Ten rings
The plot of Iron Man III had officially begun.
Meanwhile, as Fury took a look at the screen, he saw Iron Man's villa being attacked. This was no 'ordinary' attack, as no matter how he looked at it, this was clearly an organized and planned terrorist attack.
Fury then explained to Bruce what had happened the past few days.
After the New York War ended, Thor had instantly returned to Asgard. Dr. Banner on the other hand, because of his terrifying destructive power which he had little control of, chose to stay in a secret location only known to the senior members of S.H.I.E.L.D.
This was also a kind of disguised protection for him.
Iron Man however, hardly went out of his properties during this time, as his armor had been greatly damaged and was in urgent need of repair.
This period of time when Iron Man was at his weakest, had proven to be a huge opportunity to a certain group who had abducted him a long time ago, also known as the Ten Rings.
The leader of this group was rumored to be named Mandarin, and he named the organization based off of the number of rings on his hands.
However unlike what Bruce had read in the books, this Mandarin character didn't have Chinese ancestry. Regardless, the Ten Rings he had founded was a very powerful terrorist organization, and they had carried out many operations throughout the years.
And precisely this powerful terrorist organization had recently set their sights on Iron Man, or more accurately, it was Mandarin that had chosen him.
Almost immediately after, Iron Man had announced that he would fight against them to the bitter end. And as a consequence to this announcement, Mandarin had bombed Iron Man in every sense of the word.
During the bombing, Iron Man had used the Mark Armor to make a last stand, but because of the attack being too sudden, Iron Man had finally lost and had disappeared from the public eye.
This was the most important event that had happened in recent times, second only to the New York War of course.
Because of the timing of the attack, S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't have enough people to deal with this, as they still had to rebuild New York along with a lot of other things.
Completely helpless for the current matter, Fury went to Bruce, as if they wanted to find where Iron Man was located now, Bruce was the most optimal candidate.
"So, does Mr. Fury want me to handle this?" Bruce sat down, his face utterly calm despite the situation.
No one knew more about the future then him, so he wasn't really interested in saving Iron Man. After all, Iron Man didn't need anyone's rescue at all, as he himself was his own savior.
The only thing that interested Bruce currently was the man behind this attack, Mandarin, as well as the puppet master that manipulated everything from behind the scenes – Aldrich Killian.
This was the task that the system had given him, and there was only half a month remaining before the time limit of the task ran out.
But what truly surprised Bruce was the rate of which the plot was developing. He only had half a month left and he was this far into the plot, truly too fast.
Iron Man had presumably already developed his armor during this half a month, and his latest innovation should be the Mark 11 Armor!
The thing that made Iron Man so powerful was precisely the fact that he had a frighteningly developed brain.
But Bruce could understand why he had been madly developing his armor all the time. It was only natural for him to know, as he himself was the reason that Iron Man felt pressured to make a better armor!
In some ways, it could be said that he had helped promote Iron Man's research and development speed of his armor.
Regarding this, Bruce was not surprised at all.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has a lot of work to do right now, and Captain America and the others are not here at the moment. The only person that can handle this at present is you," Fury said in a serious manner.
He couldn't command Bruce to work, firstly because he wasn't qualified to do so, and secondly and more importantly, because it would only be counterproductive.
That was why he added a hint of 'please' in his tone.
Although Bruce appeared to be a level 6 agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. on the surface, in reality he was so powerful that the organization had no control of him whatsoever.
He was exactly like those superheroes they had decided to make use of, S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't control them at all.
"Rest assured, I will handle this matter well," Bruce replied.
Fury's meaning was for him to find Iron Man, as Iron Man truly had too much of an influence in modern society.
Fury nodded slowly after hearing Bruce's answer. Now that Bruce had promised, he could finally relax. As for how Bruce would handle the matter, that was completely up to him and he couldn't intervene even if he wanted to.
Afterwards, Fury gave Bruce all the information they had on Mandarin and let him study it.
At last, only Bruce remained in the room, and he carefully analyzed Mandarin's previous videos. If it was based off of the plot of the movie, then Mandarin was just a front, a puppet.
The true mastermind manipulator from behind the scenes was Aldrich Killian, a developer of biotechnology that could actually be regarded as another less powerful version of the Extremis.
The first thing Bruce had to do was complete the task given by the system, and after that he wanted to find Killian's biotechnology.
It was truly special, as once a person had been injected with the drug, their tissues and cells would undergo great changes. Whether it be combat effectiveness or resilience, they would both undergo a massive change and become extremely powerful.
It could be said that this was an extremely powerful ability, however whether it was worth it for Bruce to download, was another matter completely.
There is half a month left from the task deadline, but I can't wait. I should make this plot end quickly.
As long as he killed Mandarin and Aldrich Killian, the plot of Iron Man III would be regarded as complete.
For this particular plot, except for the energy value he would get after completing the task, Bruce had no other interests.
After deciding on his plan, Bruce stepped out of the room.
His first matter of business was to find Iron Man, but he was not going to bring him back. This could be regarded as a trial for Iron Man, one that he needed to pass all by himself in order to grow stronger.
The plot would continue to progress regardless of how fast the previous 'arc' was completed, and this was exactly what Bruce wanted.
Soon afterwards, Bruce wore his latest upgraded Mark Armor and left the Avengers Base directly.
On the second floor of the Avengers Base, Black Widow and Fury were currently watching Bruce's back as he made his departure.
"Can he really complete this task?" Black Widow spoke with a hint of doubt on her face as she looked at Fury.
"We are out of options anyway, and there are internal problems inside S.H.I.E.L.D. right now… Pierce is trying to find a way to move me out of my position," Fury said. Evidently, he had also been having a hard time during this period.
The New York War had a big impact on all parties involved, and that was especially so regarding the public, who had heavily rejected and despised the decision the congressmen came to at that time.
Although in the end it was proven that the congressmen were wrong, he knew that those arrogant congressmen would not let it go at that. They were just lacking a good excuse to make him step down.
That was a big reason as to why he asked Bruce regarding his meeting with Pierce, and also why Bruce's answer had satisfied him so much. That matter alone had proved that Bruce was someone worthy of his trust.
"Well, I went to meet the Captain previously. These days he has been hanging around with a man named Sam Wilson. Other than that, there are still many things waiting to be dealt with." After Black Widow said that, she instantly left the Avengers Base.
Fury said nothing. But inwardly, he had a feeling that something big would happen soon, he just didn't know why, or what exactly.
In the time it took for them to finish their conversation, Bruce had already traveled thousands of kilometers away from the Avengers Base, and he was currently in Florida!