Chapter 158: I Have a Gift For You, Peter
"Me? I'm a philanthropist, playboy, business prodigy, genius engineer..."
Tony Stark's face showed an awkward expression looking at Batman.
"How would my self-perception be a WWE wrestler?"
WWE wrestlers were ostensibly professional competitors, but everyone secretly knew theatricality and drama defined this competition.
Tony Stark clearly understood this. His face showed displeasure, adopting a listening posture awaiting Batman's criticism.
Batman shook his head slightly. In this "Batman's" eyes—whose entire life consisted of countless plans—Tony Stark's plan was too idealistic.
His plan completely self-centered, brimming with drama but riddled with holes like a sieve.
Regardless, Tony Stark qualified as one of Batman's friends in this world under the "Peter Parker" identity. He wouldn't stand idly by.
"Tony, you're waiting for Obadiah to come steal it. This means initiative rests in his hands."
"You believe he'll act as you imagine—alone taking your reactor, then conveniently leaving you in place, awaiting your Plan B execution?"
"If Obadiah's sufficiently cautious, he'll dispatch assassins and mercenaries rather than personally acting."
Tony Stark paused, looking at Batman with mouth opening and closing, unable to produce a sentence for half the day.
"One more point, Tony." Batman continued supplementing. "You assume his armor is merely a crude Mark I replica, but you've overlooked Yuri Petrovich and those prototype weapons in Stark Industries warehouses that should have been destroyed."
"Obadiah lacks technical skills, but he can pile on materials. His armor will be a mobile fortress of firepower and protection."
Tony Stark adjusted his tie to relieve embarrassment. His initial plan had indeed been overly idealistic and dramatic. These two holes Batman identified were genuinely problems he hadn't considered.
But Tony Stark wouldn't admit it. Instead, he directly changed subjects, gazing intensely at Batman.
"Peter, tell me honestly. Do you have some other identity secretly?"
"I never mentioned Yuri Petrovich working for Obadiah to you."
Batman remained completely unruffled. His mention of Yuri Petrovich's name just now wasn't an oversight whatsoever.
"Tony, Professor Yuri Petrovich is one of Empire State University's few Russian professors. And I'm an Empire State University student."
Tony Stark threw up both hands, defending himself.
"The plan I just mentioned was only a preliminary plan, not yet refined by JARVIS."
Batman remained silent several seconds, looking at Tony Stark.
"Can you trust me, Tony?"
Tony Stark looked toward Batman. His face rarely showed such solemnity for a moment.
"You're one of the few people in this world I genuinely trust, Peter."
Batman nodded, bluntly making requests.
"I need to make some modifications to your reactor."
"Now?" Tony asked.
"Now. How long can your reactor support being removed from your body?" Batman asked.
"If I don't engage in vigorous movement accelerating blood flow, five minutes is no problem," Tony Stark said.
Both were action-oriented. They immediately returned from the helipad to Stark Tower's top floor workbench.
"The plan's highest risk point lies in the instant the reactor gets seized."
Having Tony Stark lie in a chair, Batman removed the reactor from his chest.
"You have two fatal assumptions: First, Obadiah will only steal the reactor without killing you on the spot;"
"Second, will Obadiah personally wear the armor he's building, or will he assign someone else?"
"Therefore, we must install a tracking system on the bait, ensuring even if Obadiah flees piloting the armor, we can locate him."
Just as Tony Stark had thought when meeting Batman after returning from the Middle East—Batman didn't plan designing plans step-by-step for Tony Stark but directly utilizing Tony's existing plan.
He'd continued Tony Stark's plan luring Obadiah into seizing the reactor. This plan's overall direction had no issues.
The reactor sustained Tony Stark's life. Obadiah stealing it constituted attempted murder, greatly helping uproot Obadiah along with AIAS Security completely.
"Peter, you don't learn this stuff in school," Tony Stark said, lying motionless in the chair.
"But Tony, the plan's failure risk means you might die because of it," Batman looked at Tony Stark. "Based on that premise, I must consider every possibility."
Tony Stark immediately ceased speaking, closing his eyes silently contemplating something.
But before his eyes remained closed two seconds, Batman's voice made him open them again.
"You need keeping your eyes open. Let me know you're still alive."
Batman shook the reactor removed from Tony Stark's chest.
Tony Stark rolled his eyes, looking upward at the ceiling entering rare contemplative time.
What Batman was doing was quite simple—merely installing an even more miniature tracking device within the miniature reactor, ensuring even if portions emerged outside the plan, he could still lock onto Obadiah's armor's hiding place.
As for Tony's personal safety, the timing when the reactor gets seized—these belonged to separate plans.
"Peter," Tony Stark spoke again. "You're still overlooking one point."
"What?"
Batman reinstalled the reactor into Tony Stark's chest while asking.
"I said our situations are both quite dangerous," Tony Stark said. "After returning from the Middle East, I built new armor protecting myself. But you possess no means of self-protection whatsoever."
Batman looked at Tony Stark.
"I have a gift for you," Tony Stark said. "JARVIS, record Peter's physical measurements."
He'd firmly decided to manufacture a defensive suit for Peter Parker as well.
But when Batman portrayed Peter Parker, his physique was deliberately adjusted, completely different from relaxed normal body measurements. And Batman had already vaguely guessed what Tony intended doing.
"I don't need it, Tony." Batman refused. "I'll protect myself."
Tony Stark treated that statement as background noise. He was already considering what color scheme to choose for Peter Parker's armor.
Suddenly, Tony had another thought. He recalled something else.
"Peter, did you contact the Silverfang rescue team that saved me through Batman? What's your relationship with him?"