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Chapter 120: United as One
Glub glub glub...
Two Ten Rings members held Tony Stark's arms behind his back. They forced his head into a water-filled basin.
"Tony, I'm begging you to build the Jericho missile for me."
Tony Stark was yanked up by his hair, face turned toward the Ten Rings leader Abu Bakaar who'd spoken.
Tony coughed twice, bloodshot eyes glaring at Abu Bakaar as he shook his head in defiant refusal.
Before he could speak again—glub glub glub—Tony Stark's head was shoved back under the water.
After an hour of continuous torture, the Ten Rings still had no intention of relenting.
Abu Bakaar wore clothing so filthy its original color was unidentifiable. Everything except his head was wrapped tightly to shield against the Middle Eastern sun and sandstorms.
Compared to him, Tony Stark wore only a T-shirt and thin jacket.
Now Abu Bakaar gestured for his subordinates to give him space. He personally pulled open Tony Stark's jacket and grasped the wires connecting to the electromagnet in his chest.
"Tony Stark, your presence honors me greatly."
Abu Bakaar smiled. If one ignored his hand gripping the wires and tugging them slightly outward, his demeanor appeared genuinely sincere.
"I kept you alive hoping you'd serve my purposes. But if you won't cooperate, what reason do I have to let you live?"
Tony Stark coughed violently. His mouth, nose, and ears were full of water, but physical discomfort was the least of his concerns.
He stared into the Ten Rings leader's eyes.
Then an opaque burlap sack was pulled over his head. Tony Stark's hands were released, but something heavy was placed in them—the car battery sustaining his life.
After being pushed and shoved through turn after turn, the burlap finally came off Tony Stark's head.
His vision blurred. Eyes accustomed to the pitch-black cave suddenly exposed to bright sunlight—Tony Stark instinctively recoiled. After a moment, he adjusted.
Yinsen, imprisoned with him, had also been brought outside.
But Tony Stark's eyes didn't seek Yinsen. Instead, they fixed on the weapons stacked in crates near the cave entrance.
Missiles. Rifles. Ammunition. Every single one bore the Stark Industries logo.
"What are your thoughts?" Abu Bakaar's words reached Tony through Yinsen's translation.
Tony Stark's emotions churned in turmoil. He'd never known so many weapons from his company had fallen into terrorist hands.
And this was only one organization he could see.
In the shadows, in hidden places—how many other similar terrorist groups possessed Stark Industries armaments?
Tony Stark's mind flashed back to several days earlier, to Peter Parker's words before their argument at Stark Tower:
"Tony, there's a problem with Stark Industries. It's no longer under your precise control..."
Clutching the car battery, hair soaked, face smeared with dirt and grime, beard caked with dust—Tony Stark looked utterly wretched. His expression was complicated as he spoke.
"You have many of my weapons."
Abu Bakaar laughed heartily. He knew his threats and forcing Tony Stark to witness these weapons had achieved the desired effect.
"Whatever materials you need, we can provide. These weapons all come from Stark Industries, but they no longer satisfy our requirements."
"We need weapons powerful enough, accurate enough to secure greater profits."
"So I need you to build me the Jericho missile."
Yinsen stood nearby, expression equally complex as he faithfully translated the Ten Rings leader's words to Tony Stark.
"Once you complete the Jericho for me, I'll let you go. After that, you'll be free." Abu Bakaar extended one hand.
Tony Stark forced a bitter smile, grasping the offered hand while speaking to Yinsen in English.
"He won't keep his word."
Yinsen's face showed a self-deprecating smile as he watched the former world's leading weapons dealer reach an agreement with Middle Eastern terrorists.
"No. He won't."
Once again, burlap sacks covered their heads. Tony Stark and Yinsen were pushed and shoved back into the deepest cave chamber.
CLANG!
The iron door slammed shut and locked from outside.
Tony Stark sat motionless on the ground. Outside, he'd already observed the terrain and personnel distribution. The results were hopeless.
Every shadow, every corner held Ten Rings members gripping weapons, watching with predatory eyes.
For an unarmed man carrying a cumbersome car battery, escape was nearly impossible.
Tony Stark had agreed to the Ten Rings leader's plan to manufacture the Jericho missile as their strategic weapon.
But he understood perfectly this merely delayed the inevitable. The day the Jericho was completed might be the day Tony Stark died.
Yinsen studied Tony Stark sitting numbly on the ground, then dropped down across from him.
"I know the military is searching for you. But trust me—they won't find this place."
"Everything you saw outside is your handiwork. Your research has fallen into these killers' hands."
"Are you really planning to just wait for death? Won't you do something?"
Tony Stark didn't look at Yinsen. His unfocused eyes stared into the pitch-black cave.
"Why should I do anything? We both know they'll kill us eventually. We won't live much longer anyway."
"Which makes the time we have left all the more precious, doesn't it?" Yinsen countered.
Tony Stark looked toward Yinsen. By now, Yinsen had kindled a fire. Flames flickered in Tony's eyes.
---
In a forested section at the edge of the Adirondack Mountains, one black figure and one white stood less than two meters apart.
Facing Batman's sudden appearance and his bonding with Venom, Anti-Venom's mouth split wide again. Its claw extended in mid-air retracted, transforming into a fist that hammered toward Batman.
The air at the fist's leading edge compressed under tremendous force, making it difficult to breathe. Batman's expression remained unchanged. He similarly clenched his extended hand into a fist and met Anti-Venom's strike head-on.
CRACK!
Fist struck fist. Batman's cape billowed backward from the massive impact. Flowing black symbiotic material gave the cape a wispy, streaming appearance.
The massive white Anti-Venom and the pitch-black Venom Batman stood their ground. Around them, unbroken trees bent in all directions from the two combatants as center point.
The shockwave from their clash made all branches except the thickest trunks groan under unbearable strain. Fallen leaves scattered in every direction, forming a perfect circle around the two fighters.
After one exchange, both Anti-Venom and Venom Batman retreated a single step. Joy nearly overflowed from Venom's consciousness.
"Magnificent! This is the host I've dreamed of! We're incredibly strong!"
But in the next second, Venom sensed something wrong.
The black symbiotic material that should have covered Batman's fist lost its vitality. It became inert matter, crumbling dryly to the ground where the wind turned it to dust.
In that moment, Venom finally understood what its offspring was, and what its abilities entailed.
It was called Anti-Venom. It possessed physical capabilities exceeding Venom's. It lacked the weaknesses Venom feared. Most critically—it could directly dissolve symbiotic matter. It was the natural enemy of all symbiotes!
Venom's earlier euphoria transformed instantly into terror. It shrieked in alarm.
"Run! We can't defeat it!"
But Anti-Venom's murderous intent toward Venom combined with Eddie Brock's murderous intent toward Batman.
Facing Batman transformed into Venom Batman, they too had achieved perfect unity.
SHING!
Both arms transformed into scythes that scraped against the ground. Anti-Venom roared and lunged toward Batman.
****
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