In an unnamed castle within Latveria.
This country had once been a small agricultural nation. However, following the return of a scientist named Victor von Doom after completing his studies, the nation had steadily transformed into a high-tech, modernized state. Victor had even garnered massive public support through his contributions to the country, seizing control of the government years ago.
On the surface, Victor did not present himself publicly; instead, a puppet king under his control handled all foreign and domestic affairs. If everything had gone smoothly, this state of affairs would have continued. But things did not go smoothly. Five years ago, Victor von Doom suddenly vanished, the puppet king was assassinated, and a woman named Lucia von Bardas took control of the nation.
Over a decade ago, a pair of CIA agents had infiltrated this country on a secret mission. Their target was not an object, but a person: the Tinkerer. He possessed vast scientific expertise and specialized particularly in mechanics and ergonomics. Ms. Bardas sought to utilize the Tinkerer to arm the entire nation, using this force to counter the United States and Victor von Doom, should he ever return in the future.
Two years ago, Nick Fury, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., discovered this plot. He secretly dispatched a team that destroyed Ms. Bardas along with the castle she occupied at the time. Yet two years later, through the Tinkerer's methods, Ms. Bardas had replaced most of her body parts with cybernetic enhancements. Collaborating with Hydra and a certain "Lord," she had broken out over a dozen criminals from New York.
Now, Ms. Lucia von Bardas was using the Tinkerer to upgrade and cybernetically modify these criminals, tailoring exclusive, high-tech gear for them at top speed.
"Phew, that's all the intelligence I've gathered. I hope it's useful," the Vulture, Adrian Toomes, exhaled a sigh of relief.
He was currently inside a laboratory so massive it resembled a factory. Standing near him were several members of the Serpent Society, while Mac Gargan, the Scorpion, lay on an operating table not far ahead. Yuri Petrovich stood far off at the southernmost end of the lab, calibrating a massive crimson mech suit. Boomerang, dressed in a black bodysuit covered in white armor plating, looked down, inspecting the boomerang weapons in his hands.
Aside from these people whom Vulture recognized, there were over a dozen individuals he did not know at all. They appeared to have been brought there just like him—plucked from the United States, Mexico, Italy, and even across Eurasia. Without exception, the weapons and gear these people used were technology-based. For instance, there was a man calling himself "Whirlwind," who could fight at high rotational speeds and generate powerful vortices using his combat suit. There was "Blizzard," clad in a cryo-suit capable of producing sub-zero temperatures. There was Firebrand, wearing a fireproof suit equipped with a powerful flamethrower. There was even a fellow calling himself "Stilt-Man," whose ideas and combat style were utterly bizarre, utilizing stilts to fight.
Right, I need to add one more thing. It seems Lucia von Bardas has been gathering data on tech-based criminals worldwide for a long time, and she already had the Tinkerer prepare their corresponding weapons beforehand, Vulture silently noted.
His movements were incredibly discreet, but the nearby members of the Serpent Society were standing too close, occasionally striking up conversations with him. This caused cold sweat to break out on Toomes's forehead from time to time, but he forced himself to remain calm.
When Batman sent me to turn myself in at the Manhattan police station back then, he told me that if I still wanted to realize my dream of soaring through the skies one day, I should come find him.
I haven't given up on my dream, but I will absolutely never pursue it through crime again.
Cold sweat rolled down the bridge of his nose, stinging his eyes, but Vulture did not dare to blink. He constantly scanned his surroundings to ensure no one discovered his subtle actions. He was not a qualified spy or secret agent, he lacked hardened psychological resilience, and he didn't possess professional methods for transmitting information.
But he was a scientist—a renowned electronic engineer. Even though he was currently trapped in Latveria, he still found a way to quietly swipe a few small tools and assemble a makeshift information transmitter.
However, how was he going to transmit this data to Batman, who was thousands of miles away? Even if he couldn't send it directly to Batman, getting it to any media outlet or even some internet influencers would do.
Broadcasting the information remained a critical problem, and he had to do it without getting caught. Adrian Toomes could accept losing his life for his dream, but he was unwilling to pay that price before the task was done.
The information transmitter emitted radio waves. Because it was assembled from materials stolen from the laboratory, its power output wasn't small; broadcasting radio waves inside the lab would be detected instantly.
This dilemma was solved when the Tinkerer handed over the flight suit meant for Vulture.
Unlike the wings Vulture had built by mimicking bird feathers, the suit provided by the Tinkerer bore no avian characteristics. Even the wings had become steel wings, equipped with rotating turbines to provide flight propulsion. On the back of the suit was a jetpack, which could likewise support Toomes as he soared into the sky wearing this heavy gear.
The wings were steel, and the accompanying combat suit was mostly constructed of metal, including a metal helmet to ensure Vulture wouldn't lose his life to a stray bullet during aerial combat. Compared to his original flight suit, which was built solely to fulfill his dream of flying and thus lacked any weapons, this new armor was built entirely for battlefield slaughter.
Adrian Toomes was not about to argue with the Tinkerer about "dreams" at a time like this; he decided to play along.
Like everyone else, Vulture put on the combat suit and began calibrating it to better suit his use.
But suddenly! Vulture appeared unfamiliar with the suit. The steel wings on his back violently snapped open, and the turbines and back thrusters ignited simultaneously, propelling his body forward at high speed toward the crimson mech standing by the wall.
The vast laboratory instantly fell into an uproar. The Tinkerer's craftsmanship was exceptionally high, so up until now, no one had experienced a malfunction while calibrating their gear. Yet Adrian Toomes seemed completely out of control as he hurtled straight toward the Crimson Dynamo, scaring Yuri Petrovich into turning and running for his life.
Fortunately, just a moment before impact, Vulture barely managed to steer the suit and adjust his direction, though this time he went straight for the laboratory ceiling.
With a loud crash, Vulture smashed through the roof and soared into the sky.
One second, two seconds... Just as Vulture felt he had flown high enough, and that continuing further would definitely arouse suspicion, he switched on the radio transmitter and broadcasted all the intelligence he had gathered in one single burst.
He did not aim the transmission toward New York. Instead, he aimed it at the moon hanging on the horizon.
He intended to use the lunar surface to bounce the radio waves, relaying the vital intelligence back to Batman.
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