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State Route – New Mexico
The long desert highway stretched endlessly beneath a burning afternoon sun.
Heat waves shimmered above the asphalt, making the distant road appear as if it were melting into the horizon. On both sides of the highway lay vast plains of sand and dry earth, dotted with scattered rocks and stubborn patches of desert grass struggling to survive the harsh climate.
A black sedan raced across the empty road, its engine humming steadily as it cut through the quiet landscape.
Inside the car, the driver wore a completely ordinary face—one created through disguise technology.
It was Jack.
Beside him sat Pepper Potts, also wearing a modified appearance. Her original features had been altered slightly, making her look like an entirely different person.
Yet the tension inside the car was impossible to hide.
Pepper stared out the window for a moment, watching the endless desert blur past. Then she turned toward him.
"Why did you bring me with you?" she asked.
Jack didn't even glance at her.
He simply kept one hand lazily on the steering wheel.
"I was worried you'd feel lonely and miserable," he said casually. "So I brought you along. I'm that kind of warm and caring man."
Pepper's expression instantly turned cold.
"You are the biggest scum in human history," she said without hesitation.
Her voice carried absolute disgust.
"I really don't understand what benefit you gain from committing so many crimes. You possess incredible power… so why don't you use it in the right way?"
She shook her head slowly.
Jack let out a faint laugh.
"The right way?"
He glanced sideways at her briefly.
"What exactly is the right way?"
His lips curled into a mocking smile.
"Saving the sick and wounded? Defending justice? Protecting moral values?"
He chuckled softly.
"Don't make me laugh."
Pepper looked away again.
"There's no point communicating with someone like you," she muttered with a cold snort.
Jack shrugged.
"People with power," he said slowly, "if they're not yours, they will become yours eventually."
He tapped the steering wheel lightly.
"And people without power—if they are yours today, they may belong to someone else tomorrow."
He glanced at her.
"Just like Tony."
Pepper's eyes flickered with pain for a brief moment.
But her voice remained firm.
"Tony will defeat you."
Jack smirked.
"In his dreams, maybe."
He pressed slightly harder on the accelerator.
"Oh, and let me remind you of something."
His voice became slightly colder.
"Don't try any tricks. If you think I won't use violence…"
He left the sentence unfinished.
Pepper snorted again.
"I'm not stupid."
She folded her arms.
"My appearance has been changed by you. No one will recognize me anyway."
Jack nodded thoughtfully.
"That actually makes me feel more relaxed."
He looked at her briefly.
"I was originally considering tying you up again."
He shrugged.
"But now it seems unnecessary."
Pepper only responded with another cold snort.
After a few moments of silence, she spoke again.
"Can I ask you a question?"
Jack raised an eyebrow.
"What's wrong? Did you suddenly become interested in me?"
"Only a fool would be interested in you," Pepper snapped.
Jack laughed.
"You shouldn't say that."
His tone turned teasing.
"We've already kissed before."
He paused deliberately.
"And we've even shared the same bed."
Pepper's face flushed with anger.
"Go to hell!"
She clenched her fists, wishing she could strangle him right there.
Jack only laughed harder.
"Relax."
Then he grinned mischievously.
"You can ask any question you want."
He glanced at her playfully.
"Even private ones."
"For example—my length, or how long I last in bed."
Pepper closed her eyes.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.
Then she asked the question she had been thinking about.
"You are someone from the World War II era, right?"
Jack shrugged slightly.
"If you insist on saying it like that… sure."
Pepper frowned.
"Then how have you kept the same appearance for so many years?"
She studied him carefully.
"Logically speaking… you should be an old man now."
Jack smiled faintly.
"I live forever."
Pepper scoffed immediately.
"You think I'd believe that?"
"No one can live forever."
Jack nodded casually.
"You're right not to believe it."
Then he added calmly:
"I actually skipped across two time periods."
Pepper blinked.
"What do you mean?"
Jack continued driving as he spoke.
"I disappeared at the end of World War II."
His tone was strangely calm.
"In other words… after the war ended, I completely vanished from this world."
He glanced at her.
"For the sixty years after WWII… I didn't exist."
Pepper's eyes widened.
"And now?"
Jack smiled.
"Now I came back."
He tapped the steering wheel lightly.
"It's basically the same as jumping over sixty years directly."
Pepper shook her head in disbelief.
"That's impossible."
Her voice grew firm.
"Traveling across time? That's absolutely impossible."
To her, the idea sounded even more absurd than immortality.
Jack shrugged.
"Believe it or not."
"The fact remains the same."
Pepper stared at him.
"Then who exactly are you?"
Jack grinned.
"The super villain you described earlier."
He suddenly pressed the accelerator harder.
The sedan surged forward violently.
"You lunatic!" Pepper shouted. "Slow down!"
Jack only laughed loudly.
"Come on!"
He began singing loudly, completely out of tune.
"Let's get excited!"
---
Puente Antiguo – New Mexico
Several hours later, the sedan left the highway and drove toward a remote plateau town.
The town was called Puente Antiguo.
Only a few thousand people lived there.
It sat on a dry plateau surrounded by vast desert.
To the west of the town stretched an enormous sandy area known locally as "The Charming Wonderland."
Despite its poetic name, the place was anything but charming.
It was mostly barren land covered in pale yellow sand and scattered patches of dry vegetation.
Jack's black sedan raced across the loose sand, kicking up clouds of rolling dust behind it.
Inside the car, Pepper looked around curiously.
"What is your goal here?" she asked.
Jack slowed the vehicle slightly.
"Goal?"
He smiled.
"I never really pursue goals."
He stopped the car completely.
"What I enjoy is the process."
He stepped out of the vehicle.
"The process itself is the fun part."
Pepper followed him out reluctantly.
Then she froze.
In front of them was a massive crater.
At least several meters wide.
People had gathered around it.
Cars were parked everywhere nearby.
The crowd seemed to be discussing something excitedly.
Pepper stared at the crater.
"What is this?"
Jack didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he walked forward.
Pepper followed him and looked down into the pit.
At the center of the crater—
A black iron hammer rested quietly.
"Ahhh!"
One man stood beside the hammer.
He grabbed the handle and tried to lift it.
His muscles bulged with effort.
But the hammer didn't move even slightly.
"Let me try!"
A large, muscular man stepped forward.
He grabbed the handle with both hands.
"Ughhh!"
He pulled with all his strength.
But the hammer remained completely motionless.
The strange sight confused everyone.
The hammer looked ordinary.
It appeared to weigh no more than about twenty kilograms.
Yet no one could lift it.
Pepper looked at Jack.
"Is that hammer very heavy?"
Jack nodded slightly.
"Very heavy."
Pepper raised an eyebrow.
"Can you pull it out?"
Jack answered calmly.
"No."
Pepper immediately laughed sarcastically.
"Aren't you supposed to be extremely powerful?"
She crossed her arms.
"And you can't even lift a hammer?"
Jack looked at her.
"Congratulations."
"You finally found something you can mock me about."
Meanwhile, another man tried something different.
He tied a heavy iron chain around the hammer.
Then he attached the other end of the chain to a freight truck.
The truck's engine roared to life.
The chain tightened instantly.
But—
The hammer didn't move.
Instead—
BOOM!
The truck was suddenly lifted and flipped sideways by the tension.
Gasps erupted from the crowd.
Everyone stared in disbelief.
How heavy was that hammer?
Jack stepped down into the crater.
He approached the weapon slowly.
Then he whispered quietly.
"The hammer of the God of Thunder."
Pepper frowned.
"You know this hammer?"
She looked at him.
"Is it really called the Hammer of the God of Thunder?"
Jack nodded slightly.
"I know a little about it."
He reached out and grabbed the hammer's handle.
He pulled.
Nothing happened.
The hammer remained perfectly still.
Pepper secretly felt a small sense of satisfaction.
"So even you can't move it."
She smiled coldly.
"You see?"
"There are things you cannot do."
Her voice carried determination.
"One day someone will defeat you."
"I'm waiting for that day."
Jack simply shrugged.
"It's just a hammer."
He released it.
"This toy only works in the hands of its master."
At that moment—
In the distance, a black sedan stopped on a small hill.
A man wearing sunglasses stepped out.
He looked toward the hammer in the crater.
Then he spoke into a communicator.
"Sir."
"We found it."