The Power of Time

Tony had wanted to toss away the Arc Reactor in his hand.

But after thinking it over, he abandoned the idea.

Although the Arc Reactor had been destroyed, if it fell into the hands of someone else or another organization, there was no guarantee they could not reverse-engineer the Arc Reactor technology.

Just as he was about to activate the thrusters on his feet and back to leave the track, he saw Roy standing in the stands, eating popcorn as he watched the show.

When Roy saw him turn to look over, he waved at him.

Could he have known from the very beginning that Ivan Vanko would come here to attack me?

Tony immediately frowned as the suspicion flashed through his mind.

He did not know whether his guess was correct.

But he felt that the reason Roy had given earlier was becoming less and less convincing.

Now was not a good time to question Roy.

Suppressing his doubts, Tony activated the thrusters on his feet and back and flew toward the hotel.

After returning to the street behind the hotel, he removed the Mark 7, returned it to its flight pod form, and sent it back into the trunk. He then placed the damaged Arc Reactor inside as well.

After doing all that, he returned to the hotel and went to Pepper and Happy.

Not long afterward, Roy, who had changed clothes, returned to the hotel as well.

The moment Tony saw him return, he immediately pulled him aside and asked with a frown, "Did you know from the beginning that this would happen?"

"Yes."

Roy nodded.

"How did you know, and why didn't you warn me beforehand?" Tony's frown deepened as he pressed on.

Roy shrugged and replied casually, "I didn't warn you because I wasn't sure whether this would happen."

"As for how I knew, it's simple. I possess a certain degree of the power of time, which allows me to foresee the future."

"But the future I foresee through the power of time may not necessarily come to pass."

"The future is not fixed. It can change because of many factors."

The power of time?

Foreseeing the future?

Tony stared at Roy with a shocked expression.

He knew Roy possessed many superpowers, but he had never expected Roy to possess the ability to foresee the future as well.

It was normal that he did not know.

Because Roy did not possess that kind of superpower at all.

Whether it was the power of time or foreseeing the future, they were merely excuses Roy used to conceal the prophet's advantage of a transmigrator.

However, once he obtained the Time Stone, that excuse would become reality.

After a moment of silence, Tony said to Roy, "I'm planning to see Ivan Vanko. Will you come with me?"

"Why do you need me to go with you?"

Roy asked with a smile.

Tony rolled his eyes at him and quickly said, "I feel safer with you around. Is that good enough?"

Roy wore a disgusted expression, took several steps back, and quickly said, "Don't tell me you really developed post-traumatic stress disorder after being kidnapped, just like the media said, and your orientation changed from heterosexual to bisexual?"

"My orientation is perfectly normal. It has never changed!"

Tony froze for a moment before quickly replying.

"If your orientation is normal, then it's normal. No need to get so worked up."

"Since you feel so insecure, I'll accompany you on this trip."

Roy said with a smile.

Tony glared at him and sighed helplessly.

With his intelligence, he naturally knew Roy was deliberately teasing him.

But there was one thing he could not understand: why did Roy always enjoy teasing him and laughing at his expense, as though he were some endless source of amusement?

Washington, D.C.

S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, top floor of the Triskelion, office of the Security Council chairman.

Alexander Pierce, dressed in a gray suit, sat behind his desk and repeatedly watched footage of Ivan Vanko fighting Tony on the track.

When the video finished playing once again, he picked up the phone on his desk and dialed an internal number.

"Notify Agent Rumlow and Agent Sitwell. Tell them to come to my office immediately."

"Yes, sir."

After giving the secretary his instructions, Pierce put down the phone and waited patiently.

Only two or three minutes later, Brock Rumlow, Crossbones, dressed in tactical gear, and the bald Sitwell arrived before him.

Pierce did not waste time and asked directly, "Have you watched the footage of Stark fighting someone in Monaco?"

"We have."

Rumlow and Sitwell replied at the same time.

Pierce nodded in satisfaction and continued, "What do you think of Ivan Vanko's armor?"

To the public, Ivan Vanko's identity was mysterious.

But to S.H.I.E.L.D., or Hydra, it was not difficult at all to uncover his identity.

Rumlow answered first, "The armor is crude. The energy whips have decent attack power and should be able to easily cut through various common metals, but its defensive capability is practically nonexistent. Its practical combat value is not high."

Sitwell followed up, "Although the armor is crude, judging from the current situation, it uses the same Arc Reactor as Stark's armor."

"If we obtain Arc Reactor technology from him, we can manufacture our own Iron Man Armor and even build an army of Iron Man Armor."

Pierce stood and walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window. Looking toward the White House with his back to Rumlow and Sitwell, he said, "Now that people all over the world have seen Ivan Vanko possesses the technology to manufacture an Arc Reactor, there will be no shortage of people who want to obtain it from him."

"I'm considering whether to send you two to lead a team to Monaco, or directly hire Roy and have him hand Ivan Vanko over to us."

Upon hearing that, Rumlow immediately frowned and quickly said, "With his strength, getting Ivan Vanko out of the police station would be easy, but he would definitely demand an extremely high fee."

"Besides, hiring him could expose our identities. The losses would outweigh the gains."

"I am absolutely confident I can bring Ivan Vanko back."

Pierce turned around and stared at Rumlow.

More than ten seconds passed before he said, "Since you are confident, then you will make the trip."

"Keep it clean. If you expose anything that should not be exposed, you know what the consequences will be."

Rumlow did not take Pierce's warning to heart and replied solemnly, "I will not disappoint you, sir!"

Police station.

Escorted by a group of police officers, Roy and Tony headed toward the holding cells.

A middle-aged police chief with a hairline comparable to Coulson's explained the information they had uncovered so far in French.

Monaco was surrounded by France on its east, west, and north sides, with the Mediterranean Sea to the south.

In Monaco, French was the official language.

"He used a fake passport when entering the country. We checked his fingerprints, but there are no records at all. We can't even find his name."

"No matter how we interrogate him, he refuses to speak. He hasn't said a single word."

Tony replied in French, "Give me five minutes."