Marvel Cybernetic Girl

After teasing the North American Air Defense Command with a 7-times-the-speed-of-sound "Halo" transport ship, Kagura Hitomi returned to New York.

"Cortana, analyze the combat data from the battle suit and create an improvement plan based on the issues that have been exposed," Kagura ordered.

In the basement, Kagura sat before an array of nine holographic screens, displaying all kinds of information, neatly categorized.

"Command confirmed, Master," Cortana responded.

"Also, any updates or suggestions regarding tracking Ivan?" Kagura asked.

"Ivan Vanko's whereabouts remain well concealed. The methods used are highly skilled, and we won't gather enough actionable intelligence in the short term," Cortana replied.

"Further tracking will require additional intel."

"I see. Then let's input Ivan's appearance into the global satellite network for a full-scale search," Kagura decided.

"The chances are slim, but it's better than doing nothing."

"Command confirmed, Master."

Despite the unexpected setbacks during her investigation in Monaco, Kagura made some significant discoveries.

First, it was now clear that the mysterious forces working behind the scenes were indeed Hydra.

However, Hydra had branches all over the world, each operating independently and rarely interacting with one another.

This could very well be just one faction.

Even though Kagura was sure of it, she lacked solid evidence to earn the trust and help of Nick Fury and others.

It would be ideal to expose Hydra's true form, but that would certainly be challenging.

For now, Kagura's main focus was tracking down the missing Ivan Vanko and dealing with the threat posed by the supervillain Whiplash.

Given the current facts, it was clear that Hydra had swapped Ivan out of prison in advance, indicating that he had become part of Hydra's ranks.

Considering Hydra's ability to leverage SHIELD's resources, Ivan would undoubtedly return with a thirst for revenge.

As for Justin Hammer, who had initially hoped to obtain Ark Reactor technology from Ivan to showcase at the Stark Industries Expo, he was probably going to be pretty disappointed.

Poor guy...

According to the Hydra agent in prison, it seemed Hydra was also willing to collaborate with Hammer Industries.

This meant Hammer Industries might follow in Obadiah Stane's footsteps and join forces with Hydra.

Hmm...

If Hydra wanted to back a large company to rival Rhodes Industries and Stark Industries, to control global military production with the Iron Man suit technology, Hammer Industries could be a good choice.

Hitomi pondered, lost in thought...

"Ugh—!"

She stretched dramatically.

There's no point in daydreaming here; she needed to continue searching for clues.

"Growl—!"

"Ugh, I'm hungry..." Kagura rubbed her stomach. How about ordering takeout?

"Yup, decision made!" She quickly opened a webpage and ordered a few cheese burgers.

It was 2010, and with the help of "Penguin Logistics," a subsidiary of Rhodes Industries, the food delivery industry had blossomed, making consumer behavior more convenient than ever.

—30 minutes later

"Master, you have a new visitor," Cortana notified.

"Eh? Did the takeout arrive?" Kagura asked.

"Not exactly, Master," Cortana clarified.

"Huh? Why?"

"The delivery person's identity scan confirms: Nicholas J. Fury."

"Spit—!"

Kagura spat out the sip of water in her mouth.

The head of SHIELD, delivering takeout? When did that happen?

Inside, Kagura was thinking, Why not just call and schedule an appointment?

Why does it have to be all sneaky and mysterious with these spies?

Well, no matter. Since SHIELD's director was here, she had to greet him.

Kagura casually threw on a pair of shorts and headed upstairs to open the door.

"My God! You really do eat a lot! Did you think I was joking when I saw that report?" Nick Fury began as soon as she opened the door.

"Ordering ten burgers for a single meal? What the hell? Aren't you worried you'll burst?"

"Y-y-you... mind your own business!"

Kagura blushed, snatching the bag with burgers from Fury's hand, muttering softly, "Eating is cute, okay..."

"Well, you just keep surprising me, Kagura Hitomi," Fury said, walking over to sit on the couch.

"That 'Flash Flashblade' you showed up with in Monaco... that was you, right? Good name, by the way. Very classy."

"Mm-hmm, that was me. Ah, nom," Kagura replied with a big bite of her cheese burger.

"You're pretty sharp with your instincts."

"Considering how you vanished from New York right before Monaco, then reappeared there, and disappeared again, only to show up in Monaco's prison briefly, even a fool could tell that 'Flashblade' was you," Fury grumbled.

"And by the way, judging by these intermittent location signals, you cracked my tracking module, huh? Are you messing with me?"

"Hehe!" Kagura stuck her tongue out playfully.

"You're the one who invaded my privacy first."

Kagura kept her superhero identity hidden from the public, but Tony Stark would eventually be the one to tell Fury that Flashblade was really Kagura Hitomi.

So, hinting at Fury using the tracker in his phone was intentional on her part.

"I'm doing this for your own good, little miss," Fury responded.

"Do you really think I can sleep easy knowing a teenager like you is running around in life-threatening combat situations?"

"Mm..." Kagura thought for a moment.

"Well, it's fine. Isn't that what you do?"

"You've got to be kidding... cough!" Fury quickly stopped himself, trying to avoid swearing.

"Listen, Kagura Hitomi, I care about you. Can you at least trust me?"

"Next time you're planning an operation, just give us a heads-up, okay? That phone card I gave you wasn't for you to mess with the tracking module. It was so you could contact me anytime."

"Mmm..." Kagura took another big bite of her burger.

"Speaking of which, I think I need to warn you—there's a very powerful force behind Ivan Vanko, helping him out. They might have even infiltrated SHIELD."

"Oh, that's terrifying." Fury's expression turned serious.

"Is this your intuition, or do you have concrete evidence?"

"You think I went to Monaco prison for fun? But can you trust me?" Kagura shot back.

Right now, most of the information Kagura had on Hydra was stored in her mind, without enough solid evidence to present to Fury.

"Alright," Fury said, nodding.

"Let's talk about this."

......

[TL Note]

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