"Jarvis, continue playback," Batman said.
Jarvis responded in agreement, resuming the footage Tony had paused.
It was a short recording, lasting only a dozen or so seconds: a missile descended from the sky, penetrating the roof of a house without exploding.
"Where is this?" Batman asked.
No matter how omnipotent he was, there was no way he could lock down a location within a few seconds based on a video lasting mere seconds—especially when the house in the footage possessed no distinct features.
"Sokovia," Tony Stark said, his eyes still staring straight at the projection.
If the location was Sokovia, then the origin of this missile was clear.
After Tony returned from the Middle East and announced the closure of the weapons division, Iron Monger Obadiah Stane had kept selling weapons behind Tony's back, and one of those locations had been Sokovia.
"What's on your mind?" Batman asked.
Tony placed his wine glass aside, extending his fingers to operate controls in mid-air.
He switched to another recording—this time a super-long video exceeding 48 hours in duration.
There was only a single frame in the video, still from the perspective of that same security camera, still showing that house with its roof penetrated by the missile.
Except this time the picture was slightly clearer; through the house's window, Batman could vaguely see two young figures lying motionless on the floor inside the room.
A video duration exceeding 48 hours meant that those two figures had been lying right there for over 48 hours as well.
And that dud Jericho missile was lodged quietly at an angle into the ground less than a meter away from them.
"The ones who truly killed my parents were Hydra," Tony finally spoke up, his voice raspy to an unbelievable degree. "These past few days, as I investigated intelligence on Hydra, I found that a group suspected to be Hydra exists in Sokovia."
"Mm." Batman let out a response, taking a seat on the sofa to Tony's left.
"A pair of siblings lived in this house," Tony suddenly changed the subject, pointing at the projection. "After this surveillance footage, I never spotted them again."
"Until yesterday, when I discovered their figures appearing on the streets of Sokovia... I want to go meet them."
Batman watched Tony pick that wine glass back up—though still taking small, deliberate sips rather than chugging it down as he used to—and knew this was a long-held habit of Tony's rather than actual binge drinking.
He had wanted to meet the siblings yesterday, yet even by tonight, Tony was still sitting here drinking.
Batman asked directly:
"What are you worried about?"
A look of anxiety appeared on Tony's face—a expression Batman was all too familiar with:
"Peter, think about it... For forty-eight whole hours, that brother and sister lay right there on the cold floor, staring at a missile that could explode at any moment, staring at the name 'Stark' written right on it."
"I can't imagine how they endured those forty-eight hours. I want to go meet them, but I don't dare to."
With that, Tony finally tilted his head back, gulping down the liquor in one go before getting up, walking to the bar, and pouring himself another glass.
"Tony, what you're truly thinking inside is: if you go and find out they've already joined Hydra, how should you treat them?" Batman said, watching Tony drain the glass once again.
"Heh." Tony let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"The best time to plant a tree was ten years ago; the second best time is now," Batman said.
"I know that, of course," Tony said. "Can you come with me?"
"No." Batman rejected Tony's request. "I have other things to do, Tony."
Tony shrugged, curling his lip.
This demeanor of his only ever surfaced before Batman; in front of the other Avengers and the public, Tony maintained a steady, reliable image most of the time.
...Using the period after the Battle of Manhattan as a dividing line, Tony before then had still been somewhat insufferable, but after that, he had been changing bit by bit.
"Tell me about your business. Maybe I can help you handle it?" Tony asked.
Just as Batman was about to speak—intending to mention that he needed to remain in New York to analyze clues regarding Project S.W.O.R.D., as well as the fact that with Dr. Zola gone from S.H.I.E.L.D., the agency had reverted to a state where Batman could hack into it at any time to try and track down Nick Fury—
Inside the Gargoyle Suit, a series of alarms rang out. Batman raised his right hand to take a look, seeing the holographic display—replaced on his armor by Alfred—flashing with a blue light.
Blue symbolized an unexpected occurrence, but one within controllable bounds.
Batman spread both hands toward Tony:
"You see?"
Tony Stark rolled his eyes.
Saying nothing further, Batman stood up, walked to the edge of the top-floor helipad, and leaped downward.
He wasn't refusing to accompany Tony to Sokovia out of cold indifference toward his friend; rather, even if Batman went, he could hardly be of much help—the psychological hurdle truly needed to be overcome by Tony himself.
The two of them weren't Benjamin Reilly and Venom Robin, who needed field experience as a pair.
"Sir, as the founder and current leader of the Avengers, Peter hopes you can truly step up and shoulder this responsibility," inside Stark Tower, Jarvis's words sounded considerably more objective, though the core message remained Batman's line of thinking.
"I know, of course." Tony let out a sigh. "Prepare the Mark IX for me."
The alarm originated from South Brother Island.
Before Batman arrived, Alfred had already informed him of the specifics regarding the incident and instructed him to make a special trip to Chinatown to buy a pile of food.
Yet when Batman arrived carrying bags big and small full of food, he still felt an urge to "spread his hands" in resignation.
Dr. Banner's ex-girlfriend... or rather, his current girlfriend following their reunion, Betty Ross, was draped in a white sheet. One hand gripped a corner of the sheet to keep it from slipping off, while the other was clenched in a fist, pounding the hard alloy tabletop beat by beat:
"Hurry up!"
The alloy tabletop had been pounded into a large concave dent by her fist.
Gazing at Betty Ross's bright red skin—identical to the Red Hulk's—Batman first tossed all the food over to Betty, then pulled the thoroughly chagrined Dr. Banner aside and asked:
"Did you have sex?"
Dr. Banner's blood and bodily fluids both contained gamma radiation, which would cause mutations in other organisms upon absorption.
Every scientist on South Brother Island knew this, and Dr. Banner was normally exceedingly cautious about it.
Now that Betty had transformed into a She-Red Hulk, it was virtually a hundred percent certain that Dr. Banner was the cause.
Fortunately, Betty remained rational at this moment, aside from appearing somewhat irritable due to post-transformation hunger.
"...No," Dr. Banner refuted. "I know my body's condition. Just now... I only kissed her for a moment."
"I'm afraid it was more than just a moment, and one of you used tongue," Professor Connors teased from the side. "I just hope Dr. Otto comes back alone in a few days, rather than bringing back a wife who turned into an octopus."
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