Chapter 150: Freebie
"Any injury."
Lynn looked directly at Fury.
"If someone is dying, I'll save them."
"Any injury?"
Fury narrowed his eye.
"Within my capabilities."
The answer was calm.
Confident.
Absolute.
Fury fell silent again.
Ten full seconds passed.
His mind rapidly evaluated the offer.
Medical support.
Emergency intervention.
A guaranteed lifesaving service from the most outrageous doctor on Earth.
Compared to that, a single warehouse suddenly didn't seem quite so expensive.
Finally, Fury spoke.
"Deal."
"Excellent."
Lynn immediately signed the transfer documents Fury handed over.
Afterward, Fury folded his copy and tucked it into the inside pocket of his trench coat.
He turned toward the elevator.
Then paused.
"Lynn."
"Hm?"
"What exactly do you need this warehouse for?"
"Storage."
Fury stared.
"What are you storing?"
"Personal belongings."
The silence that followed was almost painful.
Fury stared at him for three seconds.
Then gave up.
The elevator doors opened.
He stepped inside.
The doors closed.
And Lynn was finally left alone.
...
The underground warehouse became silent.
Lynn slowly looked around.
Over two thousand square meters of secured underground space.
Vibranium-reinforced structural supports.
Independent power generation.
Environmental controls.
Advanced ventilation systems.
Secure access points.
Located only twenty minutes from Miracle Clinic.
Perfect.
The clinic basement had long since become inadequate.
Alien technology.
Biological samples.
Research materials.
The amount of equipment under his control continued growing.
He needed a proper laboratory.
A real one.
As he stood there, a complete renovation blueprint was already taking shape inside his mind.
...
Construction began the following day.
The first person Lynn contacted was Tony Stark.
The call connected almost immediately.
"Mr. Stark."
Tony sounded suspicious.
"Whenever you call me first, something expensive usually follows."
"You mentioned wanting me to optimize the Anti-God Armor."
"Correct."
Tony immediately sat up straighter.
"Although you already solved the phase-drift problem yesterday."
"That was a minor issue."
Lynn's tone remained calm.
"I'm talking about redesigning the entire energy architecture."
There was silence.
Then:
"...The entire architecture?"
"Correct."
"Core energy routing."
"Shield efficiency."
"Power distribution."
"Conversion losses."
"The whole system."
Three seconds of silence followed.
Then Tony spoke again.
Much more carefully.
"You're willing to optimize all of it?"
"There are conditions."
"There it is."
Tony sighed.
"Tell me."
"My laboratory is being upgraded."
"I require equipment."
Tony already felt a headache coming.
"What equipment?"
"A Stark Industries quantum-precision fabrication platform."
"Three high-energy particle analyzers."
"And a complete material synthesis package based on your self-repairing nanotechnology."
Silence.
More silence.
Then:
"Do you know how much all of that costs?"
"Approximately three hundred million dollars."
"You think I'm a walking ATM?"
"Aren't you?"
Tony actually groaned.
The sound contained equal parts anger and helplessness.
Lynn continued.
"When the optimization is finished, your Anti-God Armor's performance will improve by at least forty percent."
Silence.
Tony began calculating immediately.
Forty percent.
For an ordinary machine, that number was impressive.
For a planetary-defense platform?
It was absurd.
"...When do you need the equipment?"
"Tomorrow."
"What?!"
"The day after tomorrow is acceptable."
Tony hung up.
...
The equipment arrived the next day.
Three Stark Industries heavy transport vehicles entered the warehouse complex.
More than twenty engineers spent the entire day installing the systems.
Every crate contained a handwritten note.
The message was identical.
You owe me.
— T.S.
Lynn folded one of the notes.
Then placed it neatly inside a drawer.
Afterward, he contacted Bruce Wayne.
The message was straightforward.
"Mr. Wayne, you once expressed interest in understanding the energy-conversion mechanisms of Kryptonian cells under yellow-sun radiation."
"I happen to possess relevant research data."
Bruce replied almost immediately.
"What do you want?"
"My laboratory requires a third-generation WayneTech Bio-Genetic Analysis System."
A brief pause.
"That system costs one hundred seventy million dollars."
Lynn's response appeared instantly.
"Wayne Enterprises earned over twenty-three billion dollars in net profit last year."
"One hundred seventy million isn't exactly catastrophic."
Bruce ignored the remark.
Instead, he focused on the important issue.
"What data are you offering?"
Lynn listed the contents.
"Energy absorption curves for Kryptonian cells under multiple solar wavelengths."
"A three-dimensional structural model of their mitochondrial analogues."
"And a complete solar-energy-to-kinetic-output conversion function."
Five seconds passed.
Then Bruce replied.
"Delivery tomorrow."
"Send the warehouse address."
Lynn did.
...
On the third day, WayneTech's equipment arrived.
Installation proceeded smoothly.
At least on the surface.
Because during installation, Lynn noticed something interesting.
Several hidden devices had been integrated into the equipment.
Miniature tracking modules.
Data-transmission systems.
Extremely sophisticated.
Typical Batman.
Lynn said nothing.
After the installation team left, he entered the laboratory.
Two hours later.
Every tracker had been removed.
Every transmitter had been extracted.
Not destroyed.
Not damaged.
Removed.
One by one.
At the molecular level.
Each component remained fully functional.
The collection was placed inside a small container.
The container was shipped directly to Wayne Tower.
Attached was a handwritten note.
Here you go.
Try not to hide them next time.
— L
...
Gotham City.
Batcave.
Bruce opened the package.
Inside lay every tracking device.
Perfectly arranged.
Perfectly intact.
Bruce read the note once.
Then read it again.
"Alfred."
"Yes, sir?"
"He found all of them."
Alfred looked into the container.
"Every tracker?"
"Every single one."
Bruce picked up one of the devices.
"No damage."
"No destruction."
"They were removed cleanly."
Alfred examined the components.
"That suggests he knew where they were."
Bruce shook his head.
"More than that."
He held up one tracker.
"The devices were embedded inside internal circuitry."
"Several were no larger than pinheads."
"He removed them individually."
"Without damaging surrounding structures."
"His precision is far beyond what I originally estimated."
Alfred remained silent.
Then asked:
"Sir, if you expected him to discover them, why install them in the first place?"
Bruce placed the tracker back into the box.
"A test."
"What kind of test?"
"I wanted to see how he would respond."
"And?"
Bruce tapped the note.
"He dismantled them."
"Returned them."
"Left a message."
"He didn't destroy them."
"He didn't pretend not to notice them."
"He acknowledged them."
Alfred nodded thoughtfully.
Bruce continued.
"The response communicates three things."
"First."
"I know you're watching."
"Second."
"Your surveillance methods are ineffective."
"Third."
"I'm not offended."
Bruce paused.
"Just don't do it again."
Alfred smiled faintly.
"A rather elegant way of delivering the message."
Bruce stared at the note.
Then quietly muttered:
"He's always in control."
"Always."
...
Tony Stark received a similar package.
His tracking systems had actually been more sophisticated than Bruce's.
Nano-scale signal relay particles.
Embedded inside cooling-circulation channels.
Hidden throughout the fabrication platform.
Every single one had been removed.
The attached note read:
Your nanoparticles contain impurities.
Try synthesizing them again using the formula I gave you.
— L
Tony stared at the note.
His expression became increasingly complicated.
"JARVIS."
"Yes, sir?"
"He identified impurities in my nanoparticles?"
"Based on Dr. Lynn's previous demonstrations of analytical capability, that conclusion is not unexpected, sir."
Tony leaned back.
Then rubbed his forehead.
"Is he a human being?"
"Or a microscope?"
"I would advise against pursuing that question, sir."
Tony snorted.
Then crumpled the note.
Threw it into a wastebasket.
Three seconds later, he stood up.
Retrieved the note.
Smoothed it out.
And carefully placed it inside a folder.
The label on the folder read:
L
Tony stared at it for several moments.
A realization slowly formed.
He had the strange feeling that he and Bruce Wayne were doing exactly the same thing.
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