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Chapter 93: Encountering Batman Again
🕑 Added 2021-11-10 22:16:01 +0000 UTC"The lonely hero fell from the sky
On behalf of the moon's daughter waiting for an opportunity
When the wanderer’s journey begins
I will embark on this glorious ceremony
To take away the old ark
Sincerely yours, Phantom Kid"
Tony wanted to unravel the content of the teaser letter.
"The Wanderer’s Journey has another name, that is the Journey of the Fool, which is the first number in the tarot card, The Fool."
"The Fool's rank is zero, which means that the time you do it is zero."
"Similarly, in the Tarot, the moon is represented by the priestess, which means a wise woman."
"Like I just said, the riddle of this notice is a cold joke."
"’The lonely hero falling from the sky’ should mean that I first fell from the sky wearing a battle suit, because I am a hero."
Tony said narcissistically.
"I don't know why you use the word falling, but..."
"I'm sorry, sir, I don't think Ms. Poz will be Phantom Kid."
Jarvis interrupted Tony suddenly.
"What do you mean?"
Inside the battlesuit, Tony wondered.
"I just scanned Ms. Poz's vital characteristics. She is the real Pepper Poz."
Tony: "..."
"Oh, Shit!"
After hearing Tony's reasoning, Pepper couldn't help showing an angry expression on his face.
"Are you crazy, Tony?"
She roared at Tony.
The familiar Pepper is back...
"I worry about you so much, and you think I'm a fake?"
"No, no, I just feel that your attitude towards me today is not quite right."
Although protected by the battlesuit, Tony's forehead couldn’t help but sweat.
"I heard Rhodes say that you are sick, maybe even dying! He also said that, with your pride, you will never tell me about this. So, I was told not to act too agitated.”
As she spoke, Pepper's eye circles turned red.
"Is that true, are you really dying?
“What are you talking about! Who told you I was sick?"
Tony asked as his eyes widened in an instant.
"It was Rohdes, your best friend."
"Impossible, Rohdes doesn't even know about this!"
Tony's eyes got serious.
"He is not Rhodes, that was Phantom Kid! What else did he tell you?"
Although Tony was wearing a helmet, and Pepper couldn't see Tony's eyes, his hurried tone made her realize the seriousness of the matter.
Pepper took a deep breath and stabilized his emotions.
"He said that he has found a way to cure your illness, but it will take a certain amount of time. He is worried that you will take the untested medicine without authorization, so I should keep this secret until the medicine is successfully made."
Pepper recalled what Rohdes said when he called the other day.
"You have been lied to, Pepper!"
Tony finally understood what was going on. Phantom Kid first used Rod’s voice to deceive Pepper that he was dying and then asked Pepper to keep it a secret. This way, Pepper will act in an unusually different manner.
Coupled with the content of the teaser letter, it is very easy to mislead others into thinking that Pepper is pretending to be Phantom Kid.
«But how did Kid know about my palladium poisoning? No, he didn't tell Pepper that I was palladium poisoned. Maybe it was just a coincidence.»
Tony thought to himself.
"Listen, Pepper, I'm fine now. Don't dwell on a thief’s lies."
"Even if he makes you think that I am being impersonated, what can he do? We are both on the stage and there is no one else. What will he rely on to steal the reactor..."
Pepper frowned thoughtfully, and then she suddenly stopped.
"Wait, when I came on stage, Happy was also running over here!"
But where is he now?
The two of them felt that something bad had happened, and hurried back to the showcase to take a look. They didn't realize it until they found that the Arc reactor inside had disappeared.
The glass on the back was cut with a neat round opening.
It should have been cut out during the confrontation between Tony and Pepper right about now. And because Tony was blocking her perspective, coupled with the heavy smoke, Pepper couldn't see the display at all.
"Jarvis, there was another person here just now, why didn't you sound the alarm."
Tony asked.
"Sorry, sir, I have reminded you from the time the smoke bomb exploded that an unknown interference field was created around, reducing the detection range of the suit to less than three meters."
There was no emotion in Jarvis's tone.
"Well, I don't see that he is still technical, but this thief boy shouldn't have gone far. Let's catch up with him."
"Pepper, you go find where the real Happy is."
Tony tilted his head and dashed upward.
After flying out of the range of the venue, the detection interference was gone.
Tony looked in the direction of the parking lot. There was no one there.
"Jarvis, control all the monitors in New York. I want to know where Kid, disguised as Harpy, has gone..."
In the Stark Expo site, under the giant globe facing the center pavilion, "Happy" appeared here carrying a briefcase.
He kept looking around to make sure there weren't many pedestrians nearby and was careful to avoid the location of the monitors.
"In addition to the zero point, the Fool’s Journey also represents someone you can truly disguise as: Happy Hogan is that simple of a fool. Am I right?"
Suddenly, a hoarse and low voice came from above.
Happy’s face was changed, as he looked up.
A black figure stood on the globe and looked down at him.
"It means that the daughter of the moon is waiting for an opportunity to make a move. It doesn't necessarily mean that she will do something bad. It may also be due to a certain emotional impulse, being used by someone to do a scene she doesn't know."
"When did you find out, Batman?"
Happy sighed, patted his collar lightly, and his bloated belly instantly flattened.
Then tugged on the shirt and flung it. His disguise lifted.
The white cloak moved without wind, and the monocle in his right eye reflected unreal backlighting.
Phantom Kid showed his true form.
"Your hands."
Batman said slowly.
"Happy Hogan used to be an excellent boxer. Although he has retired for many years and has become quite obese, it does not mean that the calluses on his hands will disappear."
"Even though he has undergone a surgical resection, making the calluses on his hand hard to see, but as long as someone shakes his hand, they can still easily feel the residual calluses."
Batman jumped off the globe, as he stretched his bat wings behind him right before landing to automatically counteract the impact of landing.
"Your observation of Happy Hogan is indeed very careful. You have replicated his weight and body fat percentage perfectly, but you must have never shaken hands with him."
Mathison was speechless for a while.
He only remembered that Happy did boxing with Tony, but it was more of a playful nature. He was even beaten by Black Widow.
Did Batman just say that Happy used to be a professional boxer?
But… his physique is really different from that of a boxer.
But, again, after all, Happy is Tony’s bodyguard. His personal information was given the best protection in the world, and Mathison couldn’t find out about Happy’s past experiences at all.
Normally, he was almost inseparable from Tony.
It wasn't until today that Tony was about to jump off the plane, and Mathison caught the opportunity when Happy was alone.
