Ch: 41-50
Chapter 41 The Firm's First Employee, Deadpool
For example, now, his powerful role was about to be unleashed.
Steve, holding Deadpool, raised his chin and said arrogantly, "Old man, cut the crap. I brought him back for you, but now, I want this guy!"
A question mark slowly appeared above Pierce's head.
"What kind of crazy stunt are you pulling now?"
"Taking the Winter Soldier before was one thing, but now you want to take the Symbiote meant for compensation too? Are you trying to empty my family's coffers?"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! Don't even think about it!"
Steve was not surprised by Pierce's answer, but he had already made his plans. He directly released Deadpool, who he had seemingly been holding, but was actually suppressing with a Biological Force Field.
"Damn it, Wade, come on! Give him a show! Let him see how amazing you are!"
Deadpool understood instantly. Having mostly recovered on the way, he stood up, did a backflip, and then performed a set of military boxing moves.
"Hey! Ha! Hoo! Ah-da!"
Deadpool's military boxing was powerful, and he even stomped several large pits into the concrete ground!
Steve pointed his thumb at Deadpool, indicating to Pierce, acting like a benevolent old man doing it for his own good:
"See, this crazy guy is not just ordinarily powerful. Your meager resources can't control him at all. Keeping him around is a disaster. Who knows, he might get hungry one day and gnaw your head off."
Deadpool:?
Steve glared at Deadpool, who was full of question marks. Deadpool immediately cowered and snarled at Pierce, baring his teeth!
"Woof woof woof! That's right! If you keep me around, this lord will definitely bite off your damned Trump-esque blonde head!"
Damn it, you two aren't even pretending anymore, exchanging glances right in front of me!
Pierce felt both angry and helpless.
There was no other way. Steve was right. Even if he kept Deadpool, HYDRA might not be able to control him. Instead, an uncontrollable Deadpool would be a threat to him!
Because HYDRA's greatest pride was never hard power or hard technology; their strongest assets were infiltration and brainwashing techniques!
But brainwashing was useless against this lunatic, and infiltration was out of the question. So HYDRAreally had no good way to deal with Deadpool.
Pierce rubbed his temples, thought for a long time, and finally compromised: "You can take him, but he cannot completely leave HYDRA like the Winter Soldier. He must complete a certain amount of HYDRA missions annually, just like You!"
"Deal!"
Steve didn't even hesitate and immediately agreed.
Deadpool:? (I was just sold like that?)
Pierce:? (Should I have asked for more conditions?)
Deadpool and Pierce exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of surprise in the other's eyes.
Deadpool couldn't help but become enraged, his dark blue Symbiote on his head waving upwards like tentacles! (This was literally a physical manifestation of anger!)
"What do you take this lord for?! A black slave that can be traded for just one dollar? Believe it or not, this lord will bite..."
Before Deadpool could finish, Steve calmly raised a finger.
"One hundred thousand U.S. dollars monthly Base salary, and I'll reserve a spot for you in the Avengerslater."
Pierce also raised a finger.
"Bonuses for HYDRA missions are calculated separately, starting at one hundred thousand U.S. dollars per mission."
Deadpool trembled all over, then dropped to his knees with a thud, hugging both their legs, one on each side.
"Daddies! You two are truly my biological daddies! It's settled then, let's sign the indenture contract right away!"
Pierce's face was filled with black lines. He suddenly felt a little relieved that Steve had taken this guy.
This kind of money-grubbing individual might sell out HYDRA for money someday.
Under Steve, at least Steve could suppress this guy with his hard power.
Pierce sighed wearily, shaking off Deadpool with a look of disgust. He clapped his hands, and Rumlowbrought in several boxes of items.
"These are the Howard relics you wanted. Not only from S.H.I.E.L.D., but also the useless ones the Winter Soldier brought back earlier; you can take them all."
"Your mission bonuses and authorization level will be transferred and updated to you shortly!"
"Now, take this guy out of my sight. I will notify you of the missions he needs to complete. As his direct superior, if he messes up a mission, you will also bear joint responsibility!"
"Any problems?"
"The boss has spoken, so of course there's no problem~"
Steve gave an O.K. sign with his hand, letting Pierce's words go in one ear and out the other, completely disregarding them.
Joint responsibility? Are you kidding? Who in HYDRA would dare to blame him? Steve might admit it, but would anyone dare to enforce it?!
Pierce was just putting on a show. At most, they would deduct a bit of his mission bonus as a token gesture.
Waving at Deadpool, Steve commanded unceremoniously, "Wade, pick up the stuff, let's go!"
"Alright, Daddy! No problem, Daddy!"
Deadpool heard this without any dissatisfaction. Several Symbiote tentacles emerged from his body, wrapped around Howard's relics, and he scurried after Steve.
"I don't have a good son like You. From now on, just call me Steve, Steve Rogers."
"Wow! I didn't realize Daddy, You are really Captain America! At first, with your arrogant demeanor, I thought you were that scoundrel Pyro!"
"What the hell is Pyro? You're on the wrong channel. That guy hasn't been shot into space and rubbed into a small Fire man yet!"
"Also, don't call me Daddy!"
"Okay, Daddy, no problem, Daddy!"
.....
As the two bickered along the way, the originally solemn and silent HYDRA Base no longer seemed so eerie and terrifying...
Steve brought Deadpool in and then left the Base with Deadpool, but he didn't take Deadpool home. Instead, he flew towards Tony's seaside Villa.
Firstly, he had obtained Howard's relics and needed to deliver them to Tony to complete the mission.
Secondly, there was no way he would let a pervert like Deadpool live in his house. Given this guy's perverted nature, he was afraid that Deadpool, peeking from under the bed, would lift the entire bed while he and Sharon were in the middle of their daily exercise!
The second point was the main reason. Steve found it completely unacceptable. He believed Deadpoolwas absolutely capable of doing such a thing!
Just right, wasn't he planning to establish an agency?
Deadpool was the first employee he recruited. Bucky also counted as one, and although he hadn't told Bucky yet, Bucky would definitely join without a doubt.
So he planned to pull Tony into the venture as well, mainly to make him the unwitting benefactor... ahem, no, a sponsor. Tony would just be responsible for providing the land, money, and equipment, and also help build the agency's offices and employee housing.
Steve thought to himself how considerate he was, having arranged everything for Tony. Tony only needed to execute it. Truly worthy of being Tony's good Uncle Rogers.
Amidst his self-congratulation, Steve arrived above Tony's Villa.
Before he even landed, his voice reached them.
"Hey, nephew, look what your Uncle Rogers brought you for Christmas! Hurry out and thank your lord for his grace!"
Chapter 42 Crushing a Helmet Worth Tens of Millions
However, Steve waited for a while, but he didn't wait for the little girl to kneel in welcome. Instead, a capable blonde woman walked out of the Villa.
The woman was dressed in a tasteful White women's suit, with a polite smile on her face, and she looked up to greet Steve:
"Captain Rogers, hello, I'm Pepper Potts, Mr. Stark's assistant. He asked me to invite You in and wait for a moment. He's currently... uh... a bit inconvenient to come out..."
Noticing the unusual expression on Pepper's face, Steve narrowed his eyes, realizing something was wrong, and slowly descended from the sky.
"Pepper, it's nice to meet You, but I need to go see my big nephew and my good brother Bucky first, because your subtle expression gives me a bad feeling that they're having an affair right now~"
With that, Steve led Deadpool into the Villa, ignoring Pepper's attempts to stop him and heading straight for the underground laboratory.
"Captain Rogers, Mr. Stark said to wait upstairs, he'll be up in a moment..."
Steve had access to the Villa, and Pepper's verbal obstruction couldn't stop him at all.
"Wade, stay upstairs. Without my order, don't let Miss Pepper disturb our threesome, okay?"
"Yes, Boss!"
Deadpool heard this and blocked Pepper with his tall body, a grim smile scaring Pepper into stopping in place, only able to watch Steve enter the underground laboratory.
"Damn You, Tony, what the hell are You doing? Don't You even know how to respect the old and cherish the young? And I even brought You a gift this time, Uncle!"
Steve walked into the underground laboratory, and it was a burst of flowery language.
A rapid clatter came from the laboratory. When he entered, he saw Tony putting on his Mark with the assistance of mechanical arms, clearly trying to hide something.
And Bucky stood by, looking like he wanted to speak but hesitated.
Steve frowned, walked over quickly, and snatched the face armor that was about to be placed on Tony's face from the mechanical arm.
"What the hell are You doing? Get out of your shell now, don't make me tear it open like a hand-pulled chicken and then drag You out like a chick!"
Tony, whose helmet had been taken off, quickly turned his head, not facing Steve directly, but still stubbornly said:
"Don't brag, You. My updated Mark III uses aerospace-grade Titanium Alloy, which can withstand tens of tons of external pressure. Are You going to tear Titanium Alloy by hand?"
Steve said nothing upon hearing this, just sneered and exerted force with his arm.
Crack! ————————
Amidst a teeth-grinding metallic twisting sound, Steve crushed the Iron helmet he was holding into a lump of scrap metal with one hand!
Tony, who caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of his eye, couldn't help but lean back tactically and swallowed hard.
"My God, are You really human? That's aerospace-grade Titanium Alloy. How can You knead it like playdough?!"
"I don't care what grade it is. If You don't come out, even if your Mark is made of Vibranium, I can tear it apart, believe it or not?"
Although Tony didn't believe it, having witnessed Steve crushing the Titanium Alloy helmet with his bare hands, he dared not argue anymore and obediently raised his hands in surrender:
"Okay, okay, You win. I'll come out, okay? Please don't really tear it!"
"You crushed one helmet, which only costs tens of millions, and it's easy for me to rebuild it."
"But if You tear up the entire Mark, a few hundred million in cost is a minor issue. The main thing is that it's very troublesome to rebuild, which takes a lot of time..."
Listening to Tony's inhumane words, Steve looked at the helmet that had just been crushed into a lump in his hand, feeling as if a knife had been plunged into his heart!
"Damn it, Tony, You damned capitalist! This broken helmet is actually more expensive than all my assets combined!"
"I finally understand why the little mustache swept across Europe back then. Your set of Mark costs hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars, what's the difference between that and a loaf of bread selling for hundreds of thousands of Marks back then!"
"No wonder your Mark is called Mark. I think I should hang You on the lamppost outside right now!"
Facing Steve's heartfelt rebuke, Tony just calmly snapped his fingers.
"Jarvis, transfer 20 million to this German Captain's card who wants to hang me on a lamppost. 10 million is for bringing back my father's Relics, and 10 million is to make him shut up!"
"[Received~]"
"[Beep! **Card has received $20,000,000.00, card balance 345]"
Steve heard the pleasant sound of money arriving on his phone in his pocket, and the heartfelt indignation on his face towards Tony instantly changed to a kind and amiable expression.
"Oh~ isn't this my dear big nephew? How could You be a damned capitalist? You are clearly a great philanthropist who cares for an old centenarian like me!"
"In the future, if anyone dares to say anything negative about a good person like You, Uncle I will be the first to not spare them!"
"Hehe, then the first person You won't spare is definitely yourself. Are You having an internal struggle?" Tony chuckled and gave Steve a disdainful look.
This guy's face changed faster than he took off his pants!
Steve said leisurely, "If You're willing to pay me another 10 million, I don't mind having an internal struggle with myself, even though I haven't had one in a long time~"
"Is that a proper internal struggle You're talking about...?"
"Never mind if it's proper or not, just tell me if it's an internal struggle or not?"
"Don't say it, You really shouldn't say it..."
"Alright, our low-level jokes between uncle and nephew end here. Now, come out and tell me what happened first."
Steve raised his hand and pinched Tony's chin, twisting his face, which he had been unwilling to turn towards him, and looking at the new wounds on Tony's face and the panda eyes around his eye sockets, he tutted:
"Tsk~ I knew why You were always hiding things. So You were beaten into a giant panda~"
"I'm not criticizing You, but why do You always have new injuries on your face every time I see You? How annoying is your damn face~"
Tony saw that he couldn't hide it anymore, slapped Steve's hand away, and rolled his eyes:
"Do You think I want this? Jarvis, help me remove the Mark III first..."
After the Mark on Tony's body was removed one by one by the mechanical arms, he stumbled and almost fell to the ground, but Steve, who was beside him, quickly helped him up.
Only then did Steve realize that Tony not only had injuries on his face but also multiple contusions and bruises on his body, and one of his legs was even limping, which was why he almost fell.
"Oh sh*t! What the hell are You doing? I've only seen such severe blunt force trauma on stupid White people who accidentally entered Black communities! You're not one of those stupid White people, are You?"
He wasn't joking. Tony's bruises really looked like they were inflicted by a group of Black people with baseball bats on a stupid White person who had entered a Black community!
Chapter 43 Ivan Vanko and Obadiah Stane
"Of course, I'm not that kind of idiot. I never go into black communities, and the injuries on me aren't caused by mere blunt force. In fact, these injuries were caused by a large guy with a Rocket launcher. If I hadn't been wearing the Mark II at the time, it wouldn't have been just contusions and bruises. You might be seeing my black and white photo now~"
Seeing that Tony still had the leisure to self-deprecate, Steve turned to Bucky, who hadn't spoken:
"What the hell happened in the month I was gone? You were by his side, how could you let him get into such a state? Didn't I tell you to take out that evil bald guy Obadiah the moment something was wrong?"
Bucky shook his head helplessly upon hearing this: "No, this wasn't done by Obadiah, or rather, not directly by him....."
Steve didn't speak. After helping Tony into a chair, he crossed his arms and quietly listened to Bucky's continuation.
Bucky continued:
"After you left, Tony formulated two revenge plans: one was to get revenge on the Ten Rings Gang in Afghanistan, and the other was to investigate the evidence of Obadiah Stane betraying him."
"Tony personally piloted his Iron Man suit to Afghanistan for revenge, sweeping through the Ten Rings Gang's strongholds, and taking revenge on the Ten Rings Gang."
"And I followed Ms. Pepper, who was familiar with Stark Industries, to the company to investigate and collect evidence of Obadiah Stane betraying Tony."
"Both operations were originally smooth. Tony successfully wiped out all of the Ten Rings Gang's strongholds in Afghanistan, and I also successfully obtained evidence of Obadiah Stane betraying Tonywith the help of Ms. Pepper."
"Even when Obadiah Stane learned that we had the evidence, he launched an interception attack on me and Ms. Pepper, but the second-rate thugs he sent, I easily counter-killed them all."
"When Tony returned from his revenge in Afghanistan, he immediately used this evidence to send Obadiah to jail, and reclaimed the shares in his hands, completely gaining control of Stark Industries....."
"Stop! You wait a minute...." Steve heard this and realized something, interrupting Bucky's next words, looking at Tony with a frustrated expression, as if he was disappointed in him:
"Oh, my God, Tony, are you Batman or something? Sending your enemy to prison, how the hell did you come up with such a crazy idea?!"
"Do you want him to accumulate more hatred for you in prison, then escape to get revenge on you, and along the way, kill a few unlucky innocent passersby, and finally threaten you with the people around you?"
"Motherfucker! I really can't believe such a classic stupid movie plot would happen around me!"
"I'm sorry, I originally wanted to....." Tony was about to explain something when Steve slammed his hand on the table, interrupting him.
Bang——————
"Shut up! You idiot have no right to speak now! Bucky, you tell me what happens next, it won't be exactly like what I said, right?!"
Bucky fell silent upon hearing this, and after a long time, he nodded with difficulty.
"More or less, Obadiah did escape from prison, but the situation is even worse than you said. After escaping, he not only sought revenge on Tony, but also found a guy who also hated Tony, and that guy was the one who injured Tony like this....."
Bucky said this and looked up at the void, saying in a deep voice: "Jarvis, please project the information of the person who attacked Tony...."
During this time, Bucky had completely gained Tony's trust, and like Steve, had full access to the Villaand the authority to use Jarvis.
[Okay, Sergeant Barnes.]
Bucky's body stiffened when he heard this address, and he couldn't help but look at Tony, a hint of guilt flashing in his eyes.
The last time he heard the address Sergeant Barnes was from Tony's father, Howard.
Tony thought Bucky was feeling guilty for not protecting him, and comforted him:
"Hey, Barnes, don't blame yourself too much! You really tried your best during this time! To be honest, if it weren't for you, Pepper and I would probably have died from Obadiah and that guy's revenge by now!"
It's easy to dodge an open spear, but hard to guard against a hidden arrow. Tony, who couldn't always wear his suit, might really have been ambushed by Obadiah's revenge if he hadn't had Bucky, who was also familiar with assassination, by his side to protect him.
Steve ignored the two chatting across the topic, and instead looked at the figure projected by Jarvis, instantly understanding why Tony, wearing his Iron Man suit, was still in such a sorry state.
It was a long-haired big man with a fleshy face and tattoos all over his body, exuding a sense of oppression even through the screen.
"Ivan Vanko..."
Interesting, this villain from Iron Man 2 actually appeared early and even partnered with ObadiahStane?
Tsk tsk, these two, one with money and one with technology, both hate Tony to the core. They really are a 'match made in heaven'....
Good, really good!
Before seeing Ivan Vanko, he was quite angry at Tony's foolishness.
But after seeing Ivan Vanko, he decided to forgive Tony's foolishness this time.
As for the reason.....
Hehe, because if he turned this 1+1 super villain combination into a system mission, it would surely bring him a rich amount of enhancement points, right?!
After all, strictly speaking, this is a doubled difficulty, so it's reasonable for the reward to be doubled too, right?
Steve's mouth curved into a sinister smile as he looked at Tony and Bucky, who were still gazing at each other 'affectionately':
"Where are these two guys now? As Tony's elder, I'm already eager to have a good chat with them about injuring my great-nephew!"
Tony and Bucky saw the sinister smile on Steve's face and couldn't help but silently mourn for Obadiahand the other guy.
When Captain America smiles, life and death are unpredictable.
The last time they saw Steve with this smile, one was at the Ten Rings Gang's stronghold, strewn with corpses, and the other was at the Life Foundation, which had been infiltrated and utterly defeated.
Although he felt that Obadiah and the other guy, now targeted by Steve, were definitely dead, Tony still spread his hands helplessly:
"Although I really don't want to say this, the new guy Obadiah found is indeed very skilled. Not only did he replicate my Arc Reactor and Iron Man suit, but even Jarvis can't track their whereabouts."
Steve frowned at this but wasn't too surprised.
After all, Ivan Vanko's father was Howard's partner in developing the first-generation Arc Reactor. It was only later that his father wanted to sell this technology to the former Soviet Union, which led to him being kicked out of Stark Industries by Howard.
But Ivan's father still left the Arc Reactor technology to his son, Ivan Vanko. Now, with Obadiah's financial support, Ivan Vanko is not much inferior to Tony.
At least in terms of Iron Man suits, this is true.
Both are ruthless individuals who hand-built Arc Reactors!
However, Ivan's father was far inferior to Tony's father, Howard.
The first-generation reactor technology he left to his son was far less valuable than the new element Howard left to Tony.
Steve walked up to Tony, unceremoniously lifted his shirt, and sure enough, found several dark veins around the Arc Reactor on Tony's chest.
"It seems you've been using the Iron Man suit a lot this past month. Palladium poisoning has already started to spread. It's time to switch to the new element your father left you~"
Steve clapped his hands and called out loudly: "Wade, bring the stuff down!"
Chapter 44 A Sudden System Surprise
Deadpool, who had been waiting upstairs for a long time, slid down the stairs with a box in a power slide, excitedly rushing into the Underground Room:
"Yes, yes, yes! Is it finally my turn to make an appearance as the protagonist?!"
"Oh, ho ho! Fantastic! Is this Iron Man's legendary mysterious Underground Room, rumored to be capable of creating any outrageous high-tech inventions?"
Deadpool was like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden, full of curiosity about everything in the laboratory. Finally, he seemed to spot something extraordinary, and the White eye sockets on his mask suddenly widened.
"Wow! Readers, look! What's this? Isn't this the Iron Man armor that saved Marvel from near bankruptcy in 2008!"
"Hey, guys! This really deserves a good group photo, doesn't it? Readers, type '1' in the comment section, and let's all shout 'Cheese' at the camera with this epic Iron Man armor!"
"Cheese~"
Deadpool pulled out his phone and struck various selfie poses next to the Iron Man armor, always deliberately leaving an empty space in the frame, as if there was really an invisible person taking a selfie with him.
...
Tony looked at Deadpool, who was fumbling with his armor and constantly talking to himself, and turned to Steve with a speechless expression:
"Where did You find this lunatic in a tight suit? Who is he talking to?"
Steve covered his face with one hand and sighed helplessly: "He's talking to a group of high-dimensional, top-tier handsome men who don't exist in this dimension..."
Tony was stunned: "Talking to whom? High-dimensional handsome men? Is there something wrong with your mind too?"
Steve couldn't be bothered to explain further to Tony and changed the subject:
"I told You, You wouldn't understand. Just treat everything that guy says as nonsense. Let's skip this boring topic and look at the gift Uncle brought You today."
"This isn't a gift. Gifts are free, and for these, I already paid You ten million just now."
Tony no longer cared about the high-dimensional handsome men, but instead focused on Howard's relics that Deadpool had brought down. He opened the box and began examining them one by one.
Bucky also came to Tony's side and looked at Howard's past items with Tony, both of them lost in memories.
Although Steve had the memories of the original Captain America, his empathy wasn't as strong, so he didn't get lost in memories with them. Instead, he took advantage of the free time to check his system rewards.
"HYDRA Mission: Capture and retrieve the escaped Symbiote and host (Completed)"
"Reward: Enhancement Points * 400"
Wow, not bad. Perhaps because of Deadpool, bringing back Deadpool, who was possessed by the Symbiote, actually gave 100 more Enhancement Points than bringing back the Symbiote from the Life Foundation last time.
"HYDRA Mission: Help Tony retrieve his father's relics (Completed)"
"Reward: Enhancement Points * 200"
This one is just average, 100 less than the mission to save Natasha. However, in terms of difficulty, this mission is indeed the simplest, at least the risk is the lowest, so a lower reward is normal.
Steve still had no habit of saving Enhancement Points and directly added all of them to his sole Physique attribute.
Physique soared from 20 points to 26 points, with normal strength reaching around 200T and extreme strength reaching around 600T!
At this level of strength, there were few on Earth who could rival him in terms of power.
Furthermore, his Biological Force Field also strengthened with his Physique, increasing his defense limit, and his flight speed directly doubled, going from Mach one to Mach two!
Although it was still slightly less than Iron Man's ultimate flight speed of Mach three, when he used his Biological Force Field to fly, there was no such thing as a 0-100 acceleration time; his starting speed could instantly reach the limit of Mach two!
Hundreds of tons of strength + Mach two flight speed, Steve was one step closer to not eating beef!
Just as Steve was satisfied, the system spoke again, giving him another surprise.
"System Reminder: Host Physique is about to reach 30 points. After 30 points, another joinable faction will be unlocked. After joining, the host can simultaneously accept system missions in the second faction!"
Holy cow!
What's a surprise?! This is what a surprise is!
Originally, Steve would worry about what would happen to system missions if he ever couldn't resist rebelling against HYDRA, or if HYDRA kicked him out.
After all, system missions required joining a certain faction, and he wasn't sure if he could rejoin a new faction after leaving the HYDRA faction.
Now, the appearance of this second faction completely resolved his worries!
He no longer had to worry about being kicked out and unable to accept system missions to become stronger!
As for which faction to choose for the second faction, Steve said....
Join another faction? Join my ass!
Why not just create his own faction, a faction that belongs to him!
What could be a more perfect second faction than the agency he was planning to establish!
In the future, when he received Delegation missions from Marvel protagonists, he wouldn't have to route them through HYDRA and convert them into system missions; he could do them directly.
It also avoided the trouble of some missions that he didn't want to list with HYDRA, letting HYDRAknow.
Now he was eager to raise his Physique to 30 points to unlock the second faction!
Looking at Tony and the other person who were still slowly examining Howard's relics one by one, Steve couldn't wait.
He snatched the items from their hands and put them back in the box, then took out the crucial videotape from the box.
"You two have had enough; now is not the time to reminisce about the past. The mess You two left behind hasn't been cleaned up yet. Don't forget there's an evil bald guy and a Russian guy in the shadows trying to kill You!"
"My Steve has a hunch that those two guys are brewing a big move and will appear soon, so our top priority is to quickly create the new element and then formulate a counter-plan!"
Hearing this, Tony and the other person also felt that Steve made a lot of sense and regained their spirits.
Seeing them get into gear, Steve inserted the videotape into the player, and the three watched.
However, it was mainly Tony watching. Steve and Bucky only saw Howard's pride for Tony in the video, but Tony noticed the clue to the new element his father left him.
"The key is the architectural model. No wonder You told me to find that model first; so that's how it is..."
Tony's eyes lit up with understanding. He moved over the future architectural model he had brought back from Stark Tower after Steve's earlier reminder.
Then, based on Howard's small hints to Tony in the video and Jarvis's virtual model calculations, he successfully recreated the new element Howard left him!
Chapter 45: The Birth of a New Element, Tony is Healed
Next was the lab renovation work.
In the original plot, Tony, swinging a big hammer alone, took half a day to get things done, but Steveand Bucky finished it in less than a minute with their fists!
Then Tony did the technical work, and Steve and Bucky did the heavy lifting. They quickly collaborated to create a brand new machine for creating new elements.
During this time, Tony even wanted to use the vibranium shield mold from Howard's relics as a Pad for the machine, but Steve kicked him in the butt and stopped him.
Steve, who inherited Captain America's memories, also inherited Captain America's love for the vibranium shield. How could he let his beloved shield suffer such humiliation?
Most importantly, if Tony used his machine to press down on his shield, wouldn't that mean he was being suppressed?!
How could that be allowed!
He was the one on top! Tony could only be on the bottom!
Huh? Something seemed off...
Finally, Tony cursed Steve as a conservative old fuddy-duddy, then picked up the Iron Man helmet that Steve had crushed earlier and used it as a pad.
You know, the crushed Iron Man helmet actually fit perfectly as a pad for the machine!
However, as Tony looked at the helmet pressed beneath the machine, he suddenly felt strange himself.
Finally, the new machine was operated by Steve. In the original work, the scene where Tony's lack of strength caused the machine's laser to destroy a circle of the lab did not appear. The laser accurately shot into the triangular container.
The new element was successfully created!
Tony didn't even experiment. He immediately installed the new element into the new arc reactor and removed the old one from his chest, placing the new one in the large hole in his chest.
The next second, the black lines on Tony's chest, which had shown signs of palladium poisoning, receded at a visible speed.
Steve, standing by, twitched his mouth when he saw this. Seeing it with his own eyes still felt unscientific.
It's one thing for the new element to replace palladium, but why can it also eliminate Tony's palladium poisoning? Does the new element come with detoxification properties too?
Forget it, this is the Marvel Universe. What science is he talking about?
Deadpool, with nothing to do, leaned against the Iron Man armor, pulled down the lower half of his mask, and ate a bag of chocolates he found from who knows where, muttering to himself:
"Honestly, I'm a little envious of Tony Stark. Not only does he have a cool LED light in his chest, but he also has an extra hole than me. He's amazing whether he's a man or a woman~"
Hearing the complaints from behind him, Tony, Steve, and Bucky abruptly turned to look at Deadpool, their faces full of question marks.
No, they had been busy making new elements for half a day here, so why did none of them notice Deadpool, who was idling nearby?
Even Steve was surprised. If Deadpool hadn't spoken, even he wouldn't have noticed where Deadpoolwas. It was as if his subconscious had forgotten Deadpool's existence.
Deadpool looked at their surprised gazes with a look of accustomedness, shrugging at the air beside him:
"See, readers, this is why I can Carnage the entire Marvel Universe, because these arrogant Avengersdon't even notice me, this inconspicuous low-life bought cheaply by Fox~"
Steve ignored Deadpool's usual self-talk and suddenly asked thoughtfully:
"Hey, Wade, can the Symbiote on you leave your body to heal others' wounds?"
Deadpool heard this and tapped his head: "Beep beep, bootleg Venom, did you hear that? Our boss is asking you a question~"
A deep blue, hideous head emerged from behind Deadpool, looking at Steve with fear in its eyes, and replied:
"Boss, no problem, it just requires a lot of energy, which you humans call phenylethylamine."
Steve snapped his fingers and smiled: "Those are small problems. Phenylethylamine is in chocolate. If you heal this guy later, he can let you eat chocolate until you throw up for the rest of your life~"
Saying that, Steve pulled Tony, who was constantly examining the Symbiote, in front of him.
Tony's mind worked quickly, and he soon understood that this blue-paint-like thing had the ability to heal flesh. He couldn't help but look a little nervous:
"Can this thing really work? Not only do I have a large hole blown open in my chest, but there are also several shrapnel pieces near my heart. Without the arc reactor holding the shrapnel, even if my flesh is healed, I'm probably dead..."
Steve patted Tony's shoulder and smiled confidently: "Don't worry, with your Uncle Rogers here, you won't die. I'll take care of the shrapnel."
Tony took a deep breath when he heard this, not asking Steve where his confidence came from, and nodded: "Alright, my life was saved by you anyway, I trust you. Do I need to prepare anything?"
"No need, it's just a momentary thing~"
Saying that, Steve waved to the Symbiote on Deadpool. With Deadpool's consent, the Symbiotedetached from Deadpool, its host, and jumped into Steve's palm.
Steve activated his Biological Force Field, holding the Symbiote in one hand and placing the other on Tony's chest reactor.
"Alright, take this thing off."
Tony heard this and unhesitatingly removed the arc reactor from his chest, revealing his fist-sized wound.
Bucky, from behind, supported Tony, whose face had turned pale and weak. Steve also covered Tonywith his Biological Force Field, protecting his heart while controlling the Biological Force Field to extract the shrapnel near his heart, then placed the Symbiote on Tony's chest.
After the Symbiote permeated Tony's body, the large hole in his chest healed at a visible speed, quickly recovering to the point where even his wife couldn't tell the difference.
Hawkeye expressed: Envy.
After Tony's wound healed, the Symbiote also came out and returned to Deadpool.
The whole process was quick. Tony only felt a pain in his chest, a quick in and out, and it was over. He touched his recovered chest and felt somewhat incredible.
Clang—
Just then, the sound of glass shattering at the doorway rang out, attracting the attention of everyone in the lab.
Pepper was seen standing at the doorway, covering her mouth, her eyes fixed on Tony's intact chest, her eyes filled with joy.
In front of her, coffee was spilled all over the floor.
Noticing everyone's gazes, Pepper quickly apologized:
"Sorry, Tony, I saw you were busy all night, so I bought some coffee back, but I didn't expect..."
"It's alright, Pepper, don't worry about it." Tony interrupted Pepper, came to her, and took her hand, placing it on his chest.
"Now the most important thing is, how do you feel about me now?"
Pepper's face flushed, and she tried to pull her hand back, but Tony held it firmly, unable to break free. She didn't dare to meet Tony's burning gaze and whispered:
"Not bad, at least I don't have to worry about you suddenly dying and me having to find a new job. And I don't have to endure the nausea of putting my hand into your chest to change your arc reactor..."
Tony first turned to look at Steve, who just standing there made him feel safe, then felt his strong beating heart, staring at Pepper with a certain resolve:
"Pepper, how about being my girlfriend?"
Chapter 46 Tony and Pepper get together early
"Ah?"
Pepper's mind went blank; Tony's sudden confession left her somewhat flustered.
Steve, Bucky, and Deadpool behind them all showed the same aunt-like smile, pumping their fists in encouragement to Tony.
Tony glanced at the three, nodded to them, then turned back to Pepper, a rare look of deep affection in his playboy eyes.
"Pepper, I'm serious this time. I know I used to be a reckless, arrogant, unreasonable, and utterly rotten person."
"But ever since Steve rescued me from that cursed cave, I've had a change of heart. I shouldn't be like this, and I can't continue to fall any further."
"Because in this World, there are people who truly care about me and love me: Steve, Happy, Rhodes, Bucky, and You, Pepper."
"I can't lose them, and I can't lose You. You are my everything. I'm no longer going to run from the feelings I've long had for You, so will You be my girlfriend?"
This confession to Pepper was by no means a whim for Tony.
Instead, it was a burgeoning outburst of emotions that had accumulated over their long time together.
If Steve hadn't been there, Tony might have buried this love in his heart due to various real-Worldreasons, such as his responsibilities and fear of Pepper being harmed because of him, and it might have been a long time before he ever spoke it.
But now with Steve, this 'elder,' by his side, he, who had always been strong, wanted to be willful for once. If the sky falls, Steve, the tall one, would hold it up. He didn't want to wait anymore!
Even if Pepper staying by his side would make him more dangerous, he didn't want to wait!
At worst, if he really couldn't solve it himself, he would shout, 'Uncle, help me!' He believed Stevewould, just like their first meeting, kick open the iron door of the cave like a God and save him from Water and Fire!
Simply put, he had backup, he was confident, he was on a high!
Pepper's breathing was rapid, her heart pounding, unsure whether to say yes or to accept.
It wasn't just Tony who had developed feelings for her during their long time together; Pepper herself had also developed feelings for Tony during their long time together.
As Tony said, he wasn't a perfect person. He had countless criticized flaws, but these flaws couldn't hide his talent, which was as dazzling as the Sun!
Especially after returning from the cave, having shed his playboy recklessness and becoming steady yet still sharp, Tony had deeply attracted her.
To say she wasn't at all moved by such a Tony would be impossible.
As Pepper hesitated, Deadpool suddenly started to egg them on:
"Say yes! Say yes! Say yes!"
Steve, for once, agreed with Deadpool, and he and Bucky joined in the cheering.
"Say yes! Say yes! Say yes!"
The trio's cheering broke the ambiguous atmosphere and also helped Pepper make up her mind. Her eyes became firm, and she gently nodded to Tony:
"I do."
Clap clap clap!
Amidst the trio's enthusiastic applause, Tony wrapped his arms around Pepper and leaned down to kiss her.
After the kiss ended, Tony took Pepper's hand and walked towards the three, proudly raising his chin to Steve and the others:
"Bucky and Pepper have already met. I assume You've met them too. What do You think, I have good taste, right?"
Deadpool, for once, didn't overly mock but gave face by giving a thumbs up:
"As one of the few Marvel heroines who isn't dumbed down, your Pepper's excellence can even be compared to my Vanessa!"
Because of Deadpool's zealous assistance just now, Tony's impression of Deadpool had upgraded from 'lunatic' to 'friend,' and he returned Deadpool's thumbs up:
"Although I don't know who Vanessa is, she must be excellent~"
Finally, Tony's gaze fell on Steve, waiting with a hint of expectation for his blessing, a blessing from someone of his father's generation.
"Your taste this time is more than just good. Pepper being with a guy like You, who's been through who knows how many relationships, is simply super luck You gained from saving the entire Universe in your last life~"
Steve first praised him a few times, then immediately launched into a soul-searching interrogation from an elder.
"So when do You two plan to get your marriage license, when will You get married, and when will You have children?"
Hearing Steve's three soul-searching questions, Tony's face fell, and he said speechlessly:
"Come on, we've only just reached the first step of successfully holding hands. How can it be that fast? Don't worry, I'll deliver my wedding invitation to You before You, this hundred-year-old man, are buried!"
"Then remember to arrange an elder's seat for me~"
"Get lost! I'll definitely put You at the kids' table!"
"That's not bad either. At the kids' table, at least I can eat more~"
The two exchanged a few jabs, and the atmosphere relaxed again.
Tony and Pepper's matter was just an interlude; Steve then brought up serious business.
"By the way, besides bringing You Howard's belongings today, I also plan to invite You to join my firm."
Tony was startled: "Firm? A firm that takes all sorts of commissions?"
Steve nodded and explained: "That's right, but it's a special firm specifically for handling supernatural events."
"I have a premonition that in the coming World, supervillains like Obadiah and Ivan Vanko will only become more numerous. To prevent more ordinary people from being affected by supernatural powers, we must have a super team composed of righteous forces to deal with these supervillains."
"This World needs more heroes, and the firm I'm establishing is to gather these like-minded heroes to face these challenges together, to avoid situations where they fight alone."
"What do You all think?"
Tony and Bucky nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this, and Deadpool also pretended to nod continuously, though he was practically falling asleep.
Steve didn't bother with the nearly sleeping Deadpool; that guy was already an internal member. Deadpool would do anything for money.
He continued to Tony and the other two:
"And since we're forming a team, there must be rules. If we continue to fight loosely based on our own ideas, it will eventually fall apart. So, I want to establish a commission task mechanism in the form of a firm."
"This way, we can filter out ordinary tasks that the Police can handle and only take on supernatural tasks that ordinary people can't handle."
"This not only saves our time but also avoids disputes with ordinary people over trivial matters."
"Remember, we are also human, not God. We cannot solve all problems. We possess supernatural powers, so we should only solve supernatural events!"
"So, have You decided to join?"
Tony and Bucky themselves weren't bleeding hearts, and they also clearly understood their own capabilities, finding Steve's idea of separating ordinary disputes from supernatural events very reasonable.
Tony raised an eyebrow: "I have to admit, your firm sounds pretty reliable. So count me in."
Bucky nodded directly: "Where You are, I am."
Seeing them join, Steve smiled contentedly:
"Good, since You've all agreed to join, I'll set the first rule: from now on, any supernatural event must first be posted as a commission task on the firm before being handled, even if it's a supernatural event we encounter ourselves."
Chapter 47 The Avengers Agency is established!
"For example, Tony's two enemies this time, because they originated from Tony, Tony needs to post the mission."
"Then members of the Avengers Agency can choose to accept this mission themselves, to help the client complete this mission, or directly complete this commissioned mission."
"The reason for doing this is to let everyone know that everything comes at a price. Don't think that everything we do is taken for granted!"
"It also allows some heroes who are more financially constrained in life, and who will join the Avengers Agency in the future, to not have to worry about their livelihood while saving people."
"Of course, the commission is not fixed and is not limited to money. It depends on the client's actual ability, mainly to test whether they sincerely need our help."
"Do you all have any questions about this?"
Tony and the other two all shook their heads, finding it very reasonable.
It's just a matter of lifting a finger; hanging it in the Avengers Agency means other heroes can come to help. Why not?
"Since no one has any objections, Tony, I now officially promote You to be the chief financial officer of the Avengers Agency!
You should quickly finalize the Avengers Agency's address and build it, and also take care of the infrastructure, member dormitories, and so on. Oh, and it's best to develop a smart system that allows members to easily post missions and request assistance at any time~"
Tony:???
"You bastard Rogers! So You, this scoundrel, want to build the Avengers Agency, but You haven't done anything, waiting for me to do it all!"
"Do You take me for a fool? Watch me not strangle You!"
Steve extended a hand to block Tony, who was trying to pounce and strangle him, keeping him out of reach no matter how he waved his hands.
With his other hand, he scratched his nose and squinted, saying:
"Hey, big nephew, how can You say that about me? Haven't I just laid out the most important general guidelines for the Avengers Agency?"
"Now You just need to provide money, effort, and missions. What more do You want!"
Tony's face flushed as he glared at Steve, about to unleash a torrent of insults, but Pepper, who had just been promoted to female lead, stopped him in time.
"It's alright, Tony, I can handle these small matters. I'll find the best location for the Avengers Agencyas soon as possible, and I'll arrange the member dormitories and basic living facilities as well. You two can continue with your important matters."
Steve released Tony upon hearing this, praising:
"Listen, listen to how sensible my niece-in-law is. Tony, You should learn from Pepper what humility means!"
"Humility? I just want to move Your tombstone right now!"
In response to Steve's words, Tony raised a middle finger as a sign of respect.
Pepper looked at Tony, who was acting like a child bickering with Steve, and smiled helplessly, quickly trying to smooth things over and change the subject:
"Oh, by the way, I should find a good location for the Avengers Agency very soon, but what exactly will the Avengers Agency be called? It can't just be called 'the Avengers Agency,' can it?"
Steve smiled confidently: "As the signboard of the Avengers Agency, I've naturally already thought of an imposing name: World War II Veteran Avengers Agency!"
"This name is full of historical weight and the cruelty of war. Just by hearing the name, You'll know we're definitely not a team to be trifled with. What do You all think?"
Steve puffed out his chest, ready to receive praise from Tony and the others, but to his surprise, all four shook their heads in unison.
Tony, even more impolitely, mocked Steve:
"Historical weight? Why don't You just call it the Indian Avengers Agency? This land originally belonged to them; wouldn't that name sound even more weighty and cruel?"
"I want weight, not burial. I want cruelty, not brutality. I don't want the Avengers Agency to be shot full of holes by a bunch of natives wearing feathers and riding sunny rainbow White horses the day after it's established~"
Seeing that the others truly disagreed with the name, Steve simply threw his hands up in resignation and said, "Since You're all unhappy with World War II Veteran Avengers Agency, then You come up with a good one~"
The four looked at each other.
Deadpool was the first to attack: "How about we call it Justice League Avengers Agency?"
Steve: "You're on the wrong channel, get out of here!"
Bucky said with a cold expression: "I think Anti-HYDRA Avengers Agency is good!"
Steve: "Hey, hey, don't include personal emotions when naming!"
Tony: "How about Illuminati Avengers Agency?"
Steve: "Although it sounds pretty good, unfortunately, this name has already been registered in another Universe."
Pepper raised her hand and said meekly, "Then how about SCP Avengers Agency? I heard that's also a department specializing in supernatural beings…"
Steve covered his face, speechless. This one is even more significant…
Pointing at the others, Steve sighed wearily:
"You just had the nerve to criticize me, but I see You're not much better at naming. In that case, I'll do it."
"Don't worry, it's not World War II Veteran Avengers Agency; it's another, more formal name."
Under the gaze of the four, Steve slowly said:
"It will be called 'Avengers Agency.' As the name suggests, clients usually come to us for revenge missions, and we are the Avengers who help clients take an eye for an eye against those supervillains!"
"For example, Tony's previous revenge against the Ten Rings Gang, or now Obadiah and Ivan Vanko's revenge, can all be commissioned as missions to the Avengers Agency to help You get revenge!"
Tony's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he was the first to agree: "Although I prefer preemptive strikes over revenge, what You said about 'an eye for an eye' is great, I like it!"
"Alright, I'm officially posting the first mission on the Avengers Agency now: a revenge mission against Obadiah and Ivan Vanko, with a reward of ten million U.S. dollars!"
Seeing that the others no longer had objections to the name, Steve tentatively settled on it and chimed in:
"Although the Avengers Agency hasn't been officially established yet, since Tony's first mission has been posted, let's start operating now. Raise your hand if You want to accept this mission."
Aside from Tony and Pepper, the other three, including Steve, all raised their hands.
Steve was because of a system mission.
Bucky simply wanted to help Tony.
Deadpool was also for fighting the rich and earning dollars.
"OK, from now on, Tony is our first client. As the client, do You have any other requests?"
Tony immediately nodded: "Yes, I need one of You to personally protect Pepper before dealing with Obadiah and the other person. This protection mission, in addition to sharing the ten million from the revenge mission, I'll add an extra two million for it."
Before Steve and Bucky could speak, Deadpool eagerly jumped up and raised his hand:
"I'll do it, I'll do it! This kind of good thing… cough cough, I'm best at this kind of tough job protecting people. I guarantee that even if I'm cut into meat paste when danger strikes, Ms. Potts won't lose a single hair!"
Tony looked at Steve, who nodded: "He's right. Although this guy doesn't seem very reliable, no one is better than him as a human shield."
"Alright, then You're chosen."
"Since You've all made arrangements, I'll go find a suitable location to finalize the Avengers Agency as soon as possible."
Seeing that Tony had arranged her matters, Pepper said goodbye to the others and left with Deadpool.
"Then Bucky, You continue to protect Tony. I'll go back first to see if S.H.I.E.L.D. has any news on Obadiah and Ivan Vanko."
After Pepper left, Steve also said goodbye and made an excuse to leave.
In reality, once he was outside Tony's Villa, he posted Tony's mission on HYDRA's internal network, converting it into a system mission.
After all, his physique hadn't reached 30 points yet, and he hadn't unlocked the second faction. If he accepted a system mission, it still needed to be converted within HYDRA.
Using this mission as a reason within HYDRA, he also used his HYDRA authority to have Dr. Zolamonitor news of the two.
Furthermore, HYDRA members lurking throughout the World would also feed him information if they had any clues about the two.
After all this was done, the sky was already faintly lit. Unbeknownst to him, he had been busy at Tony's Villa all night.
Chapter 48 Fuck, RPG!
However, it was all worth it.
That night, not only did he complete two system missions at once, but he also took on an even bigger system mission. Most importantly, after knowing his next mission, he would no longer be constrained by HYDRA.
Although he didn't intend to leave HYDRA because of this, having a fallback option was always better~
Steve, in a good mood, had just returned home. The moment he opened the door, a strong aroma of preserved egg and lean pork congee wafted towards him.
During the more than a month he had spent with Sharon, he had once casually mentioned his fondness for Chinese cuisine. Since then, Sharon had specifically learned many Chinese dishes for him, making him different ones every day.
This foreign girl learned quite quickly and cooked with remarkable skill, making Steve exclaim that it tasted like home.
Sharon, in the kitchen, heard the door open. She walked out holding a plate of golden, crispy beef patties. Seeing Steve, a gentle smile appeared on her face:
"Steve, you're back. You must be hungry after working all night. I made beef patties and preserved egg and lean pork congee. I'll get your congee; you wash your hands and sit down to eat~"
After speaking, Sharon turned and went back to the kitchen to get the congee.
Steve followed Sharon into the kitchen, washed his hands, and embraced Sharon from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. He kissed her cheek, his usually sharp words softened for once:
"You've worked hard, Sharon."
Sharon held Steve's hands that were wrapped around her and carefully wiped the Water from his hands with her clothes.
"Compared to what You do for this country, for this World, I'm just doing something trivial for You~"
Listening to Sharon's soft whispers in his arms, Steve's mind briefly relaxed in this perilous Marvel Universe.
This was why he liked Sharon. She never asked him foolish, probing questions like, "What did You do?", "Why?", or "Do You still love me?"
She would only trust him steadfastly, doing every seemingly insignificant but indispensable thing behind him in his life.
The two sat down opposite each other at the dining table. Steve, with a look of pure enjoyment, took a bite of a beef patty, then a spoonful of preserved egg and lean pork congee, and couldn't help but give Sharon a thumbs up.
"Perfect in color, aroma, and taste! Sharon, your Chinese cooking skills are getting better and better!"
To be able to eat such authentic preserved egg and lean pork congee here, Steve just wanted to say, after eating the box and the congee, the old President is not as good as me~
"I learned the recipe from an old restaurant owner in Chinatown. Seeing how much You enjoy it, the old man's recipe must be very authentic~"
Sharon looked at Steve's expression of pure enjoyment. The preserved egg and lean pork congee, which wasn't quite to her taste, seemed to become sweet and delicious as well.
Once, when she went to Chinatown to eat with Steve, he blurted out that what they made was like a pile of dog shit. That's when she knew Steve not only liked Chinese food but was also very picky.
That's why she took the time to learn authentic Chinese cooking methods, just to make Steve happy while eating.
She didn't think it was a troublesome thing; on the contrary, she enjoyed the process of doing things for Steve.
After breakfast.
Although Sharon didn't ask, Steve still told her some things about last night during their casual chat, specifically about Tony and the agency.
Undoubtedly, Sharon also joined the agency, or rather, semi-joined.
Because she also had to monitor Nick Fury for Steve at S.H.I.E.L.D., her role in the agency was in information investigation and logistics, which she excelled at, rather than being a primary combat member.
For instance, this time, Sharon proactively took on the task of investigating Obadiah and Ivan Vanko's whereabouts.
Steve didn't refuse this; he believed Sharon had the capability.
Don't let her innocent appearance in front of him fool You; she seems like a harmless White rabbit.
But in reality, as Agent 13, highly valued by Nick Fury at S.H.I.E.L.D., Sharon's strength ranks among the top in the entire S.H.I.E.L.D.
In Captain America 3, Sharon was also wanted by the federal government for helping Captain America, who had violated the Sokovia Accords, steal back his vibranium shield and Falcon's flight gear.
But Sharon, just an ordinary person, not only easily went into hiding under federal pursuit, but with no backup, she single-handedly carved out a niche for herself in the New World, becoming a renowned 'Power Broker.'
It must be said, she truly is the niece of the legendary Agent Peggy Carter.
Suddenly, the two, who had been chatting, stopped in unison and turned to look out the window.
Like Natasha, Sharon's long years as an Agent had given her a sixth sense, a psychic awareness of something amiss.
Steve, on the other hand, simply had extraordinary hearing and heard the faint whooshing sound from outside.
He turned his head and saw a small black dot continuously growing larger outside the window.
Shit, RPG!
Steve's face turned cold as he reached out to Sharon.
Sharon unhesitatingly grasped Steve's hand and used the momentum to leap over the dining table, curling up in his arms.
Steve covered Sharon's eyes with one hand and extended the other indifferently towards the window.
The next second, the Rocket pierced through the window, colliding directly with Steve's palm!
Boom————————
With a roar, crimson Fire instantly engulfed Steve's hundred-square-meter apartment, making the entire apartment look like a blooming flame rose.
When the flames dissipated, Steve, holding Sharon, floated in mid-air, looking at his once cozy home, now resembling a Syrian renovation. His expression was terrifyingly grim.
Suppressing his anger, Steve carried Sharon and flew to the street, which was filled with screams from the explosion. He released the hand covering her eyes, preventing them from being scorched by the intense light, and placed her on the ground.
"Sharon, wait here. I'm going to buy an orange. I'll be right back!"
With that, there was a sonic boom, and Steve instantly vanished.
With Steve's super brain, he had already locked onto the approximate direction of the incoming Rocketwhen it struck!
Given Steve's vengeful nature, he was determined to personally rip off the attacker's head and kick it like a ball!
He would let that bastard know what a Chinese soccer flying kick was!
However, what Steve didn't expect was that his attacker wasn't a person, but a three-meter-tall mech covered in metallic black paint!
That's right, a mech. Compared to Tony's thin battle armor, this three-meter-tall steel giant felt more like a mech to him!
"Hmm?! Steel mech? Obadiah or Ivan Vanko?"
In this timeline, besides Tony and those primitives from Wakanda who used high-tech spears, only these two should possess the technology to create steel mechs.
While Steve was momentarily stunned, the black mech also spotted him flying towards it and raised its hand, firing two more Rockets at him, one after the other!
However, Steve was fearless. With a single hand, he caught the tail of the first Rocket and, like hitting a baseball, swung his arm to bat the second Rocket back!
Thump! One hundred points!
Boom————
Boom————
Two violent explosions rang out: one was the Rocket Steve was holding exploding due to the intense impact, and the other was the one he batted back exploding upon hitting the Black mech!
Steve casually tossed away the metal debris in his hand. Despite the close-range explosion, not even a speck of dust had touched his White T-shirt.
Biological Force Field is so damn useful!
Chapter 49 The attacker Ivan Vanko!
He sighed internally, and Steve looked down at the black mech he had shot down with his Rocketlauncher, finding that it had actually withstood the attack, though its chest armor was somewhat chipped and dented.
"The materials are quite sturdy, it seems Obadiah sponsored you a lot of money, but I hope what's under the mech will be just as sturdy later, Ivan Vanko!"
Hearing Steve call out his name from above, the black mech noticeably paused, then a rough, low voice sounded from within the mech:
"Heh heh, as expected of the famous Captain America, you really aren't an easy opponent to deal with. You're much stronger than I imagined!"
It wasn't just a little stronger, it was far too strong!
In Ivan Vanko's conception, no carbon-based life form could withstand a Rocket launcher head-on, so he confidently prepared to leave after the first shot.
But he didn't expect Captain America to withstand it, and even two in a row!
This is insane!
However, despite Ivan Vanko's internal surprise, his tone remained confident:
"But even if you miraculously survived, my revenge plan has not failed. Tony Stark will still experience the pain of losing his family, just like me!"
"A revenge plan against Tony? Losing family?" Steve frowned. Tony's parents were taken down and double-killed by Bucky. He was a pure orphan, so where would he get family from?
He immediately realized that this guy was talking about emotional family.
"You also attacked Pepper Potts?"
Ivan Vanko's weapon was full of provocation:
"That's right, You're very smart. But it's too late to understand now. That woman doesn't have your exaggerated durability. Now, for Tony Stark and You, there's probably only her puzzle pieces left, ha ha ha ha!"
"Idiot."
Steve was expressionless, disdaining Ivan Vanko's premature celebration, which was a clear Death flag.
Not to mention he and Pepper weren't close to begin with, even if she died, he wouldn't be sad at all.
But where did this guy get the confidence that Pepper would definitely die?
You have to know that she had a 'human shield' who cared more about money than his life by her side.
As long as Tony's money was in place, how could Deadpool, that humanoid ATM, possibly get hurt in front of him?!
Deadpool, with his Symbiote power, might not even fare well against a steel mech!
"I'm too lazy to waste any more words on an idiot like You, You don't deserve to listen!"
Steve gave Ivan Vanko a thumbs down, said no more, and swooped down fiercely towards the black mech!
"Hmph! You want to go head-to-head with my steel battle armor? Do You really think You're a man of steel?!"
Ivan Vanko watched Steve, who was charging at him with a raised fist, snorted coldly, activated his back and leg thrusters at full power, and likewise raised his fist to charge up at Steve!
"Idiot!"
Steve uttered a perfectly articulated curse in his hometown dialect, and with one punch, he shattered the black mech's arm that was clashing with him!
Before the one-armed black mech could react from its daze, Steve, with the posture of Superman taking flight, raised his elbow high, and then slammed it fiercely onto the mech's head!
MAN!
In a trance, Ivan Vanko seemed to hear the echo of an old friend, and the next second he felt his vision go black, and the mech fell back to the ground powerlessly!
But Steve frowned, feeling that the sensation just now was a bit off. He scanned the black mech arm parts scattered on the ground, and his eyes narrowed.
He landed in front of the black mech, which had lost its movement, reached out, pulled out the mech's head that he had elbowed into its chest, and crushed it in his hand.
Sure enough, there was no Ivan Vanko's head inside at all, only wires and parts.
This was a drone!
Just then, Ivan Vanko's voice came from the headless mech again.
"Heh heh, You wouldn't naively think I'd be inside, would You? Don't be so narcissistic, You're not worth me personally risking my life to take yours!"
"This attack on You is just an appetizer for the revenge I'm preparing for Tony Stark. The main course is still being prepared, so just enjoy living in the fear I bring, ha ha ha ha!"
Amidst Ivan Vanko's maniacal laughter, the mech at Steve's feet began to glow red in its chest.
Accompanied by the classic ticking sound, Steve knew without thinking that it was definitely going to self-destruct!
However, Steve wouldn't give him that chance. He curled his fingers into a claw and plunged them into the mech's chest, directly pulling out its Arc Reactor!
Without its energy source, the red light instantly extinguished.
Steve crushed the Arc Reactor in his hand, picked up the mech's remains, found Sharon, and for the first time, took her to his safe house in Hell's Kitchen.
That is, Kingpin's building.
Being attacked at home made Steve realize that his old dilapidated house was no longer safe.
And the floor Kingpin gave him in the building not only had various luxurious facilities but also a secret room capable of resisting several RPG explosions, directly increasing the safety factor by an unknown amount.
He didn't need it, but it was undoubtedly the most suitable place to house Sharon.
"Sharon, examine this mech and see if there are any clues left behind."
Sharon nodded, without a word, and began to dismantle the mech.
Besides being weak in hard power, Sharon was an all-rounder proficient in combat, firearms, machinery, stealth, computers, disguise, assassination, and so on. She also understood mech dismantling.
Steve stroked Sharon's obedient hair and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, pressing the in-ear headset in his ear.
"Dr. Zola, use my authority to mobilize HYDRA's hidden brothers in various locations and dig three feet to find Ivan Vanko's location. I'm going to twist his head off!"
How dare You attack me, Ivan Vanko, You better not let me catch You!
Otherwise, a good Death will be a luxury for You!
A faint red glow seemed to flash in Steve's eyes.
From the headset, Dr. Zola's voice came:
"Understood, I will inform Captain You immediately if there is any news."
"Mhm."
After Steve finished speaking and put down his hand, disconnecting from Dr. Zola, his phone in his pocket rang again.
Ring-a-ling~
He saw the caller ID, it was Tony Stark.
As soon as he answered, Tony's anxious voice came through.
"Steve, are You alright?!"
"I'm fine, it seems You know about Ivan Vanko's attack."
Tony on the other end of the phone heard Steve's relaxed voice and let out a long sigh of relief, his tone also relaxing a bit:
"That's right, half an hour ago, Pepper was attacked, but thankfully, that guy You brought back fulfilled his previous promise. He was truly blasted to char and then stomped into a meat paste by Ivan Vanko's controlled mech, but he didn't let Pepper lose a single hair.
I was stunned watching that guy from the surveillance in Stark Tower. No matter how cruel the methods Ivan Vanko used, he just couldn't kill him!
Can You imagine the horrifying sight of a humanoid meat paste still gnawing on a steel mech's leg? I think I'll never forget that chilling scene in my life…."
Chapter 50 MK5, Portable Battle Armor
Steve imagined that chilling scene and couldn't help but shiver.
Fighting an unkillable opponent like Deadpool, when their strengths are comparable, is a double nightmare, both psychologically and physically!
But thankfully, Steve's own strength was enough to crush Deadpool.
Of course, that's assuming Marvel's editors don't give Deadpool an unfair power-up.
Otherwise, let alone the current him, even bug-level existences like the Five Great Gods could be killed by Deadpool!
Thinking of this, Steve shook his head. This Universe was clearly more biased towards the MarvelCinematic Universe, so Deadpool shouldn't be strengthened that excessively.
His thoughts flashed by, returning to the call with Tony.
"Since Pepper is fine, it seems Deadpool won in the end. Did you find any clues there?"
"No, the attack on Pepper was by an unmanned, remotely controlled mech. After Deadpool almost dismantled it, it self-destructed, leaving no clues behind."
"Is that so? However, I managed to remove its Arc Reactor before the mech self-destructed. Both the mech and the Arc Reactor are still relatively intact. I'm having Sharon see if she can find any clues from them..."
"What? Your mech is still there! That's great! Where are you? I'm coming over now. I should be able to reverse-engineer the supply channels of those two bastards from the materials!"
Tony's voice on the other end of the phone became excited upon hearing this.
As a weapons supplier, as long as he saw the complete materials of the mech, he should be able to follow the clues all the way back to the source!
Steve raised an eyebrow at this. He had indeed forgotten about Tony just now. As America's top arms supplier, that guy was indeed the one who knew the most about weapon materials.
"At Fisk Tower in Hell's Kitchen, come on over."
"Kingpin's territory? Why are you there?"
"That's a long story..."
"Then don't tell it, I'm too lazy to listen. Give me ten minutes, I'll be right there!"
Tony spoke a few hurried words and then hung up the phone. It was clear that Tony was truly anxious this time.
But that was normal.
Tony seemed to care about nothing, unrestrained and wild, but in reality, he was the most emotionally attached person.
Ivan Vanko's attack on Pepper this time had clearly touched his reverse scale.
Anyway, Tony was coming soon, so Steve simply called off the busy Sharon and introduced her to the various facilities on this floor, as well as the secret room for emergencies.
He had barely finished introducing everything to Sharon when a thud of metal landing sounded from the balcony, followed by a knock on the balcony door.
Steve knew without thinking that Tony had arrived and stepped forward to open the bulletproof glass door on the balcony with his fingerprint.
Tony, wearing his red and silver armor, walked in from the balcony.
Upon entering the room, the armor on Tony's body began to retract from both sides, finally shrinking into a red metal briefcase at Tony's chest.
Steve's eyes lit up at this. Wasn't this the portable MK5 armor from Iron Man 2? Tony had actually created it ahead of time!
It seemed Tony had really listened to his previous complaints about the inconvenience of wearing the MK2 and improved it.
This thing was the thinnest set among all generations of Iron Man armor, and it was a set that greatly amazed him in his previous life.
Now that he saw the real thing, it would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted.
Steve acted on his thought, reaching out to take the briefcase Tony was carrying.
"Oh, my dear nephew, since you're here, why are you bringing me a gift, Uncle? This makes me so embarrassed. I'll carry it!"
Tony:???
"Get lost and go play. Who said this is a gift for you? What nonsense are you thinking!"
Tony pulled the briefcase behind him, staring warily at Steve.
"If you don't give it to me, how can I go play? If you're not giving it, can I at least play with it for a bit, Uncle?"
"Play with what? I still need to use it later. If I let you play with it, what will I use?"
"Tch, if you're not giving it, then don't. Actually, I didn't really want to play with it. I'm dying of laughter. You don't actually think this is cool, do you? No way, no way~"
"Oh, you're barking now?" Tony looked at Steve's hypocritical and exaggerated expression, completely speechless:
"Alright, alright, stop with that disgusting expression. I really need to use this armor later, so I can't let you play with it.
Besides, the MK3 helmet I use for combat was crushed by you. If I really gave you this portable armor, what would I use?
Your exclusive armor is already being manufactured. When it's finished, it will definitely be a surprise for you, alright!"
Steve reluctantly took one last look at the briefcase in Tony's hand before moving his gaze away, dissatisfied.
If you don't give it, then don't. Next time I visit your house, I'll just 'borrow' it!
Tony ignored Steve and, after greeting Sharon who was watching their daily bickering, eagerly walked towards the black mech in the living room.
Tony placed the briefcase on the ground, and it automatically opened, transforming and assembling into a very futuristic-looking laptop-style computer.
Taking out a USB-like device from the side of the opened briefcase, Tony skillfully pried open a spot under the black mech's armpit, revealing a port that perfectly fit the USB in Tony's hand.
Once the USB was plugged in, the computer screen on the briefcase on the ground continuously flashed green data, like what Steve would see in movies.
Under Tony's dazzling operations, several very complex-looking codes were extracted by Tony from countless lines of code.
"Jarvis, find out who the supplier of these serial numbers is?"
"Received, sir. Searching..."
Jarvis's voice came from the briefcase computer and then sounded again after a brief silence.
"Sir, the supply channels for these serial numbers all belong to Hammer Industries' exclusive channels."
"Hammer Industries?" Tony frowned, then had a relieved expression: "No wonder..."
Steve asked curiously, "No wonder what?"
Tony explained, "No wonder Justin Hammer called me two days ago after I was attacked by Ivan Vanko, bragging that he was going to hold his new product launch at my Stark Expo next week."
"He also said that he would definitely surpass me this time or something. I didn't pay attention to that kind of stupid talk where he always tries to copy me, but now it seems Obadiah and Ivan Vanko must have been in cahoots with Hammer at that time!"
Steve nodded in understanding upon hearing this. No wonder Ivan Vanko said the main course of the surprise was yet to come.
If Ivan Vanko's Iron Man legion really caused trouble at the Stark Expo, then besides Hammer himself, Tony would undoubtedly suffer the most losses.
And if there were many casualties, Tony, as the organizer, wouldn't get off lightly!
So no matter whether Ivan Vanko's attack succeeded or not, it would cause Tony a lot of trouble!
However, Steve wouldn't obediently wait for the villains to be ready before exposing their plot, so he immediately said:
"Since we already know where they are, to avoid any further complications, let's just storm Hammer Industries now and kill those two bastards!"
Tony shook his head at this: "I'm afraid not. We don't have substantial evidence to prove that Hammer is harboring federal criminals, nor do we have a search warrant from an official department. If we go rashly, we might encounter heavy resistance."