Tony Stark frowned slightly as he read through the information JARVIS had compiled.
The Fool was one of the seventy-eight Tarot cards and one of the twenty-two Major Arcana, sometimes translated or interpreted under names such as the Fool, Jester, or Madman.
Its Unicode designation was U+1F0E0.
Beyond the Tarot, almost everything else JARVIS had found was useless.
There were anime characters called the Fool, minor characters in movies with the title, and countless fictional figures in novels using the same name.
None of them had any meaningful connection to mythology or supernatural powers.
The only remotely occult result was still the Tarot card used in fortune-telling.
Tony shook his head.
“So basically, nothing useful.”
His searches for Savant, Paragon, Sequence, Pathway, Beyonder, and related terms had been equally fruitless.
…
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Network Surveillance and Data Analysis Center.
“Alert. Large-scale online searches detected involving high-risk keywords including Sequence, Pathway, and Beyonder Characteristic.”
The agents monitoring the system immediately began tracing the source of the traffic.
It didn’t take long before the searches were linked to Tony Stark’s residence.
The information quickly worked its way up the chain and reached Nick Fury.
“Tony’s started looking into this.”
Fury studied the report.
“None of this is information he’s going to find openly available on the internet.”
He narrowed his eye slightly.
“The question is whether that Characteristic told him something… or whether he learned it from Kez.”
After reviewing the report, Fury sent Coulson a direct order instructing him to accelerate efforts to recover the Beyonder Characteristic currently in Tony Stark’s possession.
…
Back in Tony’s underground workshop, JARVIS spoke again.
“Sir, the scan has failed to produce a meaningful result.”
“No known elements or energy signatures have been detected, and the sample does not correspond to any known biological material.”
“Recommendation: remove a small physical sample for direct comparative testing.”
Apparently, examining a Beyonder Characteristic wasn’t going to be nearly as simple as Tony had hoped.
He studied the translucent blue object for a moment before nodding.
“Fine. We’ll cut off a small sample and run it separately.”
He picked up a surgical scalpel.
“Hopefully that won’t damage the rest.”
Tony held the Savant Beyonder Characteristic in one hand and pressed the blade against its surface with the other.
“Hm?”
He applied more pressure.
“Can’t cut it?”
Unwilling to accept that answer, Tony pushed harder.
Nothing.
The scalpel failed to leave so much as a scratch, much less remove a usable sample.
“Okay. If a blade doesn’t work, let’s try a laser.”
Tony tossed the scalpel aside and carried the Characteristic over to his laser cutter.
A concentrated red beam struck the icy-blue surface.
Ten seconds passed.
Then thirty.
Then a full minute.
The same laser capable of cutting titanium alloy hadn’t left even the faintest mark.
Tony stared at it.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“How tough is this thing?”
He leaned closer.
“Don’t tell me it’s actually indestructible.”
His eyes shifted toward another part of the workshop.
“Let’s try a water jet.”
What followed was an increasingly aggressive series of experiments.
High-pressure water cutting.
A hydraulic press.
Extreme heat.
Extreme cold.
Nothing worked.
Eventually, Tony dropped onto the sofa and stared at the completely unharmed Beyonder Characteristic in resignation.
“I genuinely can’t do a damn thing to you.”
He rubbed his chin.
“So does it take something supernatural to affect you?”
What Tony didn’t know was that S.H.I.E.L.D.
had already performed similar experiments—and theirs had been far more extreme.
Nothing had worked.
Even testing Beyonder Characteristics under highly unusual conditions, including experiments conducted beyond Earth’s atmosphere, had failed to damage them in any measurable way.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
had eventually reached a simple conclusion:
Beyonder Characteristics were effectively indestructible.
Tony finally gave up on destroying or sampling the object and shook his head.
“JARVIS, contact Pepper. Have her put out word that I’m buying occult artifacts.”
“Anything with genuinely unusual abilities, anything that can’t be destroyed through conventional means, and especially anything resembling a Beyonder Characteristic.”
He thought for a moment.
“Offer one million dollars per item to start. We can go higher for anything particularly interesting.”
“Certainly, sir,” JARVIS replied.
“The message has been sent.”
Tony looked at the Savant Beyonder Characteristic again.
“Guess I’ll have to hand this one over to Kez after all.”
“And I still owe him two more.”
He leaned back.
“Tomorrow’s the next Tarot Club gathering. I’ll ask Mr. Fool how someone actually becomes a Beyonder, and what exactly this Savant Characteristic and the Paragon Pathway are.”
Then another thought occurred to him.
“And I still need to finish the suit.” This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
Before Tony could start organizing the rest of his work, JARVIS interrupted.
“Sir, Colonel Rhodes has arrived. He is currently at the front entrance.”
Tony looked up.
“Rhodey’s here?”
He gestured toward the house.
“Let him in. Have him wait in the living room. I’ll be up in a minute.”
At Tony’s instruction, JARVIS unlocked the villa.
“Colonel Rhodes, please make yourself comfortable in the living room. Mr. Stark will join you shortly.”
Rhodey entered the house and made his way to the living area with the familiarity of someone who had been there countless times before.
He sat down, picked up the whiskey from the table, and poured himself a glass.
He and Tony had been close friends for years, and Rhodey knew the house well enough that he hardly needed directions.
A short while later, Tony came up from the workshop.
Seeing Rhodey sampling his whiskey, he raised an eyebrow.
“Didn’t expect to see you here. What brings you by?”
Ever since Tony had publicly announced that Stark Industries was leaving the weapons business, his relationship with the military had become considerably less comfortable than before.
Rhodey set down the glass, walked over, and gave Tony a brief hug before returning to the sofa.
“You know how it is. Ever since you announced the shutdown of the weapons division, the people in procurement and R&D haven’t exactly been sending you Christmas cards.”
Stark Industries hadn’t merely sold finished weapons to the military.
It had also handled numerous defense research contracts, developing specialized equipment and technologies on request.
Tony shrugged.
“Can’t help that. I’ve found a better direction.”
Rhodey’s expression became serious.
“So you’re really doing this?”
He studied his friend.
“Tony Stark, arms dealer extraordinaire, is officially done selling weapons and becoming a humanitarian?”
Tony didn’t joke his way around the question.
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“Stark Industries is getting out of weapons manufacturing and sales.”
Rhodey sighed.
“Life really does surprise you sometimes.”
He shook his head.
“Never thought I’d see you make a change this big.”
Then he leaned back.
“But that’s not actually why I’m here.”
Tony raised an eyebrow.
“Ah. So this is an official visit.”
He grinned.
“All right. What did the brass send you here for?”
“As long as nobody’s asking me to hand over control of my company, we can probably talk.”