Middle East, in a secret cave of the Ten Rings.
Tony Stark rested one hand on a car battery, his gaze sweeping slowly over the cave's setup with a hint of despair. There was a forge, an anvil, a workbench, and a computer—along with surveillance.
"What did you do to me?" Tony Stark asked, staring at the bald, lanky man named Ethan.
"I saved your life," Ethan said with a smile. "I did what I could to remove most of the shrapnel from your chest, but the rest will still travel through your bloodstream to your heart."
As he spoke, Ethan picked up a small test tube, the shrapnel inside clinking crisply: "These are my souvenirs."
He tossed the sealed tube to Tony Stark and continued, "In my homeland, many people suffer wounds like yours. They're called the living dead."
"Because after about a week, the shrapnel reaches their hearts, and they die slowly in excruciating pain."
Tony held the tube up to his eyes, studying the shrapnel from Stark Industries—and from his own chest—then touched the device on his chest. "So you built an electromagnet, powered by a car battery, to hold the shrapnel in my body?"
Ethan nodded with a smile, as if he weren't trapped in a sunless cave but lounging comfortably at home.
"Where is this?" Tony Stark tossed the tube of broken shrapnel aside and looked at Ethan.
Before Ethan could answer, a harsh shout in Pashto rang out from outside the cave. Then Tony Stark saw the entrance to his prison open, and several men carrying Stark Industries weapons walked in.
Instinctively, Tony looked past them. Outside wasn't the bright daylight but pitch blackness.
This meant he was in the deepest part of the cave. To escape, he'd either have to dig through the entire mountain or break through a group of heavily armed terrorists.
Neither option was something Tony Stark could manage right now.
"Welcome, the most notorious murderer in history, Mr. Tony Stark."
"Please build the missile for me—the Jericho missile you demonstrated, the one capable of large-scale attacks."
The Ten Rings leader's mouth opened and closed, and Tony Stark couldn't understand a word he was saying.
But with Ethan's translation, Tony grasped the meaning.
These terrorists wanted him to build a Jericho missile in this cave—the most advanced weapon from Stark Industries.
Tony Stark stood with his hands clasped behind his head, looking at the smiling leader, and shook his head almost without hesitation:
"No way."
"Do you remember the bio-pheromone decoy I asked you to make, Dr. Banner?" On Brothers Island South, Batman turned his gaze to Dr. Banner, who had half-removed his lab coat.
Both Dr. Banner and Dr. Otto believed Professor Connors might be provoked by Batman's near-taunting words and transform into the Lizard.
But Batman knew Professor Connors wouldn't. He was the only one among the three who knew Batman's "true" identity.
He knew Batman, and he also knew Peter Parker.
Both identities had helped Professor Connors too much. He wouldn't turn against them over a few words. Connors knew he couldn't do that.
"I remember. You said it was something from beyond this world?"
Dr. Banner put his lab coat back on, pulled glasses from his pocket, and put them on, his face showing keen interest.
At least in the current world, extraterrestrial life still existed only in imagination for most people.
Even a top scientist like Dr. Banner, with seven PhDs, remained deeply fascinated by it.
"Yes, it's appeared. I'm going to make contact with it. There might be a fight."
Batman's voice was unusually low. He knew nothing about the white symbiote, and to learn about it, he'd have to merge with Venom… but the problem was that Venom, in Batman's eyes, was an unstable factor.
Until he fully examined Venom, Batman had no intention of letting it bond with him.
He couldn't guarantee Venom wouldn't delve into his memories during intense combat, affecting his condition in every way.
This meant Batman had to go alone to face the white symbiote with no prior knowledge, gathering intel from the fight itself.
"If it's too powerful, I can help," Professor Connors offered after a moment's hesitation.
"Professor, you're still in the early stages of mastering your Lizard transformation. This is something only I can do." Batman rejected Connors' kindness.
Whether it was Hulk or the Lizard, Batman didn't want either to risk being parasitized by the white symbiote.
Dr. Otto, who had been ready to flee at any moment, saw that Connors showed no signs of transforming and walked over:
"Are you sure about this?"
Batman looked at the three scientists. Professor Connors cared the most—he knew the man beneath the mask was Peter Parker.
Dr. Banner came next. Though he only knew the Batman identity, the peaceful days of research, free from worry about being discovered, were something he hadn't had in a long time—all thanks to Batman.
Only Dr. Otto still regarded Batman with a trace of wariness, yet even he showed a hint of concern.
"I've prepared a few plans, but I'm not confident," Batman said.
He rarely fought battles he wasn't sure of winning, but he had no choice. That thing was a constant threat and had to be dealt with.
Batman had already witnessed Venom, bonded with Eddie, brutally killing eight or nine innocent people at the F.E.A.S.T. shelter.
He couldn't guarantee the white symbiote wouldn't be just as vicious.
Under the scientists' varied gazes, Batman left the lab, cradling the pre-hidden eco-container in his arms.
Emerging from Ryker's Island, Batman bought an off-road vehicle from a passerby and sped toward the Adirondack Mountains.
"Barbara, have you located Tony Stark yet?"
Half his focus on driving, Batman asked the Oracle AI embedded in his Arkham suit.
Before leaving the City Hall subway station, he had tasked Oracle with narrowing down Tony Stark's location using financial flows, logistics routes, and other methods.
"I've identified five possible locations holding Tony Stark and am checking them one by one, Bruce," Oracle replied.
"One hour and five minutes ago, the Ten Rings sent an email to Obadiah," Batman said. "Even if it was routed through multiple relays and the final address sent to Obadiah wasn't in the Middle East…"
"We can use S.H.I.E.L.D.'s satellites to backtrack the email's network nodes and further narrow the range."
Oracle immediately executed Batman's instructions, while Batman drew closer to the Adirondacks—and farther from New York's densely populated areas.
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