Ward's mind raced.
This couldn't possibly be a coincidence.
If the coordinates had been sent to Coulson by Nick Fury, that meant Fury himself would be there.
And Garrett had also ordered him to go to the same place.
Which meant…
Ward made his decision.
"Skye…"
He looked at her, wearing an expression that seemed to say I'm conflicted, but this has to be done.
"I think… Coulson is right."
"What?"
Skye froze, staring at him in disbelief.
"I want to help you, I really do," Ward said sincerely. "But Coulson is our commanding officer. At least on this plane, we have to follow his orders."
"And besides, if that coordinate really came from Director Fury…"
"…then no matter what, we have to go verify it. Whether it's to prove his innocence—or to arrest him."
Ward turned toward Coulson and nodded firmly.
"Sir, I support your decision."
Phil Coulson visibly relaxed and gave Ward an approving look.
"Thank you, Ward."
Skye looked back and forth between the two men, stamping her foot in frustration.
"You two… this is ridiculous!"
"This isn't a democracy, Skye," Coulson said, his authority returning in full force.
"I'm the commanding officer of this aircraft. As long as I'm on board, my orders stand."
He turned to Melinda May.
"May, set a new course. Full speed to those coordinates."
"Copy that."
May said nothing else.
She pushed the control lever forward.
The aircraft tilted sharply, its engines roaring as the massive plane carved a wide arc through the clouds, turning toward the mysterious coordinates.
Skye sat back down angrily.
Watching everyone busy with the new course, she suddenly felt like an outsider.
"Fine… if you won't follow orders…"
She bit her lip, her fingers quietly touching the watch on her wrist.
Using the encrypted channel embedded within it, she sent out a message.
[Operation obstructed. Coulson has forcibly altered the flight path. Target coordinates: 49.27.41.-80.3.40. Suspected location of Nick Fury. — Skye]
-----
Back to the Present
New York — Midtown Manhattan
The building once known as Avengers Tower had now become Vought Tower.
A massive "V" emblem had been erected on the rooftop.
Inside the skyscraper, renovation work was in full swing.
However, Tony's former laboratory had been specially approved by Antony as the "Stark Independent Research Center."
At this moment, Tony Stark stood inside the lab wearing protective goggles.
A welding torch buzzed softly in his hand as he carefully adjusted a strangely shaped mechanical component.
"This is insane…"
He muttered while studying the holographic blueprints.
His eyes gleamed with the manic excitement unique to great scientists.
"Neural overclocking… distorted time perception… using the spinal column as a heat dissipation and transmission core…"
"This design completely abandons the protective philosophy of an exoskeleton and instead pursues extreme human augmentation."
"It's brutal… but I have to admit…"
"…it's genius."
Tony, cursed with too much knowledge, instantly recognized the potential of the technology.
If the problems of cybernetic rejection and neural overload could be solved—
Humanity could evolve to an entirely new level.
"Still… the original design is way too savage."
Tony grabbed an electronic stylus and crossed out several sections of the blueprint.
"No need to rip out someone's spine and replace it with metal. We can use an external neural bridge, assisted by nanotechnology…"
In his mind, a prototype had already formed.
A Stark-version Sandevistan.
Footsteps echoed behind him.
Tap. Tap.
Antony walked in carrying two cups of coffee.
"Didn't sleep all night, our chief scientist?"
"Couldn't sleep," Tony replied without even looking up. "This thing you gave me is too fascinating."
"Looks like you're getting the hang of it quickly. Can it be mass-produced?" Antony asked.
"Mass production?"
Tony removed his goggles and rubbed his bloodshot eyes.
"Technically, yes. But the original design is far too violent. Anyone installing it would probably end up mentally unstable."
"I'm optimizing the neural dampening algorithms and trying to replace the metal interfaces with bio-gel."
"If it works…" Tony's eyes sparkled again.
"An ordinary person equipped with this could beat Steve Rogers in a fight."
"Although it would only last about ten seconds."
"That's enough."
Antony nodded with satisfaction.
"I want you to develop two versions of the Sandevistan."
"A military model."
"And a civilian model."
"A civilian version?"
Tony frowned.
"What would that even be for? Beating people to supermarket discounts on eggs?"
"To make humans feel like they've evolved."
Antony smiled calmly.
"Even if it's just for faster reaction times in video games… people will still pay for it."
Tony shook his head.
"You really are a complete capitalist."
But he didn't object.
"You have to understand, Tony. Superheroes can't stay above the people forever."
"If we keep all the technology for ourselves, the public will fear us."
"They'll treat us like monsters."
"But if the public evolves alongside us…"
"…they'll support us without hesitation."
"Heroes come from the people."
"And they must give back to the people."
"That… is Vought's philosophy."
Tony fell silent for a moment.
"You're a scary man, Antony."
He sighed.
"If you ever run for President of the United States, I'd vote for you."
"Tony, there's one more thing."
"What?"
"Your identity."
Antony pointed toward the Mark 43 armor displayed in a glass case nearby.
"There's still one name missing on Vought's official hero registry."
"Iron Man."
Tony went quiet.
He put down his tools and looked at Antony.
"We've talked about this, Antony."
His voice was lower now.
"I'm not in the mood to be a hero."
"Not anymore."
"The Ultron incident taught me something."
"The more I try to save the world… the worse things seem to get."
"My mental state right now isn't suited for putting on that armor and going to war."
"I need some quiet time."
"Research. Invent things."
"That's the best redemption I can manage right now."
"As for the hero business…"
Tony looked at Antony.
"…you handle it."
"You're better at it than I ever was."
Antony studied him carefully.
He could see the exhaustion and avoidance in Tony's eyes.
The Ultron disaster had hurt him deeply.
And with the Avengers disbanded, Tony needed time to heal.
"Alright."
Antony sighed.
He didn't push the issue.
Forcing Tony into the armor wouldn't help—and the system wouldn't acknowledge it unless Tony chose it himself.
There was plenty of time.
"Since that's your choice, I respect it."
"This will always be your lab."
"If you need anything, just ask Ashley."
"Thanks."
Tony lifted the coffee cup in a small toast.
At that moment—
A system notification echoed in Antony's mind.
[Notification! Special Popularity Points +2000! (From Tony Stark)]
--------------
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