After nightfall, Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York, was serene.
Successful men and fashionable ladies in suits shuttled back and forth along the road, while luxury cars came and went. Celebrities from all walks of life chatted and laughed, blissfully unaware that in just a few months, this place would be trampled into ruins by the iron hooves of aliens.
A lively banquet was being held on the top floor of a luxurious building. The charity fundraising event that had just concluded had raised a total of $6.5 billion in donations, leaving the organizer grinning with satisfaction.
Of course, the credit belonged to the super-rich, the famous Iron Man, Mr. Tony Stark, for his generous sponsorship. Stark Industries alone had donated $2 billion, a staggering sum. Tony Stark truly lived up to his reputation as a super philanthropist.
For a time, celebrities and socialites swarmed around Tony like bees to honey, offering exaggerated praise and flattery.
Tony was in a good mood tonight, so he didn't treat these people as harshly as usual. Of course, when it came to beautiful women, he always made an exception.
He was the undisputed center of attention. His left hand was wrapped around the slender waist of a socialite, while his right arm was held by a stunning cover girl. Holding a half-drunk bottle of champagne, he chatted amiably with several Hollywood bigwigs.
Across the room, Pepper was engaged in business discussions with a group of Wall Street executives. Tony had no interest in that.
Though he appeared to be engrossed in conversation, his mind was elsewhere—on what he had done not long ago.
He had intercepted the kid's shipment. By his estimation, thermonuclear fusion was impossible without those three key elements. These elements were critical to the ignition and stabilization phases of the reactor.
Without them, the kid would be utterly helpless. Next, Tony planned to block the market for these elements in the United States. He had done this kind of maneuver before—he knew the game well.
Just imagining the frustration on the kid's face filled Tony with an unprecedented sense of satisfaction. Although, lately, ever since he had replaced his arc reactor with the new beta-element model, he had been constantly plagued by an odd side effect—the persistent taste of turtle urine in his mouth.
Even when eating, drinking, or kissing the cover girl in bed, the unpleasant taste lingered. Damn it. He had yet to determine the cause of this defect.
In high spirits, Tony had no idea that the so-called "kid" was already downstairs.
---
At the corner of the street below the luxurious building, Luke held a walkie-talkie and said, "Rozanna, Anusika, are you in position?"
A sweet voice came through the earpiece. "General, we are in position!"
"Very good. Esmeralda, Olivia, what about you?" Luke asked again.
"General, everything is ready," Esmeralda's calm voice responded.
"Spider-Boy is on standby!" Peter Parker's excited voice crackled through the headset. He was perched on a tree outside the building, camera in hand.
Another voice, muffled, spoke over the intercom. "General, the Violent Bird Trio is on standby!"
"Excellent. Once the target appears, I will give the order. Stay hidden for now," Luke said with a grin.
He had assembled the Violent Bird Trio—three kids who used to be the school bullies. Ever since Luke arrived a year ago, he had repeatedly put them in their place until they submitted to him.
Tonight, he needed more manpower, so he had also called in a certain black man. That black man had brought his own brothers, which led to the current operation.
(TL: He needed manpower for the mission—but instead of hiring seasoned professionals, he assembled a daycare rebellion. TF Ahhaahahahah)
Time passed as a group of short-legged creatures lurked around the hotel exits.
Just then, Christina's voice came through Luke's headset. "Master, Tony Stark will be online in ten seconds."
"They're coming." Luke straightened up. He picked up the intercom and issued the command. "The enemy has appeared. Go!"
---
Tony emerged from the hotel's main entrance with Pepper, surrounded by a crowd. At the entrance, his driver and bodyguard, Happy, had already opened the car door and was standing by.
As soon as Tony stepped outside, a swarm of small figures suddenly rushed toward him from all directions.
Tony was momentarily stunned before a frail little girl clung to his leg. She cried out dramatically, "Daddy! Daddy! Don't abandon me!"
His other leg was also grabbed by a cluster of short arms. "Daddy! Daddy!"
Tony froze.
"Oh my God—" Pepper covered her mouth in shock.
A group of political figures, Wall Street elites, and Hollywood moguls watched the scene unfold in astonishment.
Just then, another little black boy ran out.
Pointing straight at Tony, he shouted, "It's him! He's the one who defiled my sister! My sister is so short, so fat, so ugly, and so dark, but he still wouldn't let her go! It's him! Tony Stark! Even if he turned to ashes, I would still recognize him!"
Two nearby boys chimed in, "What a strong taste!"
Click! Peter Parker snapped photos frantically from his perch in the tree.
Tony: "…"
He saw Pepper staring at him suspiciously. He wanted to explain that someone was obviously playing a prank on him.
But Pepper couldn't be sure. She knew Tony well enough to know he wasn't exactly cautious in his past escapades. Who knew if he had actually been involved with a short, fat, ugly, and dark-skinned woman…
The big shots exchanged glances, struggling to hold back laughter. It was clear to everyone that this was an elaborate prank. It was just too over-the-top.
Where was Happy? Tony looked around for help—and was dumbfounded.
Happy, who had been right by the car, was gone.
At that moment, Happy was dealing with something else entirely.
"Excuse me, sir, are you Harold Joseph Hogan?"
"You can call me Happy. Who's asking?"
"Mr. Hogan, your social security number is 212... Citibank has detected abnormal activity in your account, which suggests possible international money laundering. For this reason, we regret to inform you that your total balance of $5.68 million has been temporarily frozen."
"My account is frozen?" Happy was stunned. His savings were locked?
He didn't question the caller's words. They had all his details—his social security number, his bank balance. It was all accurate.
Happy had never encountered such an advanced scam before—courtesy of artificial intelligence, Christina's dedicated line service. He was already sweating. "Wait, wait a minute… let's talk…"
So, completely distracted, Happy had wandered off, oblivious to Tony's predicament.
Tony waited in vain for Happy to come to his aid. Just as he was feeling bewildered, his gaze drifted across the street—where he spotted a familiar figure standing there.
It was Luke.
Luke appeared deliberately in Tony's line of sight. Without hesitation, he slowly raised his white, tender hand—
And flipped him the middle finger.
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