Meanwhile, at the Triskelion, S.H.I.E.L.D.
Director Nick Fury was sitting in his office when his phone rang.
He picked it up.
“Coulson. What is it?”
Phil Coulson’s voice came through from the other end.
“Director, we still haven’t found any trace of Tony Stark. I’d like authorization to use the 0-8-4 designated Magic Mirror to confirm whether he’s alive or dead.”
Fury frowned slightly.
Truthfully, he didn’t particularly care about Tony Stark the playboy.
Tony’s father, however, had been one of the founders of the Strategic Scientific Reserve, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s predecessor, and S.H.I.E.L.D.
still retained part of the legacy Howard Stark had left behind.
For that reason alone, the organization had continued to keep an eye on Tony over the years.
As for the 0-8-4 codenamed Magic Mirror, it was an anomalous object S.H.I.E.L.D.
had acquired three years earlier.
Only this year had their researchers finally managed to determine its basic function.
The silver mirror called itself Arrodes.
It could answer questions.
It wasn’t omniscient, and many of its answers were vague or indirect, but on certain subjects it could provide information that S.H.I.E.L.D.
had no other means of obtaining.
Questions asked with malicious intent could provoke an even less pleasant response: Arrodes was fully capable of calling down lightning on the person asking them.
If someone asked how to make effective use of the Tesseract, for example, Arrodes wouldn’t simply explain how to operate it.
Instead, it might show images of the Red Skull using the Tesseract decades ago.
Its usefulness came with another serious drawback.
Whenever Arrodes was questioned, at least one third party had to be present.
Once the mirror answered, the questioner was required to accept its own question in return under a principle of equivalent exchange.
Refusing to answer—or lying—would result in punishment by lightning.
Fury considered Coulson’s request for a moment.
“Confirming whether Tony Stark is alive shouldn’t provoke anything too extreme from Arrodes. Approved.”
He paused.
“Have you decided who you’re bringing in as the third party?”
“I have,” Coulson replied.
“A few veteran agents. I trust them to keep their mouths shut.”
Fury nodded even though Coulson couldn’t see him.
“Fine.”
He didn’t say anything more.
Fury had always been wary of Arrodes and almost never questioned the mirror himself unless there was absolutely no alternative.
Once he received authorization, Coulson took a team of S.H.I.E.L.D.
agents to the secure facility where the Magic Mirror was being stored. Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
A massive reinforced steel door opened, allowing Coulson and his team inside.
Two agents approached the object and pulled away the heavy black cloth covering it, revealing Arrodes in full.
Coulson already knew the conditions governing its use.
He stepped forward immediately.
“Mr. Arrodes, I’d like to know whether Mr. Tony Stark is currently alive.”
He deliberately asked nothing else.
Coulson was wary of the mirror too.
Confirmation of Tony’s survival was enough.
As long as Stark was alive, S.H.I.E.L.D.
had plenty of other ways to continue searching for him.
Arrodes gave what sounded remarkably like a yawn.
Then its tone abruptly became much more animated.
While examining Tony Stark’s current condition, the mirror had seen Kez Merlin standing beside him.
And around Kez, Arrodes sensed the unmistakable aura of the gray fog and Sefirah Castle.
Its attitude changed instantly.
“Tony Stark is currently alive.”
“As equivalent exchange for my answer, I will now ask you a question.”
“Phil Coulson, during the erotic dreams you’ve had over the past year, who was the other person appearing in them?”
The S.H.I.E.L.D.
agents in the room didn’t visibly move.
Every single pair of eyes, however, shifted toward Coulson.
Coulson remained silent for a second.
He had known Arrodes had a habit of asking humiliating questions.
He hadn’t expected it to go straight for this.
“My ex-girlfriend, Audrey.”
Audrey Nathan was a cellist, and Coulson still found himself dreaming about her from time to time.
No lightning struck him.
That was proof enough that he hadn’t lied.
Coulson immediately ordered the agents to cover Arrodes with the black cloth again, and the entire team withdrew from the room.
Once it was alone, the Magic Mirror fell into thought.
‘How am I supposed to get in front of Kez Merlin and pledge myself to him?’
Perhaps the first thing it needed was a way to convince these people to take it out of storage.
After leaving the containment chamber holding the 0-8-4, Coulson immediately reported back to Fury.
“Director, Tony Stark is alive.”
Fury nodded.
“I’ll have the military expand the search area and increase the density of their patrols.”
…
Afghanistan.
Once they had reached the highway, Tony had borrowed Kez’s phone to contact the military.
His close friend James Rhodes was waiting for him at the airport with a squad of fully armed soldiers.
Rhodey had spent the entire period since Tony’s disappearance searching for him without finding so much as a useful lead, only for Tony to suddenly call from an unfamiliar number, announce that he was alive, and arrange to meet them at the airport.
As Rhodey approached, Tony turned toward Yinsen.
“Yinsen, are you sure you don’t want to come back to New York with me?”
“I can hire you as my personal doctor. Or my assistant.”
Yinsen shook his head.
“Tony, I want to go home and help rebuild my hometown. The people there need me.”
Kez glanced at him.
Yinsen had survived the cave this time, but Kez had no intention of letting the man escape one death only to walk directly into another.
“Yinsen, the people who kidnapped Tony aren’t some tiny band operating out of one cave. I only dealt with a small fraction of them.”
He looked directly at Yinsen.
“If you go home now, what do you think happens when these so-called freedom fighters discover you’re still alive? They could capture you again—or retaliate against your hometown.”
“You might go back intending to help your people and end up bringing the enemy straight to them instead.”
Kez hadn’t performed a divination, but his spirituality alone was giving him a strong sense that if Yinsen left them here, this might be the last time any of them saw him alive.
A good man like that didn’t deserve to die at the hands of terrorists.
Tony joined in.
“I’ve got a few new ideas anyway. Some of them might actually help your hometown.”
“And if you stay with me and help out, I’ll pay you extremely well. Money can rebuild a lot more than good intentions can.”
The promise of a generous salary didn’t sway Yinsen.
Kez’s warning did.
Yinsen’s hometown wasn’t located in some peaceful, secure country.
It lay well within the reach of the same armed groups operating throughout the region.
If he drew those people back there with him, he might become the very reason his home was attacked.
His expression grew serious.
“All right.”
He looked at Tony.
“Thank you for taking me in.”
By then, Rhodey had reached them.
He immediately pulled Tony into a tight hug.
“Thank God you’re okay.”
Then he pulled back and gave Tony a look.
“Next time, ride in the same Humvee as me, all right?”
Tony patted him on the shoulder.
“Let’s go home.”
Soon afterward, Kez, Yinsen, and Tony boarded a military transport bound for New York.