This allowed Steve to retain at least a clear awareness of "who I am" as his body underwent hellish upheaval, preventing him from becoming a mere monster.
He exerted force, using his broader, stronger mutated shoulders and arms to heave the heavy escape pod upward.
His mutated body seemed to possess a natural adaptability to the deep-sea high-pressure environment. Underwater, his movements were even steadier and more powerful than Tony's armor.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., report!"
Tony's spirits lifted. Steve's steady strength had taken on a massive share of the pressure.
"Drag speed has increased, sir. However, environmental conditions continue to deteriorate. We are currently at the convergence point of several secondary torrent vortices, and the energy turbulence index is still rising. Also, regarding communications with Mr. Chang Wei..."
For once, there was a subtle delay in J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice, as though it was processing data too unbelievable to accept.
"...Contact has been established. Mr. Chang Wei confirmed that he received the distress signal and explicitly stated, 'I'm leaving immediately.'"
"Leaving immediately? Good! Finally, some reliable news! How long will it take him to get here? Tell him to forget traffic laws and get here as fast as possible!"
Tony asked urgently as he fought against a sideways current trying to sweep away the escape pod.
He could practically see Chang Wei tearing through space and arriving in an instant.
"Sir, the problem is..."
J.A.R.V.I.S.'s next words made Tony feel as though he had plunged into an icy abyss.
"...Signal source tracking at the time communications were established showed that Mr. Chang Wei's coordinates were not within near-Earth space, nor even within the Moon's orbit. Preliminary calculations place the signal source near Jupiter's orbit, with a margin of error of plus or minus 0.3 astronomical units."
"What the F-?!"
Tony's eyes flew wide beneath