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Chapter 205: Scheming (Part 5)
Author: Great Demon Spirit
Tony sat in a room in Kamar-Taj, silent and unmoving. Around him, a Magic Portal was opening. An immense amount of Allspark Energy poured through the Portal, arriving on the Indian Subcontinent.
A staggering number of small mechanical items were animated. All sorts of items—watches, cell phones, flashlights—were quietly brought to life. Then, when their owners weren't looking, they would sneak away. The figures of these little things could be found active in every remote corner.
"Huh, my lucky day! I found a phone!"
Similar cries of surprise would occasionally echo across the Indian Subcontinent, but it wouldn't be long before these "lucky ones" discovered with dismay that the phone they'd found had seemingly been stolen, disappearing without a trace. They could only curse their bad luck.
For the first time since reaching Level Four, Tony was using this method to search for something. He designated the entire Indian Subcontinent as his observation ground, animating millions of small Transformers to find some damn thing.
Level Four. Even as a newcomer to this level, he already had some confidence. Although it was a bit rushed, he couldn't wait any longer. He had waited long enough—so long that he had awoken from nightmares more than once, nearly driven to madness.
If nothing went wrong, the person he was looking for was on the Indian Subcontinent, living like a harmless civilian, blending in as a Beast and a Monster.
It was a ridiculous notion—a Monster that had slaughtered countless civilians was now trying hard to become one of them.
"I know you were innocent, but that thing inside you is the most damnable of all... I know you were trying to stop Abomination that night, but unfortunately, no matter what happened along the way, the result was the last thing I ever wanted to see. I lost everything, and I gained everything."
"You deserve to die. No matter what, you deserve to die. The process can be deceiving, but the result never lies. Besides, I don't believe that naive Beast would attack Abomination out of a ridiculous notion like 'protection'. It was the desire for battle and destruction that drove him to face Abomination..."
"I lost what I treasured most, but I gained what I need to kill you."
Grimlock was still as lively as ever. He clamped his jaws on a table leg, and his immense strength allowed him to easily swing the table around, sending the teacups and everything else on it crashing to the floor.
Tony remained like a statue, lost in thought, in hatred, his expression ferocious.
Sensing something, Grimlock suddenly stopped, let out a cry, and ran whimpering into Tony's arms, just like before.
Numerous conspicuous electrical currents roamed the Himalayan Mountains, detected by Tony's Allspark Energy. Tony extended a hand and made a circular motion. A Portal appeared, growing from small to large, connecting directly to a location in the Himalayas.
A blizzard of snow and a biting wind blew in. The temperature, dozens of degrees below zero, was enough to freeze an ordinary human without proper protection to death.
But Tony, of course, was unaffected by such low temperatures, and little Grimlock, being a Silicon-based Lifeform, was completely unfazed.
Max came whistling in, dragging a human covered in ice and snow in one hand and carrying a motorcycle in the other. He burst in, covered in dust from his journey, and stared at the Portal in amazement.
"Sir, is this the GroundBridge Technology you mentioned before? You've already developed it?" Max asked in awe.
"...No, not quite. Anyway, a lot has happened recently... Who's this guy you're holding?"
Max tossed him casually onto the floor and said, "A strange guy. He can turn into a flaming skull. I initially thought his body was possessed by some creature, but after a closer look, that didn't seem right. The bio-electric fields of the skull and the man can't be separated."
A flaming skull, a motorcycle...
Tony grew thoughtful. Max had actually managed to kidnap the Ghost Rider. This was quite a surprise.
"How did you get past his Penance Stare?" Tony asked.
Since Max knew about his spirit form, the two had clearly crossed paths. He didn't think the Spirit of Vengeance, who loathed evil, would let a mass murderer like Max go.
"The Penance Stare? Oh, he did glare at me. I think he even rummaged through my memories, but it had no effect on me. I got angry, disrupted the the balance within his body, and forced the human personality back out," Max replied, somewhat submissively.
Tony couldn't help but chuckle.
The Penance Stare was an incredibly powerful ability, capable of affecting even a deity. But there was one type of person who was completely immune to it: those who felt no guilt for their "sins," or rather, didn't even consider them sins at all.
Thanos, for instance, could completely ignore the judgment of the Penance Stare. He could even face his own mountain of sins under its gaze with a sense of appreciation and admiration.
He hadn't expected Max to be the same kind of person, viewing many of his actions as achievements and feeling no remorse whatsoever. This was exactly what Tony had hoped for.
"Well done, Max!" Tony patted Max's shoulder in praise, then pointed to the man frozen on the ground. "Wake this guy up directly. Don't hold back; he definitely won't die. If he does, then he's not the person I know."
It was daytime, so the Spirit of Vengeance wouldn't appear. Otherwise, Tony would have had to flee himself. That damn Penance Stare was too unreasonable, and he had no confidence he could resist it.
Electro was extremely rough. He blasted out a scorching bolt of electricity, melting the ice and snow and giving the man a new hairstyle in the process.
Johnny screamed and leaped to his feet.
He was a handsome young man, his chiseled face etched with an undeniable exhaustion. His sharp eyebrows gave him a tough look, and his high-bridged nose and world-weary eyes added a hint of severity.
"Johnny Blaze. I know you. A famous racer who's broken multiple Guinness World Records. A rising star in the racing world," Tony said, sitting in his chair with his hands clasped, calmly watching the man before him.
The current Ghost Rider was of immense value, well worth the gamble for Tony, however dangerous it might be.
"Where is this? Wait... damn it, that Aura on you... the guy in my head is getting restless again. You have to go, get out of here..."
The moment Johnny saw Tony, he clutched his head in pain. The Spirit of Vengeance inside him had sensed the undead traces on Tony and was beginning to stir, wanting to burst out and pass judgment on the wicked.
The Ghost Rider usually appeared at night, but that didn't mean he absolutely couldn't appear during the day.
"Fight it, Johnny! You control it, don't let it control you!" Tony frowned. Outside, the Transformers were on alert, ready to charge in at a moment's notice.
"I can't... damn it..." Johnny wailed, his resistance growing weaker and weaker.
(end of chapter)
Author: Great Demon Spirit
Tony sat in a room in Kamar-Taj, silent and unmoving. Around him, a Magic Portal was opening. An immense amount of Allspark Energy poured through the Portal, arriving on the Indian Subcontinent.
A staggering number of small mechanical items were animated. All sorts of items—watches, cell phones, flashlights—were quietly brought to life. Then, when their owners weren't looking, they would sneak away. The figures of these little things could be found active in every remote corner.
"Huh, my lucky day! I found a phone!"
Similar cries of surprise would occasionally echo across the Indian Subcontinent, but it wouldn't be long before these "lucky ones" discovered with dismay that the phone they'd found had seemingly been stolen, disappearing without a trace. They could only curse their bad luck.
For the first time since reaching Level Four, Tony was using this method to search for something. He designated the entire Indian Subcontinent as his observation ground, animating millions of small Transformers to find some damn thing.
Level Four. Even as a newcomer to this level, he already had some confidence. Although it was a bit rushed, he couldn't wait any longer. He had waited long enough—so long that he had awoken from nightmares more than once, nearly driven to madness.
If nothing went wrong, the person he was looking for was on the Indian Subcontinent, living like a harmless civilian, blending in as a Beast and a Monster.
It was a ridiculous notion—a Monster that had slaughtered countless civilians was now trying hard to become one of them.
"I know you were innocent, but that thing inside you is the most damnable of all... I know you were trying to stop Abomination that night, but unfortunately, no matter what happened along the way, the result was the last thing I ever wanted to see. I lost everything, and I gained everything."
"You deserve to die. No matter what, you deserve to die. The process can be deceiving, but the result never lies. Besides, I don't believe that naive Beast would attack Abomination out of a ridiculous notion like 'protection'. It was the desire for battle and destruction that drove him to face Abomination..."
"I lost what I treasured most, but I gained what I need to kill you."
Grimlock was still as lively as ever. He clamped his jaws on a table leg, and his immense strength allowed him to easily swing the table around, sending the teacups and everything else on it crashing to the floor.
Tony remained like a statue, lost in thought, in hatred, his expression ferocious.
Sensing something, Grimlock suddenly stopped, let out a cry, and ran whimpering into Tony's arms, just like before.
Numerous conspicuous electrical currents roamed the Himalayan Mountains, detected by Tony's Allspark Energy. Tony extended a hand and made a circular motion. A Portal appeared, growing from small to large, connecting directly to a location in the Himalayas.
A blizzard of snow and a biting wind blew in. The temperature, dozens of degrees below zero, was enough to freeze an ordinary human without proper protection to death.
But Tony, of course, was unaffected by such low temperatures, and little Grimlock, being a Silicon-based Lifeform, was completely unfazed.
Max came whistling in, dragging a human covered in ice and snow in one hand and carrying a motorcycle in the other. He burst in, covered in dust from his journey, and stared at the Portal in amazement.
"Sir, is this the GroundBridge Technology you mentioned before? You've already developed it?" Max asked in awe.
"...No, not quite. Anyway, a lot has happened recently... Who's this guy you're holding?"
Max tossed him casually onto the floor and said, "A strange guy. He can turn into a flaming skull. I initially thought his body was possessed by some creature, but after a closer look, that didn't seem right. The bio-electric fields of the skull and the man can't be separated."
A flaming skull, a motorcycle...
Tony grew thoughtful. Max had actually managed to kidnap the Ghost Rider. This was quite a surprise.
"How did you get past his Penance Stare?" Tony asked.
Since Max knew about his spirit form, the two had clearly crossed paths. He didn't think the Spirit of Vengeance, who loathed evil, would let a mass murderer like Max go.
"The Penance Stare? Oh, he did glare at me. I think he even rummaged through my memories, but it had no effect on me. I got angry, disrupted the the balance within his body, and forced the human personality back out," Max replied, somewhat submissively.
Tony couldn't help but chuckle.
The Penance Stare was an incredibly powerful ability, capable of affecting even a deity. But there was one type of person who was completely immune to it: those who felt no guilt for their "sins," or rather, didn't even consider them sins at all.
Thanos, for instance, could completely ignore the judgment of the Penance Stare. He could even face his own mountain of sins under its gaze with a sense of appreciation and admiration.
He hadn't expected Max to be the same kind of person, viewing many of his actions as achievements and feeling no remorse whatsoever. This was exactly what Tony had hoped for.
"Well done, Max!" Tony patted Max's shoulder in praise, then pointed to the man frozen on the ground. "Wake this guy up directly. Don't hold back; he definitely won't die. If he does, then he's not the person I know."
It was daytime, so the Spirit of Vengeance wouldn't appear. Otherwise, Tony would have had to flee himself. That damn Penance Stare was too unreasonable, and he had no confidence he could resist it.
Electro was extremely rough. He blasted out a scorching bolt of electricity, melting the ice and snow and giving the man a new hairstyle in the process.
Johnny screamed and leaped to his feet.
He was a handsome young man, his chiseled face etched with an undeniable exhaustion. His sharp eyebrows gave him a tough look, and his high-bridged nose and world-weary eyes added a hint of severity.
"Johnny Blaze. I know you. A famous racer who's broken multiple Guinness World Records. A rising star in the racing world," Tony said, sitting in his chair with his hands clasped, calmly watching the man before him.
The current Ghost Rider was of immense value, well worth the gamble for Tony, however dangerous it might be.
"Where is this? Wait... damn it, that Aura on you... the guy in my head is getting restless again. You have to go, get out of here..."
The moment Johnny saw Tony, he clutched his head in pain. The Spirit of Vengeance inside him had sensed the undead traces on Tony and was beginning to stir, wanting to burst out and pass judgment on the wicked.
The Ghost Rider usually appeared at night, but that didn't mean he absolutely couldn't appear during the day.
"Fight it, Johnny! You control it, don't let it control you!" Tony frowned. Outside, the Transformers were on alert, ready to charge in at a moment's notice.
"I can't... damn it..." Johnny wailed, his resistance growing weaker and weaker.
(end of chapter)
