Tony remained silent for a moment after verifying that Rogers’ statement was credible. He realized that they would have to proceed with caution if the Eastern country was truly involved with Killian.
“So, shouldn’t we have sent someone to make contact with them?” Tony spoke up again after the brief silence.
“We did send a team to investigate further,” Rogers replied, nodding. “But we haven’t received any updates yet, they may still be in contact.”
“That’s it…”
Rumble!
As Tony was about to speak again, a loud roar and the sound of thunderclaps interrupted him. Both he and Rogers’ expressions changed and they quickly headed to the open-air platform outside the living room to investigate the source of the noise.
Rumble!
Brush!
As soon as Tony and Rogers stepped out, they saw a black object, engulfed in thunderbolts, hurtling towards a location in New York City from a high alt.i.tude. Its speed was too fast for Tony to activate his Iron Man suit in time.
Dī Dī Drops!
As the black figure flew overhead, a notification sound from Rogers’ communicator beeped from his waist.
brush!
As Rogers checked the message on the communicator, the black object had already crashed into a downtown area of New York City with a thunderous force. Rogers didn’t seem surprised by its impact location, but Tony’s eyes widened slightly and it looked as if he was deep in thought.
“That’s Thor’s apartment,” Tony said to Rogers after the black object disappeared into the ground. “Could that fast black shadow have been heading towards him?” Tony also attempted to intercept the object, but its speed was too great for him to stop it without prior preparation, even as Iron Man. Rogers’ expression showed that he was aware of the object’s origin.
“Yes, it was targeted at Thor. That shadow is something that originally belonged to Thor,” Rogers confirmed Tony’s guess.
“Originally belonged to Thor…” Tony repeated Rogers’ words with a thoughtful expression on his face.
“Shall we go check it out? Given the speed of that black shadow, it could have made a huge impact,” Tony asked.
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“No, since it came on its own, let Thor handle it,” Rogers denied, shaking his head.
However, thinking of the excitement of the researchers in New Mexico State mentioned on the communicator, Rogers was also helpless. They were researching other people’s stuff before, so don’t take back your own stuff now, they can’t force them to come back and continue researching, Rogers doesn’t have such a big face yet.
Despite the cries of the researchers in New Mexico State, Rogers felt helpless in this situation. They had been studying other people’s stuff, and now that the person had taken his stuff back, they can’t continue their own research and they also can’t force someone to surrender his weapon as Rogers did not yet have enough influence to make this happen.
Additionally, during the recent Dark Elf invasion, Rogers had become aware of the power of Asgard and Thor. Therefore, if Thor were to reclaim Mjölnir, Rogers would simply pretend it never happened.
As for the researchers, they should be transferred back to SHIELD headquarters, where there are ample opportunities for them to utilize their skills.
“Really?” Tony responded to Rogers’ answer with a neutral tone.
Since Rogers showed no desire to elaborate further, Tony decided not to press him for more information. He knew that the black shadow was moving towards Thor and eventually he would learn what was happening.
“Alright, since you’ve said that the Dark Elves have retreated to their own territory and Asgard is keeping an eye on them, we can finally relax,” Rogers shifted the conversation away from the topic of the black shadow without further discussion.
“Yeah, without magical elements like the Aether particles, the Dark Elves won’t be able to do much,” Tony nodded in agreement with Rogers’ perspective.
“Tony, have you ever thought about it before? That our Earth would come into contact with extraterrestrial civilization so quickly, and it would be directly invaded by them,” Rogers asked with a serious tone, as he stood on the top floor of the Stark Industries building and looked out at the busy scene of New York City.
“To be honest, I never thought it would happen so soon,” Tony replied with a serious tone.
On hearing Tony’s answer, Rogers frowned and asked, “You mean, you didn’t expect that the Earth would be invaded by extraterrestrial civilizations?”
From Tony’s response, Rogers realized that their expectations about the possibility of Earth’s invasion by extraterrestrial civilizations differed. Tony seemed more calm and more collected.
“Steve, do you remember the purpose of the alliance we formed?” Tony asked with a smile, noting the surprised expression on Rogers’ face.
“The purpose of our alliance? Isn’t it to form a real Earth federation? To unite the power of the entire planet, accelerate the development of Earth’s technology, and promote the progress of Earth’s civilization,” Rogers quickly replied to Tony’s rhetorical question.
“Exactly. But the most important thing after the establishment of the real Earth Federation is to enter the Interstellar Age of Navigation. And as we enter the Interstellar Age of Navigation, we will inevitably come into contact with other civilizations in the universe. It’s normal for other civilizations to discover us first and launch an invasion before we make that step,” Tony added after Rogers’ response.
As a genius scientist, Tony is well aware of the situations that human civilization may encounter in the future. However, most importantly, Tony has been informed by Lin Rui about the potential scenarios that Earth may encounter in the future, including the invasion of extraterrestrial civilizations.
“So, did you actually expect the Dark Elf’s invasion this time?” Rogers asked with a raised eyebrow, as he noticed a change in Tony’s demeanor.
Tony shook his head lightly and sensed that something was off with Rogers beside him.
“If I had truly expected the Dark Elf’s invasion, this battle might not have ended so poorly. However, since the s.p.a.ce portal connecting the Dark Elf’s territory appeared in Siberia, I had some suspicions. But I thought the collision of the two civilizations would happen in Siberia, with that s.p.a.ce portal as the center, not London, and not in such a brutal way where the other party broke into Earth,” Tony explained.
“Besides, I’m a genius scientist, not a prophet,” Tony replied calmly to Rogers’ question.
On hearing Tony’s explanation and answer, Rogers quickly let go of his previous thoughts. He realized that he had overthought it.
“The s.p.a.ce portal on Siberia’s side is still very stable. There are no Dark Elves on the opposite side, and we haven’t sent any more teams there,” Rogers added since Tony brought up the s.p.a.ce portal on Siberia’s side.
“This is for the best. Neither we nor the Dark Elves can handle more trouble at the moment. When we become stronger, that might be the starting point of our counterattack,” Tony said with a sharper glint in his eyes on hearing Rogers’ words.
As Tony previously mentioned, as Earth continues to develop, its future is no longer limited to just the planet. They will eventually have to deal with other civilizations in the universe.
“Counterattack… I hope that day will not come too late,” Rogers said with a sigh.
“Don’t worry, it won’t be too late,” Tony rea.s.sured him.
The sun was setting in the sky, casting elongated shadows of the two powerful figures on the top floor of the Stark Industries building. They stood upright in the breeze, facing the future with determination.