Chapter 38 A Scale of Darkness

While Jessica made her way toward Stark Industries, Lynn headed in a completely different direction. Instead of going to the Stark Industries building, Lynn and Kara traveled toward Tony’s seaside mansion in Lower Manhattan.

From there, one could easily overlook the mouth of the Hudson River and the breathtaking scenery of the Atlantic coastline.

"Doctor, do you believe those Hand ninjas will appear? Is that why you decided to go to Tony Stark's villa?"

"They are merely one possibility. Do you remember that organization I mentioned, Kara?"

"You mean S.H.I.E.L.D.? I conducted some research. S.H.I.E.L.D. appears to have once engaged in transactions with Scylla and the Atlantean Blood Covenant, though the details seem to have been kept under wraps. Records concerning this organization are pitifully sparse; they ostensibly aim to maintain regional stability and global peace."

"Then has our world become more peaceful, Kara?"

"It would appear there has been no improvement, Doctor. Regional conflicts are instead escalating. It seems their efforts are entirely in vain."

Whether S.H.I.E.L.D. in this world had been infiltrated by Hydra was something Lynn did not know for sure, but the opponents Tony had provoked in this world were clearly far more numerous than in the past.

Lynn intended to seize the opportunity before the Iron Man had a chance to fully establish himself. He had always wanted a more intelligent assistant, and if the opportunity arose, Lynn wouldn't mind completely altering Iron Man's life trajectory.

Tony had been attacked by the Hand prior to this, and Lynn was naturally curious about what this genius brain would encounter at such a critical turning point in his life. As for Obadiah, Lynn had arranged for Jessica to handle him.

He clearly had immense confidence in Jessica, which was why he brought Kara with him to Tony's place instead.

Soon, Kara spoke up, "We have arrived, Doctor."

Lynn and Kara stepped out of the modified transport vehicle and spotted the helicopter starting up on the rooftop, which appeared to be Obadiah Stane departing from Tony’s mansion. At that moment, a military Humvee was also parked at the entrance.

"Rhodes?"

"Doctor, it appears there are military personnel present. Do we still need to go in?"

"Why not? I am quite fond of unearthing military intelligence."

With that, Lynn led Kara and a fifteen-man combat squad toward Stark's mansion. Notably, three of them wore lightweight black bodysuits and carried no weapons at all.

Meanwhile, on the ground floor, Tony was crawling along, exhaustedly clutching Jarvis's food cart.

At long last, he managed to use his paralyzed tongue to issue a command.

"Jarvis, take me down to the basement."

"Understood, Mr. Stark. Please hold on."

Although his muscles were exceptionally stiff and every movement generated excruciating pain, Tony gritted his teeth, gripped the food cart, and endured the agony all the way down to the basement.

He caught sight of the souvenir Pepper had made for him.

Just as he attempted to crawl toward it once more, Tony suddenly felt someone grab his shoulder. His immediate suspicion was that Obadiah had returned.

"It is not often we see our playboy crawling around on the floor. I am almost tempted to take a photograph and send it to the paparazzi."

"Rhodey..."

"Alright, get up. I will help you over. You need that thing, don't you?"

***

Lynn was slightly slower than Rhodes. He noticed that Tony’s security access system was still active; while Lynn could have quickly bypassed the security locks, it was clear he was not the only uninvited guest in the vicinity.

"Doctor, it seems there are other uninvited guests in the area."

"Ah, they have arrived promptly as well."

Red-clad ninjas emerged from the shadows. Prior to this, they had never revealed their presence. The entirety of Stark’s villa had been completely surrounded by Hand ninjas; a rough estimate suggested the number of these individuals might exceed fifty...

At the same time, Lynn noticed that the Hand ninjas had shattered Tony's bulletproof glass and breached the interior of the mansion. Clearly, their target was also Tony Stark. Lynn vaguely recalled that the Hand possessed resurrection sorcery.

"They think along the exact same lines as I do. What a small world. Eliminate them, do not let them escape. Kara, come inside with me."

As soon as Lynn finished speaking, the combat operatives behind him pulled their triggers. However, the Hand ninjas were evidently unfazed by bullets; they merely parried the fatal shots, deflecting the projectiles away with their weapons.

Only a few unlucky ones perished due to missteps.

A couple of the ninjas attempted to attack Lynn, but as they were blocked by a purple psionic barrier, violent purple flames ignited across their bodies. Falling to the ground in agony, they dissolved into a pile of ashes, signaling to the rest of the ninjas that they could not stop Lynn.

They shifted their focus to attack the combat operatives Lynn had brought.

The combat capabilities of these Hand ninjas far exceeded those of ordinary humans, but Lynn’s subordinates were vampires. To cope with such situations, Lynn had specifically procured melee cold weapons for them.

These Hand ninjas clashed with Lynn's subordinates in a fierce melee, yet they clearly failed to realize that these men, who appeared to be mere mercenaries, were actually vampires.

When the weapons in their hands pierced the bodies of Lynn’s combat operatives, they produced no reaction whatsoever, becoming instantly jammed in the muscle tissue.

The longswords of these vampire warriors swiftly severed their heads.

Without a generational gap in reaction speeds, the ninjas found it no simple task to gain the upper hand against Lynn’s operatives. Nevertheless, the sheer disparity in numbers caused Lynn's subordinates to suffer rapid casualties.

Several men burst into flames shortly after having their heads severed and hearts pierced, turning into ash just like the Hand ninjas.

Just as these ninjas believed victory was within their grasp, two of the mutant soldiers finally revealed their combat forms.

Dark green physiques, massive musculature, and heights exceeding two meters instantly drew the gaze of the ninjas the moment they appeared.

The longswords in their hands quickly shifted targets, launching an assault against Craig. These enchanted weapons merely scraped against Craig's skin, sending a shower of sparks flying without piercing his defense.

The two sides plunged into chaos once more, seemingly fighting with genuine fury. By this time, Lynn had already crossed the battlefield and arrived at the center of Tony Stark’s villa.

"Doctor, Tony Stark does not appear to be here."

Lynn briefly scanned the architecture of Tony Stark's villa and quickly confirmed that the Hand ninjas had penetrated the interior, apparently lingering in the basement to besiege Tony Stark.

Lynn waved his hand, and the final Craig-type mutant soldier by his side immediately entered combat form, marching with heavy strides toward Tony's basement.

Lynn followed closely behind. Moments later, Lynn witnessed the Hand ninjas being torn to shreds by Craig, while Colonel Rhodes appeared injured and in severe distress.

At that moment, the Hand ninjas were clinging to Tony’s armor, relentlessly striking the Iron Man suit with their weapons in an attempt to pry Tony out of it.

Watching the scene unfold, Lynn could not help but let out a sigh.

"Doctor, it appears he still donned his armor after all."

"Indeed. We arrived somewhat late, though we cannot entirely fault you. After all, the alarm was triggered the moment we entered the gates of his estate, and there are no domestic staff within his villa. Finding a way to plant an operative inside proved entirely impossible."

"Achieving today's outcome is still quite acceptable, all things considered."

"Then shall we?"

"Let us dispatch those ninjas first."

The Craig-type rapidly began slaughtering the invading Hand ninjas. Through sheer physical strength alone, Craig was more than capable of tearing these well-trained ninjas apart. As a mass-produced mutant soldier superior to the Ramochis, Craig surpassed them in overall attributes.

Lynn's appearance evidently caught Tony off guard, and the Craig-type mutant soldier startled him even further. Stumbling and crashing about within the basement, Tony finally managed to shake off the ninjas clinging to his body.

Simultaneously, his repulsors fired, immobilizing the remaining Hand ninjas on the ground.

"It appears to be a form of kinetic impact mixed with high-density energy—a most intriguing concept..."

Unlike Craig, Tony's repulsors did not kill the Hand ninjas, merely leaving them paralyzed on the ground.

Ultimately, under the joint suppression of Tony himself and the Craig brought by Lynn, the invading Hand ninjas were swiftly cleared out. Rhodey finally managed to crawl up from the ground with a pale complexion, having evidently been struck by the Hand ninjas.

"Who are you? While I appreciate your assistance, I do not take kindly to uninvited guests invading my villa."

Kara stepped forward, intending to speak on Lynn's behalf, but Lynn raised a hand to stop her. Meanwhile, Craig slowly stepped back to Lynn's side after crushing the final Hand ninja into a pile of ash.

"A pleasure, Tony Stark. I believe this is not our first meeting."

"Not our first?"

Lynn's face and voice were completely concealed by his psionic power, making it impossible for Tony to recognize who he was.

"Ah, I imagine you could ask your robotic butler, though I suspect he would provide you with quite a lengthy list."

Tony couldn't help but recall the long list of names Jarvis had provided him that morning. Perhaps Lynn was one of them? Yet he remained uncertain; at least within his memory, none of his enemies possessed the dangerous, heavyweight presence that Lynn exuded.

"So you are here for vengeance?"

"Why assume that? I would have thought that having just repelled the attack of the Hand ninjas, we might qualify as friends to a certain extent."

"Allowing a large green lizard to break into someone's home does not constitute friendship."

"How about this? I can allow your friend, who is on the verge of perishing from the Hand's poison, to live another half an hour, enabling you to take him to a hospital. Trust me, Mr. Stark, your villa lacks a sufficiently complete biochemical laboratory to formulate an appropriate antidote. What is coursing through his body is a specialized neurotoxin; sequencing is required to determine which venom it was extracted from."

Hearing Lynn's words, Tony hurriedly flew over to Colonel Rhodes.

It was often difficult to describe a Black man as pale, but Colonel Rhodes certainly fit that description now.

His eyes were glazed, showing little to no reaction even under the glare of Tony's spotlight.

"His pupils are dilating, and his light reflex is diminishing. Am I correct, Mr. Stark?"

Tony was clearly panicking. This was a neurotoxin that acted with extreme swiftness; Tony was not relying solely on visual observation, as Jarvis was simultaneously providing its own assessment.

"Mr. Stark, Colonel Rhodes's vital signs are indeed failing. Respiratory failure and spasms are occurring. At this rate..."

Even without Jarvis's assessment, Tony knew Rhodes might not last three minutes.

"What is your solution?"

"Hmm... I possess certain... modest techniques of my own. Considering you might not permit me to approach him, I shall offer you an alternative solution."

With that, Lynn pulled an ampoule out from inside his coat.

"You are familiar with the inside story of the 'Blue Mist' incident, aren't you, playboy? This is precisely one vial of that serum. I can hand this over to you; it will be enough for Colonel Rhodes to survive the poison he contracted while saving you."

"What do you want? This suit of armor?"

"The suit?"

Lynn chuckled softly and shook his head. He had no interest in Tony's armor, and Jessica had likely already secured the arc reactor.

Since he could not pack up and carry Tony Stark away right now, striking a mutually beneficial trade with him was clearly the better option.

"Let us be friends."

With those words, Lynn placed the ampoule into Kara's hand.

Kara walked over slowly and handed the ampoule to Tony, along with a rather antiquated one-way pager, before slowly retreating to Lynn's side.

"Then I shall take my leave. I wish you smooth sailing, Mr. Stark. Moreover, considering you have lingered here for far too long, you would do well to check on the situation of your young secretary. After all, did your esteemed uncle not say something to that effect, did he not?"

Having said his piece, Lynn and Kara departed from Tony's villa.

By this time, the Hand ninjas had been completely routed, and the combat operatives Lynn had brought had also suffered heavy losses.

Without needing an order from Kara, all the surviving operatives began to retreat.

Inside the vehicle, Kara spoke up.

"I attempted to control Tony Stark, but his armor appears to possess a specialized filtration system that blocks my abilities. It proved difficult to take effect..."

"His suit was designed for extreme survival; it is only logical that it can prevent your powers."

Lynn had merely wanted Kara to test whether she could control Tony, though her abilities apparently still required her biochemical pheromones to directly affect the target's body alongside her physical presence to be effective.

"No matter. Making friends with him is hardly a bad thing."

Just as Lynn spoke, the roar of a lizard accompanied by various explosive sounds echoed from within Tony Stark's villa behind them.

"Our Iron Man still has plenty of trouble to deal with."