.
Nick Fury turned his head and glared at Natasha with his remaining eye, the expression clearly communicating: Is this what you meant by "dying"?
"I think he looks quite comfortable," Natasha admitted, her own confusion evident. Just a few days ago, Tony had been engaging in increasingly reckless behavior—wearing his armor for days at a time, using repulsors to explode watermelons for entertainment, and consuming alcohol with a desperation that suggested someone trying to drink away his remaining time.
The transformation was so dramatic that it seemed almost impossible.
"Get down from there!" Nick Fury shouted, his voice carrying the authority of someone accustomed to being obeyed without question.
Tony looked down at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director with obvious irritation. Nick Fury represented everything Tony disliked about government overreach—the presumption that bureaucrats could tell him what to do, the assumption that his resources were available for their use, and the general attitude that his privacy was subject to their convenience.
"What are you doing?" Nick continued, his voice rising with frustration. "Hasn't anyone told you that it's extremely rude to eat on someone else's store sign?"
Tony raised his eyebrows and whispered something to his AI assistant. A minute later, he looked back down at Nick Fury with a provocative smile. "It's my store now."
The casual display of wealth was perfectly calculated to irritate the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director. For Tony, purchasing the small donut shop had been a trivial expense—probably less than he typically spent on a single bottle of wine. But for Nick Fury, who had to justify every budget request to a panel of increasingly skeptical officials, such casual extravagance represented exactly the kind of financial freedom he desperately needed.
The Security Council had been highly critical of his proposal to assemble a team of enhanced individuals, and even after the Lizard and Green Goblin rampage had demonstrated the necessity of such a group, funding remained a constant challenge. Without adequate resources, the Avengers Initiative would remain nothing more than an ambitious theory.
Nick Fury's strategy had always been to acquire what he needed through persuasion, manipulation, or creative reinterpretation of existing resources. The prospect of adding Tony Stark to his team would solve his funding problems permanently, while recruiting Ben Parker would provide access to the self-healing serum at cost.
His plan was elegantly simple: help Tony in his moment of crisis, then leverage the resulting gratitude into long-term cooperation. As for Ben Parker, Nick assumed that like most teenagers, he would be eager to play superhero if given the proper motivation and equipment.
The plan was perfect in theory, but reality was proving more complicated than anticipated.
Tony eventually climbed down from the donut sign, deactivated his armor, and followed Nick Fury into the shop. He whistled appreciatively at Natasha as he passed, though his attention was focused primarily on discovering what "good stuff" the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director had brought him.
"Tony Stark, palladium poisoning doesn't feel very pleasant, does it?" Nick said, settling into a booth and adopting the relaxed demeanor of someone who held all the cards.
Tony raised his eyebrows in mild surprise. "It seems Ben was right. Anyone with half a brain has figured out that I'm not going to live much longer."
The casual reference to Ben Parker immediately caught Nick Fury's attention, but Tony continued before he could pursue the comment.
"We can help you!" Nick declared, ready to reveal Howard's research and claim credit for providing the solution.
But Tony's reaction was unexpected. Instead of gratitude or relief, he looked annoyed. "Why, did you also discover a new element?"
Nick Fury caught the word "also" immediately. He didn't believe there was anyone else in the world capable of discovering new elements, which meant Tony must have succeeded in surpassing his father's theoretical work. If that were true, then his entire negotiating position had just collapsed.
Tony seemed to realize he had said too much and immediately changed the subject. While he had accepted his defeat to Ben in the matter of the new element, he had no intention of publicizing his failure to the world.
But Nick Fury couldn't let the topic drop. All of his leverage depended on Tony's desperate need for a solution to his medical crisis. If Tony had already found an alternative, then the carefully planned negotiation would be pointless.
"You really discovered a new element, didn't you?" Nick pressed, his voice carrying a hint of desperation.
Tony remained silent, but his expression grew increasingly unfriendly. Nick Fury, recognizing that his position was weakening, fell back on the intimidation tactics he typically used with subordinates.
"Do you think you're the first person to discover a new element?" Nick said, his voice carrying deliberate condescension. "Let me tell you something—you're so arrogant that you think you're a genius, but in fact, someone already discovered the existence of new elements decades ago!"
The words hit Tony like physical blows. He had been in a relatively good mood following his successful synthesis of the Zanium element, but Nick Fury's comments reopened wounds that had barely begun to heal. The reminder of his failure to beat Ben to the discovery was bad enough, but the suggestion that he was arrogant and delusional was intolerable.
Tony slammed his hands on the table, causing Nick Fury to realize immediately that he had misjudged the situation. The man in front of him wasn't a desperate subordinate—he was a potential financial backer who could walk away at any moment.
"I don't need you to remind me of my failure!" Tony snapped, his voice carrying genuine anger.
Nick Fury was completely confused. Tony's reaction suggested that he already knew about Howard's theoretical work, but that didn't align with any of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence. How could Tony know about research that had been classified for decades?
"What do you know about Howard?" Nick asked cautiously.
Tony looked at him as if he had spoken a foreign language. "Howard Stark, your father," Nick clarified. "What do you know about his work?"
The atmosphere in the room shifted again. Tony's expression became complicated, showing a mixture of annoyance, confusion, and reluctant curiosity. Nick Fury, meanwhile, was growing increasingly bewildered by Tony's responses.
A moment later, both men spoke simultaneously:
"So the person you're talking about who discovered the new element wasn't Howard?"
"So you're saying that my dad discovered new elements too?"
Both men stared at each other in shock, the same thought running through their minds: What the hell is going on?
For Nick Fury, the revelation that someone else had contacted Tony before him and had also discovered new elements represented a significant security concern. An unknown party with advanced scientific capabilities had not only approached his potential recruit but had apparently solved the very problem that Nick had planned to use as leverage.
More importantly, his funding strategy was now in jeopardy.
For Tony Stark, this was yet another blow to his already battered ego. It wasn't enough that Ben had discovered a new element—now he was learning that his father had apparently been working on the same problem decades earlier.
Tony held out his hand toward Nick Fury with barely controlled anger. "Where's the evidence? Give me the evidence that Howard discovered a new element!"
Nick Fury found himself in an impossible position. Due to the technological limitations of Howard's era, the elder Stark had never actually synthesized a new element. He had simply proposed the theoretical possibility and left it for future generations to discover. However, S.H.I.E.L.D. had confiscated Howard's research, leaving Tony unaware of his father's work.
"It's not really a discovery," Nick admitted reluctantly. "But he proposed the concept of a new element and laid the theoretical groundwork for its eventual synthesis."
Tony's expression softened slightly. "That's it? I thought he was more impressive than that."
"You have to understand that Howard was limited by the technology of his time," Nick said, trying to salvage some dignity for his fallen friend while emphasizing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s connection to the Stark family.
"Was he also limited by his age?" Tony asked with casual dismissal.
The comment revealed Tony's true feelings about the situation. If you lost, you lost—there was no point in making excuses. Howard might have been constrained by the technology of his era, but Ben had been constrained by his youth, yet he had still managed to invent the self-healing serum and discover new elements at the age of sixteen.
Tony would never admit that Ben was smarter than him, but he could acknowledge that the young man had earned his respect through genuine achievement.
The realization that both Starks had been surpassed by the same teenager was oddly comforting. At least Tony wasn't alone in his defeat.
"If you have nothing else to discuss, perhaps we should wrap this up?" Tony said, preparing to dismiss his unwelcome visitor.
But Nick Fury had one final question that he couldn't let go. "I really want to know—who solved this problem and discovered this mysterious element?"
Nick didn't expect to receive a meaningful answer, but Tony looked at him with a strange expression. His mind drifted back to a conversation from a few days earlier, when he had finally decided to use the Zanium element and had contacted Ben to thank him.
During that call, Ben had made an interesting prediction: "Someone will come to you in a few days and ask you who provided you with the new element. Don't hide it for me—just tell him directly."
The memory of Ben's voice seemed to echo in Tony's ears. Ben, is this also within your calculations?
Since the real discoverer had specifically said there was no need for secrecy, Tony saw no reason to protect S.H.I.E.L.D.'s feelings.
"Ben Parker, the founder and CEO of Primus Technologies," Tony said with a roll of his eyes. "Don't tell me that your S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn't investigated him already."
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