New York, Joker Organization Hideout.
Jason received a message from Franklin on the Joker Community, saying he had entered US airspace in the Mirage fighter with Ivan and was about to land in an area on Long Island, New York.
"He's finally back after playing outside for two days."
Jason changed his clothes and drove out with a few men to greet him.
Sitting in the back seat, Jason @'d A-Train in the Joker Community.
"Franklin's already back. Where are you?"
A moment later, he replied: "Boss, I've already snuck into the UK. If all goes well, I can catch a flight back home tonight."
A-Train had used his superpowers to break through the French border, then got a new identity and took a ferry to the UK. With the perfect fake identity Chloe had created for him, he shouldn't run into any trouble.
Jason felt relieved after learning everything was going smoothly for him.
The three Mercedes G-Wagons drove for over an hour, finally arriving at a hidden forest on Long Island.
Franklin had already arrived and sent his location on the community.
Jason, looking at his phone as he walked, finally found him with his men.
The Mirage fighter was parked in a clearing in the dense woods. Franklin waved to greet Jason. He was sitting on top of another person.
This somewhat... intimate... scene made Jason stifle a laugh.
He walked up smiling and asked, "What's the meaning of this 'man-on-man' position? Are you putting on a show for me?"
Franklin quickly waved his hands, explaining, "Boss, you know my preferences, I'm only interested in beautiful women."
After speaking, Franklin stood up from Ivan and stepped on his head with one foot. "This old boy was restless on the way, so I had to use him as a meat cushion to rest my feet."
Jason squatted down, looking at Ivan with a cold smile. "Restless? Once we get back to the hideout, I guarantee you'll be as tame as a kitten."
Ivan's head was pressed sideways against the ground, his face contorted as he glared at Jason.
He felt that this face was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite place it at the moment.
Jason beckoned lightly, ordering his men to haul Ivan into the car and take him back to the hideout. Then he stood up and looked at the Mirage fighter in front of him.
"Impressive. Not only did you bring Ivan back, but you also swiped a fighter jet." Jason walked forward, stroking the fuselage of the Mirage.
"By the way, how did you fly a fighter jet into US airspace? I was worried you'd get shot down by missiles."
Franklin made a grasping motion in the air, and the fighter's canopy slowly closed. "I used my powers to block its electromagnetic reflection. The US military's radar is blind in front of me."
Jason nodded, somewhat gratified. "I see. It looks like you haven't spent all your time lying on top of women. You've practiced your powers well."
Franklin grinned sheepishly and scratched his head. The very first time they met, Jason had taken him to a... club. That had been a first for him.
Time had flown by, and it was almost two years later.
He was no longer that poor guy who had been dumped by his girlfriend and cried secretly in bed. Now, he was a great man who dominated his own territory and commanded thousands of underlings.
"Right, so what do you plan to do with this hunk of metal? Dragging it back to the hideout probably isn't realistic."
Jason's words pulled Franklin back from his memories.
He pointed a thumb back towards the ocean in the distance. "There are many uninhabited islands near Long Island. I plan to hide the fighter on one of them. Maybe it'll be useful later."
"Then do as you say." Jason walked up and clapped him on the shoulder. "Let's go. Time to go home. I'll throw a celebration party for you two when A-Train gets back."
The group got into the cars, laughing as they returned to the New York hideout.
Jason had someone take Franklin to rest, while he himself went to the underground prison on the B1 level.
In the dark and gloomy prison, Ivan was tied to an iron chair, unable to move.
A few tall, burly men stood beside him, watching him closely.
"Boss!"
Seeing Jason walk in, the men all bowed to him.
Jason waved his hand, signaling for them to leave, then pulled up a chair and sat down in front of Ivan.
"Looking at your expression, you should remember who I am now."
Ivan grinned, his voice hoarse. "Jason Walter! The leader of the world's largest terrorist organization."
"Since you know who I am, you should understand why I broke you out of prison."
Ivan nodded and replied, "The Arc Reactor!"
Jason smiled. "That answer isn't wrong, but it's not entirely right either. What I want isn't that old Arc Reactor you used in Paris. I already have that thing and have upgraded it. What I need is the new Arc Reactor in Tony Stark."
"I've looked up your file. Your father, Anton Vanko, and Howard Stark co-developed the Arc Reactor. But due to a conflict in ideals, Howard kicked your father out of the company and framed him as a Russian spy, leading to his deportation."
"And they exiled him to Siberia, where he stayed for 20 years."
"I know you want revenge. You want respect. You want to live a life just like Tony. I can give you all of this, provided you show me your value."
After hearing Jason's words, Ivan slowly closed his eyes, his thoughts returning to that night in Paris.
He had been full of confidence for that assassination attempt.
But he never expected Tony to have developed a portable Iron Man suit. What was even more terrifying was that the suit used a new type of Arc Reactor with an extremely high energy output ceiling.
In just one move, he was knocked to the ground, with no ability to resist.
Compared to Tony's, the reactor Ivan had built was nothing. The gap between them was like the difference between the sun and a matchstick.
After being arrested, Ivan had fallen into despair.
But against all odds, Jason had actually sent people to rescue him.
As long as he was alive, and with the backing of the Joker organization's vast resources, revenge was not impossible.
After thinking for a long time, Ivan finally came to a decision.
He spoke: "Tony's Arc Reactor is completely beyond my comprehension. If I want to crack it and... it, I must see the real thing."
"That's a reasonable request. I'll get it for you as soon as possible. In the meantime, you'll live here. You can enjoy everything here, except you can't leave the hideout."
After speaking, Jason stood up and, to Ivan's astonishment, dismantled the iron chair with his bare hands.
.........
Los Angeles, S.H.I.E.L.D. Secret Safe House.
Ever since being dismissed from his post by the World Security Council, Nick Fury had gone into hiding, controlling S.H.I.E.L.D. from the shadows.
First, he helped Tony Stark improve the Arc Reactor, and in exchange, had Tony build a batch of new-energy Iron Man suits for S.H.I.E.L.D.
Fury had also never relaxed his secret investigation into the Joker organization.
Since he couldn't find any trace of them on the network, he returned to traditional methods—taking to the streets and using old-fashioned, man-to-man surveillance.
As he said, sometimes a different angle can show you a different view.
The first target Fury selected was Los Angeles.
He led his S.H.I.E.L.D agents in a half-year-long surveillance investigation in Los Angeles and achieved stunning results.
Through traditional tracking, Fury found all the hideouts of the Joker organization's Los Angeles branch.
At the same time, the new-energy Iron Man suits were complete. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s next target was the complete destruction of the Los Angeles branch.
This plan was top secret. Only Fury knew the full details, and the members who knew partial information were all his old subordinates who had followed him for years.
For the sake of personal and operational security, Fury had transferred them all out of the Triskelion under the pretext of special assignments and stationed them all in Los Angeles.
This was also why Stanfield couldn't find any Level 7 agents at the Triskelion.
The plan to destroy the Los Angeles branch was set for tonight.
To ensure it was flawless, engineers were testing and calibrating the Iron Man suits again, and the senior agents in the conference room were going over the operational details again and again.
The entire desk was piled high with detailed files on the Joker organization—one of Fury's biggest gains over the past six months.
Phil Coulson... knocked lightly on the door and entered. He leaned down and said in Fury's ear, "Sir, Stark is here."
A strange smile appeared on Fury's face.
"Let him in."
Coulson stood up and left. Fury waved his hand, dismissing the people in the conference room for the time being.
Wearing expensive casual clothes and a pair of light-colored aviator sunglasses, Tony walked into the S.H.I.E.L.D. conference room, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a cheeseburger.
Fury was already immune to Tony's performance art.
He asked with a blank expression, "Just got back from vacation in Paris. Shouldn't you be resting at home? What do you want from me?"
Tony pulled out a chair and sat down. He lifted his sunglasses with one hand, stared at Fury's single eye, and methodically swallowed the bite of hamburger in his mouth.
"You're planning to make a move on the Joker organization?"
"I already notified you about this in advance, but you chose to fly to France for vacation the very next day." Fury said with a cold face, "Or what, you regret it now and want to join in?"
Tony snorted. "Dream on! I told you before I became a S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant. I'll provide you with all the technical support you need, but I won't risk my life for you, and I definitely won't participate in frontline combat."
"I know. So, what do you want?" Fury said, feeling contemptuous.
So much for Iron Man. After being beaten by Jason a few times, he's starting to feel scared.
Good thing I didn't bet everything on you. I still have an ace up my sleeve.
Tony pressed his watch, and a projection appeared on the table.
"I have no problem with you guys going after the Joker organization, but what's this 'Phase Two' supposed to be? How did I get dragged into this again?"
Fury looked at the plan and explained, "You have a grudge with Jason, and you're also a rather... hatable... person. It makes you the perfect bait."
Tony: "..."
Fury smiled. "Trust me, everything for the follow-up has been arranged. You and Ms. Potts don't need to worry about your safety."
Tony put away his watch and snorted, displeased. "Oh, thanks! I think I'd rather trust myself."
With that, he left the conference room with a stiff face.
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You can read advance chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.
pat reon.com/GreenBlue17
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