Tony's Worries

After Tony calmed down, Happy let him go from the bear hug. Tony straightened his jacket and brushed off his shoulders like nothing had happened.

"Hey boy, you're really lucky. If Happy hadn't stopped me, you would have..." Tony started to speak in his typical arrogant manner, but he was quickly cut off by Hades.

"Sure, you could beat my ass, but only in your dreams," Hades said with a smirk, and Tony's face contorted with anger.

"Why you little..." Tony began to go for round two, but he was once again detained by Happy. At the same time, Pepper rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Tony Stark was an extremely rational man, despite his many bad habits. None of them had made him a fool; instead, they had helped him to understand people better.

However, Tony had an extremely high IQ and EQ, unlike many people with high IQs and low EQs.

Looking at Hades' figure, he had figured out he wouldn't stand a chance against him in a one-on-one fight. Usually, he would have gotten Hades back with a sarcastic comment or by flaunting his wealth. Still, something about Hades was making him throw all rationality out the window.

Seeing Tony's antics, Hades just smiled. He didn't know what was happening, but he was getting a strong desire to tease Tony, a feeling he used to get with his younger brothers. It was a feeling that only an older brother would know. Ask any older brother, and they would say that the most fun thing in the world is to tease their younger siblings.

Hades were getting that same feeling right now, a feeling that had almost become alien to him. Realizing what was happening, Hades suddenly stopped smiling. His sunny, warm face became clouded with thunderstorms.

"Mr. Stark, let's stop this nonsense. My name is Hades. You might have heard of my fund's management firm, Hell Corporation. I have come here to discuss some important matters with you," Hades said in a cold voice devoid of emotion.

Tony suddenly stopped struggling and calmed down. He became serious, realizing Hades was not here for a playful banter. He had heard about the rising Hell Corporation. This firm started as a small trading corporation but later expanded and became on par with companies like Hammer Industries. Now, Hell Corporation was only second to the Stark Group.

But the most unusual thing about it was the mysterious owner. No one knew who it was, but they knew he was a genius on par with Tony. Many had tried to find him but failed. Lately, Tony had heard that Kingpin managed to track down the mysterious owner of Hell Corporation, but he knew better.

And just as he had thought, news had come an hour ago that Kingpin had gone missing. But now, the young man before him was saying that he was the mysterious owner of Hell Corporation. Tony had difficulty believing it but decided to play along for now. Later, he would conduct a thorough investigation on this Hades guy.

If Hades was telling the truth, then such an extremely secretive and mysterious guy wouldn't come in person to meet him if there wasn't something significant. Any small deals wouldn't require Tony or Hades' presence, as the two companies could handle it independently.

"So, Mr. Hades, what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Tony asked with a professional tone, but his eyes betrayed a hint of sarcasm.

"Well, as I said, it's an important matter, or more specifically, to give you an important artifact," Hades replied in his usual cold voice, with a hint of sarcasm still oozing from his words.

Tony couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in skepticism. "How kind of you, Mr. Hades. May I know what it is?" he asked, still unsure of the situation.

Hades didn't answer but took out a sleek black card from inside his suit and tossed it at Tony. Tony caught it with ease in his right hand.

"Thank me later, as this will save your life one day, Mr. Stark," Hades said before turning around and leaving without waiting for a response.

Tony, Pepper, and Happy stood there stunned as Hades drove off in his dark, ominous car.

"What just happened?" Pepper asked, looking confused.

"Well, we just met the mysterious owner of Hell," Tony replied, still trying to process what had just occurred.

After looking at the mysterious card in his hands, Tony was taken aback. It was unlike any other visiting card he had ever seen. The card was as black as the night sky and had no contact details, making it look like a blackboard waiting to be written on. Tony couldn't help but wonder what kind of prank Hades was trying to pull on him.

As Tony went to throw the card away, he suddenly felt its weight increase to that of a barbell. He stumbled a little but managed to maintain his balance with ease because, after all, he was the great Tony Stark. However, when he looked at the card again, it had transformed into a material that seemed to be a mixture of obsidian and gold.

Tony was fascinated as he examined the intricate designs on the card depicting a powerful God holding a scythe aloft. The God commanded respect and fear from everyone around him, including skeletons, ghouls, and hellish creatures bowing down before him.

Tony couldn't help but feel a little scared as the image on the card seemed so vivid that it appeared to come to life. As he ran his fingers over the card, he could feel a pulsing energy emanating, like the rhythmic beating of a powerful heart. It was an unnerving feeling for Tony, and his mind was flooded with questions.

"How did Hades cram so much advanced tech into such a small card?" Tony thought.

"What principles were used to create it?"

"Did he use nanotechnology? That must be the only way to explain how the card underwent such a transformation."

"But if Hades did use nanotech, then that would mean he's smarter than me? No, that's not possible!" Tony exclaimed.

"But the most important thing is to keep the card safe to reverse-engineer *cough, cough* to study it."

"Also, I need to ensure that Pepper is safe from that bastard's clutches. I won't allow anyone to take my Pepper away from me. Especially some devilishly handsome dude who seems to be more intelligent than me. Nope, definitely not gonna let that happen." Tony thought.

Tony slipped the card into his pocket and walked away, contemplating the mysterious card and all the questions that came with it. He couldn't wait to return to his lab and analyze it further. And also to spend some quality time with Pepper.