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Chapter 232: The Leap
"Planet-destroying level enemy? What do you mean?" Bruce looked completely lost.
"To put it simply, there's a bastard named Dormammu. He controls the Dark Dimension, comparable to a small universe, and constantly seeks to devour Earth. And this Dormammu is just the weakest among many enemies," Tony said with a grin.
Bruce's brows furrowed tightly. He was still young, having only been Batman fighting crime for a little over a year before retiring. His worldview was still that of an ordinary human, and he lacked a sufficient understanding of planet-destroying enemies.
"So, that's why you didn't kill me that day?" Bruce's eyes stared coldly at Tony. It was one of only two failures he'd experienced since becoming Batman—one against the Joker, the other against Tony. Both had left him with the bitter taste of defeat.
"That's right, Bruce. Your intellect is always astonishing," Tony chuckled. "If I weren't hoping that brain of yours could play a vital role in the brutal war to protect Earth, with my temper, I would have crushed you long ago."
Tony's opinion of Batman wasn't particularly good, but it certainly wasn't bad either. Batman's intellect could play a crucial role in the various complex situations of the future, which was precisely what Tony could make use of.
He could almost foresee a future where the universe was filled with war. His Cybertron and the small planet Earth could, to a large extent, join forces.
Bruce contemplated for a moment and straightened his body slightly. The movement was a strain for him, as his leg hadn't healed yet.
Bruce asked, "Let's assume for a moment that everything you've said is true. What can I do to fight Dormammu?"
"You? As you are now?" Tony looked him up and down with a disdainful expression. "Bruce, I'll only ask you one question: is your knowledge base sufficient? You want to participate in that kind of war, and even be the key figure who influences its outcome. Please, tell me—what can you do? Build armor? You can't even deal with me."
"If you gave me some time, I could indeed deal with you." Bruce delivered this parting shot and turned to leave.
Before Tony could mock him again, he stopped and added a second sentence: "Thank you."
Thanks for what? For not killing him? Or for being frank?
None of that mattered.
What mattered was that Tony had finally, for the time being, pulled Batman—this most complex and inscrutable individual—onto a cooperative front.
The endless crises facing Earth were the best catalyst for cooperation.
Tony smiled and walked straight out of the conference hall.
He hadn't actually received an invitation to the so-called global summit. Tony had dealt with the security and forced his way in. No one could stop Tony, and they all clearly knew his identity. Although worried, they gritted their teeth and reluctantly tolerated his presence.
Various factions were stirring, especially Magneto's side. He was already planning something big at the Statue of Liberty—to turn all the high-ranking officials of every country and other important figures around the world into mutants in one fell swoop.
As for how many would survive, Old Man Magneto couldn't be bothered to care. As long as one person survived, it was enough.
Magneto was becoming more and more radical. He had been shouting the slogan of exterminating ordinary humans for many years.
After Tony walked alone to a quiet, secluded place, standing behind a flowerbed, shrouded in shadows, Azazel appeared with a *poof*.
"Long time no see, Tony. Every time I hear news about you, you always manage to surprise everyone!" Azazel praised, clapping his hands as he slowly approached, just as he did when they first met.
"Are you here to negotiate?" Tony asked with a smile.
"I'm here on behalf of Magneto to extend an invitation, hoping you'll join the Brotherhood of Mutants. And, I want to take Rogue with me. Her potential is excellent; the Brotherhood of Mutants needs someone with her talent," Azazel said.
"Magneto lay low for so long before making a move. It seems his research was a success—the mutant conversion device? A good idea, but the process is too crude. If I join the Brotherhood of Mutants now, I'll have to fight Professor X, and I have no confidence in that at all."
Tony chuckled and refused without a moment's hesitation.
"What a shame." Azazel chuckled, his figure slowly fading away until he vanished.
A figure moving at high speed suddenly appeared. A bewildered Pietro looked around and asked, "He just left like that? I thought we were going to fight."
"You would've been beaten to death. Did you really think your pathetic speed of less than Mach 3 could compare to teleportation? That guy's teleportation frequency is terrifyingly high." Tony shook his head.
"Hmph, let's get this straight, I'm not going down this dark path with you all the way. Erik's methods are beyond your imagination." Quicksilver Pietro subconsciously lifted his head, trying to keep his chin parallel to the ground, a smug, punchable look on his face.
He continued, "What about Rogue? Are we just going to ignore her? I get the feeling that glowing guy and the hot-tempered woman are very unreliable. I'm suddenly thinking it might be better to run off and join the X-Men like my sister did."
"Don't you want to prove yourself in front of Magneto? For yourself? Just do as I told you before, and you'll discover that this world is so wonderful, and you... are so outstanding..." Tony coaxed in a dangerous tone.
Quicksilver's expression faltered, his heart stirred. But the moment he remembered those words—words that even a chunibyo youth like him found cringey—he felt a wave of shame. He subconsciously started to act cool, but was cut off by Tony.
"Just a reminder, people from S.P.E.A.R. are here too..." Tony said in an ominous tone.
"Oh? Sabretooth isn't here, is he...?" Pietro instinctively flinched, a look of fear appearing on his face.
He had been tormented by Sabretooth. His handsome face was now etched with weather-beaten lines of age, and this was the change of a mere six months.
That was a skill in itself.
"S.P.E.A.R. will definitely be here, that's a certainty. At a global summit like this, wouldn't S.P.E.A.R. arrange personnel to protect key figures? Even some well-informed big capitalists have received news that the Brotherhood of Mutants is making a move. I don't believe S.P.E.A.R. wouldn't know."
Tony narrowed his eyes. The message Tony had secretly given Wanda before she went to the X-Men must have been delivered by now. Wanda was very smart; she understood the priorities.
However, just the thought of Wanda's little face scrunching up in annoyance at being ordered around made him want to laugh.
"Just wait and watch the show. Your speed might be of some use to us." Tony patted Pietro's shoulder and looked up at the black sky.
In the darkness of the night, brilliant lights painted the night sky with vibrant colors.
"Our target was never Magneto from the very beginning. He's just a pretext... This is a big leap, and a lot of people might die..."
(end of chapter)
"Planet-destroying level enemy? What do you mean?" Bruce looked completely lost.
"To put it simply, there's a bastard named Dormammu. He controls the Dark Dimension, comparable to a small universe, and constantly seeks to devour Earth. And this Dormammu is just the weakest among many enemies," Tony said with a grin.
Bruce's brows furrowed tightly. He was still young, having only been Batman fighting crime for a little over a year before retiring. His worldview was still that of an ordinary human, and he lacked a sufficient understanding of planet-destroying enemies.
"So, that's why you didn't kill me that day?" Bruce's eyes stared coldly at Tony. It was one of only two failures he'd experienced since becoming Batman—one against the Joker, the other against Tony. Both had left him with the bitter taste of defeat.
"That's right, Bruce. Your intellect is always astonishing," Tony chuckled. "If I weren't hoping that brain of yours could play a vital role in the brutal war to protect Earth, with my temper, I would have crushed you long ago."
Tony's opinion of Batman wasn't particularly good, but it certainly wasn't bad either. Batman's intellect could play a crucial role in the various complex situations of the future, which was precisely what Tony could make use of.
He could almost foresee a future where the universe was filled with war. His Cybertron and the small planet Earth could, to a large extent, join forces.
Bruce contemplated for a moment and straightened his body slightly. The movement was a strain for him, as his leg hadn't healed yet.
Bruce asked, "Let's assume for a moment that everything you've said is true. What can I do to fight Dormammu?"
"You? As you are now?" Tony looked him up and down with a disdainful expression. "Bruce, I'll only ask you one question: is your knowledge base sufficient? You want to participate in that kind of war, and even be the key figure who influences its outcome. Please, tell me—what can you do? Build armor? You can't even deal with me."
"If you gave me some time, I could indeed deal with you." Bruce delivered this parting shot and turned to leave.
Before Tony could mock him again, he stopped and added a second sentence: "Thank you."
Thanks for what? For not killing him? Or for being frank?
None of that mattered.
What mattered was that Tony had finally, for the time being, pulled Batman—this most complex and inscrutable individual—onto a cooperative front.
The endless crises facing Earth were the best catalyst for cooperation.
Tony smiled and walked straight out of the conference hall.
He hadn't actually received an invitation to the so-called global summit. Tony had dealt with the security and forced his way in. No one could stop Tony, and they all clearly knew his identity. Although worried, they gritted their teeth and reluctantly tolerated his presence.
Various factions were stirring, especially Magneto's side. He was already planning something big at the Statue of Liberty—to turn all the high-ranking officials of every country and other important figures around the world into mutants in one fell swoop.
As for how many would survive, Old Man Magneto couldn't be bothered to care. As long as one person survived, it was enough.
Magneto was becoming more and more radical. He had been shouting the slogan of exterminating ordinary humans for many years.
After Tony walked alone to a quiet, secluded place, standing behind a flowerbed, shrouded in shadows, Azazel appeared with a *poof*.
"Long time no see, Tony. Every time I hear news about you, you always manage to surprise everyone!" Azazel praised, clapping his hands as he slowly approached, just as he did when they first met.
"Are you here to negotiate?" Tony asked with a smile.
"I'm here on behalf of Magneto to extend an invitation, hoping you'll join the Brotherhood of Mutants. And, I want to take Rogue with me. Her potential is excellent; the Brotherhood of Mutants needs someone with her talent," Azazel said.
"Magneto lay low for so long before making a move. It seems his research was a success—the mutant conversion device? A good idea, but the process is too crude. If I join the Brotherhood of Mutants now, I'll have to fight Professor X, and I have no confidence in that at all."
Tony chuckled and refused without a moment's hesitation.
"What a shame." Azazel chuckled, his figure slowly fading away until he vanished.
A figure moving at high speed suddenly appeared. A bewildered Pietro looked around and asked, "He just left like that? I thought we were going to fight."
"You would've been beaten to death. Did you really think your pathetic speed of less than Mach 3 could compare to teleportation? That guy's teleportation frequency is terrifyingly high." Tony shook his head.
"Hmph, let's get this straight, I'm not going down this dark path with you all the way. Erik's methods are beyond your imagination." Quicksilver Pietro subconsciously lifted his head, trying to keep his chin parallel to the ground, a smug, punchable look on his face.
He continued, "What about Rogue? Are we just going to ignore her? I get the feeling that glowing guy and the hot-tempered woman are very unreliable. I'm suddenly thinking it might be better to run off and join the X-Men like my sister did."
"Don't you want to prove yourself in front of Magneto? For yourself? Just do as I told you before, and you'll discover that this world is so wonderful, and you... are so outstanding..." Tony coaxed in a dangerous tone.
Quicksilver's expression faltered, his heart stirred. But the moment he remembered those words—words that even a chunibyo youth like him found cringey—he felt a wave of shame. He subconsciously started to act cool, but was cut off by Tony.
"Just a reminder, people from S.P.E.A.R. are here too..." Tony said in an ominous tone.
"Oh? Sabretooth isn't here, is he...?" Pietro instinctively flinched, a look of fear appearing on his face.
He had been tormented by Sabretooth. His handsome face was now etched with weather-beaten lines of age, and this was the change of a mere six months.
That was a skill in itself.
"S.P.E.A.R. will definitely be here, that's a certainty. At a global summit like this, wouldn't S.P.E.A.R. arrange personnel to protect key figures? Even some well-informed big capitalists have received news that the Brotherhood of Mutants is making a move. I don't believe S.P.E.A.R. wouldn't know."
Tony narrowed his eyes. The message Tony had secretly given Wanda before she went to the X-Men must have been delivered by now. Wanda was very smart; she understood the priorities.
However, just the thought of Wanda's little face scrunching up in annoyance at being ordered around made him want to laugh.
"Just wait and watch the show. Your speed might be of some use to us." Tony patted Pietro's shoulder and looked up at the black sky.
In the darkness of the night, brilliant lights painted the night sky with vibrant colors.
"Our target was never Magneto from the very beginning. He's just a pretext... This is a big leap, and a lot of people might die..."
(end of chapter)
