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[Frog] Chapter 70: Frog Returns!
🕑 Added 2024-09-07 06:17:40 +0000 UTC"Jarvis, how's the simulation for the new element for the Arc Reactor coming along?"
Tony’s face didn’t look good as he stood by his workbench, holding a freshly made cup of chlorophyll juice. The taste was awful, but Tony had to drink it in one gulp. It was the only way to slow down the poisoning in his body.
"Sir, we've simulated all viable elements, but none are suitable."
Jarvis’s response darkened Tony’s expression, even though it was the outcome he had expected. He still hoped Jarvis would have a different answer.
Slowly, Tony lifted his shirt and removed the Arc Reactor from his chest. A thin trail of white smoke rose from its backside. Tony carefully extracted the palladium core, which was already slightly deformed from heat, and hesitated before replacing it with a new chip from a nearby box. He inserted it back into his chest.
Around the Arc Reactor, black tattoo-like lines spread out—symptoms of palladium poisoning. As he stared at the symptoms, Tony knew that if he didn’t find a new element soon, his time would be up.
"Jarvis, have you finished what I asked for?"
"Yes, sir."
A robotic arm handed Tony a small device, about the size of a USB stick. Tony took it, pressed his thumb on the needle-like end, and winced slightly at the prick of pain. The small black screen on the device displayed a message:
"Palladium content in blood: 11%."
"When it exceeds 90%, irreversible damage will occur."
"Using the Iron Man suit accelerates palladium release."
Listening to Jarvis’s reminder, Tony responded gloomily, "I know, Jarvis. No need to remind me."
"Where's Potts right now?"
"Miss Potts has returned home. Would you like me to call her?"
Tony shook his head. "Jarvis, what do you think about handing over the entire company to Potts?"
"A wise choice, sir."
Just then, Yinsen walked in from outside, smiling. "Giving up so early? That’s not like you."
"Yinsen…"
Tony wanted to tell him that eavesdropping was a bad habit, but he didn’t even have the energy for his usual sarcasm. With Yinsen, he didn’t need to pretend everything was fine like he did with others, especially since Yinsen knew about the poisoning.
Yinsen glanced at the device in Tony’s hand. "11%. There’s still time, as long as you don’t use the Iron Man suit. You have a good window."
Tony waved dismissively. "True, maybe Iron Man will retire right after starting his career."
Tony turned his head to look at the four Iron Man suits in the glass display. One was the basic Mark II, and the other three were newer suits he had designed for different environments. The suit from his battle with Iron Monger was completely destroyed.
Staring at the suits, Tony’s thoughts were all over the place. Maybe… someone else could be Iron Man...
"Sir, Happy Hogan is here to see you. He says it's urgent."
Tony blinked in surprise. "Happy? What does he want? I don’t need a car right now."
"Yinsen, try out those composite elements for me. I’ll go see what’s up."
Yinsen nodded. "Go ahead, I was thinking the same thing."
Upstairs, Happy was admiring the ocean view when he heard Tony approaching. "The view here is always amazing."
Looking at his longtime friend, Tony’s eyes flashed with melancholy. Death wasn’t so scary. What was truly painful was the process of waiting for it. That was Tony’s reality now. He was even starting to think about how to give away his belongings.
"Happy, what’s up?"
Happy pulled a letter from his pocket. "A beautiful woman gave this to me at the company earlier. She said it was for Tony Stark."
Tony grinned mischievously. "Another admirer trying to ask me out? You know I prefer to entertain at home." He gestured to his large house.
Happy shook his head. "You might be disappointed. She’s a senator. She just came by to deliver a subpoena, summoning you to Monaco in two days for a meeting about your possession of weapons of mass destruction."
Tony tore the document in half without a second thought. "They just want me to hand over the Iron Man tech, that’s all."
Happy nodded. "Yeah, that’s exactly what they want."
"They’re dreaming!" Tony knew all too well that if the U.S. government got hold of the Iron Man technology, they wouldn’t use it to protect global peace. Instead, they’d exploit it for their own gain, even if it meant starting wars. After all, the U.S. had built its wealth on war profiteering.
"Jarvis, find out who’s attending the meeting tomorrow and send me all their scandals."
"Understood, sir."
Tony was already planning how to counterattack at the Senate hearing. Happy, seeing Tony so at ease, smiled and said, "Alright, I’ll be off then."
"Happy…" Tony called out, stopping him.
Tony pulled a key out of his pocket and threw it to Happy.
Happy caught it, surprised. 'Isn't this the key to Tony’s favorite car? He usually drives it himself. Why suddenly...?'
"Tony... what’s this about?" Happy asked, puzzled.
Tony rubbed his nose and said, "You really like this car, don’t you? It’s yours now."
"What?" Happy was confused.
"I... After using the Iron Man suit, I prefer the feeling of flying."
"Driving just doesn’t suit me anymore."
"So you can have the car from now on."
Happy was thrilled to receive the car key. He had wanted to drive that car for a long time, but Tony had always kept it as a treasure and never let him touch it.
"By the way, Happy."
"Remember to pick me up for Monaco in two days."
"No problem... Tony..."
As Happy’s voice faded away, Tony looked around the slightly empty house. He walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows and gazed at the vast ocean. He thought about the journey of becoming Iron Man.
"Hey..."
Suddenly, Tony’s eyes lit up as if he had found a solution. He quickly ran to his workshop.
Yinsen, seeing Tony rush in, asked in confusion, "Do you have a new idea?"
Tony ignored Yinsen and went to the empty space in his workshop. "Jarvis, project the model of the Golden Armor."
"Yes, sir."
Yinsen quickly put down the documents he was holding and joined Tony. The digital models rapidly assembled around them. A projection of the Emperor Armor appeared, but it was blue instead of gold.
Yinsen adjusted his glasses. "My God, does this technology really exist in this world?"
Although he had heard Tony talk about it before, this was the first time he saw the Emperor Armor in person.
"Jarvis, does it have an energy source?"
"Not detected at this time, sir."
Tony examined the Emperor Armor curiously, trying hard to recall every detail from that night. He had hoped that if he could obtain an energy technology similar to the Golden Armor, it might solve his immediate problem.
But after looking around, he found no special energy technology on the Golden Armor. His hope was dashed once more. Tony slumped onto the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling, involuntarily thinking of someone.
"Dad, what would you do if you were in this situation?"
…
"Howard left something for you?"
In Nick Fury’s office, a red-haired female agent in a black tight-fitting tactical suit looked at Nick Fury with confusion.
Nick Fury stood up and said, "It’s not surprising. I had a good relationship with him."
The female agent looked at Nick Fury with disbelief.
Nick Fury, feeling a bit uncomfortable under her gaze, said, "Natasha, don’t look at me like that."
Natasha Romanoff, a top S.H.I.E.L.D. agent known as Black Widow, remained silent.
"Alright, I admit it was something he left for his son Tony, and he said only Tony could understand what he left behind."
Black Widow nodded, "Then why didn’t he give it to Tony himself?"
Nick Fury shrugged. "Who knows what those genius scientists are thinking."
"He just told me that if Tony ever developed the Arc Reactor, then I should give it to him."
"And if not, just forget it."
Black Widow sorted through her thoughts. "So, did Howard also tell you about the palladium poisoning from using the Arc Reactor?"
"Not entirely. Howard only mentioned that currently, palladium is the only element that can be used for the Arc Reactor on Earth."
"But palladium isn’t perfect; it releases toxins. If someone with injuries comes into contact with it, it can cause palladium poisoning."
Nick Fury explained slowly, "I just deduced Tony’s poisoning based on the information Howard provided."
"Howard was a scientist, not a prophet."
"So you called me back to go undercover beside Tony, observe his palladium poisoning symptoms..."
"Then, at the right moment, appear and give him what Howard left behind."
Nick Fury nodded slightly, confirming that Black Widow was correct.
Black Widow gave Nick Fury a deep look. "Still as ruthless as ever."
Having emerged from countless battles, Black Widow understood the pressure Tony faced with death approaching. Yet, Nick Fury remained nonchalant, waiting for the right moment.
"Natasha, I know you’re unhappy with my methods, but for the Avengers Initiative, I had no choice."
Nick Fury took a breath and continued, "I have a feeling that the world is about to change."
"And the Avengers will be a powerful tool!"
"I'm an agent and not interested in these things. Since you’ve given me the task, I’ll do it."
Black Widow finished and left Nick Fury’s office, beginning to use S.H.I.E.L.D.’s resources to forge a new identity and join Stark Industries.
Watching Black Widow leave, Nick Fury smiled to himself.
"Perhaps, the Avengers Initiative just gained another candidate..."
...
“One Hundred Volts, Discharge!”
Gwen excitedly pointed at a can placed far in the living room, while Pikachu stepped forward a few paces. Crouched on the ground, Pikachu shouted at the can: “Pika...chu!”
A faint current shot out from Pikachu’s cheeks, instantly hitting the can. The can deformed and fell, emitting wisps of white smoke.
“Awesome, Pikachu!” Gwen cheered.
Alan watched as the two of them played around like children. On the computer screen, another scene was unfolding.
Downstairs at the Kingpin Company building.
It was now surrounded and inaccessible. Besides the people demanding explanations, there were reporters from various New York City newspapers. This was unprecedented big news.
A company receiving hundreds of lawyer letters within just one day was unheard of. The law firms were quick to act, seeing such a guaranteed win case.
It didn’t matter if you were Kingpin.
With a winning situation, how could they be afraid of you?
Moreover, the whole New York City was just this small area.
Many lawyers who had just received the cases at noon had already drafted their letters by the afternoon and delivered them to the Kingpin Company’s office building.
Many reporters had also rushed to cover this strange big event.
Upstairs, Kingpin looked down through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The company building entrance was surrounded by layers of people.
It was incredibly lively.
His subordinates behind him were trembling, not daring to breathe.
“Are you idiots still unable to find out who is targeting me?”
One subordinate stepped forward. “Boss, we really can’t find out. All our hackers have been intercepted by unidentified hackers.”
“Whenever they act, our computers immediately crash.”
Kingpin’s hand, gripping his dragon-head cane, was bulging with veins.
“Deploy all forces, find out who is behind this, and kill him!”
“No, bring him to me. I want to kill him myself!”
“Yes, Boss!”
The subordinate received the order and immediately ran out of the office without looking back, afraid of Kingpin’s wrath.
“You lot, get all my legal teams here to deal with these people downstairs.”
“They’re just a few small companies. How could they affect me?”
Kingpin sneered as he looked at the crowd below, suppressing his anger. He had already planned how to slowly torment the instigator once he found him.
Alan watched with satisfaction as the chaos unfolded at the Kingpin's Company.
In the next moment, several cars arrived, and people in sharp suits carrying briefcases stepped out. As soon as these people got out of the cars, Red Queen’s facial recognition system identified them all.
They were all lawyers hired by Kingpin.
Usually, they handled different legal cases. But today, they had to mobilize as a whole.
As the lawyers got out of the cars and saw the commotion at the entrance, they were stunned. But despite their surprise, their professional skills kicked in.
They quickly began to handle the situation for Kingpin.
With the arrival of these lawyers, the scene quickly became orderly.
To these rich people, the law was merely a tool to exploit loopholes. As long as their lawyers were skilled enough, they could turn death into life.
As for regulations and legal jargon, ordinary people wouldn’t understand. Only these lawyers could maneuver through them.
As Alan observed the developments at the Kingpin's Company, a notification sound echoed in his mind.
“Your Frog is back!”
“The Frog brought travel souvenirs!”
“Go check it out!”
……
