In the wreckage of the Wick home, the two sides reached a temporary peace.
After all, continuing to beat up a naked man would make it look like some strange fetish.
"You're saying... my father sent someone to kill you?"
An eerie silence settled over the Wick home.
As the Wizard King, John admitted he had never expected the Disarming Charm to strip the Iron Man Armor off completely.
Even less had he expected the man to come to someone else's home without wearing anything underneath.
John distinctly remembered Iron Man wearing clothes every time he suited up, so why wasn't he wearing a single stitch today?
Perhaps the breeze had sobered him up especially quickly, because Tony soon calmed down too.
He had come to settle a score, only to find himself being called to account instead.
Stark naked, Tony endured the judgment of John's peculiar gaze.
It was rather embarrassing.
"Maybe a sheltered son like you doesn't understand the extent of your father's influence." Putting on a brave front, Tony straightened his back and slowly approached the sofa, eyeing a blanket there. He picked it up and wrapped it around himself as he said, "Your father, Watson Wick."
"He's the largest shareholder in Hammer Industries, and he also heads an alliance of Underworld Forces that spans the globe."
Seeing that John had no intention of stopping him, Tony continued, "Under his leadership, the Underground Alliance has grown stronger and stronger, with interests in numerous industries."
"Arms dealing is just one of them."
Since he had already been captured, Tony made himself comfortable and sat down. "By the way, what did you just use? Superpowers? Magic?"
John didn't answer. He merely frowned in thought.
"My father wouldn't have you assassinated."
"That's not necessarily true." Tony let out an incredulous chuckle, seemingly surprised by the naivety of the Underworld President's son.
"Uh... could you bring me my helmet? I'm not wearing shoes, and I'd rather not step on, well, you know." Tony pointed at his metal helmet.
There was glass mixed in with all the dust on the floor, and he had no desire to step on it.
The Iron Man Armor was great in every way, except that he needed assistance to put it on.
This was also the first time Tony had been stripped of his armor in combat. He thought, I'll have to design a suit of Iron Man Armor I can put on without assistance.
John raised a hand and gestured toward Tony, using Nonverbal Spellcasting.
The helmet floated up and flew toward Tony.
"Wow."
Tony caught the helmet, amazed by the ability and intrigued by the gesture as well.
"JARVIS, are you still there?"
"I'm here, sir."
Hearing that answer, Tony breathed a sigh of relief.
The bizarre lightning and strange abilities all needed to be recorded.
As he thought it over, he said, "Project S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files on Watson Wick."
Tony shrugged and set the helmet on the dust-covered table. "Since you don't believe me, see for yourself."
The helmet's eyes lit up, projecting an image onto the wall.
John turned to look. It was all information about his dad.
"Watson Wick. Extremely dangerous individual. File clearance level: 8."
"United numerous powers to establish the Underground Alliance and the Continental Hotel."
"Maintains close ties with the War Lord, Yuri Orlov. The two once appeared together in Sokovia, triggering a coup and armed conflict."
"Investor in Hammer Industries. Maintains close contact with a mysterious power in Russia."
As John looked through page after page of information about his dad, his expression gradually changed.
Finally, the display stopped on "Maintains close ties with the War Lord, Yuri Orlov" and "Investor in Hammer Industries. Maintains close contact with a mysterious power in Russia."
Pointing at those two entries, Tony said proudly, "I'm sure you watch the news. Otherwise, you wouldn't recognize me."
"The guy who attacked me yesterday was a scientist from Russia."
He stared into John's eyes, trying to find some emotion beyond that calm, and said, "How did he know I was in Monaco? And how did he know I'd be entering the race?"
"I can tell you with absolute certainty," Tony said, standing and walking toward John with the blanket draped around him, "only he could have arranged all of this. Because he's the Underworld President, Watson Wick, a man who could make even the president lose sleep and his appetite by crossing him."
Absorbing this barrage of unfamiliar information, John raised his eyes to meet Tony's.
Legilimency.
From what John could see, Tony meant every word he had said.
That meant he genuinely believed it, rather than using it as an excuse.
"My answer hasn't changed. My father couldn't be the person behind the attempt on your life." John slowly shook his head.
That infuriated Tony. He tore off his blanket, exposing his body ravaged by palladium poisoning, and laughed in anger. "Really? Then go tell your father he doesn't need to worry about Tony Stark interfering with his business!"
"Because I'm dying! I don't have long left!"
He roared that last sentence.
Ever since learning that his days were numbered, he had been under immense pressure.
Even a genius like Tony Stark had to endure constant torment in the face of death.
Throwing caution to the wind, he jabbed a finger into John's chest.
Annoyed, John raised a hand and caught that finger, his Wand spinning deftly in his left hand like a little snake.
Before Tony could react, a black Wand stopped right in front of his eye.
"Show my family, and me, some respect," John said in a low voice. "Don't forget, you broke into my home and launched an attack for no reason."
"Easy, easy. I think we can handle this rationally."
Tony immediately backed down, raising both hands in front of his chest to show that he posed no threat.
Which was fair enough. With his Iron Man Armor dismantled, what threat could he possibly pose?
Tony took a deep breath. This really was humiliating.
He had always been the overbearing one before, but today he was the captive.
His status as a genius scientist and billionaire had always smoothed his path.
John told him to keep his distance.
Tony stepped backward and accidentally tripped over a raised fold in the rug.
And so, to his misfortune, he demonstrated what a naked man falling flat on his face looked like.
That swinging thing was so unsightly that John covered his face and looked away.
"I think my father left a few clothes in the wardrobe, Mr. Stark."
"Really? That's wonderful." Tony stood up. He wasn't in the habit of baring himself to other men either, especially when he was the one doing the baring.
Had John been a pretty girl, he wouldn't have minded.
"That's my sister's room. You'd better not go in there!"
"Oh, sorry."
Watching Tony struggle to find his way around, John could infer that the person who had been roaming through his home hadn't been Tony.
Then it had been someone else.
The agents who had appeared in London and the person who had been in this house.
They might belong to the same organization.
Were they investigating his dad too?
"Just how much trouble has Dad gotten himself into?" John felt deeply troubled. He had only just praised his dad for making so much money, and the next thing he knew, Iron Man had come charging into their home.
If he praised him a couple more times, would Thor show up next?
"Uh... your father and I are about the same size."
Tony reappeared in a fresh set of clothes.
"But I'd recommend that your father stop wearing this brand. Maybe another... okay, fine, take it easy." Tony had wanted to complain a little more, but when he saw John impatiently raising his Wand, he wisely shut his mouth.
"You still haven't told me. Are you a Superpower or a magician?"
"Neither. You can call me a Wizard."
John gave Tony a speechless glance and said irritably, "You'd better move away from there. I don't want my sister's room to still look like a bomb blew through it when she comes home."
"All right. I know a construction crew. They'll make it look exactly the way it did before." While changing, Tony had been thinking about the assassination attempt.
The breeze had cleared his head considerably.
On reflection, he had been far too impulsive.
With John's strange abilities, sending Whiplash to carry out an assassination would have been completely unnecessary.
Or was the Underworld President actually a loving father who didn't want his child to get blood on his hands?
John ignored Tony's mental whirlwind and waved his Wand again. "Reparo."
The shattered wall flew back into place, and even the chair with its broken leg pieced itself back together.
As the magic swept through the surrounding wreckage, everything returned to its original state, just as the incantation promised.
The miraculous sight drew an admiring remark from Tony.
"If you started a renovation company, business would be booming."
"I'll take that as a compliment." John rolled his eyes at Tony and nudged a piece of the Iron Man Armor by his feet.
"This suit is pretty good. Looks cool."
"I'll take that as a compliment too." Tony walked over to the table and picked up his helmet. "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving."
"Oh?" John gave him a knowing half smile. "You're not planning to act as though nothing happened again, are you?"
"All right." Tony put down the helmet and asked generously, "How much?"
"What?" John asked in surprise.
Tony said, "How much will it take for you to let me leave?"
Anything that could be solved with money wasn't a problem for him.
"You've misunderstood," John said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not interested in your money."
"What interests me more is this."
John tapped the helmet with a finger.
Tony's expression darkened. "You want the Iron Man Armor technology?"
If that was the case, he would have to consider how to kill him.
"What would I want that for?" John said, exasperated. "I want the files on my father, and I want to know where my family went."
"That's all?"
This time, it was Tony's turn to be surprised.
Compared to that brilliant brain of his, S.H.I.E.L.D. files he could casually hack into weren't worth much.
"My answer hasn't changed, Mr. Stark." John looked at Tony and said earnestly, "My father wouldn't have you assassinated. At least, he wasn't behind it this time."
Kill Iron Man?
John thought about it and decided against it. He would still need the man to fight the purple potato later.
His gaze fell on the reactor in Tony's chest. He tapped it with his Wand and reminded him, "I think you should have noticed that man had something just like yours on him."
Hearing that, Tony looked down.
"Your family are thieves and butchers." His attacker's words echoed in his ears.
His expression was grim.
Because...
Palladium poisoning.
Before you continue