MCU X Ben 10

While Tony was being driven to the headquarters of Stark Industries— the venue where the press conference he had demanded was to be held— a man was walking through the same caves in Afghanistan where Tony had been held.

This man had a receding hairline and his hair had been cut short and stood nearly six feet tall. He was wearing a black suit with white shirt and despite the high temperature of the region, he did not seem to mind it too much.

Though his face was devoid of expression, a faint smile- a kind of natural smirk remained etched on it, as if it was some kind of natural occurrence.

Following him were two reluctant military officers- they clearly unhappy with the presence of this polite yet intrusive individual. The man did not speak much to them but he was unwilling to let the military keep anything 'secret.' And they were powerless to stop them.

The man carefully examined the room in which Tony had supposedly been kept.

Unfortunately, all the spare parts that Tony had built had already been confiscated by the military. His organisation would have to do a bit of 'manoeuvring' to get their hands on those spare parts.

Afterwards, he moved through the tunnels in erratic patterns, occasionally stopping for a few moments to gaze calmly at the bloodstains on the cave walls and the markings of the dead bodies. It would have been better if he had surveyed the area when the bodies had been not removed.

"Interesting," he muttered.

One of the military officers instinctively asked, "What is interesting, Agent Coulson?"

Agent Coulson shook his head and remained silent. The officer sighed but did not pry further. The man did not speak what he did not want.

"Can we now clean up and seal cave?" the officer asked. "It is becoming nauseating to remain in the cave."

Coulson nodded, "Yes."

Agent Coulson then strode forward and emerged from the cave.

He created some distance from the military personnel outside and pressed his earpiece, "Agent Coulson reporting."

Moments later, an old yet authoritative voice responded from the other side, "Yes, Coulson."

Coulson's smile faded slightly and he turned serious as he continued, "Sir, the evidence here suggests something almost impossible to believe."

"And what does the evidence suggest?" questioned Nick Fury from the other end.

The seasoned S.H.I.E.L.D. director had seen many things in his life, and few matters could still surprise him.

"The evidence suggests that all the killings were carried out by a single person," Coulson explained.

"And why is that almost impossible to believe?" Fury asked.

"Sir, around seventy-five terrorists lie dead here," Coulson said slowly. "For one person to kill them is practically impossible… unless he is…"

"A super soldier," Fury completed his thought.

Coulson nodded. "Yes, sir. But that's not all, sir. Every terrorist—every single one of them—was shot in the same spot: precisely between the eyebrows."

Nick Fury, on the other end of the call, was finally shocked by this revelation. But Coulson was not yet finished.

Coulson continued, "It appears that not a single bullet fired by this person missed its target—one bullet for each terrorist. But even more surprising is the number of bullets fired at him by the terrorists. Almost thousands of rounds were shot, and yet this unknown individual appears to have survived, probably without any injury."

"Sir," Coulson added in a slow, serious tone, "every terrorist- I have seen their decomposing bodies, wore a horrified expression as they died. Clearly, even they could not believe what they were witnessing."

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In a highly secretive location, a bald man with an eye patch sat in a large pushback chair. On the table in front of him lay a small device that he had just used to connect with Agent Coulson. Maria Hill, one of his most trusted allies, stood behind him, her face marked with disbelief.

"Sir," she said incredulously, "who could it be?"

Nick had taken control of his nerves and he replied calmly, "Who knows?"

"What does Tony Stark have to say about it?" Maria asked. She had been busy on some other project and was not in the loop about the recent developments.

"The military tried to question him," Fury explained. "But he says he is experiencing psychological trauma and cannot speak right now."

"The man he brought with him, his name Yinsen, also refused to talk," Fury added. "The military wanted to interrogate Yinsen, but Tony vehemently opposed it. He took the man along with him and requested that the military prepare asylum documents for him."

"We need to wait a few days before we get our hands on Tony and Yinsen," Nick sighed.

If it were someone else, they might have pushed through, but when dealing with Tony, they needed a lot of patience.

At that moment, there was a hurried, loud knock at the door.

"Come in," Fury said, and a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative rushed inside.

Without wasting any time, the operative reported, "Sir, there has been a large transaction from Mr. Stark's account as soon as his car left the airbase."

"How much?" Fury asked nonchalantly.

"Hundred million dollars," the operative replied with a slight stammer.

Fury's eyes widened in shock. "Track the money. I don't want to lose any part of its trail, no matter where it goes."

The operative hesitated, prompting Fury to shout, "What happened?"

"Sir, we don't need such strict surveillance—the money trail is straightforward," the operative explained.

"The person who received the money isn't trying to hide, sir," he said.

The operative then placed a laptop on the table. "Sir, the funds were transferred to the account of a newly registered firm: Omni Consultancy Services, which is 100% owned by a man named Ethan Alcardo."

He added further, "The moment Ethan Alcardo received the money, eighty million dollars was immediately transferred to another account."

"Whose?" Fury asked.

"To the New York Real Estate Agency—the largest real estate company in New York."

Nick Fury was unable to make sense of the situation.

"I want all the information on this Ethan Alcardo," Fury ordered.

"I have everything, sir," the operative replied. "He isn't trying to hide. I have also tracked his current location using the mobile number in his firm registration document."

"Where is he?" asked Fury.

"In the office of the New York Real Estate Agency."

"Send all his information to me," Fury ordered.

Fury then stood up. "Maria, come with me. We're going to meet this Ethan Alcardo. Also, tell Agent Natasha to accompany us."

With that, Fury strode from the room, with Maria following closely behind him.

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