As Karen and Fergie stared at Iron Man in amazement, Matt's eyes were also fixed on Iron Man's eyes, even though he could not see anything.

"Uh...w-would you like something to drink? Or a snack?" Karen asked quickly as she walked towards the coffee machine.

"no thank you."

Fergie stammered, "Uh-what on earth can we do for you?"

"Well, not you, Mr. Nelson, exactly. Your friend."

Feeling Iron Man's gaze resting on him, Matt asked, "Me? So why exactly did you come to me, Mr. Stark?"

Iron Man shrugged and said, "Ask for your help."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's form a team and we can talk privately, okay?"

Matt narrowed his eyes and glared at the billionaire.

Karen immediately asked nervously, "Is there anything else important that he needs to talk to you alone?"

"Nothing much, actually, Ms. Page. I've been meaning to discuss a very important subject with Mr. Murdoch here, and I thought he might want to consider it," said Iron Man.

Fergie couldn't help but wonder aloud, "Are you making him an offer he can't refuse?"

"Just a life-changing opportunity that will benefit all three of you tremendously."

Matt, who had been silent the whole time, said bluntly: "What makes you so confident? What if I don't buy your story?"

"Then I think you kept that white whale of Kingpin locked up longer than he should have been."

At the mention of Fisk, Karen's eyes widened and she flinched, and Matt tensed and put away his cane.

"I don't want to brag, but I did have some influence in keeping him in jail longer than he was supposed to be. And through the safety net, I found out—"

"Shut up..." Matt interrupted him and said as if he had accepted his fate: "Let's talk in my office."

Iron Man pretended to be surprised, "Is it really possible?"

However, Matt said firmly: "Fergie and I have made many decisions together. Whatever you ask for, we both have to hear it together."

Iron Man nodded approvingly.

The three of them quickly took their seats in Matt's own office, Fergie drumming his hands nervously on the table. Beside him was Matt, his hands folded on the table in front of him, facing the relaxed, reclining billionaire.

He said flatly, "Let's not beat around the bush here, Stark. Why do you want me to join the Avengers?"

Fergie paled when he heard this, and looked back and forth between Matt and Stark, feeling his mouth go dry.

Iron Man chuckled, "What makes you think that?"

"Mr. Stark, I'm not one to joke about serious matters," Matt said bluntly. "Your threat to me is basically announcing to the world who I am. The reason you can so easily grasp my other special identity is just because of the safety net you have."

Iron Man finally got serious, "Well, Matt Murdock, I want you to join the Avengers."

Hearing Iron Man's proposal, Fergie almost foamed at the mouth with excitement. He wiped his mouth, jumped up from his seat quickly, and almost shouted at the top of his lungs, "What do you want him to do?!"

"I reject."

"What?!" Fergie yelled, "Matt, are you serious?"

Iron Man seemed very calm about this.

Matt said firmly, "Mr. Stark's job is to deal with the threat of the end of the world, but my job is here, I'm just a lawyer."

Iron Man muttered to himself: "Okay, Matt, but I still have to tell you something. In the past few years, the world has been threatened. And this threat is constantly expanding, especially after the Battle of New York three years ago."

Matt and Fergie were of course well aware of the Battle of New York, and from that day on, nothing on Earth was ever the same.

Iron Man continued, "However, something has happened recently. Most of my team, my friends, have gone missing."

"What does missing mean?"

"Everyone except Hawkeye and me went to the Hydra base, and something happened there. The end result was that they disappeared from the face of the earth."

Matt and Fergie were stunned and silent. Most of the Avengers were missing?

The whole team is missing? How is that possible?

“Since then, I have made every effort to find them, but unfortunately, I have not been able to locate them.”

There was silence in the air as the two lawyers tried to process the shocking news they had just heard, and Matt was sure that Iron Man was not lying.

"Mr. Stark." Matt said in a calm and measured voice, "In view of the news you said... I will consider your invitation. I admit that I was a bit rash in rejecting your proposal just now."

Iron Man just grinned, "That's the answer I wanted to hear."

He stood up from his seat and held out his hand, which Matt immediately shook.

Then, Iron Man said "See you next time" and hurried away.

"So~ you're an Avenger now." Fergie gave his best friend a reassuring look.

"Let's not get into labeling just yet, Fergie."

"Now what?"

Matt remained silent, his keen hearing picking up Iron Man's footsteps as he left the hallway, his mind still thinking about the billionaire's offer. Joining the Avengers was something Matt had never considered or even thought about before.

But now? Now that these great beings had come before him and offered him a place on their superhero team, it was not an easy decision to make, and he did now feel that he had been a little hasty in rejecting Iron Man's initial invitation.

Matt looked at his friend, then turned in Karen's direction and sighed, "This changes a lot of things, Fergie, if I really want to be a part of this..."

Fergie frowned, his excitement wearing off, and said, "Are you sure, Matt? And Karen..."

Matt looked at Karen outside, "But considering that she has become a member of the Avengers, Karen should have the right to know if she is with us for the long term."

Fergie sighed, "If you say so."

Sensing his best friend's hesitant heart, Matt smiled and patted his friend's back reassuringly, "Hey, everything's going to be alright. Who knows, when we meet Captain America, you might be able to get his autograph."

Iron Man walked out of the building, looked back, and then looked at his watch. Just as he was about to leave, he heard the scream of the woman named Karen and stopped.

"what?!"

Iron Man blinked, smiled and said to himself: "It seems that she didn't know Matt's other identity before. Daredevil has to explain it."

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