While Tony and the other two were talking, Hulk, who had previously been driven into the concrete by Abomination, quietly peeked at Yang Chen from the cover of his crater.
Then he climbed out and took one enormous leap into the distance, quickly disappearing several blocks away.
Tony watched Hulk vanish, thought for a moment, then said, “J.A.R.V.I.S., get into the military database and find out who those two big guys are.”
Hulk and Abomination had certainly been beating the hell out of each other, but Tony had noticed something during the fight.
Hulk had repeatedly tried to stop Abomination from attacking civilians.
He had even deliberately attempted to lure the other monster away from the crowd.
That made Tony reluctant to lump the two of them together.
J.A.R.V.I.S. soon breached the military firewall.
For him, getting into the military database was almost as easy as hacking some random television station.
“Sir, the military designation for the individual who fled is Hulk. His original identity is Dr. Bruce Banner, who holds doctorates in seven fields, including nuclear physics.”
“So he’s a genius too…” Tony’s interest immediately sharpened.
“How exactly did he end up looking like that?”
“According to military records, Hulk’s mutation was caused by exposure to Gamma Rays. The other individual, designated Abomination, was formerly a special operations soldier named Emil Blonsky. His mutation appears to have resulted from military experimentation involving Hulk’s Blood.”
Tony stared at the screen.
“So everything that happened out there today was the military’s fault?”
“Based on the available records, yes, sir.”
“Oh, shit. Those ambitious bastards.”
What General Ross and the military had done genuinely infuriated Tony.
If Yang Chen hadn’t appeared today, there was no telling how many more people on that street would have been injured or killed.
After thinking for a moment, Tony spoke again.
“Take the files on the military creating monsters. Edit out anything identifying Dr. Bruce Banner, then release the rest anonymously to the media.”
He paused.
“And make sure it gets published whether they want it or not.”
“Yes, sir.”
Gawain and Yang Chen had watched the entire exchange.
Yang Chen said nothing.
Gawain, however, looked at Tony and said, “There have always been ambitious men who seek to control great power. Very few are fortunate enough to succeed, but that has never stopped the rest from trying.”
His expression remained calm.
“After all, possessing power is indeed an intoxicating feeling.”
Tony nodded.
He understood that better than most.
It was precisely why he had refused to hand over the technology behind the Iron Man Armor.
His only concession had been providing his friend Rhodey with a suit of his own.
A few supervillains or monsters were dangerous enough.
But if men with twisted ambitions gained control over such power on an institutional scale, the damage they could inflict on humanity would be vastly worse.
Releasing the military’s files was Tony’s way of putting public pressure on them.
Afterward, he intended to use Stark Industries’ influence to apply pressure of his own.
He might not be able to stop this kind of thing from ever happening again.
But if Tony Stark saw something like this happening in front of him, he wasn’t going to ignore it.
Once everything was arranged, Tony turned toward Gawain and Yang Chen.
“All right, gentlemen. We’ll leave the big green fugitive alone for now. How about we head home?”
Neither Gawain nor Yang Chen objected.
They hadn’t had much interest in cleaning up the military’s mess to begin with.
Since Tony didn’t intend to deal with it either, they were more than happy to leave.
“I’ll fly you back.”
Yang Chen paused, then shook his head.
“You need only lead the way. I can keep up.”
Tony withdrew his hand.
“Okay. Your funeral.”
His faceplate closed, and he took off with Gawain.
Yang Chen watched Tony fly for a moment, roughly estimating his speed.
He didn’t even bother drawing the Crimson Mystic Sword.
With a slight circulation of his spiritual power, his body simply rose into the air.
Moments later, he had caught up with Tony.
Tony turned his head.
He stared.
“No. Nope. That’s not possible.”
At this point, Tony was beginning to feel as though someone was trying very hard to kick open a certain dead physicist’s coffin.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
New Mexico, United States.
An old man sat inside a Western style bar, leisurely enjoying a glass of liquor.
The place was crowded and lively, yet somehow no one seemed to notice him.
After finishing his drink, the old man stood and walked outside.
The moment he reached the entrance, a richly dressed middle aged man covered in gold and jewelry dropped to his knees at the old man’s feet.
He clutched desperately at the old man’s trousers.
“Please! Please!” The man begged while repeatedly slamming his forehead against the ground.
He continued until blood was pouring down his face.
Only then did he finally look up.
The old man had been watching him the entire time.
There was a smile on his face.
The way he looked at the kneeling man was less like someone regarding another human being and more like a diner admiring a particularly appetizing meal.
“Please… just give me a few more days!” The man trembled.
“No! One day. Just one more day!”
The old man remained unmoved.
Tears began streaming down the middle aged man’s face.
He pleaded several more times, gradually breaking down into sobs.
Eventually, he seemed to accept his fate.
He collapsed onto the ground.
Only then did the old man speak.
His voice rasped like broken metal scraping together, enough to raise goosebumps on anyone who heard it.
“My child, greed always has a price.” He smiled.
“This was a bargain. You received wealth, and I received your soul. You agreed to those terms yourself.”
The old man placed one hand on the man’s head.
Then something horrifying happened.
He pulled the man’s soul straight out of his body.
As the soul left him, the middle aged man’s body withered into a dry, empty corpse.
His soul dissolved into a powder like substance that drifted slowly into the old man’s body.
The old man closed his eyes, savoring the soul with obvious pleasure.
Then—
Something had changed.
He was no longer standing outside the bar.
Instead, he found himself inside a strange, isolated space.
A crystalline barrier stood before him.
Beyond it, every piece of the bar’s interior and every ray of light had become unnaturally mirrored and symmetrical, as though the entire world had been folded into overlapping reflections.
The Mirror Dimension.
“Sorcerer Supreme.” The old man showed no panic whatsoever.
“I don’t believe I’ve done anything that threatens this planet, or anything that should offend you personally.”
He addressed an apparently empty patch of space.
A circular portal of magic appeared there.
A moment later, the Ancient One stepped through.
“Mephisto.” Her voice was calm.
“Go back to Hell.”
The unassuming old man was none other than Mephisto, Lord of Hell.
His expression didn’t change.
After considering her words for a moment, he replied, “I haven’t done anything particularly excessive on Earth. Surely the entire planet isn’t governed solely by the whims of the Sorcerer Supreme?”
The Ancient One showed no anger.
She merely ran her fingers lightly over the Eye of Agamotto before extending one hand toward Mephisto.
Countless streams of crimson magical light converged around her palm.
“I may not have seen you personally doing anything.” Her gaze remained fixed on him.
“But given Earth’s current situation, you absolutely cannot be allowed to remain here.”
Mephisto’s expression darkened as magical energy continued gathering around her.
She was clearly prepared to fight at a moment’s notice.
His irritation immediately flared.
He was the Lord of Hell.
When had he ever suffered this kind of humiliation?
Today, he would show this so called Sorcerer Supreme exactly what it meant to challenge a Lord of Hell!
Black clouds erupted throughout the Mirror Dimension.
A suffocating heat filled the air.
The pungent stench of sulfur spread everywhere.
A tremendous battle seemed ready to erupt at any moment.
Then the Ancient One dispersed the magical energy around her hand.
Mephisto’s eyes narrowed.
The Ancient One raised the Eye of Agamotto between both hands.
At the same time, Earth’s three Sanctums began glowing with magical power.
Mephisto, who had been seconds away from losing his temper, immediately dismissed the black clouds without another word.
The smell of sulfur vanished.
So did the terrifying heat.
In an instant, the Mirror Dimension returned to exactly how it had been before.
It was almost as though the impending battle had never existed.
“Haha…” Mephisto gave an awkward little laugh.
“I was merely joking with the Sorcerer Supreme.”
His figure had already begun fading.
“I’ll return to Hell immediately.”
A moment later, he disappeared completely.
After all— only an idiot would fight the Ancient One on Earth when she was prepared to use the Eye of Agamotto with the power of all three Sanctums behind her.