Venom Robin couldn't make heads or tails of the airspeed indicator on Reflection... he didn't even know which dial was the airspeed indicator in the first place.
Yet that didn't diminish his experience aboard this new aircraft: it was fast.
Compared to Reflection, Batman's previous jets were like turtles crawling along.
What's more, despite flying at high speeds, it operated with extremely low noise, moving like a ghost.
No, it should be described as moving like the Flash, Venom Robin corrected his own thought.
In the memories inherited from Batman—setting aside Superman under special circumstances—the Flash was the fastest man alive. Furthermore, because he ran by relying on the Speed Force, he was immune to air resistance and various other environmental factors, naturally generating no sonic boom clouds as he ran.
At present, Reflection operated in much the same manner.
Compared to previous missions where flying anywhere took half a day or even a full day, Reflection took merely two hours to fly from New York to the Helicarrier anchored over the Pacific Ocean.
This kind of speed was completely unimaginable to Venom Robin, but Alfred merely offered a mild smile:
"Young Master Robin, this speed is far from Reflection's limit."
Venom Robin wanted to ask just how fast it could go, but Alfred shook his head, bowing slightly at the waist as he made a gesture of invitation:
"I wish you a smooth journey."
They had arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier.
"Alfie, take over the controls," Batman said.
Alfred had already taken over the controls the instant Batman left the pilot's seat, and upon hearing the order, he maneuvered the hatch open.
Batman patted Venom Robin on the shoulder and leaped down from the opened hatch.
"JARVIS, investigate all World War II-era Soviet bases. I'm going to look for Batman's so-called 'physical intelligence.'"
Inside a secret room within Stark Tower, Tony Stark stood clad in his Mark VIII armor as he spoke to his AI butler.
"Sir, I anticipated that you might harbor the intention of heading there in person," JARVIS said. "As such, while you were still at the Avengers Mansion, I had already begun initiating the investigation."
Iron Man nodded; a far-ahead-of-its-time artificial intelligence crafted by his own hands ought to operate precisely like this:
"Mark them out for me on the map."
JARVIS complied as instructed, and soon a massive holographic world map materialized, hovering before Iron Man.
Red dots appeared one after another within the territory of present-day Russia.
"Seven, eight, nine... nine locations in total?" Iron Man knit his brows tight. "More than I expected?"
JARVIS, seemingly having anticipated Iron Man's reaction long ago, explained:
"Sir, among these bases, only three remain in active use at present, but I have nevertheless marked out the abandoned facilities as well.
"I suspect this mysterious assassin likely stems from a project abandoned by the Soviet Union long ago, only to be put back into service by someone else. Otherwise, traces of their activities should have surfaced over the past several decades."
Tony Stark rubbed his fingers together, pondering for a moment without speaking.
"Sir, according to the route I have planned for you, all bases can be thoroughly investigated within twenty-four hours at the fastest," JARVIS added.
"Do as you suggested, JARVIS," Iron Man made up his mind.
Having said that, he turned and stepped out of the secret room, heading to the bar counter to pour himself a brim-full glass of liquor, while grabbing two energy bars.
Downing the liquor into his throat while chewing voraciously on the energy bars, bloodshot veins already densely laced his eyes.
"Sir, you appear to be planning an immediate departure for Russia?" JARVIS's voice echoed from beside the bar counter.
"Correct," Iron Man said.
"I advise you to follow Peter Parker's arrangements and act in secret alongside Captain America's group," JARVIS counseled.
"It's merely a meeting with Alexander Pierce. Even if he is Hydra, and even if Steve is ninety-nine percent likely to walk into an ambush on this trip, do you think Captain America won't be able to handle it?" Iron Man asked.
"Sir, please reconsider with caution," JARVIS urged once more.
"That's final, JARVIS," Iron Man said.
He swallowed the last bite of the energy bar and downed the final drop of liquor.
Clang!
The metal visor slammed shut with a sharp snap, and Iron Man transformed into a streak of fire, soaring into the sky and heading straight toward Russia.
"Max, how long until you get back to New York?"
Mid-flight, Iron Man spoke up abruptly.
The comm channel fell silent for a few minutes before Electro Max Dillon's voice came through:
"Tony... I was attacked."
"What! You were attacked too?" Tony Stark's voice spiked abruptly.
During this period, Electro Max Dillon hadn't been in New York at all, instead utilizing his speed to zip across the entire globe.
Iron Man Tony Stark had instructed him to search locations worldwide where rumors of potential superhumans had surfaced, making contact with them whenever possible.
He hadn't forgotten how he had always assumed the rest of the world outside New York was completely devoid of remarkable individuals, only for Captain America to show up during the Battle of Manhattan leading people from Britain, Canada, and other places in rapid succession.
Electro Max Dillon's actions had been kept secret from everyone, yet they were by no means illegal.
On the contrary, this was a verbal agreement reached through negotiation between Iron Man and the President of the United States following their secret phone call.
Iron Man needed to gather information on the identities of superhumans worldwide as much as possible, pulling those worthy of recruitment into the Avengers.
The US President, on the other hand, acted out of political considerations: if the majority of the world's superhumans were gathered in the United States, while the hidden risks were not small, the political benefits far outweighed the hazards.
"To be precise, the other party bore no hostility, but I was indeed injured," Electro Max Dillon said with a bitter laugh. "I thought no one could hurt me at all."
"Who was it?" Tony asked.
"Thor."
"What!"
Iron Man could no longer care about anything else at this point; even his flight speed toward Russia gradually slowed down, until he eventually hovered high in the sky.
"Are you sure it was Thor?" Iron Man asked.
"No one else possesses that kind of power," Electro said. "Dark clouds blanketing the sky, thunder flashing and lightning roaring—who else could it be besides him? Even though I didn't even see where he was."
"Where are you right now?" Iron Man pressed.
"I'm on a plain. I don't dare get any closer to the lightning in the sky; there are no electrical appliances or currents within a hundred-mile radius here for me to travel through. I don't know the exact location either," Electro said.
"Stay hidden where you are. I'll contact Batman," Iron Man said in a heavy voice.
He couldn't understand why Thor would launch an attack on Electro, and could only hope in his heart that, as Electro said, it wasn't a targeted strike with hostile intent.
Recalling the scene from half a month ago where divine lightning descended from the heavens, slamming eleven Frost Giants forcibly into the Earth's core, Iron Man felt his scalp go numb.
"If necessary, I will activate Veronica," Iron Man muttered to himself, switching over to establish an encrypted comm line with Batman.
--
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