Chapter 87

Not much had happened in the past half year.

Perhaps most importantly, Alice got to know her grandparents, and they occasionally visited her in New York. Carol also visited her parents and brother several times a month.

Damian got out of bed and chuckled slightly at the sight of Ophelia hugging Ana. After sneaking into their bed for so long, they took it for granted, and even Ana didn't say anything anymore.

Damian got dressed before going downstairs and sitting with his mother, who was accompanied by Sassy.

"Did you sleep well?" Sophia asked, smiling as she took Damian's hand.

"I slept well," Damian said with a light laugh. It is almost impossible for a vampire to sleep badly.

"Tell me, are you happy with your life?" Damian asked as he looked into Sophia's eyes.

"Of course, I am," Sophia said, smiling happily. She has a big family and three little granddaughters to spoil.

"Sometimes I worry you're bored," Damian said with a sigh.

"You're overthinking it. I've always loved being at home and reading books. I even learned the Nova language to read their books. The family you gave me is enough," Sophia said, smiling warmly at him.

"I'm glad you said that. Remember to tell me if you ever get bored of this lifestyle," Damian said.

Sophia simply rolled her eyes before returning to her book.

Just then, Damian's cell phone rang, so he pulled it out before answering it.

"Tony," Damian said, waving.

"Hi, I was just calling to tell you that I made a breakthrough on the power source. Just wait, my armor will be better than yours," Tony said boastfully.

"It's just a little preview. When you send me a picture of your finished armor, we can talk," Damian said teasingly.

"You say converse, but the suit you showed me was not designed by you," Tony said mockingly.

"Where are you?" Damian asked, ignoring his mockery because he was right.

"I'm in Afghanistan. I'm doing a gun show," Tony said, laughing as he saw how Damian changed the subject. It wasn't easy to get one over on Damian.

"Lately, I've been cooped up at home doing research. Obadiah came to bother me and said I should show my face occasionally. I had no choice but to come," Tony said, somewhat annoyed.

"That's a dangerous area, be careful Tony. But don't worry, if anything happens to you, I'll take care of Pepper for you," Damian said with a laugh.

"Fuck off," Tony said angrily as he hung up.

Damian laughed as he heard Tony before pausing and looking at the phone a little sadly, then sighing.

It's time for Iron Man to be born. It's a really good transformation for Tony, but it comes with suffering. The only thing he can do for his friend is to make sure everything goes well.

"Everything okay?" Sophia asked as she saw Damian's expression change.

"No, it's just that I'm going to be a bit busy soon," Damian said, shaking his head. He has to make sure that Tony doesn't accidentally die.

"I'm going to Madripoor. I'll be right back," Damian said, getting up from the couch.

"Fine, I'll tell the girls," Sophia said with a nod before going back to her book.

Damian disappeared and reappeared in the subway labs.

When Damian showed Tony the armor, it was partly to inspire him and help him rid himself of the trials he would later face.

Damian entered the area where they had developed the armor. Damian had used his memories to more or less guide the scientists in the direction he wanted.

Many times the scientists suggested better solutions than the ones he remembered, so little by little, they created something similar to the armor of the game, only better or worse in some aspects.

Damian really started this project partly for fun and partly because it might be useful in the future.

"Tell me, how is the data?" Damian asked the scientist in charge of the project.

"These armors are really good. If it weren't for the fact that they are quite difficult to make, we could create a great army that could take on the best technological civilizations in the universe," said the excited scientist.

"How many can you create with the materials we have?" Damian asked without commenting on the scientist's words.

"We can only create ten, and we would have to stop several projects due to a lack of materials. There are materials that can only be obtained in certain places far away from Earth," the scientist said reluctantly.

"I see," Damian said with a nod.

"Still, in the process of creating this armor, we have made great advances in our technology. We are definitely more advanced in some aspects than the Kree race."

"Tell me, why didn't they try to create armor like this?" Damian asked curiously.

"Although these armors are impressive, their creation is not easy. And the universe is full of very powerful beings who could destroy the armor with relative ease."

"How to put it... these armors are very good against other technological civilizations, but against really powerful, more magical civilizations like the Asgard, who was unchallenged at the top of the universe, there is little they can do," the scientist said, shaking his head.

"Nor is there much that can be done in the face of celestials or gods."

"In the end, the costs do not outweigh the benefits. Unless there is a cheaper way to produce the same level of armor, no civilization is going to burn a hole in their pockets to create something that any cosmic being passing by can destroy," the scientist said with a smile.

Another aspect to consider is the energy of the Space Stone, without which many things would have been difficult.

"You're right," Damian said with a nod.

"What about the soldiers?" Damian asked.

"That's another problem we have," the scientist said with a sigh.

"My Lord, when we created the armor, you tested it most of the time, and since you were so strong, there were no adverse effects. But when we had a normal human wear it during the tests, he broke his arms," the scientist said, grimacing as he remembered the poor man's scream.

"We need to improve the soldiers so that they can wear the armor. The stronger the soldier, the more power he can get out of the armor. Although, of course, there is a limit. Even in your case, wearing the armor would hardly increase your strength at all," the scientist said, thinking about the terrifying strength of his king.

"Have you thought of something to fix it?" asked Damian, nodding thoughtfully.

"Yes, creating super-soldiers has always been a major interest of civilizations, and we have quite a bit of information from the Kree database."

"We can greatly increase physical abilities, although it is better to focus on bone structure. At the end of the day, the most important thing when wearing armor is how much your body can resist movement," the scientist said.

"Good, I like it. Start the tests. I want to have 10 super soldiers with their own armor in a maximum of 2 years," Damian said, nodding.

"No problem," the scientist said, nodding.

Damian went to another room where the artificial intelligence they had created some years ago was located.

"Mr. Damian, do you have any tasks for me?" the artificial intelligence asked in a female voice.

"Yes, I want you to show me the location of Tony Stark," Damian said.

"Just a moment," the AI said and started to search for Tony.

In front of Damian, an image of several military vehicles in a caravan appeared.

"Okay, that's all. Thanks," Damian said, nodding.

"It is a pleasure," the AI said.

Damian appeared above Tony as he looked off into the distance where several men were waiting for vehicles to approach.

Damian only secretly followed Tony to protect him. He never thought he'd end up babysitting.

Damian hovered over Tony as they began attacking the convoy, stealthily protecting the soldiers from deadly gunfire and only knocking them unconscious when they were shot in the bulletproof vest.

When Tony saw that the soldiers protecting him had fallen, he got out of the car and grabbed a gun from one of the fallen soldiers before hiding behind a rock.

"Damn, what lousy service. I'll never do another weapons demonstration," Tony muttered as he surveyed his surroundings.

A missile flew towards Tony, but Damian saw it and deflected it, causing it to fall away from Tony and avoid hitting him.

Tony was still behind a rock, looking around desperately.

At that moment, a group of five armed men approached and surrounded Tony.

Tony aimed back at them but didn't dare to shoot, knowing that he would be killed instantly.

The men yelled at him in an unknown language, while Tony tried to yell back in English.

The men were under orders not to kill him, and their leader, Raza, was curious about who was important enough to be escorted by the military and, at the same time, sent to be killed by one of the bosses of Stark Industries.

Finally, the men fired several shots near Tony, causing him to curse before lowering his weapon and surrendering.

He was Tony Stark, and they would definitely ask for a ransom. If he resisted, he would only die.

...

Damian couldn't help but sigh as he watched Tony being taken away. He followed him stealthily, preparing to save his life at any moment. After all, his mission was to kill Tony, and it was the greed of the terrorists that allowed Tony to survive and escape.

After a few twists and turns, Tony and Yinsen were finally alone in the cave. Damian figured that everything would work out as it should.

Damian left some cameras at the scene before going home. He had been looking after Tony for several hours and still hadn't seen his little girls.

As Damian expected, when he got home, he saw that everyone was watching the news about Tony Stark's disappearance. All the women looked at him with some suspicion. Damian and Tony disappeared at the same time, and if they were not friends, they would suspect that Damian got rid of Tony.

''Hi, sorry to be so late,'' Damian said, greeting everyone.

''So you didn't save him," Sophia said, looking at him.

''Don't be so blunt," Damian said with a wry smile.

"Did you know this would happen, or did you provoke it?'' Carol asked with a frown.

''I knew it would happen," Damian admitted.

"And why didn't you avoid it?'' Carol asked.

''It's for the greater good," Ophelia said, trying to imitate Damian's voice before ending with a laugh.

Damian could only remain silent as he looked at Ophelia.

''Have you been sleeping well these days?'' Damian asked Ophelia before ignoring her.

''Relax, Tony is about to have the best character development of his life. I helped him out, so it's not so hard,'' Damian joked.

''For someone who dislikes you, you seem upset about his disappearance," Ana teased Carol.

Carol gave Ana an annoyed look.

''I'm going to see my little girls, by the way, don't let them watch the news,'' Damian said as he ran away.

''We're going to have lunch soon, so don't be late,'' Sophia shouted after him.

"Sure," Damian said in the distance.

Damian reached his daughters, who were playing catch.

''Daddy,'' Ivy said with a big smile as she ran towards him, ignoring the ball.

Emma and Alice also saw him with Ivy's scream, so they ran over as well.

Three small missiles crashed into him, knocking him to the ground.

"How are my beautiful daughters?" Damian asked, smiling as he lay on the grass.

"Fine, we're playing catch. Mama Ophelia said it was good for coordination and reflexes," Alice said cheerfully.

"Well, she's right," Damian said with a laugh.

"Invite me to play?" Damian asked, with a smile.

"Sure," Ivy said, smiling before running back to her previous position and picking up the ball.

Damian stood in front of Ivy, and when Emma and Alice saw him, they also returned to their positions, forming a square between the four of them.

Ivy used all her strength to throw the ball to Damian, who caught it while feigning difficulty.

Damian smiled before tossing it to Emma, who was standing to his left. Emma easily caught the ball with both hands before tossing it to Alice.

The four of them played for a while before Damian got the ball and stopped the game.

"It's time to eat," Damian said, smiling as he saw their stares.

The girls pouted but still approached their father before going inside together.

"Okay, girls, wash your hands," Damian said, stopping in the bathroom and lining them up to wash their hands.

They each washed their hands before running to the dining room where Damian helped them into their chairs.

The whole family had lunch and spent some time together before Damian disappeared and returned to the cave where Tony is being held.

Tony had already woken up after being knocked unconscious. He was talking discouragingly with Yinsen.

At that moment, a rather fat man with a beard came along and took him out of the cave and made a deal for him to build missiles for them.

Tony reluctantly agreed, and with no other choice, before returning to the cave, he realized he was screwed. These people weren't looking for money, they wanted him to build them weapons.

Tony leaned back as he sighed. All he could do was wait for the army or, better yet, Damian to find him.

Yinsen looked at Tony with concern as he saw him give up, so he hesitated before speaking to him.

"Will you do nothing? This will be the last act of the great Tony Stark?" Yinsen asked, trying to get Tony's fire burning again.

"What will happen to the people you care about? Who will take care of them?" Yinsen asked, seeing that his previous words had no effect.

"Take care?" Tony murmured before his eyes became steady. He could still remember Damian's words about taking care of Pepper if he didn't come back.

He definitely needs to go back and tell Pepper how he feels. When he was aiming at those men before he was captured, one of the things he could think about was Pepper and how he was never honest with her. He can't let her fall into Damian's hands.

"That bastard," Tony muttered in annoyance before standing up.

"Let's get to work," Tony said confidently. He doesn't need anyone to help him, he will escape by his wits alone.

"That's the Tony Stark I know," Yinsen said, smiling.

"Go call that idiot. I'll tell him what materials we need," Tony said.

Yinsen nodded before knocking on the door and saying that Tony wanted to talk to his boss.

Tony began making a list as the kidnappers brought him many types of materials to "assemble" the missile.

Tony had a calm look on his face. He was definitely going to escape.

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