After stopping Dr. Banner from blurting out the rest of that sentence—
Joker Eren turned to Bucky and said, "Due to certain reasons, I'll need to leave Earth for a while. From now on, he will be taking over management of the new company. Just treat him like you'd treat me."
He.
When he heard those words, Bucky paused briefly—then understood exactly who Joker Eren was referring to.
Thanks to his mental imprint—
Bucky was perhaps the person who understood the connection between Eren and the Joker the best.
Though he was curious why his boss had to leave, Bucky didn't ask too many questions.
He simply nodded.
"Good."
Seeing that, Joker Eren nodded in satisfaction and added, "The potion's power in your body has almost fully digested by now. He'll help you finish refining it and push you toward advancement."
"Of course, whether or not you take the next vial is up to you."
"Advancement, huh…" Bucky murmured, glancing at his still-incomplete arm. After a moment, he said firmly, "Understood. Once Alexander Pierce is dead and I've fulfilled my last wish—I'll take the next dose and complete the advancement."
Hearing that, Joker Eren nodded. Then, as if recalling something, he asked, "By the way, did that tape we sent make it to Alexander Pierce yet? Honestly, I'm really curious how he reacted when he saw that cute young lady."
"What a shame… if I weren't about to leave, I'd love to see how that girl has a heart-to-heart with Mr. Pierce."
Whether it was luck or coincidence—
Lately, whenever Joker Eren tried to target Alexander Pierce, the man was always conveniently away at meetings or traveling.
Again and again, he managed to dodge disaster.
So Joker Eren finally just told Bucky to mail Sadako's tape directly to Pierce.
········
Cute?
Young lady?
Hearing Eren describe that terrifying figure with such words made Bucky's mouth twitch uncontrollably.
Only his boss could describe that thing like that.
To Bucky, there wasn't a single part of that horrifying shadow that matched those words in the slightest.
Still—
Even Bucky, usually so calm, shivered at the memory of what he'd seen.
Back then, if his boss hadn't temporarily scattered that eerie shadow with some unknown power, even with his enhanced body, Bucky would've been dragged into that old well and torn to shreds.
Which was exactly why he held such deep fear for that entity.
To normal people, that ghost's powers were nearly unsolvable.
With her strength, not even ten Alexander Pierces could stop her.
The only thing left was to wait and see when Pierce would actually open the tape.
"Don't worry, Boss. I've already implanted suggestions and nudged his house staff and chefs using various means."
"I'm sure someone will soon remind him to watch that tape."
Joker Eren nodded and let out a regretful sigh.
To be honest, he was very curious to see how the leader of Hydra would react to a visit from Sadako.
Unfortunately—
He'd never get to witness that scene.
··············
After wrapping things up—
Joker Eren returned to the top floor of Miracle Tower.
But in the short time he was gone, a lot had already changed in New York.
Thor, God of Thunder, was now lying sprawled out on a large sofa, burping happily.
Nearby, the bar counter was littered with bottles of every size and shape.
"Hey, my friend! You're finally back!" Thor called out. "Let's go grab Jane first. Then I'll treat you to the finest mead in all of Asgard!"
While Joker Eren was being whisked off toward New Mexico by Thor to find his beloved—
...
At Hammer Industries' arms factory—
Justin Hammer was grabbing a bald engineer by the collar, growling, "Ten billion! I poured ten billion dollars into this project! And what do I get? Forty useless hunks of junk that can barely salute!"
"Do you know how much it cost Tony Stark to build one Iron Man suit? Less than five hundred million! With that, he built a real killing machine. And you—you burn through my budget and give me this crap?!"
The bald engineer, trembling as he looked at the malice on Justin Hammer's face, stammered, "I'm sorry, sir. I'm not Tony Stark…"
Honestly, comparing him to Stark was already generous.
And Justin Hammer knew that.
But this engineer was the best he could get his hands on.
"Trash!"
Hammer shoved the man aside with a snarl.
"I don't care about your excuses. I spent ten billion dollars on this project. You will give me results. That's in your contract. If not, I'll see you in court!"
"Hammer Industries has the best legal team in the world. Look up what happened to others who tried to go up against us."
With a cold snort, he straightened his suit and returned to his polished, sleazy appearance, striding out of the factory with four bodyguards.
After he left—
The bald engineer stood frozen for a long time, his head bowed.
If you looked closely, you'd see the fire of rage in his eyes.
"Why…"
"Why do you all keep comparing me to Tony Stark?"
"I've told you—I'm not him. So why keep pushing me… why…"
In the cold, empty factory, he stood silently for who knows how long—
Before finally driving home.
There, he stood before a warehouse and hesitated—before unlocking the door.
Despite being the top engineer at Hammer Industries, the warehouse was mostly empty.
In the center, on a lone metal frame, sat a ruined suit of armor—just a head and chest remained.
If Obadiah Stane were still alive, he'd recognize it immediately.
It was the prototype of the Iron Monger.
As the door opened—
The armor's eyes flickered with twin crimson lights.
Then, from within the helmet, a mechanical voice rang out:
"Heh, I knew you'd come find me."
The engineer's eyes twitched at that voice—but then he remembered the humiliation he'd suffered from both Obadiah and Justin Hammer.
In a firm voice, he said, "You were right. I've come. I won't lock you away this time. I'll build you the strongest body I can. But you'll help me perfect the suit's design—and the energy system. I know you replicated a miniature arc reactor before. This shouldn't be hard for you."
"Of course. That's our deal, isn't it? With those, we'll finally be able to take on Tony Stark—and his allies."
...
Half an hour later—
The bald engineer wheeled a cart into the Hammer Industries factory.
On it lay the battered suit—now only half a torso.
As he passed rows of upright steel armors—
Two crimson lights flickered to life beneath the tarp covering the ruined suit's head.
"I can feel it… the scent of machines."
The voice whispered.
At the same time—
Countless tiny components inside the armor's chest clicked together, forming a strange mechanical heart.
THUMP…
With each pulse, an invisible wave surged outward.
Every machine in the factory shivered in response.
"What was that sound?"
The engineer froze.
A moment later, he traced it to the cart.
He tore off the tarp and glared at the armor.
"Ivan Vanko. Don't play games. I swear, if you pull anything, I'll make sure you regret it."
Ivan Vanko.
That's right—
The consciousness inside the suit belonged to that madman who once attacked Tony Stark.
After being rescued by a dark mist, he reappeared in the engineer's home—
Only to be caught red-handed.
From the start, Vanko had tried to convince the engineer to build him a new body.
But suspicious of his origins, the engineer refused and locked him away.
He even cleared the warehouse to prevent sabotage—leaving only the damaged armor.
Yet now, it seemed… he needed him again.
"Is that so?"
A crazed laugh echoed from within the armor.
SHIK!
Before the engineer could react—
A sharp spike shot out from the broken arm and pierced straight through his skull.
Eyes wide in disbelief, the engineer stared down at the spike lodged from his neck into his brain.
"Why…"
"You said you wanted to fight Tony Stark with me…"
SHIK!
Vanko withdrew the spike, letting blood spray across the floor. Then he shoved the corpse aside.
From within the armor came a cold voice:
"Idiot."
"I'd rather trust the strength of machines over any of you humans."
As he spoke—
All the lined-up mechanical suits began to stir, their crimson eyes lighting up in unison.
"Yes… awaken, my children!"
With each throb of the mechanical heart—
Invisible energy surged in all directions.
All the machines in the factory suddenly opened their eyes.
"Excellent!"
Seeing the glowing red eyes—
Vanko burst into crazed laughter from within the armor.
It had all been worth it. All the power he had spent after his rebirth—just to forge the mechanical heart that that being had spoken of.
Otherwise, he wouldn't even have a body to call his own.
But now—
It had all paid off.
Thud-thud-thud…
With each heartbeat of the mechanical core—
Every machine in the factory began to evolve.
Transforming—
Into mechanical life.
One by one, deep within that quiet arms factory…
New mechanical lifeforms were being born.
(End of Chapter)
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