Iron Man Never Retreats

Peter said while eating, "It seems the situation isn't optimistic. Yesterday, when I went to the lab to see Mr. Stark, Colonel Rhodes seemed to be constantly persuading him."

Peter said, "Although I don't understand these matters, I know that if Mr. Stark's mechs fall into the hands of the military, it might not be a good thing."

"Colonel Rhodes, as Mr. Stark's friend, might also be in a difficult position. After all, he represents the interests of a group of people," Peter said.

"You're smarter than I thought. I thought you wouldn't understand the current situation very well."

Peter shook his head and said, "Actually, I really don't understand, but I know everyone wants those mechs because they are really powerful."

"No, it's because they are weapons."

"If it were just a cleaning robot, even if it could clean up New York in an instant, the military wouldn't be so interested."

Peter was silent for a moment, then said, "I don't think we should hand over the mechs, but I know Mr. Stark is under a lot of pressure. What do you think I should do... or rather, should I go comfort him, or try to persuade him? I can't just do nothing, right?"

"I think you should focus on solving your own problems first. If you can fully control the power of the Spider Mutation, perhaps all these things will seem like minor issues to you?"

As Peter had said, the next day, Schiller's psychological clinic received an expected guest: James Rhodes, also known as Colonel Rhodes.

He frankly told Schiller, "The military needs Stark's mech technology, but his attitude has been unclear. I just want to ask you, what are his plans? Has S.H.I.E.L.D. played any role in this?"

"You don't really want to be here either," Schiller said. "I can tell."

Rhodes tugged at the corner of his mouth and said, "It seems Tony was right to pay such an expensive consultation fee."

"Clearly, your superior knows this question can't be asked of Stark, or S.H.I.E.L.D. would get the answer faster than you. However, there's no use in you asking me."

"The military needs Stark's mechs. They can give us an advantage in many areas... and save many lives."

"Don't you realize your reluctance is making your wording incredibly dry? Colonel Rhodes, I know you're in a difficult position. The military keeps pressuring Stark, but he's your friend."

"So you can only deceive yourself to feel better. In reality, you know perfectly well what these armors will be used for, but as long as you can convince yourself that doing so might be beneficial, you can feel a little better about betraying your friend."

"Obeying orders is a soldier's duty," Rhodes said.

"Indeed, but what about Stark? Your friend? To repeatedly go against your friend's wishes, force him to betray his own interests, and hold their friendship hostage."

"You actually know how much Tony values you. Stark doesn't have many friends, but you are definitely one of them... perhaps the most important one."

"You know he's willing to pay this price for you, willing to do the thing he hates most – compromise and back down."

"You know, Stark will eventually agree. If your superior pushes you to a dead end, he will definitely save you."

"Stop talking," Rhodes said.

He tightly pressed his lips into a thin line.

Schiller pressed the button on his ballpoint pen. The crisp sound startled Rhodes. Schiller said, "Perhaps he's willing to do this because you possess something he lacks. My advice to you is that perhaps these are the things you should hold onto. Stark's friendship is more precious than the military's approval, and it's not because he's richer—"

"It's because an arrogant genius sees qualities in you that he himself lacks, qualities that make him willing to pay such a price for you. Aren't those qualities more worth holding onto and being proud of than those hollow honors?"

Rhodes fell silent.

The next day, when Schiller went to Stark Tower, he ran into Rhodes leaving. A deputy followed behind him, and the deputy's expression was clearly happy; they seemed to have obtained something they wanted.

But Rhodes's expression hadn't improved at all. He still had a tense face. He didn't look at Schiller and just walked straight past.

After going upstairs, Stark stood before his armor again, carefully examining his creation.

"It seems you've made your decision. They got what they wanted, right?" Schiller asked.

"Alright," Stark turned around. He first tensed the muscles in his shoulders, then suddenly relaxed, letting his shoulders droop, and let out a sigh. He said, "I know, I should have followed your advice. That was the right thing to do."

"But I didn't. I knew it was the right thing, and I didn't have to pay any price, yet I still didn't do it…"

"I knew from the start it wouldn't work," Schiller said, sitting down at the desk with a medical record and writing on his notebook. He didn't look up, only sighing slightly. "Many people are willing to pay a huge price to chase emotional compensation, especially for someone like you who never lacks material possessions."

"You'd rather give up the optimal outcome for profit than see Rhodes in a difficult position. You paid a price to buy back your temporary friendship with him."

"Yes, I know what you're going to say. You are friends, you think so, and he does too. But friendship can only last if both sides are equally willing."

"If you keep paying to buy it, there will come a day when you can't afford it anymore. When you can't afford it, perhaps Rhodes will understand you, but the world won't."

Finally, Schiller said, "When you've whetted their appetite, the price you'll have to pay for emotions will be endless."

Stark said, "It's not that I haven't considered this problem. I know that once I give in, I will inevitably keep losing."

"They can use Rhodes to persuade me to hand over some of the mech technology. Then one day, they can force him to persuade me to hand over all the mechs, or to build more war machines for them."

"From the moment I knew how many civilians my weapons had harmed, I knew that intelligence not only brings wealth but also disaster," Stark said, pressing his fingers to his eye sockets. "I've only recently come to understand this problem: the ultimate fate of a genius is always to have nowhere left to retreat."

"When everyone knows you have a brain that can save the world, they will simultaneously harbor the ambition to make you destroy the world."

After a moment of silence, Schiller stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. Outside the window of Stark Tower was the New York sunset. Stark followed his gaze, and the somewhat dazzling light made his vision blur into a hazy color. Schiller said, "When you have nowhere left to retreat, what will you do?"

Stark said, "This is my home, and it's also Pepper's, Jarvis's, and... everyone Stark's."

"Ultimately, no one can force me to give this up."

"If they want more…"

Stark's eyes, always filled with various emotions, looked directly at Schiller. His expression was not heavy at all, but calm as he said:

"...Iron Man never backs down."

Schiller looked at him and asked:

"So, have you ever considered flipping this absurd and boring negotiation table?"

"You're like a devil that tempts people to fall."

"This works much better than praying to God."

"I never pray. I don't count on gods, don't believe in those strange tricks, those absurd rumors and legends..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Stark saw everything in his laboratory begin to tremble slightly.

Then, everything floated up.

In an instant, as if gravity had been lost, everything floated in mid-air – cups, notebooks, computers, wrenches...

The sunset glow from outside shone on places these items shouldn't have been exposed to the sun. Schiller stood in the center of everything, the light behind him casting a long shadow in front of him.

The shadows of all the objects overlapped into a giant net. Stark stood in the middle of it all. He reached out, and a drop of water falling from a cup landed on his fingertip. Stark looked up and around. He saw the countless ordinary objects floating in mid-air, and the usual ceiling and walls above his head—

He saw a door to a new world.