Chapter 171: SHIELD Transaction
"Nick Fury, you mentioned Batman during our last conversation. I'd like to discuss him further."
Inside his California oceanfront villa, Tony Stark reclined in a specially manufactured zero-gravity chair, addressing SHIELD Director Nick Fury through the video screen before him.
On screen, Fury smiled like a cunning fox—as though he'd anticipated this exact inquiry:
"Oh? You want to discuss that? Sure, no problem. But as an intelligence exchange, I'll need one of your armors."
Tony nearly exploded before catching himself. He'd never told anyone about becoming Iron Man in the Mark III. Fury was fishing—trying to trick him into confirmation.
Tony recovered immediately, adopting an expression of confidential discretion:
"Fury, while the armor is technically Stark Industries property, there's only one suit—and it's worn by my personal bodyguard. Unless SHIELD wants to become my security detail, the armor stays where it is."
Nick Fury regarded Tony with his single functional eye, casually producing a cigar from off-screen and lighting it.
As SHIELD Director, Fury had dispatched Agent Phil Coulson to investigate Tony's Middle Eastern escape the moment he'd returned to New York.
Though Coulson's repeated meeting requests had been declined, SHIELD intelligence had gathered useful information regardless.
Tony had built crude steel armor in that cave to facilitate his escape. The prototype for Obadiah's Iron Monger had been based on Tony's original design. And the second armored figure battling Iron Monger at the AIAS Security factory was almost certainly Tony Stark himself.
But Fury wouldn't confront Tony directly with this knowledge. Instead, he deployed a more strategic offer:
"Tony, I mentioned previously that SHIELD urgently requires advanced weaponry to protect this world—to prevent powerful individuals like Batman from operating beyond legal accountability."
"If you're willing to share certain armor technology with SHIELD... no, I don't need the full suit. Just specific systems. For example, those repulsor beam impact capabilities your 'bodyguard' demonstrated. In exchange, I can grant you access to Tesseract research."
Fury knew Tony would be tempted. The Tesseract was intimately connected to Howard Stark's legacy.
Since its Arctic recovery, Howard Stark had been a core research team member. His energy studies on the Tesseract had directly inspired the arc reactor theory beneath Stark Tower.
That theoretical framework, later realized by Tony, had enabled the miniature reactor that saved his life in that Middle Eastern cave.
Even now, Howard Stark's research notebook remained archived in SHIELD's classified database.
Fury puffed his cigar. Tony's mouth opened slightly—he had no taste for cigars himself. Instead, he rose and poured himself a drink at the bar.
Glass in hand, Tony took a careful sip, forehead creasing with contemplative lines.
He said nothing, simply drinking while Fury continued talking.
"Your decision to stop manufacturing weapons—personally, I respect that choice. But as SHIELD Director, I find it... disappointing."
Unlike Batman's cold brevity, Nick Fury could talk endlessly when momentum was with him:
"Since you're asking about Batman, I assume you also recognize the threat he represents. Short of deploying large-scale military forces, he remains a Sword of Damocles hanging over everyone's heads within urban environments."
"From a practical analysis perspective, your 'bodyguard' Iron Man wouldn't stand a chance against Batman beyond simple flight superiority. If Batman ever targets you specifically, who besides SHIELD could possibly stop him?"
"Moreover, Batman isn't—"
Tony's headache intensified. He raised one hand urgently:
"Stop, stop, stop. I can provide SHIELD with certain technologies—excluding the arc reactor itself."
"In exchange, you give me everything SHIELD has on Batman."
Fury had been waiting for exactly that response. He scratched his bald head with the hand holding his cigar, face showing the satisfied smile of a successful predator:
"Tomorrow I'll arrange transport to bring you offshore."
CLICK.
Fury terminated the video call immediately, leaving Tony Stark frozen in place with his drink barely touched.
---
Offshore waters. The Helicarrier.
SHIELD Agent Black Widow Natasha Romanoff watched Nick Fury's repeated chuckling after ending the call. She swept her crimson curls behind one shoulder:
"You're certain about bringing that playboy here? To one of the world's most classified facilities—the SHIELD Helicarrier?"
"Don't question my judgment, Black Widow." Fury's tone brooked no argument.
With eighty percent certainty that Iron Man was Tony Stark, combined with Howard Stark's deep SHIELD connections, Fury knew recruitment was essential.
Even if he couldn't acquire the armor's core technology, having Tony Stark—acknowledged genius engineer and mechanic—provide systems like flight capability or power generation made the exchange worthwhile.
Moreover, sharing Batman intelligence with Tony cost SHIELD nothing while subtly positioning Stark as aligned with SHIELD objectives.
---
"This doesn't make sense. No matter how we calculate it, there's errors everywhere."
Wyoming. The Cube prison.
The scientific team assigned to analyze Tesseract data was collectively losing their minds—and their hair. They still couldn't identify the problem's source.
"Even the fundamental parameters are corrupted. Forget about weaponization." A middle-aged researcher with suspiciously thick hair for his position rubbed his eyes wearily.
Agent 19—Mockingbird Barbara Morse—sat in a chair near the research station, chewing gum casually. She was the most relaxed person in the Cube's hidden laboratory.
She'd heard the team complain about corrupted Tesseract data countless times over recent days. Someone had clearly sabotaged the information.
Especially the gamma radiation parameters. Not just the newest research from the Adirondack Mountains base—even previously verified SHIELD data had been altered beyond recognition.
Yet extracting information from that heavily fortified facility had been nearly impossible even with Black Widow and Hydra operatives coordinating the human courier method.
And the result was corrupted data regardless.
This meant weaponizing Tesseract principles would be delayed indefinitely—until the next data theft opportunity.
That wouldn't happen for at least a year or two. But Fury had demanded functional weapons within months. The mission was impossible.
Unless they could locate that gamma radiation expert.
Dr. Bruce Banner.