Inside the Chairman's office at Hero League headquarters, Aiden Cross — Zhao Chen, Founder and Chairman of the Hero League, leaned back in his revolving chair with his eyes closed.
He was deciding whether the Hero League should enter the battlefield.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s offer was… significant.
Pick any one item from their vault.
Aiden knew exactly what was inside.
A treasure of the universe.
The Space Stone.
Born from the essence of the Big Bang, one of the six primordial stones that governed Space, Power, Mind, Reality, Time, and Soul—the most terrifying artifacts in existence.
S.H.I.E.L.D., of course, had no idea what they possessed. To them, it was merely the Cosmic Cube, an object they were still trying to understand.
"They're really bleeding for this," Aiden murmured with a faint smile. "But it's still far from enough to make us move."
If he knew where S.H.I.E.L.D. stored it, he wouldn't be negotiating at all. He would simply space-jump in and take it.
An artifact like that could be used directly… or converted into an astronomical amount of energy points—enough to designate-summon a Vice-Chairman–tier powerhouse.
Tony Stark relayed Aiden's terms to Captain America exactly as given.
Even Tony felt the demands were outrageous.
Captain America, shield raised, struggling to hold the line, listened grimly.
"Name the price."
Tony didn't sugarcoat it.
"First: the vault deal stands.Second: the Avengers are to be dissolved. All members merge into the Hero League.Third: the government stops suppressing us and instead promotes us nationwide.And… an annual activity budget of one trillion dollars."
Even Tony winced saying it.
But the government had no choice.
They were already overwhelmed by a Ghost-Class disaster. Hundreds of thousands dead.
What would happen when a Dragon-Class or worse appeared?
The Avengers had only one true combat pillar—Hulk—and even he was unreliable.
The terms went from Captain America to Nick Fury — Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and then to Congress.
Faces turned green with anger.
But they agreed.
Because if New York fell after they expelled the Hero League, the public would never forgive them.
"Accepted."
Tony nodded.
"Establish a second defensive line. The Chairman is mobilizing the Hero League."
Tony returned briefly to his villa.
Pepper Potts — Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries, had already been brought there safely.
He reassured her, kissed her, left two autonomous suits for protection, and took the remaining twenty-eight into the sky.
This time, there would be no convenient ammo resupply.
Energy had to be conserved.
Because the real battlefield…
was where hundreds of thousands of Deep Sea creatures were advancing.
Across New York, the Hero League began mobilizing through spatial transfer chambers, jumping into the city one point at a time.
The war was about to change.
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