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12.55% Marvel : Super Soldier at the Start / Chapter 29: Stick

Chapitre 29: Stick

Once again, reality proves that any attempt at showing off is fleeting and comes at a cost. The two decided to head to the Middle East together to eliminate the terrorists.

However, transportation posed a significant problem. Tony had a private jet, but it was too conspicuous for this covert operation.

A Quinjet? Tony could potentially build one himself, but time was not on their side. With the terrorists still raiding nearby towns in Gulmira, they had to act fast.

Thus, Blake turned to S.H.I.E.L.D. for help again. Since Tony wanted to keep his armor a secret, they couldn't use official channels. So, late at night, two shadows appeared at the entrance of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Los Angeles branch. This wasn't the headquarters or a secret base with critical resources, and it was in the U.S., so security wasn't too tight. With the powerful security system, there weren't even night guards.

Blake quietly took out his ID and whispered to Tony beside him. "Are you sure you can erase the visitor logs and surveillance here? This is my work ID. I don't mind them giving me trouble, but I don't want to lose my steady paycheck."

Only when Tony gave an OK gesture did Blake place his ID on the sensor by the door. 

"Beep beep! Insufficient authorization!" The sensor flashed red, and an electronic voice sounded. 

"How is that possible?" Blake tried two more times, but it still showed insufficient authorization. 

"Let me try!" Tony took Blake's ID. "Intern Agent, alright, cute newbie, let me give it a shot!"

"Beep beep!" Tony sighed, handing the ID back to Blake. "Have you ever been here before?"

"No!" Blake shook his head, bewildered. "I got the location from Natasha!"

"Congratulations on finding a good job!" Tony gave Blake a disdainful look. The armor's arm opened, and Tony pulled out a card connected to wires and placed it on the sensor.

"Good thing I was prepared. JARVIS, show this intern-unable-to-enter department what we can do!" 

While S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Washington headquarters might have some elementary AI comparable to JARVIS, the branch here? Not so much! Amid Blake's curses aimed at Nick Fury, JARVIS broke through the security in less than ten seconds.

JARVIS took control of the nondescript building on the outskirts of Los Angeles through the network connected to the door lock.

Each S.H.I.E.L.D. branch is equipped with a Quinjet for rapid deployment. Luckily for Tony and Blake, no one had taken it for a mission. Sneaking through the fire escape to the rooftop, they soon took off in the Quinjet, heading directly to Tony's house on Malibu Beach.

Once suited up, they flew across the Pacific toward the Middle East.

"You know, during World War II, my father flew a plane with Captain America, crossing enemy lines to the enemy's rear, completing a rescue mission."

"I never thought that now, I'm flying a plane with another super soldier to fight terrorists!"

"But my father was just a pilot. This time it's different. I have this!" Tony knocked on his armor.

"Tony, you actually have many ways to combat these terrorists. If you intended to create the armor in Afghanistan to escape, what's the reason now? Is it just to eliminate the Ten Rings?"

Tony was silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"My father once told me that to achieve peace, you need to wield the biggest stick. That was my philosophy for making weapons. But since Afghanistan, after that missile with the Stark name exploded beside me…"

"Sigh..."

Tony sighed deeply.

"I thought the weapons I created would bring peace to the world, but I didn't realize that the name Stark brought so much despair to so many. Before that missile exploded, I was lying there. I could see every letter of Stark clearly."

"But I couldn't see its meaning, only despair. I can't even imagine if someone else were in the same desperate situation, looking at the name Stark, what would they think…"

Tony's words left Blake momentarily speechless. Others might not know, but he did—Tony was right.

Take, for instance, Scarlet Witch and her twin brother Quicksilver, future Avengers. They once stared at a Stark-labeled missile for a few days.

"I used to just make sticks. Now I've created one of the biggest sticks in the world."

Tony pointed to his armor.

"I will hold it firmly in my own hands. This is my purpose now—to combat terrorists, eliminate war, and create peace, regardless of nations or politics!"

In a sense, early Iron Man and Black Widow were both atoning for their pasts. As the Avengers evolved, this atonement transformed into a sense of responsibility. Especially after the Battle of New York, when the Avengers took on the mantle of the world's protectors, they began to change.

"Tony, do you know why Nick Fury forced me to join the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division? Damn, curse that name!"

"It's because he has a plan—the Avengers Initiative. To form a team with members possessing extraordinary abilities, who can stand up when the world needs them."

Blake finished speaking and looked directly at Tony.

"It's a good idea. I don't know Nick Fury well, but I know that whether it's the CIA, the KGB, or MI5, regardless of their original purpose—"

"They all end up becoming tools of politics, to varying degrees!"

"If there's a need for someone to step up, I'll be there in my armor. But I don't want to be a sword in someone else's hand!"

Tony agreed with the Avengers Initiative but not with S.H.I.E.L.D.—that was Iron Man's viewpoint.

"Exactly! Tony, that's what I mean! We won't be someone else's stick; we'll hold the stick ourselves!"

Blake turned to Tony Stark.

This time, Tony pondered deeply for a while. Then, he suddenly looked up at Blake and said,

"Just like today?"

"Yes, just like today!"

*******************************************

You can get access to early chapters on patr*on.

If you like my work and you want to support me then you can become my patron on patre*n.

My patr*on account is S_Pandey_0170


Chapitre 30: Tragic

Outside the town of Gulmira, a vast new cemetery had been erected. This was a collective burial ground built by the town's survivors for their lost relatives and friends. The graves were densely packed, with simple pits and wooden boards marking each one.

There were few people left in the town; many young survivors chose to leave this unfortunate place. Those who remained were either elderly or unfortunate souls who had lost everything, including their families.

"They used to come here often, robbing some things and taking people with useful skills, but they never committed such a massacre before!"

"They said Yinsen helped you escape, and that was a challenge to their authority!"

The speaker was one of the few young people Blake and Tony found in the town. He led them to Yinsen's grave, his words making Tony even more silent.

"Why didn't you leave? I mean, if you want to leave here, I can help." After a long silence, Tony asked.

"This is my home, sir. My parents and sister are buried here! I want to stay with them!"

A hint of sadness flashed in the young man's eyes. This was his only home; he had nowhere else to go.

"This is Yinsen's grave. He was a good doctor and helped many of us. We gave him the largest tombstone."

The young man led Blake and Tony to a cemetery outside the town.

"I'm really sorry, man! I should have thought of this earlier, but I promise you, those people won't harm innocent people around here anymore!"

Tony spoke as he took out a cheeseburger and placed it beside Yinsen's grave. That was for his child. Before Yinsen returned, he and Tony had made a stop in Los Angeles. The first thing Tony did upon returning to America was to eat a cheeseburger. Yinsen had mentioned that his child also loved cheeseburgers, but they rarely had the chance to eat them in Gulmira.

This scene moved Blake. Tony Stark might appear arrogant and abrasive, but he always silently remembered everyone's needs. Happy liked certain TV shows, Rhodey's suit had a parachute installed after his injury, and Tony even made adjustments to Peter Parker's suit.

Recently, Blake noticed that despite Tony's outward disdain for him, Tony had secretly been modifying an intelligent program for Blake's new home, adding many options to make it more comfortable and convenient for him.

...

Wakoda was a small town about fifty kilometers from Gulmira. Recently, it had become another target for the Ten Rings terrorists led by the bald leader. This information was also provided by the young man who had guided Blake and Tony.

"Sir, can I go with you? Give me a weapon, and I want to avenge my family and friends!"

The young man asked them before they boarded the plane.

"Stay here, take care of the elderly, and restore your hometown to its former state," Blake said, patting the young man's shoulder before he and Tony left Yinsen's hometown.

In earlier news footage, reporters described the road to Gulmiraas a path to hell. Now, that title evidently belonged to Wakoda.

On the roads outside the small town, the corpses of locals were scattered everywhere. Most of them had been shot in the back, likely while fleeing, used as live targets by the terrorists. Among them were not only young people and women but also many children around ten years old.

The most tragic sight was a little girl who appeared to be about five or six years old. A powerful rifle shot had torn her thigh apart. She lay on the ground, staring into the distance, her eyes full of terror. The wound on her thigh was mangled and had begun to turn pale. Behind her was a long, winding trail of blood.

Blake could imagine the scene: perhaps her parents had been shot inside the town and, before dying, told her to run. However, a terrorist had shot her in the leg from behind, causing her to crawl a long distance before dying from blood loss.

"I don't know what your faith is, but I believe heaven is universal. There, you will see your parents again, and there will be no more suffering," Blake murmured, gently closing the little girl's eyes. The girl closed her eyes forever, but the image remained etched in Blake's mind, unforgettable.

Gunshots and cries for help echoed sparsely from the town. Blake and Tony exchanged a glance. Tony's helmet closed, and Blake leapt powerfully off the ground. One above and one below, they dashed towards the town like lightning.

On the road leading out of town, a boy of about thirteen or fourteen stumbled and ran, trying to escape. His father, a man with a gunshot wound in his leg, dragged himself along, urging his son to run faster and faster.

Ten meters behind them, a terrorist raised his rifle, aiming at the father's uninjured leg. He planned to shoot it, then kill the boy, enjoying the man's despair and pain—a twisted pleasure he recently discovered.

The massacre in Gulmira had unleashed the terrorists' inner demons, making their methods increasingly brutal and bloody. As the terrorist locked onto the father's leg and smiled, his finger began to squeeze the trigger.

With a "whoosh," a micro-missile shot from the sky, blowing the terrorist into pieces. A red-and-gold figure flashed overhead. Another terrorist, hearing the explosion, emerged from a nearby house, holding women's earrings, bracelets, and other accessories.

He looked puzzled at the explosion site but didn't have time to react. From the dirt road, a figure enveloped in a cloud of dust charged in like a dragon.

The terrorist didn't have time to raise his gun before Blake's full-force punch smashed into his face. The impact was so powerful that his head exploded like a watermelon struck by a massive hammer, spraying brain matter and blood all over Blake.

*******************************************

You can get access to early chapters on patr*on.

If you like my work and you want to support me then you can become my patron on patre*n.

My patr*on account is S_Pandey_0170


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