Ch. 311 Captain America Joins the Justice League

"Negotiate with the Justice League?"

Russell smiled upon hearing Natasha's words.

"While S.H.I.E.L.D. was still around, none of you had the qualifications to negotiate with me."

"Now that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been disbanded, Nick Fury and his biggest ace, Captain Marvel Carol, are dead. What qualifications do you have to negotiate with me?"

"Don't forget, you are all now a group of unemployed individuals!"

Russell said with disdain written all over his face.

It wasn't that he looked down on Natasha and her team, but they currently lacked the qualifications to negotiate.

Whether it was cooperation or a deal!

These were matters that could only be discussed when both parties were on equal footing.

Seeing Russell's undisguised disdain, Natasha, Captain America, and the others frowned in displeasure.

Although Russell was speaking the truth, it was indeed a hurtful truth.

After a few seconds of silence, Natasha continued, "It's true that we no longer have official support now."

"Like you said, we are all currently a group of unemployed individuals."

"But you should also know that we still have the capability to maintain a normal life."

Natasha's tone was confident and serious.

"That's true, I won't deny that, considering you're all battle-hardened agents."

"However, I still don't understand, what qualifications do you exactly have to negotiate with me?"

Russell countered.

"It's simple, we have various global connections."

"Even though we no longer have official support, the influence and network of S.H.I.E.L.D. won't vanish immediately."

"More importantly, we have many professionals."

Natasha said with a serious expression.

"Professionals?"

Hearing this, Russell began to suspect what kind of deal Natasha and her team wanted to discuss with him.

While the Justice League was a well-known team of superheroes, it didn't have a large number of members. Apart from core members like Diana, Kara, and Gwen, the Justice League's most frequently used resources were the intelligent robots developed and manufactured by No. 3.

For instance, the robots in the robot restaurant and unmanned factories.

No. 3 was a powerful artificial intelligence capable of handling many tasks. However, it couldn't be denied that No. 3 was not a real living being. When it came to creative work, such as scientific research, No. 3 could only follow existing plans. For groundbreaking research achievements, No. 3 was somewhat limited.

"Do you want me to accept those S.H.I.E.L.D. professionals?"

Russell asked directly.

"That's right!"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. may not align with your ideals, but those scientists and researchers won't be in conflict with you."

"HYDRA was able to attract talents from various countries and organizations in the past. As the current leader of HYDRA, you shouldn't be less appealing than Red Skull."

Natasha used a tactic she could see right through.

"Red Skull attracted those scientists because he needed them."

"But I'm different from Red Skull. I have resources far beyond what Red Skull had."

"Leaving aside everything else, just the extraterrestrial resources I control are beyond comparison to Red Skull."

Russell said calmly.

Bringing in the scientists and researchers from S.H.I.E.L.D., while it wouldn't have a significant impact on the Justice League's finances, the Justice League didn't maintain freeloaders. As it stood, Russell couldn't see how these former S.H.I.E.L.D. professionals would be of help to the Justice League . The Justice League did need talent, but it needed top talents like Tony Stark, Mr. Fantastic, and Bruce Banner. Regular researchers didn't catch his eye. Research wasn't just about numbers; it wasn't like infrastructure where more people meant more results. Without top talents leading the way, regular researchers couldn't produce groundbreaking research.

Although it might seem cruel, it was the reality.

In the field of research, it didn't believe in sweat; it believed in talent.

"In this aspect, you are indeed stronger than Red Skull. Scientists might not be of much help to you, but if we join, that changes things."

Natasha began to reveal her trump card.

"Join us?"

"Don't tell me you want to join the Justice League too?"

Russell said with a smile.

"That's right!"

"We do intend to join the Justice League. As long as you're willing to accept those scientists and support staff, we will join as members of the Justice League."

Natasha said with great seriousness.

After she finished speaking, Captain America and Hawkeye nodded in agreement.

Seeing their reactions, Russell furrowed his brow slightly.

Are they really going this far? Joining the former enemy Justice League just to get him to accept the scientists and support staff?

Something was off!

There had to be more to this.

After a few moments of contemplation, Russell looked at Natasha and said seriously, "Stop beating around the bush. What exactly do you want to do?"

Upon hearing this, Natasha turned to Captain America, signaling him to answer the question.

Captain America, Steve Rogers, took a deep breath for a few seconds and said slowly, "We want to join the Justice League because, besides hoping that you'll accept the scientists and support staff who have suffered unjustly, there's another crucial reason."

"You may not be a saint, but there's one thing you've consistently done right."

"You've never had the ambition to conquer the Earth, and from your handling of the Chitauri and Kree fleets, it's clear you don't want alien forces to conquer Earth either."

"Regardless of whether you admit it, you are protecting the Earth."

Pausing for a moment, Captain America continued, "Without official support, we can't protect people like we used to."

"But you can. You and the Justice League now have power equal to, if not greater than, a nation."

"As long as you're willing, no terrorist organization or alien force can conquer the Earth."

"So, despite our ideological differences, under the premise of protecting Earth and people's lives, we're willing to join the Justice League."

After Captain America finished speaking, Russell began to contemplate.

Although their choice seemed incredible, he couldn't deny that their mindset was very American.

Seeing Russell deep in thought, Captain America, Natasha, and the others fell silent, waiting for his response.

After several minutes had passed, Russell finally nodded and said slowly, "I can let you join the Justice League and accept the S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists and support staff."

"However, there are some things I must make clear to you."

Russell looked at Natasha, Captain America, and the others with a serious expression.

Natasha and Captain America remained silent but nodded in agreement.

"I don't care how you used to operate in S.H.I.E.L.D., but after joining the Justice League, you must unconditionally obey my orders."

"Even if I order you to attack the White House tomorrow, you must do it."

"If you can't do that, the Justice League doesn't need members who won't follow orders."

Although he didn't particularly agree with the values of Captain America and his team, they were all undeniably valuable talents. If they could fully obey orders, Russell didn't mind letting them join the Justice League.

Upon hearing Russell's words, Captain America and Natasha remained silent but nodded.

They knew that to leverage the Justice League's power, it wouldn't be that simple. However, Russell's condition was more demanding than they had anticipated. Even in S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury wouldn't demand absolute obedience.

After contemplating for several tens of seconds, Natasha was the first to speak, "I have no problem with that. If you don't trust me, I can undergo brainwashing again."

In this room with so many people, Natasha was undoubtedly the one who knew Russell the best. She was certain that if they didn't agree to this condition, Russell wouldn't let them join the Justice League or accept the scientists and support staff.

Even though this meant giving up some of their freedom, she chose to agree.

Following Natasha's lead, Hawkeye and Agent Hill also agreed.

Captain America, Steve Rogers, exchanged glances with Agent Coulson.

"I agree too."

Coulson said quietly.

Seeing everyone in agreement, Captain America, Steve Rogers, wore a conflicted expression.

As a military man, he understood the necessity of absolute obedience. However, the problem was that Russell, in his view, didn't qualify as a competent commander. Obedience to Russell's orders would still be a concern for him.

Russell didn't rush Captain America; he patiently waited for his response.

After several minutes, Captain America finally nodded in agreement.

For the sake of protecting Earth and people's safety, he was willing to make some sacrifices.

"Very well, now that you've all agreed, you're part of the team."

"I won't carry out brainwashing or anything like that."

"But let me make it clear upfront. If anyone tries to have their own agenda behind my back, don't blame me for being unforgiving."

Individually, Captain America and the others weren't particularly powerful, but they were all experienced warriors and agents. Their addition would, to some extent, boost the Justice League's strength.

After delivering this reminder, Russell turned to No. 3 and said, "No. 3, contact the Secretary of State and inform him that I want to discuss the issue of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s legacy assets."

"Very well, sir!"

No. 3's voice immediately sounded.

"You can go now. Come back at this time tomorrow, and I will arrange for you to officially join the Justice League."

Russell told Natasha and Captain America.

"Good!"

Natasha was the first to say, then she stood up and left Russell's office directly.

After everyone had left the office, Russell continued to instruct No. 3, "Assign someone to follow them; I want to know where they go."

"Furthermore, keep them under 24/7 surveillance."

"I want to know where they've been, who they've met, and who they've contacted."

Although he had agreed to let Natasha and the others join the Justice League, Russell wasn't foolish enough to trust them unconditionally. They were former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents; lying came naturally to them.

"Understood, sir!"

No. 3's voice rang out again.

After giving his orders to No. 3, Russell left his office and used his teleportation magic to arrive at Diana's study.

After informing Diana about Natasha and Captain America's desire to join the Justice League, he left the Justice League headquarters and teleported to Washington, D.C.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had indeed been disbanded, but it had also left behind many things. The secret base aside, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy alone held significant value.

Although Russell had acquired many subordinates by this point, most of them were brought in later. He had only nurtured Hulk and Peter from the beginning.

If we count strictly, even the Hulk needs to be excluded; there's only Peter.

If he can turn the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy into the Justice League Academy, he can recruit talents from all over the world, just like S.H.I.E.L.D., and train a variety of fresh forces for the Justice League.

After arriving in Washington, he didn't waste any time and immediately discussed the issue of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s legacy assets with the current Secretary of State.

This included the question of the ownership of personnel in research, logistics, and armed services, as well as various immovable properties, including the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy.

The communication process went smoothly.

In fact, by this point, the American government had no way to oppose him. Conventional forces weren't a match for the Justice League, and the extraterrestrial helpers had been eliminated by the Justice League. Even if the American government wanted to drag the Justice League down, they would only be dragging themselves into the abyss.

In this situation, whatever Russell wanted to discuss with them would go smoothly.

After spending over an hour in Washington, he used teleportation magic to return to the Justice League headquarters.

The next day.

In his office, he once again met Natasha and the others.

Since they had already discussed everything yesterday, there was basically nothing left to talk about today.

After No. 3 assigned permissions to Natasha and the others, he let Captain America and the rest leave.

Except for Natasha, Captain America and Hawkeye didn't stay at the Justice League headquarters. Although there were many vacant rooms at the Justice League headquarters, Russell didn't intend to have them stay there. While it was called headquarters, it was more like a private residence for him, Diana, and others.

As for why Natasha was staying, it was simple; she had lived at the Justice League before, and Russell was beginning to miss her cooking skills.

...

Time flew by.

Soon, half a month had passed.

After half a month of adjustment, Captain America and the others had fully adapted to life in the Justice League.

Apart from joining a different organization, their lives hadn't been significantly affected. Of course, they had fewer missions now.

The Justice League wasn't S.H.I.E.L.D. and wasn't interested in chasing terrorists all over the world. As long as these terrorists didn't do something too extreme, like trying to conquer the Earth, Russell was generally not bothered.

Like the mafia, you couldn't completely eradicate terrorists. If the mafia represented the official underworld, then terrorists represented the nation's underworld.

As long as countries existed on Earth, terrorists would never be completely eradicated.

To completely eliminate terrorists, not even Gods could do it, unless the ideological beliefs of every person on Earth were unified.

Otherwise, no one could completely eradicate terrorists.

Neither Russell nor Gods could do it.