"Stark," Nick Fury said slowly, feeling he had regained the upper hand, "your father, Howard Stark, was one of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D. That makes you half a member of S.H.I.E.L.D. yourself."
"New element... S.H.I.E.L.D.," Tony muttered, the pieces clicking into place. A sneer spread across his face. "He left me a clue to the new element, and you hid it. Now you want to use it as a bargaining chip. You're really something, Fury. Using my own father's legacy against me."
Fury didn't flinch at having his intentions exposed. "This is a fair deal," he said calmly. "Serve as a technical consultant to S.H.I.E.L.D. and help us establish a cooperative channel with the Autobots, and I will give you the clues to the new element."
Tony let out a disdainful laugh. "That's a nice little fantasy you've cooked up, but I, Tony Stark, do not make deals where I'm at a disadvantage. I've already solved the problem. I don't need your so-called help. You should go home, lie down, and have a nice, long dream."
Nick Fury stared at Tony with his one good eye, his gaze unwavering. After a long moment, he looked away. "Tony Stark, there's no point in acting tough. I'll wait for the day you come to me." He simply didn't believe Stark could independently discover and synthesize a new element, a feat his brilliant father had not accomplished. He nodded to Natasha, signaling that it was time to leave.
Natasha said nothing more and followed Fury, the case held tightly in her arms.
"Goodbye, beautiful," Tony called out, raising his left hand and waving. Natasha paused, surprised. Would Tony Stark really say goodbye so politely? She turned, raised her own hand, and waved back. As she placed her hand back on the case, she felt a flicker of strangeness; the case seemed lighter than before. She looked at Tony, who was still waving, then at Fury's dark, retreating back. She was about to mention her discovery when the thought vanished from her mind. The suspicion, the feeling of strangeness—it was all gone, as if it had never been there.
After watching the two of them leave, Tony shook the diary and videotape that had appeared in his left hand. "That female agent is impressive," he said with a smile. "She noticed something was off immediately. I was almost discovered."
Ratchet looked at the items that had materialized in Tony's hand. "Tony, did you just steal your father's belongings?" he asked, his tone curious.
Tony bristled at the word "steal." "Ratchet, this isn't stealing. This was mine to begin with. It was just being... temporarily held by those people. I'm just taking back what belongs to me." When he had waved goodbye, he had used the Fire Glove, disguised as his watch, to steal the useful items from the case. He had also stolen Natasha's very suspicion. The Fire Glove had an innate ability to distinguish items of value, making the targeted theft simple.
"Is the secret to the new element hidden in here?" Tony mused. "Ratchet, put the Ground Bridge project on hold for now. I think this is more important. Come study this with me." The new element held a greater significance for him than even the promise of teleportation.
In Harlem, Peter Parker and Gwen were walking down the street, still buzzing from the movie they had just seen.
"It was so cool!" Peter said excitedly. "More mind-blowing than any Hollywood blockbuster."
"I know, right?" Gwen agreed. "The scenes didn't even look like special effects. They looked real."
"They say it's based on true events, like Tony Stark's personal experience, and that the Transformers in it are real," Peter added. "By the way, why was it called 'Transformers 1: Iron Man'? Are they planning to make a whole series?"
As they chatted, they noticed a commotion up ahead. The street was crowded, and it looked like there were soldiers. Curious, they walked closer and saw that the military had completely cordoned off the next block.
Gwen approached a middle-aged man who seemed approachable. "Excuse me, sir, what happened here?"
The man was happy to explain. "About ten minutes ago, the army just showed up and declared this whole block a military operation zone. I saw tanks and helicopters arriving."
"Tanks are here? Something big must be happening," Peter said in surprise.
"Peter, let's get out of here," Gwen said, tugging on his sleeve. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"Leave? Yeah, you're right. We're surrounded by the army; we won't be able to see anything anyway," Peter agreed. Gwen turned to leave via another street.
Suddenly, her head began to buzz. Her spider-sense was screaming. The danger was imminent. She spun around, lunged at Peter, and tackled him out of the way.
"Gwen, what's wrong with you?" he started to ask, but before he could finish, half of a burning car wreck slammed down onto the spot where they had just been standing. The middle-aged man and several other onlookers were crushed, their bodies scattered in a horrific spray of gore.
Peter's eyes widened, and he froze, unable to process the carnage. The crowd erupted in screams, and the scene descended into chaos. Gwen suppressed the bile rising in her throat, quickly pulled Peter to his feet, and dragged him to the relative safety of a nearby street corner.
"Hah... hah... hah..." The two of them panted, not from exertion, but from sheer terror.
"What happened? So many people just died," Peter stammered in panic.
"I think I saw... a huge, disgusting yellow monster," Gwen said, her voice trembling. "It had bone spurs all over its body."
"A monster? Is it a mutant?" Peter asked automatically.
"I'm not sure, but mutants aren't usually that... horrifying, are they?" Gwen didn't think the creature was a mutant. She cautiously poked her head around the corner to look. Her pupils instantly dilated. The monster was charging straight for them.
Without a second thought, Gwen scooped Peter up with ease, leaped onto the wall of the nearest building, and began to bound from one wall to another, ascending the tall building with a dancer's grace. Below them, with a deafening crash, the yellow monster smashed through the building they had just been leaning against. It then picked up a car belonging to some unlucky driver and continued its rampage, shouting one thing over and over.
"Hulk! Where is Hulk?!"
"Is that monster here for revenge?" Peter, still cradled in Gwen's arms, couldn't help but quip. It was a nervous habit, making jokes when faced with extreme stress.
Not far away, in the Marvel building, Scott Summers was handling administrative affairs when he received an urgent message. "Monstrous creature wreaking havoc in Harlem. Military is unable to contain it."
Scott read the message, his expression grim. "Will this be our company's first official operation?" he thought. "But with the military involved, this won't be easy."