Kara gently smoothed her lapel and pushed up her glasses.
“Let me introduce myself.
I’m Kara Danvers, a reporter for the Daily Bugle.
May I ask which department you’re with, Mr.
Agent?” Coulson saw through her evasion but maintained his smile.
“The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division—of course, we just changed it to a new name this year, ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ I haven’t quite gotten used to saying it myself.” Kara’s eyes lit up.
After searching for so long, she had finally met the man himself.
“Mr.
Coulson, could you introduce your organization in more detail?” “Miss Kara,” Coulson’s smile remained unchanged, “shouldn’t you first tell me about what happened with Stark in that cave?” “Of course.” Kara sensed his vigilance and spoke up.
“Besides conventional weapons, Mr.
Stark also encountered a magic attack.” “magic?” Coulson’s brow furrowed slightly.
“A mage who controlled ten circular dharma artifacts.” Kara stopped at the right moment—she wasn’t about to give away information for nothing.
Coulson took the hint and continued, “S.H.I.E.L.D.
is the primary global agency for handling supernatural and superhuman events.
We take any relevant information very seriously.” Kara nodded with satisfaction.
“That mage’s ring weapons might be related to the name of their ‘Ten Rings Gang’.
He possesses the power to destroy a city block in a short time—how does S.H.I.E.L.D.
usually deal with such enemies?” She was still testing him.
“We have professional response teams,” Coulson replied calmly.
“However, as far as I know, there was another friend with special talents by Stark’s side who defeated the enemy and escorted him to safety.
Do you know anything about this, Miss Kara?” “My knowledge is limited,” Kara fabricated without blinking.
“I only heard that it was a ‘Mutant’.
How much does S.H.I.E.L.D.
know about Mutants?” Coulson pondered for a moment.
“Mutants are a group of superhumans with special abilities.” He also stopped there.
Kara understood this was an exchange, so she threw out a chip: “The mage’s ‘Ten Rings’ are said to still be buried in the Afghanistan desert.
You might want to go try your luck.” “We will verify that.” Coulson nodded, then revealed, “Regarding Mutants, S.H.I.E.L.D.
records show their abilities vary and are usually categorized into five levels.
The first two levels have limited threat; ‘Beta’ and ‘Alpha’ levels could cause major public incidents; and ‘Omega’ level…
they only exist in records, but from the descriptions, they possess global-scale threats.” This was exactly the information Kara wanted to know.
“Miss Kara, you know about the existence of magic and Mutants but haven’t made it public.
I believe you understand the importance of keeping secrets.” Coulson’s tone was gentle, yet pointed.
“Of course.” Kara straightened her back slightly with confidence.
After bidding farewell to Coulson, she began looking for Tony in the venue—if she could get another exclusive interview, it would add another significant achievement to her reporter’s resume.
However, after a quick sweep, Tony was nowhere to be found.
Even on the terrace, only Pepper’s solitary figure remained.
Kara wasn’t disappointed.
The camera she had secretly set up had already captured the intimate moment between Tony and his female assistant, which was enough for the Daily Bugle to make a big story out of it.
She looked down at the photo in her hand—Pepper’s dress, which was cut almost down to her tailbone, made her shake her head inwardly.
If she had to wear something like that, she’d rather use Heat Vision to burn the clothes.
Kara’s own dress only exposed her shoulders.
The next day, Kara spent the whole day at her desk writing.
For a long time, the hidden side of this World had made her feel a faint sense of unease.
After gaining Kryptonian powers, she knew even more clearly that a peaceful life might have long since departed.
Fortunately, her conversation with Coulson gave her a deeper glimpse.
At least now she understood that as long as she didn’t actively provoke those masters of magic, her safety was still guaranteed—if even an ordinary Agent like Coulson could participate in supernatural events, it meant powers that could threaten her were not common.
After delivering the final draft to Robbie’s office, Kara put on her white coat and left work.
The lights were just beginning to flicker on in the streets of New York, as bustling as ever.
But she knew that the corners of this city were never truly at peace.
Her phone vibrated with a new message from Tony Stark: “Kara, please come to the Malibu Villa.
Something important.” Kara was a bit puzzled.
She hadn’t used her Super Hearing lately, so she didn’t know much about Tony’s recent situation.
Finding a deserted corner, she took to the sky and soon hovered over the luxury Villa on Malibu beach.
Seeing such a lavish residence with her own eyes for the first time, Kara couldn’t help but marvel at the World of the wealthy.
After being a reporter for several months, her salary plus various income only amounted to a bit over two hundred thousand dollars—which was already top-tier among her peers.
Yet the Villa before her was likely worth over a hundred million.
Her keen hearing captured the sound of machinery operating underground.
She followed the sound down and entered the Underground Room.
The scene before her made Kara freeze for a moment: Pepper was standing at the console, while Tony was removing his armor with the help of mechanical arms, his body trembling slightly as each piece was detached.
Pepper looked up and saw Kara.
She was surprised at first, then turned to Tony, her tone laced with anger: “Tony?
You just went through a gunfight in the Middle East during the day, and at night you’re thinking about…
this kind of thing?” “What kind of thing?” Tony waved a hand from the platform.
“While I would indeed be very happy to…
with Miss Kara—” Catching a glimpse of the red light glowing in Kara’s eyes, he wisely shut his mouth.
“I asked you both here because I need help.” Tony walked down from the platform after removing the armor.
“I always thought Stark Industries was under my control, but it betrayed me—Obadiah betrayed me.
Pepper, I need you to download all the evidence of the illicit arms deals from the company servers.” “And then?
What are you going to do?” “Destroy them personally.” “I won’t help you, Tony.
You’ll get yourself killed!” Pepper turned to leave.
“Pepper!” Tony called out to her.
“Stark Industries has already destroyed too much.
You supported me when I was building weapons of destruction; now that I want to protect people, you’re going to leave?” Pepper stopped at the door, silent for a long time, before finally turning back to pick up the USB drive on the table.
“You know what?” she said softly.
“You’re the only one who could get me to do something like this.” Tony breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Kara.
“Kara, right now you and Pepper are the only ones I can trust.
If I fail…
please find all the leaked Stark weapons and destroy them.” “Why do you think I’ll help you?” Kara’s voice was calm.
She didn’t want to get involved in this mess—just like going to Afghanistan, who knew what trouble destroying weapons would bring?
Stark’s ‘clients’ were all over the World; these waters were too deep.
“Hope, Kara.” Tony gazed at her.
“It’s what you taught me.
What did I see in the eyes of those people held hostage by Terrorists?
Despair.
Maybe only we can bring them hope.” Kara was silent for a moment.
“…I’ll help you just this once.” Beside them, Pepper looked confused, not understanding why Tony would entrust such a dangerous mission to a seemingly fragile young girl.
Seeing this, Tony shrugged toward Kara.
Kara helplessly took off her glasses and touched her bracelet.
The Nano-suit spread like liquid, covering her entire body, and a red cape unfurled in the airflow.
She slowly floated into the air, her eyes glowing with a searing red light— Two beams of Heat Vision shot toward the floor, branding a deep, burning “S” symbol into the metal plating.
Pepper’s eyes widened, staring in disbelief at the girl in the short skirt hovering in the air.
“Let me introduce her,” Tony opened his arms, his voice carrying a certain solemnity.
“Pepper, this is my comrade-in-arms from Afghanistan—Kara.
You can also call her…” He paused for a second, a corner of his mouth turning up.
“Supergirl.”