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Chapter 120: The Parting (2)
October 19, 2022 Author: Great Demon Spirit
"However, this 'cloning' thing..." Tony watched Batman's receding figure and fell into deep thought.
Cloning technology would gradually develop. If someone obtained his skin flakes or hair, perhaps one day they truly could clone something. However, those who rely on physical combat are most easily cloned; people with abilities like Tony's are much harder to clone.
For example, Wolverine. When Old Man Logan returned home, his death was largely due to the attacks from his own clone. The aged Wolverine's physical strength and recovery ability had both sharply declined; he simply couldn't defeat his younger clone.
Yet, no one had ever heard of anyone being able to mass-produce clones of Professor X or Magneto. If that were possible, cloning technology would be far too overpowered.
Therefore, Tony had never been too worried about being cloned. Even if a clone did emerge, it would just be an idiot with a stronger-than-average physique, lacking any special abilities; a single bullet would be enough to kill it.
"I refuse to believe anyone could use technology to clone my Allspark. If that were possible, the technology would be truly invincible, capable of directly replicating fundamental rules. Could it even clone cosmic primordial gods like Galactus?"
Tony chuckled wryly and shook his head. He wasn't worried about such low-level things as cloning; his strength originated from the Allspark.
He took out his phone, made a call, and issued an order.
"Thomas Wayne, from now on you will change your name to Lincoln March and officially participate in the next Gotham City mayoral election. You must succeed, no matter what. Then, for me... keep a close eye on Batman! Report his every move to me at any time. You are a smart man; you should know that I can give you far more than the Court of Owls. Think carefully: will you listen to me, or will you listen to the Court of Owls..."
On the other end of the line, Thomas pondered for a moment, a look of resolve in his eyes: "I understand, Mr. Tony. I will secretly keep a close eye on Bruce's every move."
Tony raised the corner of his mouth, a smile appearing. Thomas was a very peculiar person. The Court of Owls had spent years attempting to brainwash him, but unfortunately, the effect wasn't very obvious, perhaps due to being injected with Dionysium during infancy.
This also gave Tony an opportunity to intervene. He didn't need Thomas to be utterly loyal to him, nor did he believe in it. He only needed Thomas to hesitate when making a choice. Hesitation itself was a choice, indicating that Thomas was beginning to harbor doubts about the Court.
In this way, the entire Gotham City was subtly brought under Tony's control. In the political, business, and underworld sectors, Tony had planted his people, silently monitoring the sprawling metropolis. Perhaps to many, this method seemed precarious, with the constant possibility of collapse; if even one key person betrayed him, an entire domain would crumble.
But Tony wasn't worried about this. As long as he continued to grow stronger, he would always possess the power to overturn everything. Those with ulterior motives would have to obey, because Tony truly would kill them. Moreover, Tony would give them more than organizations like the Court of Owls ever could.
Now, only a thoroughly frustrated S.H.I.E.L.D. remained...
During this period, Agent Coulson and May ran around everywhere, leveraging all sorts of connections, but no matter what, they couldn't openly and legitimately extend their influence into Gotham City. They could only send in a few minor operatives, which was incredibly frustrating.
Gotham City was like a giant cage, sealing itself off and keeping outsiders out.
The influential families who formed the Court of Owls absolutely would not allow outside forces to intervene. Although the Court had suffered heavy losses in strength at Tony's hands, that was merely a blow to their power. Did the Court dare to directly confront S.H.I.E.L.D.? If S.H.I.E.L.D. were truly pushed too far, they might not be able to win.
However, they were prestigious families who had been entrenched in Gotham City for centuries, their influence ubiquitous. It wasn't difficult for them to severely restrict S.H.I.E.L.D. in other domains. For instance, when S.H.I.E.L.D. agents wanted to gather information from certain institutions, they proudly displayed their agent credentials, only for the staff, who had already received instructions, to simply roll their eyes at them. They also tried to hack into internal data, only to find all the files empty; someone had long been guarding against them.
This large cage that was Gotham City, under deliberate targeting, made it impossible for S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel to make any progress, yielding meager results.
They watched helplessly as Tony swept through Gotham with thunderous momentum, gaining ever-increasing authority, leaving many people terrified.
But they weren't entirely empty-handed. Though the entire city seemed to be working against them, S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel weren't foolish. After frantic investigation, they finally found some clues, especially when they discovered a large number of corpses that night—clearly Tony's handiwork.
Bodies with regenerative ability that could also be mass-produced greatly tempted many people. They even discovered that many of these individuals were figures from years ago, which sent interested parties into ecstatic joy.
Regeneration + longevity, isn't that just god-like? S.H.I.E.L.D. desperately researched the Talon corpses, and suddenly, high-ranking officials from many countries became extraordinarily concerned about S.H.I.E.L.D., asking after their well-being and constantly sending various supplies.
Heh heh heh heh...
"Director Fury wants us to contact Tony again. What exactly is going on with this organization that uses an owl as its symbol?" Agent Coulson tossed the latest files onto the table, sighing helplessly.
Research into the mysterious substance had reached an impasse. They had clearly determined that the strange material was a complex compound, but after reverse-engineering a fifth of it, they came to an abrupt halt, only able to continue research at a snail's pace, with extremely poor results.
S.H.I.E.L.D. and high-ranking officials from various countries all hoped to obtain the manufacturing method for this substance. S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to mass-produce undying warriors, while the various national high-ranking officials valued the method for longevity.
But the Court of Owls had vanished as if into thin air.
Agent Coulson visited the local prominent families but gained nothing; they were deeply entrenched. The trickiest part was that Agent Coulson didn't know which families were part of the Court of Owls and which weren't.
They either had to increase their investment in Gotham City and wage a protracted war of attrition, which might lead to clues, or directly question Tony.
"I wonder how Tony pushed them to this point. They fear Tony, but not us?"
"No need to ask," May said irritably, pulling out a chair and sitting down. "Tony's ruthlessness must have scared them. They hold high positions, and S.H.I.E.L.D. can't touch them. But Tony dares to act. Not only does he dare, he even dares to disregard public opinion and wipe out their entire families. They're terrified! Because Tony truly would dare to kill his way through all of Gotham City, family by family, until one day he reaches their families too!"
"How infuriating! S.H.I.E.L.D. is such a powerful and influential organization, yet those people only fear Tony."
"What is this, the one with nothing to lose fears no one?" Agent Coulson rubbed his forehead with a bitter smile.
Agent Coulson took out his phone to contact Tony, but couldn't get through. He then called the reception desk at Wayne Tower, stating directly that he needed to speak with Tony. However, the receptionist informed him that Tony had left Gotham City just a few hours ago.
(end of chapter)
October 19, 2022 Author: Great Demon Spirit
"However, this 'cloning' thing..." Tony watched Batman's receding figure and fell into deep thought.
Cloning technology would gradually develop. If someone obtained his skin flakes or hair, perhaps one day they truly could clone something. However, those who rely on physical combat are most easily cloned; people with abilities like Tony's are much harder to clone.
For example, Wolverine. When Old Man Logan returned home, his death was largely due to the attacks from his own clone. The aged Wolverine's physical strength and recovery ability had both sharply declined; he simply couldn't defeat his younger clone.
Yet, no one had ever heard of anyone being able to mass-produce clones of Professor X or Magneto. If that were possible, cloning technology would be far too overpowered.
Therefore, Tony had never been too worried about being cloned. Even if a clone did emerge, it would just be an idiot with a stronger-than-average physique, lacking any special abilities; a single bullet would be enough to kill it.
"I refuse to believe anyone could use technology to clone my Allspark. If that were possible, the technology would be truly invincible, capable of directly replicating fundamental rules. Could it even clone cosmic primordial gods like Galactus?"
Tony chuckled wryly and shook his head. He wasn't worried about such low-level things as cloning; his strength originated from the Allspark.
He took out his phone, made a call, and issued an order.
"Thomas Wayne, from now on you will change your name to Lincoln March and officially participate in the next Gotham City mayoral election. You must succeed, no matter what. Then, for me... keep a close eye on Batman! Report his every move to me at any time. You are a smart man; you should know that I can give you far more than the Court of Owls. Think carefully: will you listen to me, or will you listen to the Court of Owls..."
On the other end of the line, Thomas pondered for a moment, a look of resolve in his eyes: "I understand, Mr. Tony. I will secretly keep a close eye on Bruce's every move."
Tony raised the corner of his mouth, a smile appearing. Thomas was a very peculiar person. The Court of Owls had spent years attempting to brainwash him, but unfortunately, the effect wasn't very obvious, perhaps due to being injected with Dionysium during infancy.
This also gave Tony an opportunity to intervene. He didn't need Thomas to be utterly loyal to him, nor did he believe in it. He only needed Thomas to hesitate when making a choice. Hesitation itself was a choice, indicating that Thomas was beginning to harbor doubts about the Court.
In this way, the entire Gotham City was subtly brought under Tony's control. In the political, business, and underworld sectors, Tony had planted his people, silently monitoring the sprawling metropolis. Perhaps to many, this method seemed precarious, with the constant possibility of collapse; if even one key person betrayed him, an entire domain would crumble.
But Tony wasn't worried about this. As long as he continued to grow stronger, he would always possess the power to overturn everything. Those with ulterior motives would have to obey, because Tony truly would kill them. Moreover, Tony would give them more than organizations like the Court of Owls ever could.
Now, only a thoroughly frustrated S.H.I.E.L.D. remained...
During this period, Agent Coulson and May ran around everywhere, leveraging all sorts of connections, but no matter what, they couldn't openly and legitimately extend their influence into Gotham City. They could only send in a few minor operatives, which was incredibly frustrating.
Gotham City was like a giant cage, sealing itself off and keeping outsiders out.
The influential families who formed the Court of Owls absolutely would not allow outside forces to intervene. Although the Court had suffered heavy losses in strength at Tony's hands, that was merely a blow to their power. Did the Court dare to directly confront S.H.I.E.L.D.? If S.H.I.E.L.D. were truly pushed too far, they might not be able to win.
However, they were prestigious families who had been entrenched in Gotham City for centuries, their influence ubiquitous. It wasn't difficult for them to severely restrict S.H.I.E.L.D. in other domains. For instance, when S.H.I.E.L.D. agents wanted to gather information from certain institutions, they proudly displayed their agent credentials, only for the staff, who had already received instructions, to simply roll their eyes at them. They also tried to hack into internal data, only to find all the files empty; someone had long been guarding against them.
This large cage that was Gotham City, under deliberate targeting, made it impossible for S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel to make any progress, yielding meager results.
They watched helplessly as Tony swept through Gotham with thunderous momentum, gaining ever-increasing authority, leaving many people terrified.
But they weren't entirely empty-handed. Though the entire city seemed to be working against them, S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel weren't foolish. After frantic investigation, they finally found some clues, especially when they discovered a large number of corpses that night—clearly Tony's handiwork.
Bodies with regenerative ability that could also be mass-produced greatly tempted many people. They even discovered that many of these individuals were figures from years ago, which sent interested parties into ecstatic joy.
Regeneration + longevity, isn't that just god-like? S.H.I.E.L.D. desperately researched the Talon corpses, and suddenly, high-ranking officials from many countries became extraordinarily concerned about S.H.I.E.L.D., asking after their well-being and constantly sending various supplies.
Heh heh heh heh...
"Director Fury wants us to contact Tony again. What exactly is going on with this organization that uses an owl as its symbol?" Agent Coulson tossed the latest files onto the table, sighing helplessly.
Research into the mysterious substance had reached an impasse. They had clearly determined that the strange material was a complex compound, but after reverse-engineering a fifth of it, they came to an abrupt halt, only able to continue research at a snail's pace, with extremely poor results.
S.H.I.E.L.D. and high-ranking officials from various countries all hoped to obtain the manufacturing method for this substance. S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to mass-produce undying warriors, while the various national high-ranking officials valued the method for longevity.
But the Court of Owls had vanished as if into thin air.
Agent Coulson visited the local prominent families but gained nothing; they were deeply entrenched. The trickiest part was that Agent Coulson didn't know which families were part of the Court of Owls and which weren't.
They either had to increase their investment in Gotham City and wage a protracted war of attrition, which might lead to clues, or directly question Tony.
"I wonder how Tony pushed them to this point. They fear Tony, but not us?"
"No need to ask," May said irritably, pulling out a chair and sitting down. "Tony's ruthlessness must have scared them. They hold high positions, and S.H.I.E.L.D. can't touch them. But Tony dares to act. Not only does he dare, he even dares to disregard public opinion and wipe out their entire families. They're terrified! Because Tony truly would dare to kill his way through all of Gotham City, family by family, until one day he reaches their families too!"
"How infuriating! S.H.I.E.L.D. is such a powerful and influential organization, yet those people only fear Tony."
"What is this, the one with nothing to lose fears no one?" Agent Coulson rubbed his forehead with a bitter smile.
Agent Coulson took out his phone to contact Tony, but couldn't get through. He then called the reception desk at Wayne Tower, stating directly that he needed to speak with Tony. However, the receptionist informed him that Tony had left Gotham City just a few hours ago.
(end of chapter)
