After Carnage crashed to the ground, Robert gave him a deep look. He quickly noticed that Carnage was rapidly suppressing his aura, not so much to hide his strength, but to concentrate his power and heal his injuries. At the same time, Robert could clearly see a cold glint in Carnage's eyes. It was evident that Carnage hadn't truly surrendered; he was merely trying to buy some time to recover from his injuries, realizing that he might not last much longer against Robert.
"He hasn't given up," Martian Manhunter's voice echoed in Robert's ear, causing Robert to smile. To Carnage, that smile appeared particularly terrifying.
With a loud "bang," Carnage, who had barely begun to heal, found himself once again flying through the air. The pain coursing through his body made him consider giving up for real this time.
Meanwhile, in the James family hotel, Reed Richards and Ben Grimm had been staying there for some time. They had considered leaving, but no matter what excuse they came up with, James wouldn't let them go. In fact, the investment mogul James, despite his influence, hadn't left their side since arriving, aside from a brief visit to Stark Industries to settle a debt.
What Reed and Ben didn't know was that James's clinginess was directly related to his encounter at Stark Industries. The visit had been surprisingly straightforward—James didn't even get to meet Tony Stark, current CEO Pepper Potts, or even Happy, the most inept bodyguard he had encountered before. A mid-level Stark Industries employee had quickly dismissed James, making it clear that the multimillion-dollar sum he was after was trivial to them.
The stark contrast between their situations had only strengthened James's resolve to stay close to Reed and Ben. He was determined to leverage his connection to them to meet Tony Stark and perhaps forge a closer relationship—even if it meant groveling for a photo or clinging to any financial ties between his business and Stark Industries. If he could just get a picture with Stark and some records of their financial dealings, James could expand his network and markets, much like how Justin Hammer once rode Stark's coattails.
Unfortunately for James, this was all in his head. Reed and Ben had never mentioned anything about the Avengers. They simply said that Tony Stark admired Reed's talent and wanted to give him an opportunity to showcase his potential. Thus, James waited, hoping that Tony Stark would contact Reed, either to visit them or to have them visit Stark. Whatever the case, James planned to tag along and had even concocted reasons to justify sticking to Reed and Ben like glue.
What James didn't expect, however, was the arrival of two Iron Man suits instead of Tony Stark himself.
When Jarvis, who was controlling the suits, notified Reed and Ben, James learned that someone was being sent by Stark. But seeing two empty suits instead of Stark left him dumbfounded.
"Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, you may enter," Jarvis's voice broke through James's stupor as the suits opened, inviting Reed and Ben inside. This only confused James further. He had half-expected Tony Stark to step out of one of the suits, but when they opened to reveal nothing, it became clear that the suits were merely there to pick up Reed and Ben. Stark wasn't coming.
This realization crushed James's hopes of meeting Stark. All his careful planning now seemed like a waste. But what could he do? He hadn't dared to confront Stark's staff before, and he certainly didn't have the guts or the capability to challenge Stark's technology now.
"Mr. James, we'll be leaving now," Ben called out from within the suit, hesitating as he glanced at James. Despite knowing that James had been holding them there against their will, Ben felt it was polite to bid him farewell, given that their stay had been comfortable, with plenty of good food, sleep, and leisure.
"Ah, yes! Safe travels…" James snapped back to reality, his expression stiff as he watched the suit close, cutting off his view of Ben.
"Mr. James, goodbye," Reed added, taking a deep breath as he spoke to James before his suit also closed.
"Wait!" James suddenly shouted as he rushed forward, signaling his men with a look.
However, his men were puzzled. Did he really expect them to stop two Iron Man suits? These were Stark's suits, after all, and they had no weapons capable of breaching them. Even the bootleg suits that had started to appear recently couldn't be taken down by normal firearms.
Seeing his men's reluctance, James scowled and turned back to Reed's suit, asking, "This might be the last time we meet. Could I take a picture with you as a memento?"
"Uh, sure, but I can't control the suit, so I don't know how to open the faceplate…" Reed replied apologetically, realizing he couldn't manipulate the suit to take a proper photo.
"No problem, a picture like this will do!" James, undeterred by Reed's apology, grew more excited. He quickly grabbed Reed's suit's hand with one hand and wrapped his arm around its neck, glaring at his still-bewildered men. "What are you waiting for? Take the picture! Don't waste Mr. Richards' time!"
"Yes, yes!" his men hurriedly fumbled with their phones, snapping photos from various angles.
"Would you like a picture with Ben too?" Reed asked after noticing the men had finished.
"No need, one with you is enough. I wish you all the best! Goodbye…" James, now in a great mood, waved Reed off with a smile.
"Goodbye then. We can depart now…" Reed murmured to himself within the suit.
The next moment, both suits lifted off simultaneously, leaving James and his men staring after them in envy. Flying through the air was a dream humans had chased for millennia. Even though Reed and Ben were only flying because of Stark's suits, they were still living the dream of countless people.
And, of course, the suits were a symbol of masculinity and power. If they could, James and his men would love to be the ones inside. But for them, the suits were as unreachable as another world, one they could never touch…
"Not completely out of reach!" James snapped out of his thoughts after a while, a hopeful smile on his face as he turned to his men. "Show me those photos. Let's pick the best one for our promotional materials."
"Boss, I think this one… huh? Where are the photos?"
"I think mine… wait! They're gone?"
Before James could reach them, one by one, his men cried out in shock. His expression darkened as he rushed to their sides, snatching their phones only to find the photos completely wiped, as if they had never been taken.
But James had seen the flash. How could it be that none of them got a single shot?
"Damn it! What kind of trick is this? Tony Stark, are you really not going to give me even a single chance?" James growled, clenching his teeth as he stared in the direction where Reed and Ben had disappeared.
But James's anger at Tony Stark was misplaced. Stark was completely unaware of the situation. This was all Jarvis's doing. With Jarvis's capabilities, erasing the photos from those phones was a trivial task.
Of course, Jarvis hadn't initially intended to do this. It was Reed and Ben's conversation that prompted him to act.
"Ben, didn't he say he wanted a photo for memories? Why did he only take one with me? And he seemed to deliberately keep us apart…" Reed mused aloud, puzzled after the initial excitement of the flight wore off.
"You're so smart when it comes to science, but you really don't get people, do you?" Ben sighed, shaking his head as he explained, "He didn't want a photo for memories. He wanted a photo with Stark. Why do you think he kept us at the hotel? He's trying to get close to Stark."
"Since Stark didn't show up, he couldn't make that connection. So, he figured pretending you were Iron Man in photos would be the next best thing. It's his way of saving face and maybe even profiting from it later."
"Isn't that damaging to Stark's reputation?" Reed frowned, muttering to himself.
"He wouldn't say anything publicly. He'd just show the photos to his business contacts. Without going public, who would bother Stark over something like this?" Ben replied casually.
But Jarvis, upon hearing this conversation, realized that James's actions were indeed infringing on Stark's interests. Without even informing Stark, Jarvis took it upon himself to delete all the photos from James's men's phones.
From now on, James would have no opportunity to connect with Tony Stark or Stark Industries. Jarvis's little trick effectively shattered James's dreams and ambitions at the root.
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