Chapter 58: The Questioner Favors Iron Man

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"In fact, I know that man with the severed arm," Tony Stark revealed a name. "Ulysses Klaue, someone I've met before. He's a black-market arms dealer. Don't look at me like that. You meet many people at arms conventions, but I didn't sell any weapons to him."

"Stark, your past experiences finally come in handy," Phil Coulson said. "Keep an eye on this arms dealer. Maybe we can find Ultron and uncover the 'evil plan' mentioned by Ultron."

That's right. What the video showed us is just the tip of the iceberg. The Age of Ultron must have more enemies than just those few," Clint Barton said. "Perhaps the evil plan mentioned by the robot is the true Age of Ultron."

"If that's the case, Vibranium is crucial," Phil Coulson said. "After we return, I'll report to Director Fury. We must have control over all the Vibranium in the world! If we can't stop the birth of that robot, and it doesn't have Vibranium, it won't be able to carry out its evil plan, and the Age of Ultron won't be initiated."

"Exactly! Vibranium must be firmly in our hands," Clint Barton nodded repeatedly. "Even if not for the Age of Ultron, this metal shouldn't be left unattended. If it falls into the wrong hands, the consequences would be unimaginable."

[The seventh question begins. Please be prepared.]

[Among the following characters, who took away Iron Man's armor?]

[A) Justin Hammer]

[B) Ivan Vanko]

[C) Pepper Potts]

[D) James Rhodes]

[Answering this question correctly rewards you with an invisibility cloak. Answering incorrectly deducts one year of lifespan.]

A new question began.

Everyone's gaze immediately fell on Tony Stark.

Another question about Tony Stark!

He had already been the subject of two questions before. Why another one now!

Does the questioner have a bias towards Tony Stark?

"Why are you all looking at me?" Tony Stark didn't understand the meaning behind their eyes.

"Stark, do you know the questioner?" Phil Coulson asked.

"If the questioner is a hottie, then I'm interested in getting to know them," Tony Stark replied. "But why do you ask?"

"Don't you notice? The questions from the questioner are mostly about you," Clint Barton said.

"Who knows?" Tony Stark laughed. "Maybe I'm the protagonist of this world."

"Here's another question I can't chime in on," Thor looked at the question and willingly stepped aside.

"This question seems to allow us to eliminate one option directly," Phil Coulson pointed at Pepper Potts. "Miss Potts, it seems highly unlikely that she would ever take your armor, right?"

"No, absolutely not," Tony Stark quickly shook his head. "If there's one person in this world who won't betray me, it's her."

"What about James Rhodes?" Phil Coulson asked again. "If I remember correctly, Stark, he's your closest friend."

"While the military has always wanted my armor, Rhodes has been assigned multiple times to discuss the armor with me," Tony Stark said. "But I believe Rhodes would never stoop to the level of snatching my armor. So we can eliminate option D as well."

"So, we're left with options A and B?" Clint Barton felt that the eliminations happened too quickly.

"Two 'bad guys' remaining," Tony Stark scanned the two names and finally pointed at Ivan Vanko. "I think it should be him!"

"Choosing him again?" Thor was astonished. "Didn't we choose him once already?"

"There's no rule that the answer to two questions can't be the same person," Tony Stark said. "Justin Hammer is just a clown jumping around. I know he has always coveted my armor, but he has no ability to snatch it from me. Other countries would need 5 to 10 years to replicate the armor, but Justin Hammer would need at least 20 years!"

"Indeed, Justin Hammer has no ability to take the armor from Stark," Phil Coulson agreed. "The words 'jumping clown' describe him perfectly."

"So, is the answer settled then?" Clint Barton thought for a moment and spoke up. "I think we should reconsider. Ivan Vanko was able to create his own Arc Reactor and attempt to assassinate Stark. He's a notable figure and should be stronger than Justin Hammer. But didn't he already fail to assassinate Stark? He should be in prison."

"For someone like him, I wouldn't be surprised if he escaped from prison," Tony Stark said.

"Speaking of the assassination, something just came to mind," Phil Coulson said. "Ivan Vanko's attempt to assassinate Stark happened in a public event with numerous witnesses. Moreover, the race was broadcast in real-time, so who knows how many people witnessed the assassination."

"So what?" Thor didn't understand what Phil Coulson was getting at.

"Therefore, that assassination would have been seen by countless people, and Ivan Vanko would be in the public eye," Phil Coulson explained.

"And then?" Thor still didn't get it.

"Then, the fact that Ivan Vanko created an Arc Reactor would also spread..."

"Coulson! You've thought it through, and I overlooked that," Tony Stark said. "There are too many people in the world who have their eyes on my armor. When they find out that there's someone else who can create an Arc Reactor, they will surely pounce on Ivan Vanko like a pack of hungry dogs."

"That means Ivan Vanko's escape is inevitable," Clint Barton said. "Even if he didn't plan to escape himself, some 'big shots' would help him escape willingly!"

"After escaping, he still wants to kill Stark, but he knows that the 'suit' he made himself can't kill Tony, so he takes Tony's armor!" Phil Coulson continued his analysis.

"There's one problem here," Thor interjected. "He's not even a match for Stark. How could he take the armor from him?"

"That's too simple," Clint Barton said. "Just use some despicable methods, like holding someone Tony cares about hostage and forcing him to hand over the armor. For example, disguise oneself as a janitor, enter Stark's office, plant a bomb inside in advance, and so on."

"Looking at it this way, Ivan Vanko's chances seem quite high," Thor nodded.

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Check out my Other Projects too:-(Advanced chapter on P@treon)

=>Sailing with Whitebeard: Starting with a Question

=>The day of studying in Hogwarts

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[END OF CHAPTER]