amaotonovel Chapter 4690 The Demise of the X Royal Family (1)
Chapter 4690 The Demise of the X Royal Family (1)
Chapter 4690 The X Royal Family: Demise (Part 11)
"What happened? Why did they leave?" Black Widow leaned against the window, arms crossed, looking out, and asked, "That guy in black must have been a pretty powerful mutant, right? Did he and Magneto's negotiations break down?"
Hawkeye adjusted his bowstring opposite him, saying without looking up, "It wouldn't be surprising if Magneto broke up with anyone. Maybe that guy also felt there was no hope this time and ran away in advance."
"They're a complete mess, just as I thought." Black Widow sighed, a "I knew it" look on her face. She glanced at Hawkeye and said, "Why are you even bothering with your gear? We can't fight anymore."
"Are you sure?" Hawkeye looked at the wall behind Black Widow. While they were talking, there was a constant, noisy background noise coming from next door.
"Tony Stark! We rushed to the Royal Court in such a hurry to prevent any changes to the plan, and now you're telling me you want to change the plan and steal the technology from the Redgate Factory to build your own Jaeger?!"
"Why can't you understand? If we can't handle Iron Man in that central universe, all our plans will be for nothing!"
"You're targeting him because he made you look bad. Actually, we're not without ways to deal with him, and mutants might not even be on his side! You just want to beat him!"
“You’re insane, Steve. If mutants have to choose sides, they’ll choose the stronger one, won’t they? Why should they be on our side if we can’t prove ourselves more valuable than Iron Man?”
"Do you really have to go head-to-head with him?"
"He insisted on confronting me!"
Knock, knock, knock. There was a knock on the door, and the main universe's Iron Man and Captain America, who were arguing inside, both turned to look at the door.
After a while, Thor walked in and said, "That Iron Man from the central universe is here. Should we let him in?"
Captain America frowned. When he turned to look at Iron Man from the main universe, he noticed that Iron Man's expression had become very unpleasant.
“I’m going out to find him.” Captain America glanced at Iron Man from the main universe and said, “You guys keep an eye on Tony and don’t let him wander off.”
"Wait a minute," the main universe's Iron Man said, "Why are you the one going out to meet him? Do you think I'm afraid of him?"
Captain America's face darkened. He stared at Iron Man and said, "You don't even realize it, you're getting so anxious you're about to lose control, Tony. Keep an eye on him."
After saying that, he left. Iron Man took a step to walk out, but Thor stepped forward and stopped him, saying, "You'd better not go out, Tony. It wasn't easy to save you from low Earth orbit. If it happens again, we'll definitely be discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. and face off against the Avengers of this universe."
"Where's Stephen?" the main universe's Iron Man asked. "I need to see him."
Captain America went outside, where Stark was already waiting in the living room. Seeing Captain America emerge, Stark said, "The drone Iron Man sent to Redgateland was shot down."
Captain America was taken aback: "A drone?"
“You didn’t know?” Stark asked, frowning. He took out his phone, pulled up a video, and handed it to Captain America, saying, “He launched a swarm of drones at Redgate Orchid, but they were shot down before they could even penetrate the outer defenses, and the wreckage was captured by S.H.I.E.L.D.”
"Damn it!" Captain America cursed. He turned to confront Iron Man, but Stark quickly grabbed him, saying, "What are you going to do?"
"How could Tony be so impulsive? The Earth government in this universe clearly possesses a very high level of technology. We had already rejected his plan to use drones to investigate, but he still did it!"
"There's nothing wrong with using drones for reconnaissance."
"But his drone has been captured! This could very well alert the Earth government, making them realize that the mutants have reinforcements."
“That’s not the issue you should be considering,” Stark said, sounding somewhat exasperated. “Once S.H.I.E.L.D. captures the drone, they’ll quickly realize it’s Tony Stark’s technology. S.H.I.E.L.D. and ordinary governments may not know about the Battle Realm; they’ll think it’s this universe’s Iron Man spying on the Redgate Orchid base.”
Captain America seemed a little confused, not quite realizing what this meant. Stark could only say, "This is a great opportunity to sow discord. Right now, various forces on Earth are eager to gain control of Redgate Orchid. If we make them think that Stark Industries has such ambitions, they might start fighting amongst themselves."
Captain America then realized what was happening, and at that moment Thor walked over and asked, "How did you get this information?"
“I hacked into the Redgateland factory’s external defense system,” Stark said, “and happened to witness the drone being destroyed by a laser cannon.”
"You can hack into the defense system?!" Thor said, somewhat shocked. "Then wouldn't you be able to destroy the original model?"
Stark sighed and said, "Why would I destroy the master mold?"
"Didn't you come here to help the mutants?"
“If mutants are strong, the Mother Model targets mutants; but if mutants are weak enough, then the Mother Model targets humanity itself. If I am to help mutants, I cannot destroy them.”
“So you can indeed destroy it,” Captain America said.
Stark didn't answer the question, but instead said, "Perhaps you could have Iron Man send some more drones over there so S.H.I.E.L.D. can catch them red-handed. With enough evidence, someone will come after Stark Industries."
Then he turned and walked out, saying, "I'll also tell the mutants about this plan. If it works, they'll be very grateful."
“We can’t do that,” Thor said, looking at Captain America.
"Why?" Captain America asked.
Thor sighed helplessly. Neither Captain America nor Iron Man had any political acumen whatsoever, so there was no way to expect them to understand the intricacies of the matter.
“We can’t be enemies with the Avengers of this universe,” Thor said. “If we really use this method to frame Stark Industries and give S.H.I.E.L.D. or the military a handle on him, he will definitely hold a grudge against us.”
Captain America sat down beside him, nodded, and said, "That's true. We don't really want to help mutants rule the world; we just want to mediate. If we use this method against the Avengers, wouldn't we become accomplices in invading Earth?"
Captain America stood up again and said, "Tony was too impulsive. S.H.I.E.L.D. now has the drone wreckage. They don't know about the multiverse, but Iron Man in this universe certainly does. He'll definitely think we framed him!"
After saying that, he grabbed his shield and went inside to find the main universe's Iron Man. At that moment, the main universe's Iron Man was plotting with Doctor Strange; those two together were unlikely to be thinking anything good.
“Stephen, I can try to control the Mother Model,” the main universe Iron Man said in a low voice. “If I can break through the outer defenses, I can hack into the Mother Model, which is not yet fully awake. It’s a very powerful weapon that we can use to mediate the war between ordinary humans and mutants.”
Doctor Strange frowned slightly, but did not object. He said, "The technology of ordinary people in this universe is extremely advanced. How easy would it be to break through the outer defenses?"
“I’ve already investigated,” the main universe Iron Man said. “The technology used in the Redgate Orchid factory doesn’t entirely originate from Earth; it has elements of the Shi’ar Empire. I hope you can go to the Shi’ar Empire and find any potential technological vulnerabilities in the defense system.”
"But if I were to suddenly appear in the universe, it would probably cause quite a stir," Doctor Strange said, frowning.
“You can impersonate Doctor Strange from this universe,” the main universe’s Iron Man continued. “No matter which universe it is, the Sorcerer Supreme will always be treated as an honored guest. You can infiltrate the Shi’ar Empire and find the technological loopholes. Together, we can take control of the Mother Model. Then, whether it’s Iron Man from the central universe or mutants and ordinary people from this universe, they will all have to listen to us.”
After a moment's thought, Doctor Strange nodded: "Alright, then I'll go."
“Don’t go now,” said the main universe Iron Man. “I think Captain America is completely captivated by that central universe Iron Man, and he might not agree to our plan. Let’s wait until tonight and go secretly.”
With a bang, the door was kicked open. Captain America yelled, "Are you all insane?! Do you want to be enemies with the Avengers of this universe?!"
"Steve Rogers!" the main universe's Iron Man roared, "Captain America, of all people, resorting to this kind of eavesdropping trick?!"
"If I hadn't overheard your plans, you would have ruined everything!" Captain America said angrily, brandishing his shield. "You can't frame the Avengers of this universe; it would completely destroy our reputation in the multiverse!"
“Calm down, Steve.” The main universe’s Iron Man stepped forward and looked him in the eye. “Taking down the prototype means we’ll have the power to destroy the Earth. The Avengers in this universe will have to take orders from us. That’s much more effective than trying to please them!”
“You guys are insane,” Thor said, walking in. “How are you any different from those monsters invading Earth?”
“We will not harm the Earth,” Doctor Strange said. “We are just using this method to win over allies. You should understand that there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests. Only by controlling the lifeline of the Earth will they work for us.”
“I disagree,” Dr. Banner stepped in and said. “Using superweapons to coerce the Avengers is a terrible and evil act. I will never allow you to do that!”
"How confident are you, Tony?" Black Widow asked, leaning against the door. Although she didn't explicitly state whose side she was on, the question itself revealed her stance.
“As long as we break through the outer defenses,” the main universe Iron Man said, “this isn’t entirely human technology. They’re not proficient enough in using it, and they haven’t even fully understood it. It was hastily implemented to deal with the mutant crisis, so there must be loopholes to exploit.”
“Absolutely not,” Dr. Banner said. “How dare you use your knowledge to do such a thing? If word gets out, no multiverse will ever dare to be friends with us again.”
"Who would dare to go out and talk nonsense?" Doctor Strange said, narrowing his eyes. "If the plan succeeds, the people in this universe certainly won't."
"What about the people in the central universe? Can you guarantee that the Iron Man from that central universe won't go out and cause trouble?"
“Then leave him here.” A fierce glint flashed in Doctor Strange’s eyes. “Absolutely no one can withstand a single blow from a super weapon like the Mother Model. Surely two Avengers and a super weapon can’t stop him?”
"You're absolutely insane!" Dr. Banner exclaimed in horror. "You actually want to kill Iron Man from the Central Universe?!"
“You’re too naive, Doctor,” the main universe’s Iron Man said, looking at him. “The central universe is destined to be a stumbling block for us to become leaders of the multiverse. A battle between us is inevitable. Isn’t that right?”
Amidst the heated argument, none of the Avengers from the main universe noticed that one member hadn't appeared at all. Spider-Man, hanging from the rooftop, retracted his webs, silently climbed to the window, and jumped out.
"Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark! Someone's trying to kill you!!!"