Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1024 (Second Update)

"The Secretary of Defense will be seeing you in a bit." Leaving aside what Tony Stark might think of his old friend suddenly starting a war, Maria Hill's words before leaving for the Pentagon were enough to annoy him: "If you can agree to go to war and get all the Avengers to sign the Sokovia Accords, the White House will do what they're supposed to do. Don't miss this opportunity, Stark. This is your only chance to unite all the Avengers."

Tony Stark wasn't confident he could get all the Avengers to sign the Sokovia Accords; he needed to persuade others gradually. Especially Steve Rogers—even with Thor still on Earth, the Asgardian prince couldn't offer any objections. Tony Stark's primary concern was Steve Rogers—a man of high moral character. Steve Rogers would find it difficult to accept living as a soldier again, blindly following orders. Tony knew Steve Rogers opposed all wars the US had waged since World War II. Moreover, Stark had seen Steve Rogers' bookshelf more than once; he understood that the Captain America of the past was no more, and he needed to find a way to convince him to accept the agreement.

The situation was sudden, and he had to agree to the conditions set by the Secretary of Defense and Congress before the rest of the Avengers were informed. Tony Stark didn't think he had any other options. However, the people who came to him weren't just Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, but also Thaddeus E. Ross, an old acquaintance with whom he didn't have a very good relationship.

Current Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, a physicist, has a very good relationship with Tony Stark. This Secretary of Defense advocates for ensuring American security and global leadership, as well as building a future-oriented force. Although initially he tried to get Stark Industries to provide the US government with high-tech weaponry, after long-term contact, Tony Stark considered him a good person, as the Secretary of Defense was quite supportive of his planetary defense plan. As for Thaddeus E. Ross, Tony Stark hasn't seen him since he persuaded him to release Bruce Banner. He only knows that General Thaddeus E. Ross has now entered politics and risen through the ranks to become Deputy Secretary of Defense, seemingly a likely successor to Ashton Carter as the next Secretary of Defense.

"I'm sorry, this is sudden, but I believe you have a general understanding of the situation." Ashton Carter invited Tony Stark to sit on the sofa, then went straight to the point, "We need the Avengers. To help stabilize the situation in the Balkans at NATO military bases before NATO takes on a large-scale military peacekeeping operation."

Tony Stark was filled with mixed feelings.

He knew perfectly well what Salomon's bottom line was, so there was no way he could reveal Salomon's identity to the US government. However, ordinary troops are unlikely to be effective against someone as decisive and powerful as Thor, let alone someone with global power projection capabilities. In this situation, it was quite reasonable for the Pentagon to choose the Avengers, a team with strong individual combat capabilities, to assist NATO forces.

However, Tony Stark wasn't sure others thought the same way, and he had to take other approaches to solve the problem. "Latvia only has a population of half a million," he said, "and it's the Latvian Civil War."

"No, this is World War III," said Defense Secretary Ashton Carter.

"World War III? That's an exaggeration!"

Ashton Carter and Thaddeus E. Ross exchanged a glance, and then General Ross spoke gravely. "At least not initially. The White House indicated it would closely monitor human rights abuses in Latvia, but things aren't that simple." He picked up the remote control on the table, ordered the curtains to be drawn, and started the projector. Tony Stark saw several color satellite images appear on the screen. General Ross explained, "These are images taken by our reconnaissance satellites near the Hungarian border. According to experts, it's highly likely that it's an intercontinental ballistic missile model we've never seen before. When we tried to investigate further, we discovered that all military reconnaissance satellites in Europe had lost contact… We suspect this isn't a civil war in Latvia, but a proxy war involving major power intervention. The other side has deployed experimental weapons and is using the Balkans as a testing ground. Latvia now possesses global nuclear strike capabilities. This could be the prelude to World War III, and the Department of Defense must proceed with extreme caution."

“Not only that,” Ashton Carter added, “The Latvian army is now led by that man in the golden armor, and they are highly likely to launch an attack on a neighboring country. NATO military movements aren’t that quick, and it’s highly probable that the Latvians will have already succeeded before we can react. We believe the military coup in Sylcaria is inextricably linked to the Latvians; the CIA agents there have gone missing, and the last information we received about Latvia was that the Sylcaria Wild Battalion possessed the same high-tech individual equipment as the Latvian rebels.”

Tony Stark was speechless, unsure of what to say for a moment.

He had initially thought Salomon's ability to convert three former S.H.I.E.L.D. airships into his own battle motherships was already impressive, considering the young man was only twenty-one. But now, he possessed weapons of mass destruction and was involved in conflicts between nations—something Tony Stark could never have imagined. After all, Salomon had told the Avengers he would only intervene in cases of human extermination. Either there was some hidden story behind the war in Latveria, or his ambition had clouded his judgment, leading him to seek world domination like the villains in the comics.

"Let me make a phone call," Tony Stark said curtly. "I'll be right back."

"As soon as possible," Thaddeus E. Ross said meaningfully, "we need an American hero, whoever it may be."

Tony Stark left the room and walked to a spot without surveillance cameras. He'd been here many times and knew exactly where politicians usually made their secret deals with lobbying agents. "Fuck! Answer the phone, answer the phone!" He wiped the cold sweat from his brow with his suit sleeve. "Friday, dial the encrypted line again."

"All encrypted routes are closed," Friday announced in a pleasant female voice. "Sir, the other side's firewall is extremely powerful, and I believe they possess a very powerful artificial intelligence. If they were to break through it, they would seize all of Stark Industries' computing power."

Tony Stark forced out an angry sound from his throat.

"Dial Agent Romanoff." Stark knew that Natasha Romanoff was the Avengers member, besides Thor, with the closest ties to Salomon. Salomon wasn't exactly known for his good temper; during the last major earthquake on the East Coast, Immortal City agents arrested him and Steve Rogers without explanation. Only Agent Natasha Romanoff, who possessed many secrets, could participate in Immortal City's missions; others seemed unable to even catch a whiff of those secrets.

"Sorry, we are unable to locate Agent Romanov's position."

"Then who else can I contact?" Tony Stark asked impatiently. "Isn't there anyone in the Avengers who could help?"

"Considering your position, I recommend that you contact Dr. Bruce Banner."

"It's him."

"I'm sorry, sir. Access records show that Dr. Bruce Banner has left the Avengers headquarters without any communication devices."

"Fuck!"

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)