Chapter 36. On the Way to New Mexico
"So, Director Fury, what brings you here today?" Noah asked, sipping his coffee and placing the cup back on the table.
"Noah, this is our first meeting. Although you already know who I am, let me introduce myself. I'm Nick Fury, acting Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.," Fury replied, also taking a sip of his coffee.
"Today, I came to meet you personally and ask a few questions," Fury continued, leaning forward slightly, with his fingers interlocked on his knees.
"Oh, and what do you want to know? If I know the answer, I'll share it," Noah responded.
"Yesterday at the Stark Expo, you were there, right?" Fury asked.
"Yes."
"At the event, besides Iron Man and his friend in armor, there was another person in high-tech combat gear. Do you know who that was?"
Fury carefully watched Noah. From the beginning, he suspected that Noah had something to do with the mysterious hero. Seeing Blitzcrank and Lissandra next to him only strengthened his suspicions.
Noah, realizing that Fury was onto him, didn't hide the truth. He extended his hand and glanced at Lissandra. Lissandra understood his intent, and nanomachines from Noah's belt began forming armor around his arm.
"That person was me," Noah said, showing his arm clad in battle armor, dispelling all of Fury's doubts.
"You... Are these technologies provided by your organization?" Fury was astonished by his honesty and wanted to know the source of such advanced technology. He assumed that Noah must be backed by some secret organization.
"I developed it myself. Or you can say it's provided by those who stand behind me. Any other questions?" Noah replied, as the armor disintegrated back into nanites, which then returned to his belt.
While Fury processed this information, Noah posed his own question.
"Director Fury, is your organization aware of this event?" Noah waved his hand, and a projection appeared on the table, displaying news about a meteorite crash in New Mexico. Fury was once again impressed by the projection technology but quickly focused on the news content.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. is indeed monitoring the event. I've sent Agent Coulson to investigate. Why do you ask? Did you see something similar in your visions of the future?" Fury asked, staring at him. He assumed that Noah had seen something in his visions, given that he brought up the incident.
"Something like that. But to understand the full picture, I need to personally check out the site. Provide me with the coordinates of your headquarters in that area, and after examining it, I'll share what I find."
Seeing the news about the meteorite, Noah recalled the plot of "Thor." This meteorite was most likely Thor's hammer, sent to Earth by Odin. Thor had been banished to Earth for his arrogance. Since the events of "Iron Man 2" and "Thor 1" occurred almost simultaneously, Noah had been busy with the affairs of "Iron Man 2" and couldn't focus on New Mexico. Now that the Iron Man situation was resolved, he decided to head to New Mexico to avoid missing a potential mission.
"How do you plan to get there? Do you need S.H.I.E.L.D.'s assistance?" Fury asked, providing Noah with the location of Coulson and his team.
"Don't worry, I'll get there on my own."
They continued their conversation after that. During the discussion, Fury asked several questions about the future, hoping to gather useful information. Noah, however, provided only vague and fragmentary details, which was enough to satisfy Fury.
Some time later, Nick Fury left, this time exiting through the front door. As he approached his official vehicle, one of the agents greeted him, to which he nodded. Just as he was about to get into the car, he noticed a figure flying through the sky above the mansion.
Fury immediately focused on this figure—it was Noah, clad in his "PROJECT: Yasuo" battle suit, heading toward the town where Thor's hammer had fallen.
He watched as Noah, noticing him, waved before suddenly accelerating. A loud sonic boom followed moments later, and a cloud formed in the sky from the shockwave.
Seeing this, Fury reevaluated the power behind Noah and his supposed organization. Then he cleared his throat, reminding the agents who were still staring at the sky to get back to work. Sitting in the car, he took out his phone and called Coulson.
"Coulson, our prophet is on his way to you. Be ready," Fury said directly.
"What? Noah is coming here? Do we need to prepare for his arrival?" Coulson asked, unsure why Noah would be visiting but realizing that Fury was in the loop.
"No, there's no need. Just keep an eye on the sky; he'll be there in an hour or two."
With that, Fury ended the conversation, leaving Coulson in confusion. Coulson climbed up the temporary observation tower and began watching the sky. Hawkeye, already stationed on the tower, looked at him curiously.
"Coulson, what are you doing?"
"The Director just informed me that we're expecting a guest," Coulson replied.
"So why are you watching the sky? Is Iron Man coming?" Hawkeye asked, puzzled.
"No, you'll see soon enough."
They began discussing the mysterious hammer that had fallen from the sky. Interest in this alien artifact was immense.
About twenty minutes later, Coulson, glancing at the sky from the window of the temporary lab tent, decided that there was still some time before Noah's arrival and returned to his work.
"An unidentified flying object is approaching. Is it Iron Man?" Hawkeye's voice came over the radio. He had spotted the approaching figure and alerted all the guards, who immediately aimed their weapons in the indicated direction.
As the object got closer, Coulson and the others could see that it was a person in advanced armor, though it didn't resemble Iron Man's suit.
Hawkeye prepared a special arrow, ready to fire, but Coulson, realizing it was Noah, quickly stopped him.
"Barton, wait. Everyone, lower your weapons. He's one of ours!"
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