Bab 20: A New Monster
Registan Desert, Afghanistan.
Sand, dust, dirt, scorpions... crouching terrorists. It was not the place he longed to be in, but it was the place he had to be in.
A man in a tuxedo, wielding charisma and tongue as his weapon, stood in front of a group of military infantry. He spread his arms wide as their eyes followed a high-speed, great-calibre destructive object.
"Ladies and gentlemen… the Jericho missile".
*BOOOOMMM!!*
A ragging explosion that levelled the desert to the ground and blew up the sand, dust, dirt, scorpions and crouching terrorists. Whether it be in New York - United States, or Registan -Afghanistan, it was a historical moment for Stark Industries. It is a pivotal point in time that would define its future and the company's influence in the world for generations to come.
...
After a successful test, there was nothing better to drink in the desert than a cup of whiskey and ice. Or so thought the magnate, Tony Stark.
He shared a cup with his friend, Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, with whom he attended the test.
"For peace~" Tony offered.
"For peace..." Rhodes rolled his eyes, and they shared a cup.
"It appears it was all a success; I was sort of expecting the missile to lose track and fall on us or something", the Lieutenant jested and watched his friend board the Humvee out of the testing field.
"Ha...Ha... early Christmas, Rhodie".
"What about your buzzing grenades? You're adding those to the contract, aren't you? How do they work again?" He leaned on the window and stopped the convoy from leaving early. It was important.
Tony glared at him in dismissal, "Those are still experimental, Rhodie. An ultra-acute buzz can fry your average sound espionage device. As we now know, it can also make a very low percentage of the population dizzy, and in extreme cases, it can cause a brain hemorrhage."
"..."
"In other words. How drunk can you get without actually being drunk? It is like drinking ten shots of tequila in the middle of the battlefield. What else could those soldiers want?" Tony shrugged his shoulders, but the Lieutenant wasn't following.
"… did you include it or not?"
"Man, you're insistent. It is still undergoing tests before it reaches production. Are you happy? It is like a double-edged sword. Who gets high first, you or the enemy?"
"That's why we want it, Tony. For the most 'subtle' warfare. Not everything is going 'Boom' in the army. Sometimes, we need to do things quietly. That man Obadiah does know to come up with some pretty interesting concepts." Rhodes laughed, but Tony refused to delve further.
"It is a counter-espionage device, Rhodie. Even if it was not in an experimentative phase, that's still too high-tech for you army pups".
"Hey..."
"Obadiah already has a customer for the experimental batch we produced. If we can lower the production cost, I may include it in the next contract. So questions over." Tony tried to push Rhodes out of the window, but that man wasn't going to let that happen.
"Who is the customer?"
"I said questions over, did that cup of Whiskey make you drunk? You're asking for confidential information" He pushed harder.
"Tony, aren't we friends?"
"Does drinking a few times make us friends?".
"More than more than a hundred times. Moreover, the concept of friendship is relative. I'm only your friend when it is convenient for you. Now it is convenient for me".
One gaze alone was enough to convey the message; it was serious. Who could afford those grenades? What did they want it for?
"Ugh, that's why I hate travelling. It is some geezer called Erik Lehnsherr. Now, I'll see you later. I have a date in Kabul before flying back to New York".
Finally, after plenty of insistence. Rhodes moved away and allowed the convoy to depart.
"Enjoy your flight, friend~"
"Friend your ass".
...
Registan wasn't a particularly enjoyable sight. Tony received a call at that moment, and he opened his phone.
"What is it…?"
As the voice on the other side spoke, his countenance progressively changed to chock, melancholy… and finally sadness. He hung up the call with no words to say.
"Is everything okay, Mr Stark? I wanted to take a picture-"
"I must fly back to New York. A friend of mine just passed away. Take me to the International Airport in Kabul".
But things weren't fated to go as planned.
Just as he sat back down to think, the convoy humbee in front exploded.
*BOOOMMM!!*
And those missiles had a brand, Stark Industries.
**
**
New York, Hellfire Club.
One thing was luxury, another was squandering money... and then there was the Hellfire Club. It was a secret organisation in the core of Manhattan, a ten-story antique mansion building, where the base settled one of the most prestigious nightclubs in all of New York, Musica.
A place where humans and mutants mingled unperturbed and also a place where the most lavish parties were organised for the world's powerhouses.
At the top of this building, in the biggest and most luxurious office, sat a man smoking tobacco with his legs on the table, his expression undulating between joy and curiosity.
"So… how did you pull that out, Emma? I told you to get rid of Carter, but I didn't think you'd pull that off so... efficiently."
Sitting in front of him, opposite the table, sat a lady with cascading long golden hair wearing a white suit; she crossed her legs lazily and watched him; her thoughts were some he could never imagine.
'How can I kill you and have Ray Stark sit on that chair without causing a political and economic uproar in New York, the United States and a huge chunk of Europe?'.
The transition of the thought was enough for her legs to twist from one side to the other as she got comfortable on the chair. A subtle yet seductive action that didn't go unnoticed.
Such a prominent powerhouse was Sebastian Shaw. The type of individual politicians who went on their knees to ask for favours. The Hellfire Club's Black King.
"It wasn't easy. Your interest happened to align with Wilson Fisk's. You wanted to get rid of Magneto's financier... he wanted to take over Charleston Industries. He gave me some useful information and sent one of his retainers, a mutant, to help me. We got Carter in a really tight spot, and that's how I took care of him".
Sebastian laughed and cleared his tobacco, exhaling a huge mouthful of smoke; his gaze never left hers, or more specifically... her body.
"I'm not talking about Carter… how did you deal with Erik's agents? I'm conscious Mystique and Sabretooth were on that boat; I was invited. But I never thought you would assault it. The first person Magneto called was me; you should have heard his voice~ Sabretooth's loss struck his soul, that bastard".
"I told you, Kingpin helped me. He lent me one of his retainers".
The lady walked up next to his chair and placed her finger on Shaw's forehead. He received a stream of memories of the incident; while receiving the memories, he hugged her.
A brief expression of discomfort assailed Emma, but she didn't brush him away; she couldn't. It would be suspicious. At the end of the day, until she finally fred herself... this man owned her body and soul.
Shaw looked like he was receiving ecstasy straight into his blood. Unaware of the cold gaze that was glaring at him from above. An altered stream of memories showcasing a battle that took place, but in a completely different way.
Sebastian Shaw never saw Ray Stark... he saw Pedro Santos, a Mexican junky working for Wilson Fisk who had the ability to phase through objects. He helped Emma ambush Mystique and Sabretooth, and that's how they attained victory.
A wretched story filled with flaws, but a story nonetheless.
"Hahaha! That was amazing! That boy is quite a handful despite having such a weak mutation".
"It can be a bit convenient to phase through things".
"It was a wonderful job, Emma. But… a pity that Obadiah had to fall there too. He was colluding with the ten rings, and he didn't even tell me, that clever bastard".
In the memories he had been shown, Obadiah Stane died by accident when the giant Sabretooth 'mistakenly' fell on him, crushing him.
"What exactly do you want with Stark Industries, Sebastian?" She inquired. The man caressed her waist, sneaking his hand inside her shirt, thinking.
Much to his surprise, Emma walked off and stood in front of the big window behind his desk.
"... Aside from seeing Tony Stark grovelling on his knees in front of me? The tech, what else do they have to offer… the contract with SHIELD perhaps?" He mocked and picked his tobacco back up.
"You look like you have more personal reasons than anything else, darling." She smiled, winked, and then walked away, making him frown.
"Don't tell me you're jealous of Veronica now".
Emma resisted the urge to burst out laughing, using all of her sanity and skills to sum up all the irony and poison that a 'jealous' woman should muster.
"Me, jealous? You're the one that keeps scaring her lovers away, haha… someone else is jealous".
"… you're acting unexpectedly impudent".
"Don't I deserve it? Do you think it was easy this time? I'm taking a month's holiday in France, Shaw. I'm going with some friends".
"A whole month?" He didn't like that, but after the great service she did, he had to consider it.
"Now that Carter and Obadiah aren't in the scene. You must have plenty of pieces to move… you're not the only one with eyes in Stark Industries".
She didn't even ask for permission.
"Von voyage, don't take too long… sweetheart. Even masters must allow their pets to slack, but a month is preposterous. Any longer than that, and I may start getting jealous... for real," He threatened.
Emma blew a kiss his way and closed the door. The moment she did so, her nails pierced her skin with how hard she clenched her hands.
'I can't wait for Ray to snap your head three hundred sixty degrees just so you can helplessly watch him fuck me; who is your damn pet, you old piece of shit!?'
She realized she had lost her composure and fixed herself back up, relieved that she had one month—one month to sort everything out, one month to be free. If not for her new partner's huge capabilities, she didn't think there would be much she could accomplish in just one month.
But with him in the picture, it was a different story.
Emma ignored the party in the club and headed straight for her Ferrari, dialling a number to make a call.
"Yes, Kingpin… are you busy, darling?"
The big man on the other side was in a noisy place.
"What do you want, Emma? Say it quickly, I'm in an auction".
"Should you treat me more kindly after the big favour I have done for you? To be honest, I need someone to hug me right now," she pouted.
"Then go ask your new boyfriend for a hug dammit- Four hundred! Four hundred!!"
"Four hundred thousand?"
"Four hundred million. Alright, what does the LOVE OF MY LIFE want? Say it quickly".
"I like that tone better. I want some information about who is to inherit Obadiah Stane's shares of Stark Industries, and also, I want to know why Magneto needs financers; what is he up to?".
"Why do you care about that old coot suddenly?"
"Because he will come to me looking for trouble".
"You or your boyfriend?"
"He's not my boyfriend yet, Fisk, and he's too young; I have to wait a bit more-".
"You're going to fuck him anyway, why delay stuff?~"
"You have been quite fixated on my private life lately, big man~ your wife won't like that".
"She will, actually. Vanessa has been watching a lot of telenovelas lately; they're rather... intriguing. Let's be real here, your private hehe~ groom the son of your lover's lover... isn't that a huge goddamn premise?- five hundred fifty!"
"Ugh, just get me that info and carry on with your stuff. By the way, I'll be inactive for a month so don't bother calling me unless it is important"
"A whole month?" He whistled, "Just make sure to get me up to date by the end of it; the pace you're going, you may be pregnant by th-"
Emma hung up the call and rubbed her temples; she almost groaned. Unable to deny the fact that her private life was starting to get a bit interesting.
'How do I get him under my skirt in a month? And there is that obnoxious redhead in the way too'.
Just as she was about to arrive at her penthouse, she received a call. Annoyed, she checked up to see who it was now until she saw the name in it, and her eyes nearly fluttered.
"What's up, Ray? Did you miss me?~ It hasn't even been-"
The voice on the other side of the phone didn't sound urgent or anxious, but her countenance completely changed.
"Are you serious, she? Okay, I don't mind... but there will be conditions~" The blonde played with her hair and licked her lips.
'Fortune in misfortune, who could have thought?~'
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
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