28: Initiative

Daniel picked up the cutlery and looked at his plate, a classic Italian meal, who would have thought.

“Are you really going to eat that? Are we just going to forget that a moment ago this strange and sexy redheaded lady admitted to putting something in your drink?” Tony couldn’t help but ask, frowning at the plate Daniel had placed in front of him.

Daniel smiled and began to eat, savoring the food for a few moments before nodding.

“Don’t worry, this has nothing in it, it’s just food,” he said confidently, causing Natasha to raise an eyebrow.

“You look pretty sure for someone who didn’t notice his drink was tampered with,” Daniel looked at her and nodded in agreement with her point.

“Oh, I knew there was something, I just didn’t care. I wasn’t partying as Defiant after all.” The previous night, he had decided to go along with Tony’s game and have some fun. It helped that it wasn’t his real face that was exposed. He felt like neither Defiant nor Daniel, just another guy who could enjoy a party without the responsibilities he had imposed on himself, releasing stress and some of his repressed desires.

It was relaxing, but the time for games was over.

Natasha raised an eyebrow, noting this to herself.

Tony hesitated for a second before taking one of the cutlery pieces and starting to eat as well. In this situation, Daniel and he were on the same side. If Daniel said it was okay, then he would take a leap of “faith” as Daniel had called it in his conference.

“Hey, it actually tastes good,” he couldn’t help but comment.

“It’s from one of the best restaurants around,” Fury said.

Soon the four of them were eating in an awkward silence. Perhaps the most casual of all present was Daniel, followed by Natasha. The tensest was Tony, without a doubt.

Suddenly, Tony snapped his fingers and raised his hand, making circles with his finger on the side of his head as if trying to indicate something.

“Now I remember, what was his name? Philips? Well, never mind. He told me he was from SHIELD, and now I have you guys here, so I assume you have what I asked for?”

He asked, setting his cutlery down on his now half-empty plate and looking at Fury.

Natasha smiled. Coulson would surely be a little annoyed if he knew Stark didn’t even remember his name correctly.

Fury smiled and nodded, also putting down his cutlery.

“Oh, Stark, I have much more than what you asked for, a lot of information that will surely be interesting to you.” In response, Tony raised an eyebrow and opened his arms in a welcoming gesture.

“Well, enlighten us.”

“You want to know now? Well, I suppose being impatient is fine, after all, it’s about the reason you ended up with that in your chest,” he pointed at the blue light shining through Tony’s shirt.

Tony couldn’t help but place his hand on his chest, feeling the Arc Reactor beneath his clothes.

“Spit it out already. I don’t like beating around the bush.”

Meanwhile, Daniel just watched them, quietly eating. For now, he had nothing to say. Listening to a conversation about something he probably already knew wasn’t as interesting as the plate in front of him. He had thought the food would taste bad, like most meals made by regular people, but surprisingly, although not as perfect as Carol’s cooking, it wasn’t bad either. He would have to find out which restaurant this came from.

He looked up and met Natasha’s eyes, who was smiling at him mysteriously. He nodded at her and pointed to one of the sauces that was out of his reach.

She blinked in confusion but quickly understood the gesture and handed the sauce to him.

“Thanks.”

“Obadiah?!” Daniel stopped eating and quickly held onto his plate as the table shook violently when Tony slammed both hands on it.

Had he missed that much?

He turned to see the agitated man looking at Fury.

“You shouldn’t be so surprised. I knew you had an argument about his illegal arms sales the last time you met. I thought you would have seen this coming,” Fury said calmly.

“One thing is selling weapons illegally, but trying to kill me… that’s…” Tony had learned that his godfather wasn’t exactly the person he thought he was, but to this extent? He supposed he had been too naive. Even when he had already turned his back on him, he hadn’t fully suspected him as he should have.

Daniel reached out and placed his hand on Tony’s shoulder.

“If you know this, then you have enough evidence to declare him guilty, don’t you?” Daniel asked, looking at Fury.

Fury nodded at him and gestured towards Natasha.

“This is Natasha Romanoff, one of my best agents. She handled the investigation and gathered everything necessary to send Obadiah to prison.”

Daniel nodded and patted Tony on the back.

“Don’t worry. With this, you’ll be able to regain full control of your company, and Obadiah will pay for his crimes. Things have become simpler, don’t you think?” Daniel knew Tony had been planning to regain complete control of Stark Industries. Tony had mentioned it the previous night while they were drinking.

Well, now he didn’t need a plan.

“I wouldn’t say they have,” Natasha suddenly said.

Daniel stopped his pats and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“What do you mean?” Tony asked in a serious voice.

“While I was investigating, I noticed that his closest personnel had been replaced and his bank accounts modified. I could track everything he had done in the past, but his recent moves became elusive. It’s not something he could have done alone; he’s working with someone else.” Natasha was very good at what she did, but when an entire organization suddenly started interfering, it became complicated even for her to keep investigating without the necessary resources.

SHIELD had been quite short on resources these days. She had practically been working alone, so she had to step back before being discovered by Stane’s sponsors and risking the entire investigation.

“At the risk of being wrong, though I don’t think I am, I’ll assume the Ten Rings have started to interfere,” Daniel said.

“And you’re not wrong. The Ten Rings are a larger organization than people think, more than just simple terrorists, though that’s the reason they are most known these days,” Fury said seriously.

“The Ten Rings, it’s always them,” Tony gritted his teeth. The Ten Rings had kidnapped him, The Ten Rings killed Yinsen, and attacked Gulmira. He thought he had dealt with them for good when he destroyed all their bases in Afghanistan, but it seemed they were like cockroaches, unwilling to leave him alone, and now they were plotting something else from the shadows.

It seemed he would have to show them why messing with him was a very bad idea.

Tony took a deep breath and calmed down, sitting back down.

“Alright, you’ve given me what I asked for. What do you want?” He hadn’t forgotten what he had said to Philips. Now that SHIELD had fulfilled their part, it was time to see why they needed to talk to him.

“Actually, you’ve already given us one of those things,” Fury said, pointing at Daniel.

Daniel blinked, pointed to himself, and with a look of “pain,” he glanced at Tony and spoke in a “disappointed” tone, placing a hand on his chest.

“Wow, Tony, we just became friends, and you’ve already sold me out. A Merchant to the end, huh?”

Seeing his aggrieved face, Tony’s left eye suddenly wanted to twitch.

“If you keep looking at me like that, I’ll punch you even if I break my hand,” Daniel laughed but quickly returned to a serious expression.

"they seem to be getting along quite well" Natasha said, and Fury nodded.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Tony sighed and looked back at Fury.

“Alright, what’s the other thing? Since you said this guy was just one of those things, you must want something else, right?” he said, pointing to Daniel.

Fury nodded and spoke.

“Your arm—”

“No,” Tony cut him off with a cold voice.

He wasn’t surprised that they could figure out it was him wearing the armor. With Defiant by his side, it was very difficult not to notice or at least infer that the armor had something to do with him.

Many might say Tony was arrogant, but he undoubtedly had the capabilities to back up that arrogance, and everyone who knew him was aware of that. If anyone could create an armor like the one that deployed in Afghanistan, it was him. His association with Defiant only made more people suspect.

Daniel knew he was risking Tony’s still-secret identity when he asked for his help, which is why he was grateful to him. While other versions of Tony Stark might not care about a secret identity, Daniel hadn’t known the Tony Stark of this universe long enough to say if it would be the same with him. That’s why he knew the favor he was asking for wasn’t simple.

Practically, he was asking Tony to reveal that he was Iron Man indirectly. People would suspect, the government would suspect, and agencies like SHIELD would undoubtedly suspect as well.

Even so, Tony agreed, already knowing that this matter could cause him future problems. Of course, Daniel had “paid” for the favor by giving him something that could be very useful to him, leaving them in a good position where no debts interfered with their newly formed partnership.

“I had to try,” Fury smiled, raising both hands.

“Better luck in your next life,” Tony mocked.

Fury smiled but didn’t get upset. He looked at Tony more seriously before asking another question.

“Tell me, do you know where SHIELD comes from?” Tony quickly shook his head.

“I just found out they existed.” The reality was that Tony hadn’t been very interested in secret agencies or criminal organizations, so he didn’t know as much as he would have liked.

“SHIELD was created after World War II ended. With Captain America gone, someone had to finish what he started. There were still remnants of Hydra around the world, after all. Agent Carter, along with your father and a few others, decided to put their efforts and resources into carrying out that task,” Fury explained.

Tony blinked, surprised.

“My father?” he asked in a low, somewhat bewildered voice.

The dark-skinned man nodded and continued speaking.

“Once Hydra was eliminated, SHIELD moved on to more important matters, with global security being the primary one.”

“For a global security agency, you’ve certainly been doing a rather… poor job,” Daniel couldn’t help but comment as he finished cleaning his plate.

Natasha raised an eyebrow at his comment.

“You know, I could list many examples, but I suppose I can use the most recent one,” he said, pointing at Tony.

“Isn’t all of this due to you?” Fury couldn’t help but respond, making Daniel point to himself again.

“Yes, you, the biggest pain in the ass I’ve had in the last ten years.”

"Hope it’s for my great work helping people," Daniel couldn’t resist replying.

"I’d say it’s more about the dozens of aerial and territorial laws you’ve been violating, not to mention what happened in Central Asia," Tony had to add fuel to the fire.

“I seem to recall you were there too,” Daniel said with an innocent smile.

Nick sighed and spoke more calmly.

“Maybe blaming you for everything isn’t fair. The reality is that in the past five years, problems have been increasing, and SHIELD can barely keep things under control.” Nick then pulled a square device from his pocket and placed it on the table.

Then several projected screens began to unfold with very interesting images on them.

Videos and photographs, information about incidents clearly beyond human capabilities.

Security footage showed a tall bald man, who seemed to absorb the physical characteristics of the objects he touched, robbing a bank in Sweden.

In Paris, a beast-like man with blonde hair killed several men with his bare hands, any wound he received during the conflict healed the moment after.

In northern Mexico, images captured a figure with a flaming skull riding a blazing motorcycle, massacring a group of drug traffickers with what appeared to be a red-hot metal chain.

Australia seemed to have a plague of spiders as big as bears that had barely been contained by an entire army of troops firing nonstop.

In an African jungle, the inhabitants of an indigenous village began fleeing from what appeared to be an army of gorillas and other beasts, all too coordinated to be a “natural” stampede.

Closer to home, in Chicago, images had been taken of a man resembling a crocodile devouring a homeless person.

There were more and more incidents like these.

Probably the most striking of all was a huge green monster destroying an entire army with his bare hands, decimating tanks as if they were made of wet paper and ignoring any attack against him as if no weapon could harm him, a blind rage evident in his expression.

“These are just a few of the many incidents that keep happening day by day. At first, SHIELD could handle it. The best agents under my command and our military forces were enough to face these threats, but over time, it became clear to me that 'normal' humans simply wouldn’t be enough,” Nick’s voice sounded somewhat bitter at the end.

“Then you arrived, and things got even more complicated.” Defiant was undoubtedly a great help but also a significant headache. Without truly knowing his intentions, SHIELD couldn’t afford to treat him as if he weren’t a threat.

Fortunately for everyone, Defiant had shown where he stood in the already fragmented balance of the world.

Tony looked at the images with growing interest. This was the first time he saw such a mysterious side of the world he had lived in all his life.

How had he missed all of this?

“Why tell us all this? What are you looking for??” Daniel looked at the images, making sure to remember all the necessary information for his own investigations.

“What SHIELDhas always been looking for: global security. And for that, I believe—no, I’m sure the world needs your help,” Fury responded more firmly.

“So, cooperation?” Tony asked, having already understood Fury’s point.

“Yes, I want you to be part of a new initiative, a response team capable of dealing with threats beyond the norm,” the SHIELD director concluded and fell silent, waiting for their response.

Daniel rubbed his chin for a few moments before responding with a kind smile.

“I can agree to tacit cooperation, but if being part of this ‘team’ means there will be restrictions, then I’ll say no.” He decided to make his boundaries clear.

“Not answering to any government, I heard it in your speech,” Fury said.

“I have to side with D-boy here. I’m not one to follow orders, and I don’t like being supervised or anything similar,” Tony said, agreeing with Daniel’s words.

Fury frowned. He knew things wouldn’t be easy, but he had to try.

“SHIELD doesn’t work for the governments,” he said, but before he could continue, Daniel interrupted him.

“But it’s funded by them, isn’t it? No matter what you say about SHIELD, as long as its resources come from the governments in one way or another, they will have influence over you,” At least that's what Daniel thought.

"Not as much as you think. While we are affiliated with them, our authority is still superior in many aspects."

Tony remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"What if I am the one who finances this team?" he said casually, causing Daniel and Fury to look at him.

"We can start by working with SHIELD, only if they do not interfere with the way we do things. We will help them, of course, but if they ask for something we disagree with, then we will refuse. I believe the governments of the world will want Defiant and me to be on their side in the public eye, making them think they have some 'control,' but it doesn't have to be that way in reality. To prevent them from having a say, SHIELD will not use any resources given by them for this team. If they refuse, I'll simply create the team without them and without SHIELD," he said, proposing his idea and waiting for Fury to think it over.

Daniel smiled and also spoke.

"Interesting idea. The governments can accept this and gain the public benefits it will bring without spending anything in return while creating an illusion of control, or they can refuse and end up with nothing, looking completely useless in the eyes of the people."

In summary, they cooperate and improve their public image, or he and Tony create this team on their own, ignoring SHIELD and the governments, making them look useless by not needing them.

Fury remained silent, deep in thought.

"If what you said earlier is true, then there should be no problem following this method, right? After all, SHIELD's authority is still superior in many aspects, isn't it?" Daniel asked, but he didn't really care if Fury agreed or not.

The only reason he wanted SHIELD nearby was because of the snake hiding within it.

After all, his father always told him to keep his friends close and his enemies closer.

It would be better if he could keep an eye on SHIELD without much effort. Once the right moment came, he could start removing the rotten parts and see if anything could be salvaged.

"An alliance, then," Fury finally said.

"But for it to be an alliance, SHIELD must still contribute something. I believe the governments can accept this, but they will also want to contribute something to maintain this 'illusion' you mentioned."

The governments would likely grit their teeth but end up accepting in the end. Even so, any facade would crumble without something to support it.

"SHIELD will use all its resources and privileges to help you deal with any supernatural occurrences, and in return, you will assist with any event that could endanger the world. On paper, it will look like you agree to be under SHIELD's supervision, like a special response team directly overseen by me."

"Only if that 'supervision' remains theoretical, of course," Tony emphasized, and Fury nodded.

Daniel thought it over and nodded slowly, but he still had one more question.

"And theoretically speaking, what would our obligations be? I don't think you would just let us do our own thing and only call us when you find something your agents can't handle on their own, right?" Of course, if it were simple things, Daniel could be lenient, but if Fury asked for something that interfered too much with his life, he would refuse once again.

"Although it might be hard to believe, that was my initial plan. I have no intentions of controlling your actions. No, I don't think that's possible. Instead, I believe working together is more suitable for global security. I'm not like those rancid, outdated politicians who want to have everything under their control," he said sincerely.

"Initial plan, huh? And what was the subsequent plan?" Tony asked with a smile on his face.

"Does it even matter now?" Since they weren't going to be under real supervision, any other plan was useless.

Daniel looked at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. What should he do? Well, he actually already knew. If Fury truly kept to what he and Tony had established, then working with SHIELD would be fine for now.

He smiled and looked at the SHIELD director and Natasha.

"Well, I will tentatively accept the offer, but if things change or if something I disagree with starts happening, then don't blame me for leaving without warning," he warned sincerely.

"I can work with that," Fury finally said. Having direct contact with Defiant was undoubtedly better than knowing nothing. At least this way, many of his questions could be answered.

Tony took a few seconds more to speak.

"Eh, I think I'll take D-boy's words here. Besides, since my father is one of the founders, I'd like to see what the old man did without me noticing," Tony was genuinely interested in SHIELD. Why had his father never mentioned it?

The SHIELD director nodded. It wasn't exactly what he had expected upon coming here, but it was better than leaving empty-handed. He stood up and smiled at both of them.

"In that case, let me welcome you to the Avengers."

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Note:

A chapter full of dialogue! Originally, I thought about including more, but it feels like too much for now. I'll spread out the rest over several subsequent chapters. For now, I think it's time for some action.

Originally I wasn't planning on uploading this until a few days later but I'm excited since tomorrow I'm going to the pre-premiere of Deadpool and Wolverine so I couldn't contain myself hahaha.}

remember that you can find the next chapter of this story on P)atreon (p)atreon com/EmmaCruzader). If you want to read the next chapter in advance and get some other benefits, you can go and check it out. All the support received helps me a lot ;D