Chapter 271: Will Tony Stark Still Become Iron Man?
The sudden gust of wind blew the glasses from the hands of Tony and Obadiah, leaving them falling awkwardly onto the sofa.
Fortunately, the wind settled quickly, and the two scrambled back to their feet, staring toward the balcony in shock. The floor-to-ceiling glass there had already shattered completely.
But neither Tony nor Obadiah cared about the broken glass, because two strangers had appeared before them.
A young man and a young woman.
The chandelier on the ceiling had not gone out from the wind, and under its light, Tony and Obadiah clearly saw what they looked like. They were very young, and their first impression was height. The girl was over 1.7 meters tall, perhaps close to 1.8, while the boy was nearly 1.9 meters. His body was broad and strong, but not bulky. Most importantly, a highly suspicious scarlet energy was circling around the girl.
The young pair's eyes and expressions were filled with anger, and it seemed to be aimed entirely at them.
"Sir, the security team has received the alert and is on its way. I have already sent an alarm to the New York Police Department..." Jarvis began, but before it could finish, its tone changed. "My apologies, sir. The message I sent was intercepted, and the entire security team has lost consciousness."
"Thanks, Jarvis." Tony could not help rolling his eyes. What wonderful news.
Perhaps his only hope was the MK armor, but the armor was in the underground parking laboratory, and suiting up took time. Would these two uninvited guests give him that time? Or could Obadiah delay them for him?
Tony glanced at Obadiah's fat, sturdy figure. If they were ordinary people, maybe there was a chance. But after another look at the unfriendly girl surrounded by scarlet energy, that possibility vanished.
So Tony spoke first, trying to understand the situation through conversation. "Ahem. Hey, let's not hurt anyone if we don't have to. I can give you anything you want."
"If you're here for money, both of us have plenty."
Tony surrendered smoothly, following his instincts without hesitation. After all, his life was very valuable. If this was a kidnapping for ransom, then that would actually be the best news. There were not many people in the world richer than him and Obadiah, and if he could buy his life with money, that was nothing at all.
Unfortunately, Tony's words had the opposite effect, because the people standing before him were Wanda and Pietro from the former Sokovia.
"You're very rich?"
Pietro said nothing, gritting his teeth as the anger in his eyes grew stronger. Wanda was the one who spoke, her quiet voice sweeping over Tony and Obadiah like a freezing winter wind.
Very good. They were doomed.
"Sir, I have detected an increase in anger from this lady and gentleman."
"Shut up, Jarvis. I don't need narration right now."
Tony's heart trembled. Did he really need Jarvis to tell him that? Was he blind?
"Okay. Is there some kind of misunderstanding between us?" Tony asked carefully.
Wanda walked forward, with Pietro following behind her. Under Tony and Obadiah's tense gazes, the two came to a stop in front of them. Wanda looked at Tony's face—a face she would never forget.
She had once seen Tony as her enemy.
But now, things were different.
Because Wanda knew the truth.
Even so, that face still annoyed her no matter how she looked at it.
Her gaze shifted from Tony to Obadiah. Under Obadiah's confused and frightened stare, she said one word—a word that made both Obadiah and Tony's expressions change greatly.
"Sokovia."
"Sokovia?" Tony repeated in shock.
This was a name he had never even heard before in the past, but now it rang in his ears like thunder.
As for Obadiah, the moment he heard that word, his fat, sturdy body began to tremble. His lips shook, and fear filled his eyes.
It was them.
They had come for him.
They had come to settle accounts.
"So you both still remember." Wanda tilted her head slightly.
In the next instant, an invisible pressure suddenly fell on Obadiah and Tony, heavy as a mountain, making them feel as if they could not breathe.
"P-please, don't kill me. I'm willing to atone. I'll give you all my wealth. I have money—lots of money."
Obadiah's face turned red. Breathing had become very difficult, but his desire to live still overcame his fear, and he forced the words out, hoping this would make them spare him.
But fear had already ruined his ability to think clearly. He had forgotten the mistake Tony had just made.
Never mention money.
"You have a lot of money? Ah, yes. I know."
Wanda reached out gently, almost tenderly, and an invisible force grabbed Obadiah out of thin air, pulling him closer. His body bent forward until his eyes were level with hers.
Wanda's beautiful eyes reflected Obadiah's large, terrified face.
Then she spoke, each word exposing the reason for his fear.
"With your smuggling, with the missiles you sold, and with your dirty methods, you bribed and turned Sokovia, leaving it trapped in endless war."
"Your missiles destroyed countless Sokovian homes and countless Sokovian lives."
"And none of you ever cared."
Wanda was no longer a child, and her way of thinking was no longer naive.
She also understood clearly that these arms dealers had only sold weapons.
Originally, the people Wanda hated should not have been Obadiah and Tony.
But that was true for Tony, not Obadiah.
Obadiah represented the military-industrial interest group led by America. To earn money from weapons and seize resources, they had secretly driven Sokovia's wars from behind the scenes. They were the ones who made rebel forces and the government clash again and again.
Only while the war continued could they smuggle and sell weapons, then take the chance to buy up Sokovia's already scarce resources at the lowest possible price.
Because of their profits, Wanda's parents—and Sokovia itself—had suffered through years of war.
"My brother and I were victims under your string of numbers, and there are countless others like us."
"So you, and everyone involved, can forget about dying well. Even after death, I'll throw your souls into the deepest part of hell, where endless hellfire will burn you for a thousand years, ten thousand years."
At this, Wanda smiled.
She smiled happily, even pleasantly.
The instructors had never said it outright, but many things were revealed through the details of their teachings. Cause and effect meant that every cause would have a result, and every evil act would bring punishment.
If there was a grudge, repay it. Never let yourself be trapped in pointless suffering while your enemies enjoyed life.
Obadiah and the people behind him had never treated others as human beings, only as numbers. Then Wanda had no need to treat them as human either.
So Wanda acted.
A scarlet glow filled her eyes as she gently raised her hand. The floor cracked, and from those cracks, even though the flooring was not thick, terrifying flames rose upward. Obadiah floated above the fire like a pig being roasted over charcoal.
But what burned was not his body.
It was his soul.
Obadiah's face twisted with pain, agony, and fear that would not fade.
"This is the place I carefully chose for you. Enjoy it slowly."
Within the crimson hellfire, hands that looked like they belonged to demons rose out and grabbed Obadiah's feet. He struggled in terror, but in the end, he was dragged down little by little into the abyss.
Beyond that abyss was hell.
A hell where Obadiah could never escape—and could never die.
Tony stood with his mouth open, his face full of horror, watching a living person like Obadiah be dragged into the floor.
His brain told him this was impossible.
It violated the laws of physics.
But his eyes told him physics no longer existed.
The visual shock was obvious. Luckily, Tony had a strong heart. Otherwise, he might have been scared to death on the spot.
Then Wanda's gaze shifted to him, and Tony shivered despite himself, his expression turning strange—afraid, flattering, and rather ridiculous all at once.
"I-I didn't do any of this. He hid all of it from me. I only found out after investigating him recently, and I was planning to find a chance to get rid of him."
"And yes, the money from his smuggling was sent into my account too, but I marked all of it. You know I don't need to make money that way."
Tony kept talking, spilling out a long string of words.
Wanda and Pietro quietly watched his performance.
Their expressions went from cold, to frowning, and finally to helplessness.
This guy had actually talked for several minutes without repeating himself.
At last, the twins looked at each other. Wanda impatiently snapped her fingers and forced Tony's mouth shut.
"Mmph, mmph."
Tony realized he could no longer speak. His eyes widened, but when he saw Wanda's angry expression, he immediately shut up and nodded, looking obedient.
Seeing a man in his thirties make that kind of face made Wanda feel disgusted.
"What do we do?" Pietro asked, looking at his sister.
Wanda stared at Tony for a long time before finally sighing. "He didn't lie. I confirmed it from Obadiah's memories and from his."
"This guy is arrogant and wild, but he really isn't evil. He never used his wealth or power to commit evil acts."
Wanda felt deeply frustrated.
She still remembered, down to the bone, the Stark Industries missile that had fallen into her home.
The fear, tension, and helplessness she and Pietro had felt every second back then would never be forgotten.
They had once seen Tony as their enemy. Day and night, they had longed for revenge.
But now the truth told her that the man she and Pietro had hated truly had little to do with Sokovia's suffering.
His only mistake was that he was an arms dealer.
He had developed those weapons.
At her core, Wanda was kind. From Tony's memories, she could feel that this reckless playboy had investigated Obadiah and, while following that trail, discovered the suffering Sokovia had endured.
She felt his guilt.
She also "saw" that this guy had secretly spent a large amount of money, hoping to help Sokovia's orphans.
But because Terra had been established and no longer accepted aid, he had simply thrown money all over the world instead.