"Well then, is it possible that the alien race that invaded New York wasn't actually that advanced?"
Iron Man pondered for a moment before presenting another hypothesis. "Not only that, but their level of civilization might be even lower, low enough that... they couldn't even intercept our defenses!"
Nick Fury reminded him, "Stark, they wiped New York out without giving us a chance to fight back. That doesn't sound like something a primitive civilization could do."
"Strength doesn't always correlate with civilization," Iron Man retorted confidently. "Captain America uses a shield, the Hulk relies on his fists, and that guy in the cape uses a hammer... very primitive methods, but they aren't necessarily weaker than me in my armor."
Nick Fury realized that Iron Man had a point.
If an alien race was physically powerful enough, they might not need advanced technology to conquer. Just like the Skrulls from over a decade ago, who didn't even understand basic astrophysics but still held a higher position in the universe than Earth.
"Please continue, Stark," Nick Fury urged, looking at Iron Man.
"We saw those fleets in the wormhole. They looked more rugged and primitive, not the high-tech style you might expect."
"Of course, it's a bit one-sided to make a judgment based on that alone. So let's look at their combat style."
Iron Man spoke confidently in front of Nick Fury and Black Widow.
"From the footage of my fight with those alien soldiers, their combat methods are actually pretty similar to humans. They're just bigger, and they use energy guns. That's it."
"And you saw it too. Several of them couldn't even handle me!"
"My Iron Armor is really just a few years ahead of modern technology, nothing more."
"This level of technology should be very low for a civilization that possesses space technology," Iron Man continued. "But in reality, during our battles, I wasn't at a disadvantage. In fact, I had an absolute advantage! They couldn't do anything against my armor."
"From this, I find it hard to believe their civilization is more advanced than Earth's."
Nick Fury and Black Widow exchanged glances, shrugging. They couldn't help but agree that Iron Man's argument made sense.
If these aliens couldn't even handle an Iron Armor that was only ahead by a decade or so, it was really hard to believe their civilization was all that advanced.
"But they opened the portal. How do we explain that?" Black Widow quickly pointed out a critical flaw, "This definitely seems like technology beyond Earth's."
"Who knows? Maybe they specialize in certain fields, or perhaps they have some kind of treasure, or maybe someone else helped them open the portal."
"The truth is, we don't have enough information to draw a definitive conclusion yet."
Iron Man shook his head.
[Please answer the question: Why did Nick Fury first assemble the Avengers?]
[A. To fight the Chitauri invading New York][B. To find the stolen Tesseract][C. To raid Hydra's secret military base][D. To subdue the rampaging Hulk]
[Hint: Correct answers will reward you with unlimited bullets for the Colt M1911;Wrong answers will result in a random penalty, deducting a random attribute such as knowledge, experience, skills, possessions, etc.]
The system's voice echoed again, and a new question appeared on the screen in front of the group.
Iron Man and the others paused their discussion and turned their attention to the new question.
"Looks like that Avengers initiative you mentioned, Nick, is officially up and running," Iron Man said, glancing at Nick Fury.
"Sir, that's good news," Black Widow added, slightly excited.
Right now, the Avengers only consisted of her and Hawkeye. Of course, for a typical special ops team, someone like Black Widow, a top-tier agent, would be enough.
But in the kind of team Nick Fury envisioned for the Avengers, those two didn't quite measure up.
This team was so underdeveloped, calling it a "ragtag" group would be an understatement.
As one of the founding members, Black Widow was happy to know that the organization would soon grow and become more organized.
"Seems like my decision to form the Avengers was the right one! Only the right decisions stand the test of time!" Nick Fury nodded, satisfied with himself.
At that moment, he glanced at Iron Man and said, "By the way, Stark, I haven't had a chance to tell you. You're officially part of the Avengers now."
Originally, Nick Fury had planned to observe Iron Man for a bit longer, but after watching Iron Man decisively carry a nuclear bomb into a space wormhole to save New York, Nick Fury changed his mind.
Someone willing to sacrifice themselves for New York's sake, despite their flaws, was definitely qualified to join the Avengers.
"Not bad. Choosing to let me join the Avengers is definitely one of your best decisions," Iron Man replied, getting cocky as usual.
"So... Miss Agent, does that mean we're colleagues now? How about grabbing a drink sometime?" After being cocky, Iron Man began flirting with Black Widow again.
"Alright, Stark," Nick Fury interrupted with an exasperated expression, "Let's focus on the task at hand and answer the question."
As Nick Fury rested his chin on his hand, his eyes fixed on the screen in front of them. His gaze first landed on the first option.
"'The Chitauri invading New York,' does that mean these Chitauri are the aliens from the previous question?"
Nick Fury speculated.
Black Widow nodded, "Considering the odds of New York being invaded twice in a row are slim, those guys are probably the Chitauri."
"They sound so stupid. Just like their armor. Stupid!" Iron Man couldn't help but vent his thoughts.
The group agreed on the identity of the Chitauri.
"Alright, so the A option is talking about the 'Battle of New York.' Was the first time I assembled the Avengers because of the Battle of New York?" Nick Fury continued analyzing.
"That's a possibility, sir," Black Widow reminded him, "Remember that news article Pepper saw on the flight?"
"The 'response team' they mentioned is probably the Avengers."
"But they didn't know the name 'Avengers,' they just called it the 'response team,' which means the Avengers were probably just forming for the first time."
(End of Chapter)