Flushing, Entrance to the Stark Industries Expo.
Neon and holographic projections rendered the night sky into a bizarre, kaleidoscopic ocean.
The air was thick with the clamor of excitement, the heavy bass of electronic music, and the blended scent of popcorn and fuel.
Kara parked her car in the media zone, adjusted her Daily Bugle press pass, and passed through security with the bustling crowd.
Her Super Hearing automatically filtered and located sounds within the cacophony: the rhythmic beats of dancers on the dazzling stage; the laughter of couples taking selfies in the glaring lights; and higher up, several steady, rhythmic heartbeats and breaths hidden behind explosion-proof glass, surveillance towers, and lighting rigs—S.H.I.E.L.D.
personnel had changed shifts, but they remained as omnipresent as shadows.
Tony Stark had not yet appeared.
It was very much his style: whetting appetites, making a sensational entrance, and grabbing all the headlines.
And at this moment, Tony— “Heading 270, speed 30 knots, maintain altitude at 15,000 feet, prepare to clear the drop point.” Inside the iron mask, a clear parameter report came through the headset.
As the commands finished, Tony piloted his latest achievement—the Mark 4 armor—and leaped from the transport plane’s hatch.
The explosive drumbeats of’Shoot to Thrill’ rang in his ears, intertwining with the roar of fireworks outside.
A flash of near-manic light flickered in Tony’s eyes.
If his estimates were correct, his time was running out—the toxins from the Palladium Reactor were severely eroding his body.
Unless he stopped using the Reactor, he would die of Palladium poisoning.
The MK4 deliberately dove toward the firework explosions.
The tremors of the impact transmitted through the armor, and the brief sensation of pain made him feel ‘alive.’ Nowadays, only this kind of’stimulation’ could make him temporarily forget his approaching death.
The armor sliced through the night sky, rapidly approaching the Expo venue.
Exclamations erupted from the crowd as every lens and gaze instantly tilted upward.
A speck of gold and red light rapidly enlarged in the night sky, the scream of thrusters drawing closer.
It traced a perfect arc and, with a near-provocative, flashy hover, landed steadily in the center of the main stage.
The MK4 shimmered under the spotlights, the subtle sounds of its precision mechanical components clearly audible.
The faceplate popped up with a ‘clack,’ revealing Tony Stark’s face.
He wore his signature, slightly roguish smile, his eyes bright to the point of being overly hyperactive, showing no sign of fatigue or abnormality.
He waved to the crowd, triggering a tsunami of screams and applause.
Even more dazzling fireworks sprayed from the stage.
With the help of mechanical arms rising from the podium, Tony smoothly disengaged the armor.
After removing the armor, he began to strike various exaggerated poses.
The dancers behind him moved in sync with high-kick steps, slowly walking toward Tony.
As he struck his final pose, the dancers mimicked the posture of Iron Man’s repulsors, aiming at him as if to blast him with an energy called ‘love.’ Below the stage, Kara could hardly look.
In the past, she might have appreciated the sexy dancers, but now she was the Kryptonian girl, Kara Zor-El.
To her, those dancers were just noisy.
Although the lineup on stage was good-looking, it was far from her current appearance—Kara had always been quite confident in her looks.
On stage, the dancers gradually exited.
Tony suddenly spoke amidst the deafening cheers: “It’s good to be back!” He spread his hands.
“Did you miss me?” The audience below heckled: “Blow something up!!” Tony joked for a bit before starting his formal speech: “I’m not saying the World is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace because of me…” Holding her camera, Kara listened, dumbfounded.
Had this guy taken the wrong medicine?
He was a completely different person compared to his image a few months ago.
“I’m not saying Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair and sip iced tea…” “Because I haven’t found anyone with the balls to go toe-to-toe with me at my best…” Tony continued to enjoy the thrill provided by the spotlights.
The intense light caused his senses, which were gradually numbing due to the poisoning, to slightly recover.
“Welcome back to the Stark Expo…” He opened his arms to the audience.
“Now, a special guest will bridge the gap between life and death to explain everything to you—please welcome my father, Howard!” Tony gestured, and the large screen on stage began playing an old recording of Howard Stark.
Meanwhile, he himself quietly exited while the audience’s attention was drawn to the video.
Kara was completely confused.
When did this guy turn back into that playboy from before?
Even her colleague from the New York Times beside her muttered under his breath, “A classic Stark exit.” The moment Tony stepped backstage, the exaggerated public smile vanished like a power cut.
His figure merged into deeper shadows, the piercing clamor separated by heavy curtains, turning into blurred background noise.
Turning his back to any potential cameras, he quickly pulled out a detector and pressed his fingertip to the sampling port.
A faint sting followed, the screen lit up, and the dim glow reflected his suddenly tightened profile.
Blood Toxicity Level: 19% The numbers flickered before stabilizing, several percentage points higher than last week.
Extrapolating from this curve…
Tony closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
When he opened them again, the gloom that had been forcibly suppressed by the fireworks and spotlights resurfaced.
But he quickly tucked the detector back into his suit’s inner pocket, and when he turned around, his face had regained its composure, as if he had merely checked his schedule.
At the front of the stage, the old footage of Howard Stark, full of futuristic passion, was still playing, speaking of the vision for the ‘City of the Future.’ Most of the audience’s attention was captivated by it.
However, Kara’s Super Vision caught the scene of Tony retreating backstage.
She withdrew her gaze, her brow furrowing slightly.
The reading of ‘Blood Toxicity Level 19%’ and Tony’s instantaneous emotional shift changed her judgment of tonight’s ‘typical playboy showmanship.’ What toxin was it?
An industrial accident?
A leak from new armor materials?
Or…
something else?
Given her understanding of Stark Industries technology, ordinary chemical or biological toxins shouldn’t cause Tony to wear that kind of somber expression.
Kara temporarily suppressed her doubts.
Jameson’s task was not yet complete.
Tony’s speech was full of talking points, but it didn’t count as ‘big news.’ She needed more material.
She followed the flow of reporters toward the exit.
It was already overcrowded, packed with media reporters from various outlets and corporate representatives.
Kara didn’t forget little Peter’s ‘reward’ and conveniently bought an Iron Man poster.
Shortly after, Tony walked out accompanied by his bodyguard, Happy.
Reporters swarmed them, and several scantily clad female reporters desperately tried to shove phone numbers into his hands.
Kara was in no hurry, standing with an elderly man selling posters.
The old man was quite talkative, telling Kara that he had drawn the posters himself and that they even included short plot stories.
Happy walked ahead of Tony, pushing through the crowd as he introduced, “This is Larry King.” “Oh, Larry!” Tony greeted perfunctorily.
Kara saw her chance and handed over a pen and the poster.
Tony didn’t even look, scribbling his name hastily.
When he looked up, he caught sight of Kara’s press pass.
“Kara Danvers.” Tony had been wondering where Kara was—after all, the Daily Bugle had received an interview invitation.
“Kara!
Oh, my old friend!” Tony said joyfully.
“Every time I see you, I find it strange—why is it that I can’t recognize you once you put on glasses…” Kara could almost feel the hostility of the surrounding female reporters manifesting into something physical…
But she had no mind to deal with those people and their various agendas.
Sensing that someone seemed to be waiting for Tony outside the door, Kara exchanged a few pleasantries and then reminded him, “Tony, someone is waiting for you outside, it seems like something’s up.” Tony pushed open the exit door.
A woman in a burgundy suit stood waiting quietly.
“Look at this,” Tony joked to Happy, “does she come with the car?” The woman watched Tony approach and handed him the documents in her hand.
“Your subpoena, Mr.
Stark.
You and ‘Supergirl’ are required to attend a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing tomorrow morning at nine o’clock.” “What if I don’t know ‘Supergirl’?” Tony looked toward Kara’s direction.
“The Senate believes you will certainly be able to contact her.” The woman’s gaze was firm.
Tony was silent for a moment, then shouted loudly toward Kara: “Kara, looks like you’ll have to go to Washington for an ‘interview’!”