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[Frog] Chapter 172: Tony's Dilemma
🕑 Added 2024-11-25 03:35:40 +0000 UTCSomewhere in a rundown, abandoned factory, Black Widow stood cool and composed. Behind her, several men in green military uniforms lay groaning on the ground, incapacitated and unable to get up.
Casting them a disdainful glance, she bent down to pick up a phone lying on the ground.
“How’s Barton?” she asked.
On the other end of the line, Coulson’s voice replied, “Relax, at least he’s not going to die.”
Not going to die?
Hearing this, Black Widow’s brow furrowed.
To her, Barton wasn’t just a colleague in S.H.I.E.L.D.; their bond was as close as family. In fact, Barton was the person she cared about most in the entire organization.
Now that something had happened to him, she was understandably anxious.
But logic told her that the fastest way to find Barton was to follow S.H.I.E.L.D.’s plan.
Soon, Coulson continued, “Right now, I need you to deal with a big guy. He can be of great help to us.”
A big guy?
Black Widow immediately thought of Tony Stark in his Mark suit. Indeed, that was one big guy.
“Tony already knows my identity. I can’t get close to him right now,” she replied.
“No, leave Tony to me,” Coulson reassured. “You’re going after someone else. I’ve sent the details to you.”
“There’s a helicopter waiting outside. Go now.”
With that, Coulson hung up. Black Widow exited the abandoned factory and saw the waiting helicopter.
Once on board, the pilot handed her a file.
Flipping through it, she exclaimed in surprise, “It’s him!”
---
Outside Stark Industries
A dozen large trucks were parked in front of the Stark Industries building. Movers were busy hauling out one piece of equipment after another, loading them onto the trucks.
Inside the office, Pepper Potts was overseeing the inventory while Tony Stark leisurely fiddled with some trinkets on a desk.
When one of the movers reached for an item near him, Tony finally walked over and placed a hand on Pepper’s shoulder.
“Starting tomorrow, your workload will lighten significantly,” he said with a grin.
“I’m confident you’ll love the new office environment.”
Pepper shot Tony an exasperated look, clearly unimpressed with his nonchalant attitude toward his responsibilities. Still, she couldn’t deny he had a point.
Moving to the new Stark Tower signified the company’s complete transformation.
With the shift in focus, Pepper would no longer need to handle as many operational tasks, as Stark Industries was now fully committing to technological innovation.
“I hope so…” she replied. “But what I really want is for you to stop causing so much trouble.”
Tony shrugged helplessly. “You know that’s not my fault. All of this is… well…”
After thinking for a moment, he deflected, “It’s all my father’s fault! These are the historical problems he left behind. Nothing to do with me.”
Too tired to argue over something so pointless, Pepper changed the topic. “Have you resolved the energy issue for the new building?”
“Of course,” Tony said confidently. “Tonight, I’ll personally light it up for you. The energy connection point is underwater. I’ll dive down in the Mark suit and handle it.”
Clap!
Tony clapped his hands together with a flourish. “Piece of cake.”
On matters like these, Pepper trusted Tony.
“Miss Potts, could you come out and verify this equipment?” called one of the movers from outside.
“Coming!” Pepper replied, then turned to Tony.
“Stay here. Once this is done, let’s grab dinner.”
“Absolutely, my lady,” Tony said with a slight bow.
After Pepper left, Tony wandered aimlessly around the office, bored, looking for something to occupy his time.
At that moment, Tony’s phone vibrated in his pocket.
“Oh, someone’s looking for me.”
He pulled out his custom transparent phone, only to see a message from J.A.R.V.I.S.
“J.A.R.V.I.S., what’s up?”
“Sir, I believe you’ll find this interesting.”
A surveillance feed appeared on the screen, showing a convoy of police cars streaming down a busy street.
“J.A.R.V.I.S., it’s just an arrest operation. That’s pretty common in New York, isn’t it?”
“Indeed, sir. But there’s someone following the convoy.”
The camera angle shifted, and Gwen appeared on the screen, swinging along behind the police cars with her webbing.
Tony raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “What’s she doing trailing a convoy of police cars?”
“Based on the direction they’re heading, their destination seems to be one place.”
“Where?”
“Osborn Industries.”
Tony glanced at the route map provided by J.A.R.V.I.S. and nodded. Then, with a sharp eye, he noticed something peculiar.
“J.A.R.V.I.S., have you noticed something else?”
“What is it, sir?”
Tony paused the surveillance feed, freezing the frame on Gwen in her suit. “Unless I’m mistaken, her Spider Suit has changed again.”
Although the suit’s color was largely the same as before, Tony, being a top-tier engineer, immediately spotted a metallic sheen on it—evidence of some kind of metal integration.
“Looks like Ms. Spider not only has a wardrobe full of everyday outfits but also plenty of battle suits.”
J.A.R.V.I.S. was unfazed by Tony’s tangent, already accustomed to his thought process.
“Sir, aren’t you going to check it out? It seems like a lively scene.”
J.A.R.V.I.S.’s suggestion made Tony itch with curiosity. But as he glanced toward the door where Pepper was overseeing the movers, he hesitated. After a brief moment of weighing the options, he sighed.
“Forget it. I promised her dinner. If I bail on her again, she’ll be mad for ages.”
Changing the subject, he asked, “By the way, J.A.R.V.I.S., have you pinpointed the source of that mysterious energy signature yet?”
“Not yet, sir,” J.A.R.V.I.S. replied. “But analysis suggests it was caused by a specific organization.”
“Who?”
“S.H.I.E.L.D.”
Tony’s expression turned contemplative. “Have they deciphered my dad’s notes already?”
Tony wasn’t naive. He doubted Nick Fury or S.H.I.E.L.D. would go out of their way to carefully preserve Howard Stark’s belongings. That box of artifacts had probably been thoroughly rummaged through long ago.
For Tony, handing the items over to S.H.I.E.L.D. had been more about maintaining appearances. Besides, the real breakthrough in creating the new element had come thanks to the Emperor—someone who had offered help when it truly mattered, unlike Fury’s opportunistic assistance.
Analyzing J.A.R.V.I.S.’s report further, Tony concluded, “They likely haven’t succeeded in synthesizing the new element yet. That energy burst must have been caused by a failed forced synthesis.”
“That’s a reasonable assumption, sir,” J.A.R.V.I.S. confirmed.
Just then, Pepper walked back into the office after finishing her inventory checks.
Seeing her return so quickly, Tony silently congratulated himself for not rushing off to join the commotion.
However, he leaned closer to his phone and whispered to J.A.R.V.I.S., “Keep an eye on Osborn Industries. Let me know immediately if Spider-Woman runs into any trouble.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Tony, let’s go,” Pepper called out.
“Of course, Potts. I’m starving…”
---
Inside Osborn Industries
All researchers and factory workers had been subdued and were under control, while tech specialists collected data from the company’s computers.
A detective ran over to George Stacy and reported, “Sir, several executives say Norman has been locking himself in his lab for long stretches. They haven’t seen him in a while.”
“Some of the night-shift security guards claim they occasionally hear screams coming from the direction of his lab at night.”
George’s face turned grim, his mind recalling the testimony from the modified human they had apprehended.
At that moment, another figure approached.
“Uncle George, I can take you to Norman’s lab,” Peter Parker offered.
“Follow me.”
“Thanks, Peter.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Peter led the way, and George motioned for his team to follow.
Before long, they arrived outside Norman’s lab.
Just as George’s team prepared to breach the door, a chilling scream echoed from within.
“Ahhh…”
(To be continued...)
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