Marvel: I am Iron Man

At 6:30 a.m., Nick Fury was sitting in his office in the Tri-Wing Tower at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters when he received a communication via an encrypted line.

Even within S.H.I.E.L.D., only a very small number of people have direct access to Director Fury. This time, the person making the call was Agent Phil Coulson.

Agent Coulson is undoubtedly one of the hardest-working actors in Phase One of the MCU films. He first appeared in the groundbreaking film "Iron Man 1," and subsequently made cameo appearances in films featuring Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and even the Avengers. His high early appearance rate once made people wonder if S.H.I.E.L.D. was just their number one field errand boy.

Furthermore, this person possesses exceptional business skills and a wide range of expertise, including but not limited to selling Captain America merchandise, delivering packages for Iron Man, acting as a bodyguard for Mjolnir, and even posing as an HR representative during the Avengers' assembly to trick people into joining the cause...

After Coulson had his heart ripped out by Loki in Avengers 1, everyone thought this model worker could finally rest in peace. But who knew that Nick Fury, the capitalist who hangs streetlights, wouldn't even grant him leave to go to his grave?

In the spin-off series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury uses alien technology to forcibly bring Coulson back from the brink of death to continue working overtime, thus continuing Coulson's hardcore working life where he has to return to the office on time to make coffee no matter if he is shot, falls, or is stabbed.

The positive energy emanating from that憨厚 (honest and simple) smiling face in the later stages was practically saying, "Look, guys, working 996 at the bureau really does extend your life..."

Receiving Coulson's message so early, Fury keenly sensed something was amiss.

Fury answered the communicator: "Coulson?"

"Director Fury, something terrible has happened." Coulson on the other end of the line looked serious. "Agent Sitwell, a Level 6 SHIELD agent is dead... murdered."

But to Coulson's surprise, Director Fury did not show any surprise.

Fury simply said, "Come to my office."

...

Not long after, Phil Coulson arrived at Director Fury's office.

As soon as Coulson closed the door, Fury spoke.

"Tell me the specifics," Fury said.

"This morning, Sitwell was found dead in his own home," Coulson said gravely. "Our people have cordoned off the area and conducted some initial investigations this morning. But a more detailed report is still pending..."

Fury interrupted: "Get to the point."

"Okay... The initial investigation results indicate that it was a close-range shot, fatal with a single bullet. It is presumed that the shooter was in the Sitwell agent's living room at the time."

Coulson thought for a moment and then said.

"Our personnel are currently using S.H.I.E.L.D.'s AI to quickly sift through and check nearby surveillance footage, and found nothing unusual near the Sitwell agent's residence. All the standard alarms and sensors near the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent's residence have also remained untriggered..."

Fury nodded. "He's a seasoned veteran."

"Yes... but it wasn't all for naught," Coulson said. "While the search around the residential area yielded no results, a resident on the street had installed a private surveillance camera in front of their door."

We also retrieved the surveillance footage. Although it was only for a very short moment, the camera did capture an image that appeared to be the perpetrator.

Upon hearing this, Fury's one eye seemed to widen slightly, and he sat up straight.

"show me."

Coulson didn't say much after hearing this, and the video that had been prepared beforehand was shown through the office's projection system.

The surveillance footage seemed to be immersed in a dark blue tone. It was as if, in just a fraction of a second, a faint red spot of light flashed by from the street corner—it was the afterimage of a motorcycle taillight as it sped past, captured by the camera, like the scarlet pupil of a beast in the darkness.

The image was captured in time and has been restored by technicians using AI tools. Although it is still blurry, the figure can be barely recognized.

The man straddling the motorcycle was tall with messy black hair and wearing a mask and goggles. However, one of his hands holding the motorcycle was a silver-white mechanical arm.

The highly recognizable arm confirmed the person's identity.

"Winter Soldier," Fury said in a deep voice.

This person was documented in the S.H.I.E.L.D. files. He was a master assassin, a ghost that seemed to have been active for half a century, having assassinated many well-known targets.

Among them, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agent, Black Widow, even had a brief encounter with this person during a mission. In that operation, Natasha was shot through the abdomen, and the gunshot wound still remains to this day. According to her own joke, "I have to say goodbye to bikinis from now on."

Fury fell into a deep thought.

On the surface, Hydra has been eliminated after World War II, but Nick Fury, as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., had long suspected that things might not be so simple.

While Fury probably can't imagine that the mess he's made has developed into a "Hydra-designated talent incubation base," he has at least realized that Hydra still exists in the world.

In fact, although the Winter Soldier's whereabouts are elusive and his origins are uncertain, S.H.I.E.L.D. has long suspected that he is also a henchman of Hydra.

So, Sitwell was killed by Hydra?

"You can go out now," Fury said.

"Yes."

Coulson nodded respectfully and left the room.

After he left, Fury leaned back in his chair for a moment, then suddenly said, "Top Secret Mode."

The room's system accepted his command, and the light immediately dimmed. The door was locked, the windows were sealed, and only the eerie blue light from the holographic image on the table in front of Fury remained in the dark room.

Fury gestured twice, and a video recording played.

The person in the video is the Sitwell agent who was murdered earlier today.

Just in the early hours of the morning, the video was sent to Fury via Sitwell's internal email account as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

In the video, Sitwell appears anxious and tense, with a pale face.

"I don't know who else I can send this to, I'm at my wit's end. But I've come to this conclusion, and if there's anyone who can save me, it's you, Chief Fury."

The Sitwell agent in the video took a deep breath.

"What I'm about to say might seem outrageous. But there's a hidden compartment in the ceiling of my bathroom containing an encrypted phone, and the evidence on it is enough to prove that what I'm about to tell you is true."

He took several deep breaths, as if gathering his courage before speaking the rest of his words.

"Hydra is still alive."

...

At the same time, at Stark Residence.

After a relaxing hot shower, Tony Stark, wearing a bathrobe and drying his wet hair, went down the stairs to his laboratory.

The lab door unlocked, and Tony pushed it open and entered.

As soon as he stepped inside, a figure suddenly appeared standing in the center of his laboratory.

Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, stands in his laboratory, his mechanical arm holding a gun, the dark muzzle pointed directly at Tony's forehead.