"Huh—cough, cough!" In the churning sea, a figure broke through the waves and lifted his head.
Harry struggled hard, gasping for breath. The electric discharge just now had drained every ounce of energy from his body. The pain that wracked him shattered the invisible field he had been maintaining—it couldn't hold any longer.
"Boom—"
The sound of something slicing through the air came from above. Hearing the roar of his flying skateboard, Harry let out a long sigh of relief and reached out to grab it.
"Cough, cough..." Harry collapsed onto the cold surface of the glider, coughing a few times before breathing heavily. After a moment, he finally regained some strength.
"Armor," Harry muttered weakly. Massive blood loss blurred his vision. His limbs felt numb and unresponsive, moving only with sluggish effort.
"Clank—"
Segment by segment, the simple combat suit formed around him. Exhausted, Harry managed to stand only with the support of the armor's servos.
"Phew… that's better."
Activating the suit's auto-healing protocols, Harry finally exhaled in relief. At least, he wouldn't bleed out and die here.
Now that he was safe, he turned his head toward the distant island, his expression hardening.
"I'll repay this debt, Magneto," Harry murmured. Perhaps things had come too easily for him lately—he had cured his illness effortlessly, gained immense power, and had Felicia at his side. With friends like Max and Dr. Karl, his confidence had grown too inflated. He had dared to stand against Magneto—a veteran powerhouse in the Marvel world—and now he was paying the price.
This would be a lesson. Never underestimate anyone.
After regaining his focus, Harry summoned the glider's interface.
"Locate Senator Kelly," he commanded.
"Yes, sir."
The cold synthetic voice rang in his ear as the HUD display began scanning for the tracking device Harry had secretly planted on Senator Kelly.
The source code Tony had given him for Jarvis was vastly different from Tony's personal AI. Tony's Jarvis behaved like a trusted friend—capable of emotion, reasoning, and initiative. The version Harry received, however, was stripped bare: no personality, no autonomy, just a cold, rigid program—an obedient machine that executed commands without question.
Harry had initially assumed Tony was withholding the full Jarvis code, but Tony's explanation left him speechless. According to Tony, Jarvis contained a human consciousness—something that couldn't be duplicated. That revelation forced Harry to accept what he had, despite having paid heavily for it through the energy project deal.
Still, it made Harry wonder—was there a connection between Jarvis's architecture and Dr. Zola's digital mind from Captain America's story? That was something to verify later.
"I found Senator Kelly. He is two nautical miles southeast," the system—nicknamed "Xiaofei" by Harry—reported.
"Good."
Harry steadied himself and engaged the glider's thrusters. Blue flames ignited beneath his feet, propelling him swiftly toward the signal.
"Hey! Here! Over here!"
Hearing the roar above, Senator Kelly looked up. As expected, it was the man from the newspapers—Harry Osborne. He waved frantically.
Harry spotted him immediately—the identification system had locked onto Kelly long before visual contact.
"Grab my hand! I'll pull you up!"
Hovering beside him, Harry removed his mask and reached out.
The protective field around Kelly had weakened considerably during his drift. The sphere was battered by waves and was slowly taking on water. Seeing Harry appear filled Kelly with relief, and he grabbed Harry's hand immediately, scrambling onto the glider.
"Hold tight—we're leaving," Harry warned. The pain in his body made it impossible to maintain another barrier, so Kelly would have to cling to him if he didn't want to be thrown off mid-flight. Harry also eased the speed slightly to keep the congressman from being swept away by the rushing air.
"Got it!"
Kelly crouched low and gripped Harry's armored legs tightly.
Harry confirmed his grip, then reignited the thrusters, the glider soaring back toward New York.
"How about it? Tell me your opinion," said a deep voice in front of a massive monitor.
Nick Fury turned toward the man and woman beside him.
"I maintain my earlier assessment," said the glamorous, short-haired woman coolly. "In fact, I'm even more interested in him now."
"Yeah." Fury nodded slightly. He had expected as much from her.
"And you, Phil?" he asked, turning to the man on his other side.
"I agree with Commander Hill," said Phil Coulson, blinking good-naturedly.
"Then we'll proceed accordingly," Fury decided. "By the way, did you handle his request?"
"All done," Coulson said. "That sort of thing is easy for us."
"Good." Fury gave a curt nod, turned, and walked out of the room.
"I'll head out too, Commander Hill," Coulson said, glancing at the tall, elegant woman who remained motionless before the giant screen.
"Yeah," she answered softly after a pause.
Coulson looked at her back with mild curiosity, then shrugged and left.
"I'm really looking forward to meeting you," Maria Hill murmured under her breath. "I want to see for myself… what kind of man you are."
Meanwhile, Harry finally guided the glider back to Osborne Manor.
"Vrrm—"
The glider hummed as it powered down and landed softly on the grass.
"Master," called Old Al, who had just finished tidying up the estate and was preparing to rest. Hearing the sound of the glider outside, he set down his things and hurried out to meet Harry.
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A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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