Pay Me More

After receiving the call, Colonel Rhodes immediately dispatched a fighter jet to escort Tony back to the United States.

Tony was unusually quiet, without any of his usual wild abandon—no champagne, fine wine, dancing flight attendants, or anything of the sort.

This brush with death had deeply shaken him. Not only had he been physically injured, but he had also seen his weapons being used by violent extremists, leaving him deeply unsettled.

And there was that mysterious Eastern man. Why hadn't he saved him? Yet why had he been worried about him dying?

There was too much for him to think about.

Back in the United States.

A huge crowd of reporters who had caught wind of the news had blocked the airport.

A top scientist, a billionaire, and a notorious playboy had been kidnapped by violent extremists and had finally returned home. Who wouldn't want the first scoop on a story this explosive?

When Tony got off the plane, Pepper Potts and his friend and bodyguard, Happy, were already waiting for him.

Tears nearly spilled from Pepper's eyes as she rushed up and hugged Tony tightly, refusing to let go. "I thought I'd never see you again."

Tony shrugged. "But I'm back, aren't I? Don't cry. Your makeup's going to run."

Happy anxiously chimed in from the side, "My turn."

Seeing that Pepper still wouldn't let go, he simply dragged his bulky body over and joined the hug. The three of them squeezed together, making Tony cry out, "Ow, ow, ow!"

Noticing Tony's chest, Pepper gasped. "What happened? You're hurt? We need to get you to a hospital."

Tony said, "No rush. I have something more important to do. Happy, get me a cheeseburger. And arrange a press conference."

The reporters were already there, so the press conference was arranged quickly.

Holding a cheeseburger, Tony sat on the floor beside the podium without a shred of dignity.

Tony said, "You know, what makes food taste best isn't the food itself, but the environment. Over the past month or so, in that cave, I had the best cheeseburger and Orleans roast chicken in the world."

"Now that I'm back, I'm eating the finest burger there is, but it doesn't even taste one-tenth as good as the one in that cave."

"I want to thank that delivery guy. He not only brought me the most delicious food in the world, but also saved me and my benefactor. Although I don't know what his purpose was, I think that as long as he isn't trying to destroy the world, I'll do everything in my power to repay him."

The crowd below immediately erupted in buzzing chatter. What was Tony talking about? Burgers? A delivery guy? Had they gotten the wrong tip?

At last, a reporter couldn't hold back any longer. "Mr. Tony, forgive my bluntness, but were you kidnapped or did you go on vacation?"

Tony said, "I was indeed kidnapped and imprisoned in a cave for more than a month. I was hit by a bomb, and there are still shrapnel fragments in my chest. Right now, I'm relying on a battery to stay alive."

The crowd exploded. It had only been speculation before, but now Tony himself had confirmed it. The reporters still couldn't hide their shock.

The United States practiced hegemony across the world, bombing other countries at the drop of a hat and assassinating foreign generals and leaders. It had offended too many people, and violent attacks had become an inescapable nightmare.

Now even a tycoon like Tony had been kidnapped while under military protection, making everyone feel even less secure.

A beautiful reporter stood up and asked, "Excuse me... what was that about the delivery guy? Do violent extremists order takeout too?"

Tony said, "I don't know much more than you do, and it isn't convenient for me to reveal the details for now. What I want to discuss now is another major decision."

Hearing there was bigger news, everyone had no choice but to suppress their curiosity and stop pressing him about the delivery guy.

Tony continued, "I never got to say goodbye to my father. I've always had questions I wanted to ask him. I wanted to ask whether he ever struggled, whether he ever doubted. I saw young Americans being killed, and the weapons killing them were the very weapons I created to protect them. I realized that I could do more for the world than just make things explode."

"Therefore, I hereby announce that Stark International's weapons manufacturing division will be shut down, effective immediately!"

The venue fell silent for a moment, then instantly erupted. Reporters surged forward wildly, eager to ask more questions.

But Tony was already exhausted. He answered nothing more and left under Happy's escort.

Over on Apocalypse's side.

He had arranged for Yinsen to work with Dr. Stern. The two scientists hit it off immediately and got along quite well.

Seeing Tony's decision on the news, Apocalypse knew that once Tony returned, he would refine the Iron Man armor.

Sure enough, a few days later, under the cover of night, a humanoid suit of armor flew out of Tony's home.

Apocalypse sat at an open-air bar in the distance, leisurely drinking beer. This initial model should have been the Mark I Iron Man armor. It had not even been painted yet, its silvery metallic color exposed to the air.

However, the Mark I was immature and had a fatal flaw—it had no anti-freezing system.

Sure enough, Tony began testing the armor's flight ceiling, pushing higher and higher into the sky.

Ten thousand feet, twenty thousand feet, thirty thousand feet... eighty thousand feet...

The artificial intelligence JARVIS warned, "Sir, potentially fatal icing has already occurred."

Tony said, "Continue. I haven't yet broken the fixed-wing altitude record of eighty-five thousand feet."

Very soon, the freezing temperatures at high altitude coated the armor in a thick layer of ice. The internal power system was affected by the cold and suddenly crashed.

"Oh..."

Tony screamed as he fell from the sky.

Apocalypse remained unmoved. According to the original plot, the power system should recover just before he hit the ground, and Tony would safely fly back home.

"Pfft... crackle... pfft..."

Tony kept trying to restart the power system, but all it produced were a few bursts of black smoke. It was completely useless.

"Oh no!" Apocalypse inwardly cursed.

A violent gust swept through the open-air bar, blowing tables and chairs onto the ground as Apocalypse vanished from where he stood.

"Boom..."

Unfortunately, he was too far away. No matter how fast Apocalypse was, he could not catch Tony in time. Tony crashed straight into the ground, smashing out a deep crater.

After several flashes, Apocalypse arrived at the crater and, with a snap, tore off the faceplate of Tony's armor.

"Cough, cough... hey... we meet again."

Blood spilled from Tony's mouth. He had clearly been badly injured. He had been worried about whether he might die, but when Apocalypse appeared, he inexplicably felt safe.

Apocalypse smiled. "Why are you always so unlucky whenever I see you? I thought I'd get to see you show off this time."

At that moment, JARVIS's alert sounded. "Injury diagnosis: spine fractured into three sections, both legs broken, internal organs ruptured and bleeding. The nearest hospital has been contacted, but emergency services will require at least twenty minutes. Sir, I'm afraid you will not last that long..."

Bloody foam kept spilling from Tony's mouth, a sign that his lungs had been punctured. By now, he was struggling to breathe.

With a flick of his hand, Apocalypse took a bottle of Recovery Potion from his storage space.

"Drink it. I bear some responsibility for your injuries too."

Tony was deeply moved, thinking Apocalypse felt guilty for failing to catch him in time. He hurriedly said, "Cough, cough... how could this... be your fault? Cough... cough... I was too impatient."

However, Tony had misunderstood. No matter how much of a genius he was, he could never have guessed what Apocalypse meant.

Tony was originally supposed to spend three months in that cave. Though those three months would have been difficult, they would also have given him enough time to think through the armor's details and perfect it.

But Apocalypse's arrival had unexpectedly allowed Tony to escape more than a month early, causing him to overlook some technical details.

Those overlooked details made the power system just a little worse than it had been in the original plot, which in turn prevented Tony from landing safely and left him half-dead from the fall.

If Apocalypse had not been nearby, Iron Man might have died before he was even officially born.

The butterfly effect, Apocalypse sighed inwardly.

Even the smallest change could drastically alter what came afterward. It seemed he needed to be more careful.

Otherwise, he would never know when he might alter the plot and cause some superhero to die unexpectedly.

"Drink it first. In a few more minutes, you won't even have the chance to speak."

As he spoke, he poured the Recovery Potion down Tony's throat.

A green glow lit up around Tony, and in the blink of an eye, all his injuries had fully healed.

Apocalypse carefully inspected the Arc Reactor in Tony's chest and found that it had not been repaired.

It seemed Dr. Stern had been right. The potion considered those old injuries part of his body now and would not repair them.

Tony said, "Is this the same potion you gave Yinsen? It's incredible. It can instantly heal injuries. If it could be mass-produced, people on Earth would never have to fear getting hurt again."

"I'd like that too, but unfortunately, the quantity is limited. It can't be produced at all right now."

Thinking about it, Tony agreed. Something so miraculous could not possibly be as common as cold medicine.

Tony tried to stand, but after losing power, the armor was too heavy. With his physical strength, he simply could not get up.

The Mark I was still made of ordinary steel. In the original plot, Tony flew home, shut down the power, and crashed straight through the concrete floor into his underground laboratory. That showed just how heavy the armor was.

"I'll help you take it apart," Apocalypse said.

"Wait." Tony hurriedly stopped him. "You can't force it open. I need to inspect what failed inside. If you take it apart, you'll destroy the scene of the malfunction."

"Looks like I'll have to carry you home again," Apocalypse said helplessly. "I've never carried the same man twice in my life. You'll have to pay me more!"

With that, he scooped Tony up around the waist and leaped toward Tony's home.