Everything unfolded just like the trap Batman and Tony Stark had set. Obadiah Stane arrived at the top floor of Stark Tower and removed the miniature arc reactor from Tony's chest.
But no sooner had Obadiah left than Tony Stark pulled out another pre-prepared reactor and slotted it into his chest.
Before making his move, Obadiah had shut down the surveillance cameras on the top floor. However, Tony Stark had already activated the webcam on his workstation long before initiating the decoy plan, casually aiming it at himself as if by accident.
The camera faithfully recorded the footage of Obadiah taking the reactor, which Tony packaged together with other evidence of Obadiah's weapons smuggling.
This evidence would be sent to Peter Parker, to be handled by his trusted friend with the technical skills to do so.
After finishing all this, Tony Stark looked toward the landing pad:
"Come out. Peter mentioned you to me. He said with you here, my safety would be protected."
As his words fell, a bat-like black shadow descended from the sky, slowly landing on the pad.
To prevent Obadiah from casually killing Tony Stark while taking the reactor, "Peter Parker" had called in his partner Batman to ensure Tony's safety—this was the outcome of discussions between Peter and Tony.
As for Tony's personal bodyguard Happy... for the sake of plan secrecy, Tony hadn't told anyone except Batman about Peter's Parker identity.
Even Pepper's reaction during the video call while chairing the board meeting was completely genuine.
But even so, Tony Stark didn't give a friendly face to the Batman who was wearing the Arkham suit and had been "called by Peter to protect him."
Though he had refused Nick Fury's request in front of the S.H.I.E.L.D. director to provide weapons against Batman, that was based on Tony's already firm decision to shut down the weapons division.
And from the information Nick Fury had shown, Tony Stark knew Batman was no saint.
The disappearances of Hulk, Professor Lizard, Doctor Octopus, and Green Goblin—all four were connected to Batman. Tony didn't believe this guy's contact with Peter Parker, his practically only true friend, was just a simple partnership.
During the Thailand trip, compared to "Batman" merely connecting Silver Sable with Peter Parker in advance, Peter Parker had both contacted Silver Sable for rescue and sent trusted maps.
In Tony Stark's heart, Peter Parker's weight far exceeded Batman's.
Plus, Tony Stark had never had any prior contact with Batman, so his instinctive hostility made his voice carry a hint of sarcasm:
"I don't know who you are. Rumors say you're a vampire... but whatever you are, I advise you to stay away from Peter."
Batman looked at Tony Stark. He had already shifted into a combat stance, every muscle in his body ready to mobilize at a moment's notice. No slight movement could escape him—not with the superhuman senses this Peter body provided.
To Tony Stark's words, Batman remained expressionless, his voice low:
"No."
Tony Stark seemed to misunderstand Batman's meaning. He stared at Batman for a few seconds, then walked toward an open area near the top-floor workstation while still fixing his gaze on Batman.
The second Tony Stark reached the spot, the floor quickly separated and slid apart. Mechanical arms rapidly assembled red-and-gold armor over Tony Stark's body.
Amid the crisp clangs of metal colliding, the faint whir of bolts turning, and the damping hum of the transmission system, Tony Stark's entire body—except his face—was encased in hard metal armor.
He still regarded Batman with the eyes of an enemy. This time, his voice lost the sarcasm and carried strong hostility:
"Listen up, cape freak."
"Maybe your tricks can make gangsters cry, maybe you can take on ten at once with ease, maybe I can't protect Peter Parker every moment."
"But if he gets dragged into danger because of you, every injury he takes, every drop of blood he sheds—I'll pin it all on you. Then get ready for my vengeance."
Clang!
The metal mask emitted a crisp sound, slamming shut with a thud. Cold white light glowed from the eyes. Tony Stark stepped forward a few paces, then hovered in the air with the aid of his boot thrusters.
He looked down at Batman standing on the landing pad, then jets of light flared from his palms as he rocketed into the clouds.
Batman stood silently in place, watching Tony Stark in his suit vanish into the night.
He thought back to his days wearing the blue cape. If it were that version of him, Batman would have removed the mask and told Tony he was Peter Parker—his one true friend in this world.
But the current Batman wouldn't do that. He just silently watched Tony Stark, then leaped forward, plummeting straight down from the Stark Tower landing pad and vanishing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.
"Barbara, track the location of the reactor Obadiah took."
Batman spoke to the Oracle AI while in mid-air. Seeing Tony Stark about to suit up and go all out against Obadiah, Batman needed to ensure the plan's success.
Obadiah's evidence was already in Batman's hands, and Tony's net within Stark Industries was gradually tightening.
All that remained was for Obadiah to be captured, uprooting him, his Ajax Security, and his direct loyalists in Stark Industries.
At the same time, if Tony Stark fell into danger, Batman would intervene from the shadows...
Whoosh!
Leaping from the 60th-floor landing pad of Stark Tower, Batman only spread his cape to slow his descent when he was just over ten meters from the ground.
At the same moment—BOOM!
The unmasked roar of the Arkham Batmobile's engine thundered to life. The Batmobile, which Batman had hidden in stealth mode beforehand, burst out from the shadows.
As it sped along, the Batmobile's roof slid open rapidly, revealing the cockpit. Batman had already adjusted his position; the cape behind him was no longer electrified and rigid but soft again.
BOOM!
The thud of Batman landing in the Batmobile was drowned out by the engine's roar. Amid the screams of pedestrians on the streets near Stark Tower, it raced toward the Ajax Security transport factory.
"Making a suit for Peter to protect himself is urgent."
Seven hundred meters in the air, Tony Stark looked through his metal mask at the bustling streets below, his mind replaying the sharp-eared black silhouette.
Tony Stark didn't believe the infamous Batman—S.H.I.E.L.D.'s highest threat level—contacted Peter just for funding and memory fiber cooperation.
He suspected the guy had deeper motives, and protecting Peter Parker had become something Tony Stark had to do.
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