Marvel's female superheroine travels through multiple worlds

If a lion wants to rule the grasslands, it cannot do so by itself alone; it needs many partners and comrades.

Tony kept dozing off listening to these long-winded speeches.

At the same time, he also knew very well that if Lulu were still by his side, these people would not dare to openly force him to hand over Iron Man's technology.

But now, only two short years after Supergirl disappeared, all these clowns have jumped out again!

Even so, he was not afraid at all. Stark Industries' current apparent strength was just a facade that he was willing to show to the American government, high-ranking officials, and various forces.

How could the cards be revealed so easily?

Tony now misses his powerful bodyguard terribly and is determined to dock her two years' worth of unpaid wages when she reappears!

Soon after Justin Hammer finished his speech, the military invited Tony's friend, Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes, to join them.

In fact, Rhodes was half-coaxed and half-tricked into attending the hearing; his main task was to read the assessment report on the Iron Man armor technology.

Rhodes spent a great deal of time and effort on this, and the entire report clearly and rationally presented his views on Iron Man, and deeply analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of the technology.

However, Senator Stern only allowed him to read specific passages, intending to use this to intensify the pressure on Tony.

As Tony's friend, Rhodey sincerely hopes that Iron Man can join the U.S. military command system.

This would both ease the increasingly tense relationship between the government and Stark Industries and enable some technology sharing, thereby strengthening the military.

Tony clearly scoffed at this claim and didn't buy it.

Although he did not utter a word in rebuttal, his facial expression and body language had already conveyed his attitude, only lacking the gesture of raising his middle finger to express his refusal.

Upon seeing this, Senator Stern directly instructed Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes to release the footage taken by the military's satellites.

The video shows that some countries and regions have begun to imitate and manufacture replicas of the Iron Man armor.

Once these suits of armor are put into use, they will completely change the landscape of modern warfare, and the United States will be placed in an extremely passive position.

Senator Stern was hopeful, believing that Tony would make the right choice in the face of such a national crisis.

Unfortunately, Tony did not get what he wanted.

Tony discreetly allowed Jarvis to hack into the system and play videos of failed experiments in various countries and regions to create replicas of different types of Iron Man armor.

These videos were crystal clear compared to the aerial views that Rhodes had previously shown.

The first thing that catches the eye is the large mecha made in Korea. It looks clumsy and rough, and it falls to the ground after taking only two steps.

In the chaos, the external Gatling gun was also triggered, and the poor photographer died on the spot.

Next up was the Iranian-made "hybrid" equipment, which resembled both an airplane and armor, but crashed immediately after takeoff, showing absolutely no technological sophistication.

Finally, what appeared was a steel armor manufactured by Hammer Heavy Industries, which, judging from its appearance alone, met the public's aesthetic standards.

However, during the test, it twisted and broke the test subject's lumbar spine, a truly horrific sight.

"Most countries might take 5 to 10 years to produce a decent product, but for Hammer, it would probably take 20 years."

Tony shuddered and grimaced, saying that the screams coming from the video were terrifying to hear.

Rod lowered his head, but couldn't suppress the upward curve of his lips. "It's all your fault, Tony."

Replicating Iron Man armor technology? Don't be ridiculous! It's impossible for anyone to do that anytime soon!

Look at these videos. It's either explosions or being killed on the spot by the armor they built themselves. What kind of design is this? It's a disaster. Can this be considered a technological threat?

“I mean, you’re welcome,” Tony said, standing up and smiling calmly.

"What do you mean?" Stern asked, somewhat bewildered and confused.

"Iron Man can deter nuclear threats, so we are safe, and America is safe too, isn't it?"

Tony curled his lip, his disdainful gaze fixed on the other man, and said matter-of-factly.

In fact, given Jarvis's detection radar technology and the flight speed of the MK5 Iron Man suit, Tony could intercept a nuclear strike even if other countries launched it first.

To change the missile's flight path or destroy it in advance.

"You want my invention? Don't even dream about it."

"I've done you a huge favor, because I can maintain world peace all by myself. What do you want for me?"

"I refuse to work with these clowns. Goodbye."

Tony flashed his familiar smile, flashed a peace sign, and strode out of the conference hall with an air of arrogance.

However, a shadow of gloom was hidden in those proud and confident eyes.

"Fuck! Tony!" Senator Stern stood up abruptly, his face flushed with anger, cursing and even raising his middle finger, completely losing his previous composure and calm.

Tony responded with a smile, thanking you for your support, his head held high and his chest puffed out, exuding confidence.

Chapter 60 Natasha's Arrival

At midday, on Malibu Beach, west of Los Angeles, sunlight streamed into the gym of a luxury villa.

Tony Stark is sweating profusely in the boxing ring.

Since escaping the cave in Afghanistan, he has been training diligently to maintain his physical fitness.

After all, controlling a steel armor requires not only intelligence but also a strong physique.

While the current Jarvis fully automated control system is advanced, it is still insufficient in terms of judgment and reaction speed to deal with complex emergencies.

As a sparring partner, Happy was fully equipped with protective gear and sported a slightly overweight belly, engaging in a back-and-forth battle with Tony.

Without his armor, Tony's fighting ability is no different from that of an ordinary person. In fact, even without weapons and equipment, he would have a hard time dealing with ordinary thugs.

Although Happy has gained some weight due to his lifestyle, as a former professional bodyguard, he is more than capable of dealing with Tony.

Just then, the gym door opened, and Pepper Potts walked in, followed by a young woman carrying documents.

She had burgundy wavy hair, fair skin and a beautiful face. She was dressed in a business outfit, with a white shirt and a pencil skirt that accentuated her graceful figure. Her high heels made a crisp sound as they stepped on the floor.

Happy stared wide-eyed, only to be accidentally elbowed in the nose by Tony.

"Shit! What kind of weird move is that?" Happy rubbed his nose and cursed, looking completely bewildered.

"Sorry, this is called mixed martial arts, and it's only been popular for three weeks," Tony explained with a laugh, panting. He had recently become obsessed with this highly practical fighting technique, and what he did just now was purely an instinctive reaction.

“I think it should be called vulgar boxing, it’s been popular for a long time!” Happy retorted angrily.

"Why are you distracted? The first rule of combat is to focus your attention on your opponent. Don't you think I'm worthy of your attention?" Tony grinned wickedly, feeling quite accomplished about his successful sneak attack.

"Tony, there are some things I need to discuss with you." Pepper sat on the sofa, picked up her glass and took a sip of water, her expression not good.

"You made a huge fool of yourself at the hearing, and the Department of Defense awarded all of this year's orders to Hammer Industries. I don't think you're surprised."

Since becoming CEO of Stark Industries, Pepper has been extremely busy every day.

Meetings, business trips, and inspections became her daily routine.

Although Tony shut down the weapons development department, causing the company's stock to plummet to an all-time low, it quickly rebounded after he announced that he was Iron Man, with the stock chart showing a rollercoaster-like fluctuation.

Obadiah's death led shareholders to temporarily accept Tony's decision, as the company was still profitable.

However, trouble soon followed.

The Iron Man armor technology was not made public; it was Tony's private property.

The government, the military, and many other forces and organizations have their eyes on this technology and are secretly trying to sabotage Stark Industries.

In the first half of this year, the company lost a large number of orders, especially weapons production and manufacturing contracts with the Ministry of Defense, which led to a sharp decline in revenue. Shareholders began to panic and demanded that the weapons research and development project be reopened.

Driven to desperation by these pressures, Pepper had no choice but to seek a solution from former CEO Tony.

“Darling, don’t worry. Stark Industries’ most profitable project right now is energy. They’ll need me.”

Tony finished training, took off his gloves, raised his hand and tapped the reactor on his chest, speaking in a relaxed tone.

He was already used to the military's pressure tactics and wasn't worried at all.

"But other modules of the company have also been affected. We can't rely solely on energy to make money, can we?"

Pepper couldn't help but roll her eyes, her tone tinged with helplessness.

Stark Industries' business is broad, and most of it has been impacted, with orders and projects constantly slipping away, which is not a good sign.

She can't just lay off other departments and focus solely on energy, can she?

Large-scale layoffs could trigger even bigger problems.

“You know, new technologies will always be in demand. Losing an order is just a matter of making it back elsewhere.”

Tony remained calm and composed, sitting next to Pepper. He tapped a few times on the touchscreen of the information panel on the table, bringing up an image of a dragon's head shield.

"Explain in detail, how exactly do I do it?" Pepper asked, her face full of doubt and curiosity about the unfamiliar symbol.

Tony smiled without saying a word, and manipulated the touchscreen to bring up two encrypted folders from the dragon head shield logo.

The folders may look identical, but they actually have extremely high access permissions, and only he can open them.

After entering iris scans, fingerprints, voice recordings, and a long password, a large amount of encrypted corporate documents and data appeared in the folder.

Pepper's pupils contracted slightly, clearly taken aback by this move. He stared blankly at the various company information on the screen, feeling completely bewildered.

"My God, what... what are these?" she exclaimed, covering her mouth in surprise.

"Stark Industries' partners, Blackwatch's subsidiaries, number 4675, covering almost every area of ​​business."

"Among them, 1745 are developing new energy technologies, which are essentially a weaker version of what I am."

Tony looked quite pleased with himself, tapped the reactor on his chest again, making a crisp metallic sound, and then gave a meaningful explanation.

Two years ago, in the early days of Blackwatch, a large number of Black Widows were recalled. From these secret agents who were lurking around the world, they obtained information and access to a large number of companies and enterprises formerly under the Red Room.

Tony established Stark Industries as partners with these companies, and they maintained secret business dealings for two years, though without making it public.

After experiencing Obadiah's embezzlement, Tony realized that he couldn't put all his eggs in one basket.

Stark Industries continued to operate its existing businesses, while Blackwatch focused on developing new energy sources.

After all, becoming Iron Man made Tony a target of public criticism.

Governments, military, private companies, terrorist organizations, the CIA, the FBI, and even S.H.I.E.L.D. are all trying to infiltrate the company.

If it were just about economic means, Tony had enough power to cause huge fluctuations in the US economy.

But if these people use both soft and hard tactics, Tony wouldn't mind letting Hulk "jump around" in the White House.