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"What would you like to drink?"
Tony opened the fridge, randomly grabbed a can of soda, and tossed it to Betty.
Betty's eyes widened. "Is that how you ask for my opinion?" she said, displeased.
It had been a while, and while Betty's appearance hadn't changed, her temperament had undergone a drastic change. In these past few months, she had transformed at an astonishing speed, shedding the harmlessness of an ordinary person and becoming filled with a menacing air.
Kingpin, the renowned Crime Lord of New York City, a formidable figure that even an official organization like S.H.I.E.L.D. would give a wide berth to for various reasons, had been crushed to death in the hands of the humanoid beast, Betty.
Tony's protection was enough to shelter Betty for some of her actions. Not to mention, Betty herself was originally part of the Military system and had seen and heard things far beyond what an ordinary citizen could comprehend. It was just that Tony had recruited her at her most vulnerable moment.
"After that guy Kingpin died, the Gangs of New York City have been going through a major reshuffle. People are dying every day. Are you sure you're just going to stand by and watch?" Betty tossed the soda aside and grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge.
"I don't need ordinary humans; they're too weak to even stop a single bullet. I need people with special abilities, whether they're Mutants or some product from a lab. As long as they're superhuman, I can take them in," Tony said.
Betty stared at him for a moment, keenly sensing that some subtle change had occurred in Tony, though it wasn't obvious. She said, "Sometimes, I really think you're like a villain from the movies."
Tony's expression was calm. "By some people's standards, I am a villain. But in the eyes of another group, I'm a hero."
He was a villain, unscrupulously sending tens of thousands of American soldiers to their deaths in Wakanda, only to appear gloriously in the guise of a hero after achieving his own goals.
He was a hero, cold-bloodedly kicking aside the game rules and inciting the poor and destitute to revolution without a moment's hesitation.
This was all due to Tony's complex background, coupled with his own caution when handling certain matters. For example, with the Wakanda war, the Military ended up shouldering a large portion of the blame. Otherwise, many Righteous Heroes would have long since come looking for trouble with him.
With a *smack*, Tony snatched the beer from Betty's hand. He stared intently at her and, before she could get angry, said, "There's something you need to choose for yourself..."
"What is it?" Betty rolled her eyes.
"I'm going to kill the Hulk."
Betty's expression froze. She stiffly turned her neck, looking at Tony with a complicated expression. There was no expected outburst, nor any anticipated calmness. She fell silent.
Tony sat on the sofa, watching quietly, waiting for the girl's choice.
Even from a short distance away, Tony could clearly smell the scent of blood on Betty. Unconsciously, a slight smile touched the corners of his mouth.
Initially, he had only seen Betty as a tool, a tool to get revenge on Ross. But after spending more time with her, he unexpectedly found that having such a lively girl around... felt pretty good.
But that was all it was.
He was willing to be open about it and give the choice to Betty, rather than preemptively killing her to eliminate future trouble. The potential of the Red Hulk was largely an unknown. Having the Red Hulk and the Hulk team up would be a huge problem.
But Tony did it anyway. He just stared, waiting to see what Betty would choose.
Betty and Banner were a couple, a couple that had long since broken up. She had even found someone new at one point, only becoming single again after what happened to Ross.
But just how much of her feelings for Banner remained—whether the connection lingered or was completely severed—no one knew.
The most troublesome part was that Tony suspected Betty herself wasn't sure.
"I thought I wouldn't have to consider this question for a long time," Betty said with a bitter smile.
"You're a smart girl, and you know me well enough. You should know what kind of person I am," Tony said softly.
"Sometimes your heart is as vast as the ocean, and other times it's smaller than the point of a needle..."
"Because I can't wait any longer. If I keep waiting, I'm worried something unexpected will happen. There are enough surprises in this world; I don't want any more, at least not where the Hulk is concerned." Tony rolled his neck, producing a series of cracking sounds. "I'm going to hunt that beast, and I'll risk everything to do it. I know better than you how terrifying that beast is."
"There must be another way, like separating that green guy from Banner..." Betty struggled weakly.
"Perhaps there is a way, but as I said, I can't wait that long!" Tony shot to his feet, his tall frame looming over Betty.
Betty was a little flustered. She looked up at Tony's cold and severe expression, then lowered her head and nervously fidgeted with her fingers.
"If... I mean if, I chose..."
"If you choose the Hulk's side, then go. I won't stop you. But the next time we meet, I won't show any mercy." Tony tried to keep his tone even, but his expression betrayed him.
A long silence.
In the end, Tony sat on the sofa, watching Betty's retreating back as he fell deep into thought.
"Did the talk fall through again? I knew it. Your negotiation skills are practically in the negative."
After a moment, the Old Bartender hurried in, his first action being to place two bottles of liquor on Tony's table.
"This is some good stuff I snatched from that guy Tony. He's been insufferably grand ever since he got back from the Middle East, as flashy as ever." The Old Bartender gleefully bit the cap off one bottle, casually grabbed two teacups, and started pouring.
Tony glanced at the Old Bartender in surprise, his heart warming slightly. The old codger had clearly rushed in at the first opportunity to comfort him.
"Get lost. You'll drink yourself to death sooner or later. If you ask me, you should just accept the Dionysus Factor Augmentation, then you can drink as much as you want," Tony said with a half-joking curse.
The Old Bartender chuckled. "Are you kidding? I'm not becoming a super soldier. Your sense of touch gets drastically weakened, what's the use of that? I probably wouldn't even be able to taste the alcohol."
Tony shook his head and didn't bother arguing. In this world, there weren't many ways to achieve immortality, but there were plenty of ways to achieve longevity. At worst, he could find a suitable method to extend the Old Bartender's life when the time came.
"But seriously, are you really going to let Betty go just like that?" the Old Bartender asked seriously. "When you hunt the Hulk, will you really kill Betty too?"
"From beginning to end, she never once asked for the Hulk's location. Can't you see? She's hesitating, completely unsure of what to choose. But in reality, she has already made the best possible choice."
Tony drained the liquor in his teacup in one gulp, feeling the burn on his tongue as an inscrutable light flickered in his eyes.
(end of chapter)
Tony opened the fridge, randomly grabbed a can of soda, and tossed it to Betty.
Betty's eyes widened. "Is that how you ask for my opinion?" she said, displeased.
It had been a while, and while Betty's appearance hadn't changed, her temperament had undergone a drastic change. In these past few months, she had transformed at an astonishing speed, shedding the harmlessness of an ordinary person and becoming filled with a menacing air.
Kingpin, the renowned Crime Lord of New York City, a formidable figure that even an official organization like S.H.I.E.L.D. would give a wide berth to for various reasons, had been crushed to death in the hands of the humanoid beast, Betty.
Tony's protection was enough to shelter Betty for some of her actions. Not to mention, Betty herself was originally part of the Military system and had seen and heard things far beyond what an ordinary citizen could comprehend. It was just that Tony had recruited her at her most vulnerable moment.
"After that guy Kingpin died, the Gangs of New York City have been going through a major reshuffle. People are dying every day. Are you sure you're just going to stand by and watch?" Betty tossed the soda aside and grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge.
"I don't need ordinary humans; they're too weak to even stop a single bullet. I need people with special abilities, whether they're Mutants or some product from a lab. As long as they're superhuman, I can take them in," Tony said.
Betty stared at him for a moment, keenly sensing that some subtle change had occurred in Tony, though it wasn't obvious. She said, "Sometimes, I really think you're like a villain from the movies."
Tony's expression was calm. "By some people's standards, I am a villain. But in the eyes of another group, I'm a hero."
He was a villain, unscrupulously sending tens of thousands of American soldiers to their deaths in Wakanda, only to appear gloriously in the guise of a hero after achieving his own goals.
He was a hero, cold-bloodedly kicking aside the game rules and inciting the poor and destitute to revolution without a moment's hesitation.
This was all due to Tony's complex background, coupled with his own caution when handling certain matters. For example, with the Wakanda war, the Military ended up shouldering a large portion of the blame. Otherwise, many Righteous Heroes would have long since come looking for trouble with him.
With a *smack*, Tony snatched the beer from Betty's hand. He stared intently at her and, before she could get angry, said, "There's something you need to choose for yourself..."
"What is it?" Betty rolled her eyes.
"I'm going to kill the Hulk."
Betty's expression froze. She stiffly turned her neck, looking at Tony with a complicated expression. There was no expected outburst, nor any anticipated calmness. She fell silent.
Tony sat on the sofa, watching quietly, waiting for the girl's choice.
Even from a short distance away, Tony could clearly smell the scent of blood on Betty. Unconsciously, a slight smile touched the corners of his mouth.
Initially, he had only seen Betty as a tool, a tool to get revenge on Ross. But after spending more time with her, he unexpectedly found that having such a lively girl around... felt pretty good.
But that was all it was.
He was willing to be open about it and give the choice to Betty, rather than preemptively killing her to eliminate future trouble. The potential of the Red Hulk was largely an unknown. Having the Red Hulk and the Hulk team up would be a huge problem.
But Tony did it anyway. He just stared, waiting to see what Betty would choose.
Betty and Banner were a couple, a couple that had long since broken up. She had even found someone new at one point, only becoming single again after what happened to Ross.
But just how much of her feelings for Banner remained—whether the connection lingered or was completely severed—no one knew.
The most troublesome part was that Tony suspected Betty herself wasn't sure.
"I thought I wouldn't have to consider this question for a long time," Betty said with a bitter smile.
"You're a smart girl, and you know me well enough. You should know what kind of person I am," Tony said softly.
"Sometimes your heart is as vast as the ocean, and other times it's smaller than the point of a needle..."
"Because I can't wait any longer. If I keep waiting, I'm worried something unexpected will happen. There are enough surprises in this world; I don't want any more, at least not where the Hulk is concerned." Tony rolled his neck, producing a series of cracking sounds. "I'm going to hunt that beast, and I'll risk everything to do it. I know better than you how terrifying that beast is."
"There must be another way, like separating that green guy from Banner..." Betty struggled weakly.
"Perhaps there is a way, but as I said, I can't wait that long!" Tony shot to his feet, his tall frame looming over Betty.
Betty was a little flustered. She looked up at Tony's cold and severe expression, then lowered her head and nervously fidgeted with her fingers.
"If... I mean if, I chose..."
"If you choose the Hulk's side, then go. I won't stop you. But the next time we meet, I won't show any mercy." Tony tried to keep his tone even, but his expression betrayed him.
A long silence.
In the end, Tony sat on the sofa, watching Betty's retreating back as he fell deep into thought.
"Did the talk fall through again? I knew it. Your negotiation skills are practically in the negative."
After a moment, the Old Bartender hurried in, his first action being to place two bottles of liquor on Tony's table.
"This is some good stuff I snatched from that guy Tony. He's been insufferably grand ever since he got back from the Middle East, as flashy as ever." The Old Bartender gleefully bit the cap off one bottle, casually grabbed two teacups, and started pouring.
Tony glanced at the Old Bartender in surprise, his heart warming slightly. The old codger had clearly rushed in at the first opportunity to comfort him.
"Get lost. You'll drink yourself to death sooner or later. If you ask me, you should just accept the Dionysus Factor Augmentation, then you can drink as much as you want," Tony said with a half-joking curse.
The Old Bartender chuckled. "Are you kidding? I'm not becoming a super soldier. Your sense of touch gets drastically weakened, what's the use of that? I probably wouldn't even be able to taste the alcohol."
Tony shook his head and didn't bother arguing. In this world, there weren't many ways to achieve immortality, but there were plenty of ways to achieve longevity. At worst, he could find a suitable method to extend the Old Bartender's life when the time came.
"But seriously, are you really going to let Betty go just like that?" the Old Bartender asked seriously. "When you hunt the Hulk, will you really kill Betty too?"
"From beginning to end, she never once asked for the Hulk's location. Can't you see? She's hesitating, completely unsure of what to choose. But in reality, she has already made the best possible choice."
Tony drained the liquor in his teacup in one gulp, feeling the burn on his tongue as an inscrutable light flickered in his eyes.
(end of chapter)
