Ch. 244 Natasha's Mysterious Encounter

"A little gift for me?"

As Russell looked at the now disconnected phone, his expression became somewhat strange.

While Tony was indeed very wealthy and treated money as if it were nothing, even going so far as to exchange a watch worth several hundred thousand dollars for a box of strawberries, there weren't many things about Tony that interested Russell.

Apart from the fact that Tony's personal assets still couldn't compare to his own, the only two things that intrigued him about Tony were his brilliant mind and the potential rewards he could offer.

Although he didn't know what Tony was up to, since he had taken the initiative to call and invite him, Russell didn't mind making the trip.

After having his ponytailed blonde female secretary, Ellie, bring in the documents that needed to be signed and reviewed today, he quickly completed his duties as chairman for the day.

He then flew out of the modified French windows under Ellie's watchful gaze and headed towards Tony's mansion in the suburbs.

In less than two minutes, he arrived above Tony's mansion.

He used his X-ray to observe Tony's mansion and discovered that Tony was currently in the mansion's laboratory. Without any hesitation, he landed in the mansion's garden.

Then, he made his way to Tony's laboratory.

"You finally made it!"

As soon as he entered the laboratory, Tony, dressed like a maintenance worker, came up to him and said with a smile.

Seeing Tony, who looked completely different from his usual playboy image, Russell took a glance at the arc reactor on Tony's chest.

The original palladium arc reactor had now been replaced with a new element arc reactor, and its shape had changed from the original circular design to an inverted triangle.

While examining the new reactor, he also used his X-ray to observe Tony's body.

"It looks like you not only replaced the reactor but also cleaned up all the bomb fragments inside your body."

Russell smiled and remarked.

"It was bound to be taken care of sooner or later, so I decided to do it all at once."

Tony said casually.

"Enough about that. You said you have a gift for me, and I'm here now. Can you tell me what the gift is?"

Russell asked directly.

"Don't be in such a hurry; let's talk over a drink."

After saying that, Tony went to the liquor cabinet, took out a bottle of whiskey, and poured two glasses.

Then, he returned to Russell and handed one of the glasses to him.

"When discussing confidential matters, a glass of whiskey can add to the atmosphere."

Tony took a sip and said slowly.

"Confidential matters?"

Russell raised an eyebrow and looked at Tony curiously.

"Come on, have a seat, and we'll talk."

Tony took the lead and sat on the sofa, gesturing for Russell to sit down as well.

Although Russell didn't know what game Tony was playing, he didn't rush Tony. He sat down across from him and took a sip of the whiskey in his glass.

"When you reminded me that S.H.I.E.L.D. had some of my father's belongings, I went to S.H.I.E.L.D. to retrieve them. Nick Fury told me some things."

"He told me that my father regarded the arc reactor as just a stepping stone for cutting-edge technology."

"My father was preparing for an energy competition, one that would leave all competitors in the dust."

"He had a clue about a super-energy source, one that would make the nuclear reactor look like a AAA battery."

At this point, Tony showed a rare expression of admiration and pointed to his new reactor on his chest.

"Due to the technological limitations at the time, my father couldn't complete this great invention. I helped him realize his vision."

"He's been dead for twenty years, and he still taught me a lesson."

"What you said is true. My father even greater than I imagined. I used to underestimate him too much!"

Tony said with a complex expression.

"Your father was indeed a great man."

Russell agreed with Tony's statement.

"Alright, the prelude ends here. Now, let's get to the main topic."

Tony's expression began to become serious, and he signaled to the intelligent mechanical arm named "Dummy" in the lab.

Receiving his command, "Dummy" brought Howard's notebook to Tony and Russell.

"This is my father's notebook."

Tony said slowly.

"The gift you mentioned can't possibly be your father's notebook, right?"

Russell asked in response.

"Of course not. Open it up and take a look. You might find something of interest."

Tony continued.

Although Tony hadn't told him what the gift was yet, Russell had some guesses.

Could this guy be plotting something related to the Cosmic Cube?

Russell quickly skimmed through Howard's notebook after opening it.

Sure enough, in Howard's notebook, he found information about the Cosmic Cube.

Although Howard didn't directly mention the name of the Cosmic Cube in the notebook, he described it as an entirely new energy source never before discovered by humans and even drew a picture of it.

"You must have heard of the story of Captain America's battle with the Red Skull, right? That cube is the Red Skull's treasure, the Cosmic Cube."

Perhaps worried that Russell didn't know what the Cosmic Cube was, Tony explained.

"And then?"

Russell closed the notebook and asked.

"I don't know where the Red Skull obtained the Cosmic Cube from."

"However, according to the information my father provided for synthesizing this new element, I discovered a problem."

Tony looked at Russell with a serious expression.

"What problem?"

"It's extraterrestrial technology!"

Extraterrestrial technology?

Russell was momentarily taken aback when he saw the seriousness on Tony's face.

However, he quickly caught on.

For Tony, a tech-savvy superhero, any power from outer space could be considered extraterrestrial technology.

"The gift you're talking about, is it possibly the Cosmic Cube?"

Russell asked with a smile.

"You're overthinking it. This thing is not in my hands right now; it's with S.H.I.E.L.D."

"After learning about the existence of the Cosmic Cube, I used my connections to investigate it."

"Although Captain America managed to stop the Red Skull back then, they both crashed along with the Cosmic Cube."

"My father and the predecessor of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Strategic Scientific Reserve, searched near the crash site back then, hoping to find Captain America's body and the Cosmic Cube."

"But unfortunately, my father only found the Cosmic Cube."

"As for Captain America, he was only excavated from the Arctic Ocean by S.H.I.E.L.D. ten years ago."

For anyone else, what Tony was saying would indeed be considered confidential.

But for Russell, it was far from confidential.

If Tony wanted to know more, Russell could even provide him with more specific details.

"Are you telling me all of this because you want me to help S.H.I.E.L.D. retrieve the Cosmic Cube?"

"How is that possible! I'm telling you all of this just so you understand how valuable this new element, invented by my father but synthesized by me, truly is!"

Upon hearing this, Russell gave Tony an incredulous look.

Are you kidding me?

Although he didn't speak at the moment, Tony could tell what Russell was thinking.

"Don't think I'm fooling you. I'm only letting you know the true value of this new element so that you understand the magnitude of the gift I'm giving you."

With that, Tony took out a USB drive from his pocket.

"It contains information about the new element and the synthesis method. If you're interested, you can have your people synthesize it."

"I won't give you the design plans for the Arc Reactor; you already have that."

This...

While Russell knew Tony was generous, he didn't expect him to be this generous.

This was a completely new element that could replace palladium, and it was derived from the study of the Cosmic Cube, an extraterrestrial artifact. Given Earth's current technological level, it was priceless!

Such a thing, and Tony was just giving it away.

"Are you sure?"

Russell didn't immediately accept the USB drive Tony offered.

"I never regret giving away what I've already given."

Tony said seriously.

"Well then, I'll accept it!"

Russell didn't refuse and accepted the USB drive from Tony.

"Don't feel like you're taking advantage of me. Without your reminder, I wouldn't have been able to synthesize this new element. You can consider this my consultation fee."

"Consultation fee? Didn't you pay me one billion dollars last time?"

Russell asked.

Upon hearing Russell's words, Tony hesitated for a moment.

He had forgotten!

Seeing Tony's expression, Russell immediately guessed what Tony was thinking now.

Tony's current attitude was like that of a wealthy person who owned so many houses that he forgot he had bought one here.

Realizing that Russell had figured out what he was thinking, Tony put on a serious expression and said, "That was just a deposit!"

"Alright, if you say it's a deposit, then it's a deposit."

Russell smiled and placed the USB drive into his system space.

After chatting about some decadent capitalist topics with Tony, Russell left Tony's mansion and returned to his office at Octopus Monster Industries.

As soon as he returned to his office, he took out the USB drive from his system space.

"Synthesize some of the new element according to the information and compare the efficiency of the reactor using the new element with the one currently used in the Endosymbiotic Battle Armor."

"Understood, sir!"

...

Time flew by, and a month passed unnoticed. During this month, Russell lived a relaxed life. Besides occasionally paying attention to Bakshi's "kill a chicken to scare the monkeys" plan and the progress of Callum rebuilding of the Assassin Brotherhood, he spent most of the month living the life of a typical decadent capitalist.

Although life was somewhat dull, Russell was quite satisfied. Dullness was a form of happiness!

Octopus Monster Industries. headquarters office. Russell was reviewing the documents sent by his blonde secretary, Ellie. Octopus Monster Industries and the Octopus Monster Laboratory were now both running smoothly and didn't require much of his attention.

Spider-Man, who had joined the Alliance last month, was gradually making a name for himself and became a regular headline in major media outlets.

Gwen continued her double life as a college student and Spider-Woman, while Kara continued her dual roles as Supergirl and a movie actress.

The Hulk didn't have much to say; he was still the same, drinking, training, and smashing things as usual. The only difference was that Big White and Little White were no longer possessing gorillas but now inhabited jaguars. Hulk had no complaints about that.

In this month, the one who underwent the most significant change was Diana. Due to Russell, Diana's work at the museum had become increasingly difficult. Now, there were more people coming to the museum to see Diana than regular visitors.

If these people were unscrupulous reporters from tabloid newspapers, Russell had plenty of ways to deal with them. But the problem was, these people were just ordinary folks who came with the intention of seeing a superhero girlfriend or simply admiring a beautiful woman. Russell disliked their behavior, but he couldn't do anything about them.

Due to the curiosity of these masses, Diana hadn't been able to go to work for several days now. Although Russell didn't expect Diana's meager salary to contribute much to the household, her idleness had brought him some trouble.

Because she didn't have to work, Diana had been pulling him into playing chess more often lately. On the surface, it seemed like a good thing, but over time, even with Kryptonian physiology, he couldn't take it anymore. Diana was becoming more and more radiant, but Russell felt his own condition deteriorating.

Now, he even started taking out the dragon bones he had collected before to make wine.

After finishing his daily work today, Russell ignored Ellie's temptations and let the blonde secretary leave the office. Just as he was considering whether to take on a few assassination missions in the name of a "Traveler" and spend a few days in other cities or countries, his private email suddenly received a message.

"Sir, Agent Romanoff has sent a secret email. Would you like to view it now?"

The voice of No. 3, the AI, sounded.

Hearing No. 3's synthesized mechanical voice, Russell slowly opened his eyes, which had been half-closed, leaning back in his chair.

"Project it directly."

"Of course, sir!"

The next moment, a large holographic projection screen appeared in front of him.

Russell thought Natasha would be sending him an update on what she had been doing during her "disappearance." However, when he saw the specific content of the email, his expression became somewhat complicated.

Indeed, Natasha had explained where she had been during this time.

As Russell had speculated, Natasha had been sent by Nick Fury to carry out tasks related to the second phase of the Cosmic Cube.

A joint mission on Dark Energy!

This was a mission jointly executed by NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy, and S.H.I.E.L.D.

In the public external communication, it was presented as a mission dedicated to the study of cosmic dark energy.

But in reality, besides researching the cosmic dark energy that accounted for 70% of the total energy in the universe, they would also be investigating some things that couldn't be publicly disclosed.

Such as the Cosmic Cube.

Natasha had been "missing" for several days, during which she had been stationed at the Joint Dark Energy Task Research Base in Tucson, Arizona.

According to Nick Fury's arrangement, Natasha's mission this time was similar to what Barton was doing. She was responsible for safeguarding the security of the Cosmic Cube during the second phase of its research, as well as preventing any possible leaks of information.

In simpler terms, Natasha was doing something similar to a security supervisor.

This kind of mission wasn't new for Natasha. She had experienced similar tasks before, such as when she and Barton were stationed at the secret base in Norway to protect the symbiote research.

However, this time, both she and Barton encountered unexpected incidents.

To be precise, everyone in the laboratory at the time encountered unexpected incidents.

The ongoing testing of the Cosmic Cube suddenly activated a portal, forcibly transporting them to a desolate and lifeless planet.

This...

Russell was quite certain that there had never been a storyline in the Marvel Cinematic Universe where Natasha and Barton were transported to a barren planet.

However, what surprised him even more was the planet where Natasha and her team had been transported to.

On that desolate and lifeless planet, Natasha's group saw what appeared to be an ancient sculpture resembling the Hydra symbol.

In her email, Natasha drew a rough sketch of the Hydra symbol she had seen.

Although the drawing wasn't particularly detailed, when Russell saw it, he could roughly guess which planet they had been transported to.

Maveth, the planet!

The ancient Inhumans used Maveth to exile the first Inhuman Hive in history.

Was Natasha reading the wrong script or something?

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there was indeed a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who was transported to Maveth, but it wasn't Natasha; it was Jemma Simmons.

What's more, Simmons being transported to Maveth had nothing to do with the Cosmic Cube.

The one who had transported Simmons was not the Cosmic Cube, but the Kree-made Monolith.

Although Russell didn't know why Natasha's group had been transported to Maveth, the planet where the Hive was located, he didn't dwell on this issue too much.

It wasn't the first time that people had been transported to another world by the Cosmic Cube.

The infamous Red Skull had been transported to Vormir by the Cosmic Cube to play the role of "fatherhood evaluator."

In the following emails, Natasha briefly described how they survived on the desolate Maveth and evaded extraterrestrial monsters.

After about a month passed like this, the research personnel at the Joint Dark Energy Task Base finally found a way to open the Cosmic Cube's portal and rescued them from that planet.

Although they had returned for several days now, Natasha and Barton, along with the others, had been undergoing various physical examinations.

It wasn't until today that Natasha finally found an opportunity to send a secret email.

After reading the entire content of the email, the only feeling Russell had was that the future developments were becoming increasingly chaotic.

If he remembered correctly, in the movie universe, S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't find a way to open the Cosmic Cube's portal until Loki arrived on Earth.

Here, S.H.I.E.L.D. seemed to have better control over the Cosmic Cube than in the movie universe.

At the very least, they already knew how to use the Cosmic Cube to open portals.

Otherwise, Natasha's group, forcibly transported to Maveth, would most likely have died on that planet.

Natasha didn't know who the extraterrestrial monsters attacking them on Maveth were, but Russell knew very well.

That was the first Inhuman Hive in history, and it was a Hive that often found itself in a state of hunger.

Maveth became the barren and lifeless planet it was because the Hive had consumed all the living creatures on it.

The fact that Natasha's group survived on Maveth for a month without being consumed by the Hive was a testament to their well-trained skills.

For ordinary people, they probably wouldn't have lasted even a day.

Although Natasha had lived on Maveth, where the Hive was located, for a month, Russell wasn't particularly worried about her being influenced or parasitized by the Hive.

While S.H.I.E.L.D. might not always be reliable, they were still a professional spy organization.

As soon as Natasha and the others returned, S.H.I.E.L.D. immediately conducted detailed full-body examinations on them.

If they had been parasitized by the Hive, S.H.I.E.L.D. would have discovered it long ago.

After thinking for a dozen seconds, he replied to Natasha's email.

Collect data from the second phase of the Cosmic Cube and keep an eye on the Cube's status.

If there are any signs of the Cosmic Cube opening again, contact me immediately.

After replying to the email, he closed the holographic projection screen in front of him.

"No. 3, how is the progress of the Cosmic Cube Element Energy Weapon project going?"

Russell asked No. 3.

Cosmic Cube Element was the name he had given to the new element he had synthesized for Tony.

Due to his lack of creativity, he chose to directly name these new elements after the Cosmic Cube.

It was simple and easy to understand, and it also symbolized the origin of these new elements.

"We have currently completed 50% of the progress, enough to equip one hundred White Outsiders with one main weapon and two auxiliary weapons each, a total of three energy weapons."

No. 3 quickly replied.

"Speed up the progress and complete the outfitting of all White Outsiders as soon as possible."

Russell ordered.

"Yes, sir!"

White Outsiders referred to the Hydra soldiers possessed by the White Zetsu after being transformed.

After deciding to retain only four animal hosts for the White Zetsu at the Justice League headquarters, all the other White Outsiders had been possessed by the White Zetsu, who were now equipped with the new energy weapons.

These Hydra soldiers, although they were just ordinary people and had not undergone brainwashing and super-soldier serum enhancements, Russell wasn't particularly worried about their loyalty.

The White Zetsu inhabiting their bodies not only granted them superhuman strength far beyond ordinary people but also served as a means of monitoring them at all times.

Forget about taking action against their controllers; if they even had rebellious thoughts, the White Zetsu inhabiting them would detect it immediately and take control of their bodies.

After giving the order to No. 3, he stood up and flew out of the office through the open-air balcony he had recently built.

Previously, he would always leave his office through the modified floor-to-ceiling windows.

During this period when there wasn't much to do, he had the construction team renovate his office and built a slightly extravagant viewing balcony outside.

When No. 3 designed the viewing balcony, he had it reference the top-floor viewing balcony of Stark Tower.

Although the later renovation of the building was somewhat against building regulations, these issues were not a problem for Russell, who was now a capitalist.

Not to mention just renovating his office and balcony; even if he wanted to rebuild the entire Octopus Monster Industries building, he could easily handle all the legal procedures and obtain the permits he wanted.

Yes, the building where Octopus Monster Industries was located was now his.

He had bought the entire building with money!