Tony's Enthusiasm

A stealth transport aircraft hovered over San Francisco, where Wakanda's princess, Shuri, was busy at a computer.

T'Chaka had originally only intended to secretly hire mercenaries, but after his daughter Shuri hacked into the U.S. military system and found a report, he could no longer sit still.

He had assumed that this Black Panther in San Francisco merely possessed physical abilities barely meeting the standard after consuming the Heart-Shaped Herb. Though Will Fortson posed some threat to them, it was not much, especially since they had vibranium armor.

Who would have thought this guy could actually evolve?

Did that even make sense?

What kind of superpower could evolve on its own?

Didn't everyone have to rely on equipment?

After realizing Will Fortson's potential, T'Chaka could only bring his daughter here personally, determined to kill him.

Shuri looked up and said to T'Chaka, "Father, I've found Fortson's family's location."

"Send it to those mercenaries," T'Chaka said without hesitation.

Those who sought great things did not fuss over trivialities. Will Fortson was currently in the military, and a squad of mercenaries alone had no chance of breaking into a U.S. military base. If they wanted to force him out, they had to use some methods.

Soon, a team of mercenaries who had arrived in San Francisco in batches under legal identities received a message from their employer.

The mercenary leader, Hazak, immediately called his men to work. "The boss sent word. Move out!"

The group geared up at top speed, armed themselves to the teeth, and boarded three black vans.

They naturally could not bring weapons through airport security, but this was America. What weapon could they not buy?

"We'll split into three groups. One will capture the target's mother, one will take his sister, and I'll personally lead the team to grab his girlfriend..."

"Boss, she's Black," one of the men in the same vehicle immediately teased. "Can you really stomach that?"

"You don't understand. Black girls have smooth, supple skin!" Hazak wore a strange, lecherous smile.

"Move fast, then head to the rendezvous point."

Will Fortson's relatives were just ordinary people. How could they possibly resist these experienced mercenaries?

At ten that evening, Will Fortson, far away at the southern air force base, received a call from his mother.

"Is this Mr. Fortson?" Hazak asked with a smile.

"Who are you?" Will Fortson was startled. "Where is my mother?"

"Don't worry. Your mother, sister, and girlfriend are all safe." As he spoke, Hazak held the phone to each of their mouths in turn.

"Will, come save us!"

"Mom!" Will's expression immediately changed over the phone.

"Mr. Fortson, our demand is simple. As long as you return to San Francisco immediately, they will remain safe," Hazak stated his purpose.

"You only have two hours, so hurry."

With that, the call ended.

"Bastards!" Will Fortson roared.

"What happened?" Rhodey walked over from nearby.

They were in a warehouse at the air force base. In the distance lay a batch of weapons and equipment along with plenty of industrial machinery. A man in a protective helmet was working busily, sparks flying everywhere.

That man was none other than the genius weapons designer Tony Stark. The day before, Rhodey had invited his friend back to the air force base. After hearing the Air Force's requests and seeing the Falcon proposal, Tony had been struck by several ideas.

Tony might have been a playboy, but he was also a pure scientist. Once an interesting idea entered his mind, he could not restrain himself and would immediately throw himself into work, forgetting food and sleep.

That was why he had stayed at the air force base and quickly begun working. Otherwise, even if he had accepted the job out of consideration for his friend, he would not have started right away. He would definitely have waited until he returned to New York and had some free time.

Tony Stark's schedule was packed, okay?

Rhodey's suggestion yesterday had sparked Tony's thoughts on external armor, so he took the opportunity of building simple armor for Will Fortson to turn the ideas in his head into reality.

While things were bustling on the work side, Will and Rhodey began arguing.

"Are you kidding me?" Rhodey snapped. "How could the base possibly let you fly a helicopter into downtown San Francisco?"

"My mother and sister have been kidnapped!" Will was in a panic. "They demand that I get there within two hours, or they'll kill them."

"If your family has been kidnapped, you should call the police..."

Before Rhodey could finish, Will cut him off with a cold laugh. "Have you forgotten the conflict between the San Francisco police and me? Why would they possibly save them? They'll only come to collect the bodies!"

"This..." Rhodey was left speechless.

American soldiers had little goodwill toward the police, especially Rhodey, who was also a person of color and knew full well the unspoken rules prevalent in law enforcement. Police everywhere paid little attention to cases involving violations of Black people's rights.

"I have to get to San Francisco immediately, or my family is as good as dead!" Will ignored everything and rushed toward the warehouse door.

Even if leaving the base without authorization violated military discipline, he no longer cared. Even if he had to transform today, he would force his way out.

"Hey!" Tony removed his protective helmet at the workbench and shouted at Will. "Your toy has been modified. Don't you want to try it out?"

"Maybe it can help you get to San Francisco quickly..."

Those words immediately changed Will's direction, and he rushed toward Tony.

"Tony!" Rhodey approached from afar with a stern expression.

"Equipment needs testing once it's built, doesn't it?" Tony looked completely justified. "And what could test a weapon's power better than actual combat?"

"Where is it?" Will asked anxiously.

"Happy, come over and help." Tony called for Producer Man.

The two first lifted out a backpack and strapped it onto Will, then helped him fit metal guards over his hands and feet.

Tony pointed to a button on the belt and said to Will, "Press this switch, and metal wings will pop out from both sides of the backpack. Armor plates will extend from the two shoulder straps and the belt to protect your chest and abdomen."

"All the metal plates have a certain amount of flexibility, so they won't restrict you when you transform..."

Tony gave Will a detailed introduction to the equipment.

"If you want to fly faster, you can activate the jets on your hands and feet, though that requires some coordination. Since you can adapt to a panther's body, your coordination shouldn't be bad."

Once he was fully equipped, Will impatiently rushed out of the warehouse, activated the gear, and shot into the sky.

At first, he was not used to it. He swayed from side to side in the air and nearly plunged headfirst to the ground. Later, after making small adjustments to his movements, he finally managed to fly.

He immediately headed north.

After reporting to his superiors and notifying the base's radar department in advance, Rhodey walked over to Tony and said with a smile, "It's rare to see you this enthusiastic. I can tell you genuinely want to help him."

"How could anyone stop a child from going to save his parents?" Tony's expression suddenly turned lonely, filled with endless emotion.

Rhodey knew his friend's past and reached out to pat his shoulder.

Lin Hao, who had been observing everything through Will Fortson's soul, suddenly imprinted his voice into Will's mind.

"Kid, where you're going is a trap." The Demon Lord's voice remained ethereal and indifferent, carrying a lofty casualness.

"If you don't want to die, go to this place first and find some help."

A location suddenly appeared in Will Fortson's mind. It was in downtown Los Angeles, the location of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Los Angeles branch.

He did not know where it was, but since it was the Demon Lord's command, Will naturally treated it as sacred.

So he slightly altered his course and flew toward downtown Los Angeles.