Inside Oscorp, Warren, Morbius, Harry, and Dillon each left the lab after the failed electroshock therapy session, going their separate ways to deal with their own affairs.
At the same time, Batman had already shed his Arkham battlesuit. In a private room, he changed into the tailored wool suit he'd prepared in advance and arrived at the top floor of Stark Industries as Peter Parker.
The very first thing Batman said when he saw Tony Stark was, "Tony, take off your shirt."
Tony's expression turned a little strange. "What?"
"Your arc reactor is palladium-based, right?" Batman said. "After I got back the other day, I did some research on that metal…"
Tony flashed a crooked grin, brushing it off. "Palladium poisoning, huh?"
Batman nodded.
"Don't worry. As long as I'm not wearing the Mark III twenty-four hours a day and flying around the sky, normal human metabolism is enough to keep the poisoning at bay." Tony shrugged. "My body's fine, Peter."
Batman seemed to relax; he let the subject drop and didn't press Tony to take off his shirt so he could check the condition of the skin around the reactor.
Changing the topic, Batman asked, "Tony, you mentioned wanting to pivot the company toward new energy. Any concrete plans yet?"
Tony poured himself a drink and knocked it back in one go. "At first I wanted to roll out the miniaturized arc reactor technology to the public, but after what happened with Obadiah, I've decided to put that business on hold for now."
"What about you, Peter? Word is Parker Industries is moving into the energy sector."
Doctor Octopus had literally hand-built an artificial sun; there was no way Parker Industries' moves in energy could stay hidden from Tony Stark, a man actively looking to transform his own company.
Besides, apart from keeping Doctor Octopus's very existence secret, Batman hadn't gone out of his way to conceal their energy research. It was only natural that Tony knew what Parker Industries was up to.
"I'm not here to propose a partnership, Tony," Batman said.
"Peter, you're a smart guy, and so am I." Tony locked eyes with him. "We don't need to dance around each other, and you don't have to worry that anything you say will send me off the deep end again.
"One trip to the Middle East was more than enough to last me a lifetime."
Batman ignored the comment. He was carefully probing Tony's mental and emotional state with every sentence, making sure that after his upcoming trip to New Mexico, Tony Stark wouldn't do anything reckless as "Iron Man."
"Obadiah and his schemes are finished. You treated a symptom, but the disease is still there."
"Tony, you announced you were shutting down the weapons division—so what comes next? This massive ship called Stark Industries… where exactly are you steering it? Are you just going to let it drift aimlessly on the open sea until the next Obadiah shows up?"
Tony listened in silence, poured himself another glass, and was about to down it when Batman stood, walked over, and firmly stopped him.
"Let me at least have one drink?" Tony looked at him, exasperated.
Batman shook his head.
"Tony, you should have quit drinking a long time ago."
Batman held the glass steady, so Tony simply grabbed the bottle and chugged straight from it until the whole thing was empty. Only then did he answer Batman's earlier question.
"Like I said, I was originally planning to go all-in on new energy, but right now fields like medicine, automotive, aerospace… those seem a lot more worth investing in. Stark Industries has a lot of possible futures."
Batman stared into Tony's eyes—eyes already a little glassy from the alcohol.
"Too many directions means no direction at all. Your shareholders and employees need a clear new identity, not an empty slogan. Otherwise, panic and internal division will breed the next enemy all on their own."
"So what's your suggestion? Make arc reactor technology open-source? Give everyone free energy?" A trace of irritation crept into Tony's voice.
"Naïve," Batman said flatly.
Tony froze, staring at him.
He'd once told Happy that "Peter Parker always gave him the feeling that his father had come back to life and decided to possess Peter for a while."
That feeling had practically vanished after the Middle East, but right now, Batman had brought it roaring back.
Tony opened his mouth, ready to snap at him for calling him naïve, but Batman didn't give him the opening.
"Tony, you already know the answer in your heart. You were able to turn Stark Industries into the biggest arms dealer on the planet, and you were ruthless enough to shut the weapons division down overnight. That means you absolutely have what it takes to guide this company through a real transformation."
"Stability and reputation are the only kinds of wealth that last. They'll let you sleep better at night. Not this… clinging to a secret identity for some shred of inner peace."
Tony didn't go solemn at those words. He slipped right back into his playboy persona, sauntering over to the mirror beside the bar to check himself out.
"Are the bags under my eyes really that bad?"
He was deflecting with humor, and Batman played along, nodding seriously.
"Pretty bad."
The slight tension that had filled the room eased a little. Tony turned back to Batman.
"I'll think about what you said… Actually, I've been thinking nonstop these past few weeks about concrete transformation plans—and about how to balance the two identities."
"I believe you'll make the right choice, Tony," Batman said.
Tony Stark is lying. The poisoning has already begun, and he can't keep wearing the Iron Man suit long-term. That suit that's supposed to protect him will end up killing him.
Leaving Stark Tower, Batman didn't swing by the neighboring building to retrieve the Arkham battlesuit he'd stashed there. Instead, he drove straight toward Oscorp.
Thanks to the new medical module, the Arkham battlesuit had already constructed a complete physiological model of Tony Stark. Batman could clearly see the damaged blood vessels spreading out from Tony's chest.
Palladium poisoning had already claimed half his torso, but as long as Tony didn't abuse the suit and the miniaturized reactor, his life wasn't in immediate danger.
Tony wasn't Robin—Batman couldn't just sit him down and lecture him for an hour. All he could do was guide him with words.
Fortunately, Tony wasn't addicted to the power the Mark III gave him. On the contrary, Batman could tell that Tony Stark was currently trapped in the greatest spiritual crisis of his life.
He didn't know which way to go. He didn't know how to reconcile the playboy billionaire Tony with the deadly serious superhero Iron Man. He didn't know what he was supposed to do next.
Tony himself wasn't even sure anymore which version of him was the real one—the flippant trillionaire heir or the grave superhero.
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