Ten minutes later, Adam stood by the window, watching as Tony exited the main gate below. A flicker of contemplation crossed his gaze.
"Could it be that so force is clouding Tony's thoughts? Otherwise, as one of the smartest minds in Marvel, how could he not think of this?"
"But if I were to enlighten him, would I risk catching the attention of so greater power?"
After a mont's consideration, a peculiar smile crept onto Adam's lips, as though he had thought of sothing amusing.
.........
At Tony's seaside mansion in New York~
When Tony returned ho, he imdiately began assembling a transforr to modify his ho's electrical current to suit his magnetic device.
Although he had resolved the issue of palladium poisoning, he wasn't about to abandon his search for a new elent. Using household electricity was rely a stopgap to mitigate the imdiate danger.
Deep down, he still longed to don the Iron Man suit whenever he wished.
Without imminent danger, Tony found himself easing into a more responsible version of himself.
Later that evening, when Pepper returned ho and noticed Tony—who, for once, wasn't out throwing wild parties—she felt a strange sense of unease.
"Tony, are you feeling okay? And... why is there a wire sticking out of your chest?"
Tony glanced up from his workbench.
"Oh, this? It's, uh, a new gadget. Sothing I've been working on. Yeah, that's it."
Setting down his tools, Tony walked over and pulled Pepper into a warm embrace.
"You've been looking a bit pale lately. Are you tired?"
Hearing this unexpected concern, Pepper felt a surge of emotion, her eyes turning red. She quickly turned away, unwilling to show her vulnerability.
"What's gotten into you? You're acting... strange. Oh, and no parties tonight?"
"No more parties. Not unless you give the go-ahead," Tony said with a sheepish grin.
"Good. Then it's settled. No more parties without my approval.
And another thing—no more excessive suits. They're dangerous, and you make too many of them."
Pepper's frustration with Tony's suits was evident. While she understood their purpose, they consud vast resources and put him in constant danger.
Tony hesitated but eventually nodded.
"Okay, I promise."
With no imdiate life-threatening issues, Tony's love for Pepper deepened. Reflecting on his reckless behavior over the past few months, even he felt ashad.
Most people would have walked away, but Pepper stayed. She stood by him in his darkest monts, even after he was ousted from the board of directors last year.
As emotions swelled between them, they shared a passionate kiss.
*Crash!*
The sound of shattering glass broke the mont.
Turning toward the source, they saw Bruce Banner standing at the top of the stairs, looking utterly flustered.
"Uh... sorry. I just ca down to grab so water. You two... carry on."
Embarrassed, Banner retreated upstairs in haste.
The interruption effectively ended the couple's intimate mont.
......
A short while later, Tony knocked on Bruce's door.
"Co in."
Tony stepped in, his gaze landing on the tissue-littered floor. He frowned slightly.
"Still no word from Elizabeth?"
"No. Her father must have hidden her away sowhere."
Bruce's expression darkened. He had recently tried reconnecting with Elizabeth, only to find her missing. Her father's involvent was obvious.
"But even without finding Elizabeth, I've made new discoveries about the bug-human hybrids. Their genes seem to contain a primitive insect code that allows them to morph into any insect form."
Tony thought back to his earlier encounters with the hybrids and their vastly different mutations.
"Interesting. Can you trace the source of this code?"
Bruce shook his head. "That's a tall order—I'm no entomologist."
"Then it looks like we'll need to hire one."
Their conversation was interrupted by Pepper calling from downstairs.
"Hey, you two. You might want to see this breaking news."
The three gathered in the living room, eyes fixed on the TV.
"Osborn Corporation has been exposed for researching a zombie virus. Crowds have gathered outside their headquarters in protest."
The screen cut to footage of protesters wielding signs and chanting slogans:
"Down with Osborn Corporation!"
"Osborns are the root of all evil!"
"Boycott Osborn—the worst capitalists on Earth!"
Tony shook his head after watching for a mont.
"Looks like Osborn's in serious trouble."
.......
anwhile, atop the Osborn Corporation building, Norman Osborn gazed down at the angry mob below, his anxiety palpable.
"Who could have leaked this information?"
Monts later, his secretary burst in, panic etched on her face.
"Mr. Osborn, the board of directors is demanding an explanation. They're gathering in the conference room."
"An explanation? It was their pressure that drove to this!"
Years of struggling against Umbrella Corporation's dominance had eroded Osborn Corporation's market share, forcing Norman to take drastic asures, including researching the zombie virus.
But before any breakthroughs could be made, the secret was out.
*Bang!*
Norman slamd his fist onto the desk.
"Whoever leaked this will pay!"
Just then, the door burst open, and a group of shareholders stord in.
"Norman, we've unanimously decided to remove you as chairman. Leave the building imdiately!"
Norman's gaze darkened. "You can't do this! This is 'my' company!"
"Not anymore. Soon it won't even be called Osborn Corporation!"
"What?" Norman froze.
The shareholders sneered, "We're rebranding. From now on, it'll be called
Advanced Enterprise."
Escorted out of the building by security, Norman's expression twisted into one of sheer hatred.
"I won't let anyone take my company from !!"
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