Chapter 38: Tony: Lynn, You Absolutely Have to Join My Team
Honestly, Lynn hadn't expected Tony Stark to misunderstand him, thinking he meant two million.
But seeing the notification for a six-million-dollar deposit—for triple the amount—Lynn didn't miss a beat. "Don't worry. As soon as this is over, you'll be my first priority."
"Can I... can I watch you make it?"
"Of course. No problem."
For a whale like Tony, Lynn was more than happy to satisfy his curiosity.
As they spoke, a deep echo reverberated from the dark tunnel.
JARVIS's voice immediately issued a warning. "Sir, a large number of bats are approaching. Biometrics indicate they are significantly larger than normal."
At the warning, Tony Stark instantly tensed. "Lynn, bats!"
Lynn drew his silver longsword, giving it a casual, flashy spin. "Then let them come."
The words had barely left his mouth when dozens of bats, each half a meter long with glowing eyes, came flapping toward them.
Compared to normal bats, their flight speed was clearly much, much slower.
"Looks like your slowing potion is working wonders."
Tony Stark raised his hand, his palm repulsor activating instantly.
The repulsor, specially amplified with UV light, blasted a bat out of the air.
The creature ignited, turning to ash as it fell. In response, the dozens of other bats unleashed a simultaneous sonic attack.
The intense sound waves caused a chain reaction, and the very tunnel began to shake.
Tony, protected by his armor, was fine.
He shot a worried glance at Lynn, only to be surprised: Lynn, at some point, had already put in a pair of custom-molded earplugs.
Lynn gave Tony a wink, then shot forward, diving straight into the swarm.
In the dim light, the silver longsword in his hand shone with a life of its own, reaping the bats like the Grim Reaper's scythe.
Every bat that touched the blade let out a sharp, cracking sound and disintegrated into dust.
Watching Lynn tear through them, an unstoppable force, Tony Stark's eyes lit up. He said to JARVIS, "JARVIS, looks like it's our turn to show off."
With that, a new device rose from the suit's shoulder. The next second, it auto-locked onto the remaining bats.
Dozens of concentrated UV beams lanced out, punching clean through the creatures.
In a matter of seconds, the entire swarm of vampire-bats was reduced to a pile of ash.
"That... is technology."
Tony Stark said, looking at Lynn with a slightly smug tone.
"Is it?"
Lynn just smiled, gesturing forward with his sword at the new wave of undead thralls shambling toward them. "Can your 'technology' handle them?"
"Obviously."
Brimming with confidence, Tony Stark raised his hand. He looked at the shambling, red-eyed, horrifying thralls... and fired his repulsor.
The blast punched a hole clean through the first thrall and tore through several more behind it.
But the undead thralls, completely unfazed, just kept roaring and shuffling forward.
"That's impossible."
Unwilling to accept this, Tony Stark blasted the head clean off the thrall with the hole in its chest.
The headless thrall kept walking.
"What the hell are these things?"
Tony Stark yelled, his voice laced with disbelief. "This is bullshit! It defies all logic!"
"Of course it's not. It's a hybrid of blood thralls and black magic. I thought that Count Korthess back in New York was the only one who knew black magic."
"I didn't expect the vampires hiding in Miami to know it too. Tsk. Makes you wonder what those 'Masters of the Mystic Arts' are doing, letting this stuff slip through the cracks."
As he spoke, Lynn spread his hands, and his Phantasm power flared.
Before Tony Stark's stunned eyes, the very air in front of them tore open. An army of skeleton warriors poured out, roaring and raising their bone swords.
"Oh my god."
Seeing this, Tony Stark's gaze on Lynn grew even brighter.
"Buddy, you have to join my research team. You know what? Just quit the NYPD. Come work for me. Name your salary, I don't care."
"Don't even think about it."
With a wave of Lynn's hand, the hundreds of skeleton warriors charged, crashing into the undead thralls.
As the two sides clashed, the skeletons, with a clear intelligence, began to purposefully force the thralls to the sides of the tunnel, clearing a path down the middle for Lynn and Tony.
"Let's go."
Lynn said casually, starting to walk.
Tony Stark followed, now like an overeager student, his mouth not stopping for a second.
He had never encountered magic before.
And as the self-proclaimed number-one genius of the century, he wasn't about to let this opportunity pass him by.
"Trust me, buddy. We put magic in the suit... think of the possibilities—"
As he was talking, Tony Stark suddenly stopped. He dropped to one knee, breathing heavily.
"What's wrong?"
Lynn asked, seeing the suit's sudden stop.
"I'm fine…"
The faceplate opened, revealing Tony, drenched in sweat, his breathing ragged and shallow.
"JARVIS, what's wrong with Mr. Stark?"
After a moment's hesitation, JARVIS replied. "Mr. Lynn, please get Mr. Stark to the surface. He is experiencing a medical anomaly."
"No. I'm fine."
Tony leaned the suit against the wall, his expression grim, his breathing accelerating.
'Didn't Tony solve his palladium poisoning?'
'I never heard about him having any other problems.'
Lynn didn't know what was wrong, but he decided he'd better get him to the surface. He could handle the rest of the way himself.
"Hey... I'm fine."
Seeing Lynn's movement, Tony slowly opened his eyes. "It's just... okay, damn it, it's an anxiety attack."
"Ever since I flew that nuke into the wormhole and blew up the Chitauri command ship, I've been getting these."
"I just... I can't believe it's happening now. Damn it."
He turned his head away, trying to look tough.
Lynn thought for a moment, then pulled a bottle of red potion from his pocket and held it out. "Drink this."
"Huh?"
Though confused, Tony hesitated for only a second before taking the bottle, opening it, and downing it in one gulp.
As the potion went down, he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. His expression visibly eased.
He stood up, wiping the sweat from his face. "Lynn… what was that you just gave me?"
"Why... why do I feel this... cool sensation in my head? The panic, the anxiety... it's gone. That's... that's amazing."
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