At charity auctions, it's not about the expensive items you bring, but how much people are willing to bid. No matter how valuable something is, if no one bids, it's embarrassing. Conversely, if something of little value sells for a sky-high price, it brings face.
As part of the warm-up session, Atreus 's "fake" sold for 3 million U.S. dollars, which was definitely an inflated price.
For a moment, Tony thought he was just doing Atreus a favor, but when he saw Atreus 's mysterious smile and looked closely at the gold bracelet in his hand, he couldn't help but blurt out, "Damn! This is real!"
His voice drew the attention of guests from several nearby tables.
"Is it real?" Pepper was also confused.
Tony's physical attributes might be average, but his intelligence and perception were absolutely extraordinary.
At first glance, he hadn't noticed anything, but once he held the bracelet, the faint divine aura became unmistakable.
Tony had only seen such an aura once before—on Thor.
Unfortunately, his perception only worked at close range, or he would never have bid 3 million for it earlier.
Now, it seemed that not only was 3 million not too much—it was actually a bit cheap.
Pepper whispered, "But the timeline doesn't match, right?"
Tony grimaced, "We'll talk about it later."
Gold can be tested for age using X-ray diffraction or atomic absorption spectrometry. Normally, it wouldn't be fake.
But for someone with the ability to open portals, this method was unreliable.
And yet, Atreus just threw an item into the auction, leaving Tony with no way to fix the situation.
To make things worse, Tony's auction item was about to be presented.
"Ladies and gentlemen, next is a donation from Mr. Tony Stark: the original Iron Man MK8 armor. For safety reasons, the flight system, weapons systems, and any sensitive technology have been removed. However, the exoskeleton system still allows the user to easily lift two tons of weight..."
Unexpectedly, as soon as the bidding started at $500,000, Atreus immediately raised the stakes.
"12.5 million!"
The room fell silent.
Honestly, if it were a full version of Iron Man's suit, competitors might have paid a high price to take it back for research.
But with Iron Man now on the MK42 model, this early tech wasn't all that valuable, especially with so many critical systems removed.
Even Hammer Industries' drones had an average production cost of $100 million, and that price could drop with mass production.
In short, the exoskeleton system alone wasn't worth the money—this MK8 was just a big toy.
Yet Atreus 's generous bid left Tony both surprised and touched.
To everyone else, Tony seemed like a billionaire with money to burn, but in reality, he was recently strapped for cash. First, his Stark Tower in Manhattan was heavily damaged, and then his California mansion was destroyed by Aldrich.
Rebuilding both would cost a fortune.
On top of that, those who suffered losses in the Battle of New York were all pointing fingers at Tony for his involvement in the destruction.
After all, most superheroes left after the fight, but Tony, as Iron Man, was left facing public scrutiny.
To make matters worse, someone had filed a lawsuit against Tony for compensation based on footage of the battle. Even with an army of Stark Industries lawyers, there were just too many claimants.
In the U.S., where case law is king, once someone wins a case against Tony, a thousand more will follow.
Atreus 's high bid for Tony's "toy" counted as a donation in Tony's name, which would undoubtedly improve his public image.
Tony cast a grateful look at Atreus —this guy was solid!
He could already imagine Atreus using his media connections to spin the story to Tony's advantage.
Atreus 's million-dollar donation quickly drew the attention of numerous admirers. He had strategically brought Wonder Woman as his companion to hold the spotlight, and her noble aura and strong presence deterred many. Still, some bold women found excuses to introduce themselves, slipping him their phone numbers on little notes.
Even Atreus didn't expect that one day he would be overshadowed by someone else.
Suddenly, the lights in the venue dimmed.
Even though the backup power kicked in within seconds, a woman's scream pierced the air, signaling that something was wrong.
"Ah—"
"Look! What is that?"
Following the direction of the pointed finger, everyone saw a glowing fireball descending from the New York sky.
Those with sharp eyesight could tell it wasn't a meteor—the slow speed and rhythmic flickering indicated something unnatural.
Tony and Atreus exchanged glances, both seeing confusion in the other's eyes.
Just then, all the TV screens in the venue were hijacked. The original signals were cut off, replaced by static.
But within the static, a humanoid figure emerged.
A deep, mechanical voice echoed from the screen, not in just one language, but seemingly adjusting to the local language of each viewer.
"You are not alone..."
"I am General Zod."
"I come from a distant planet."
"I have crossed the vastness of space to find you. You are sheltering one of my people. Now, I demand that you hand him over to me."
"For some reason, he has chosen to hide his existence from you. He has tried to blend in, to appear like one of you. But he is not human. If anyone knows his whereabouts, your planet's fate is in your hands."
"Kal-El! Do you hear me?"
"Surrender within 24 hours! Or let the entire Earth face the consequences!"
The ominous message ended, and the oppressive atmosphere disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.
With the shadow of the Battle of New York still looming, General Zod's announcement easily reignited the crowd's fear.
Without a word, everyone's eyes turned to the one superhero in the room—Iron Man, Tony Stark.
Tony wasn't surprised by the attention but was annoyed. Why was Atreus staring at him too? Could Zod be his doing?
Atreus seemed to read Tony's mind. Although his name was Atreus Stubborn as Kryptonite Wayne, this "Kryptonian" wasn't the same one.
With a smile, Atreus rested his hand on Wonder Woman's shoulder. "Sorry, they're looking for one person. I've got a whole team here."
Tony rolled his eyes. "Great, so it's not him after all."
Tony wouldn't forget the trio from the time Kratos brought out his Greek war chariot. That beautiful woman must be one of them.
As Tony pondered, his old friend Colonel James Rhodes immediately called him. "Tony, looks like the Avengers need to assemble again."
(End of chapter)