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> Location: Los Angeles, California
Event Trigger: Obadiah Stane begins independent surveillance of Tony Stark's disappearance
Intel Detected: "Unknown variable" involved in Stark's convoy ambush
Threat Level: Moderate, Escalating
[Alert: Rox has been marked as a "disruption anomaly" in Stane's database]
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Obadiah Stane wasn't like the other corporate snakes.
He studied patterns.
And Rox? He was a pattern-breaker.
Too many coincidences.
Too many unknowns.
Too many "accidents" that led to secured data leaks, prototype thefts, and blurred satellite trails.
> "He's not SHIELD. Not HYDRA. Not Wakandan.
He's a ghost," Stane growled, flicking through redacted reports.
"And I hate ghosts."
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Back in Rox's Base
> 🌀 [Incoming Hostile Event Detected: Preemptive Strike]
→ Obadiah Stane has dispatched a private black ops unit to trace and eliminate you
→ Outcome: Combat encounter unavoidable
→ Victory: Guaranteed — method unknown
Rox sat on his throne-like chair in his underground control room.
The system screen glowed red.
> "Finally," he muttered, standing. "Let's see how real my luck is when bullets fly."
---
Midnight – Subway Tunnel Entrance
Six heavily armed mercs. Thermal vision. Sonic scanners. Anti-mutant gear.
> [Note: They have no idea what they're walking into.]
Rox stood at the end of the tunnel, casually tossing a coin.
Clink. It echoed across the steel walls.
The lead merc raised his weapon. "Target spotted."
> 🌀 [Combat Mode Activated – Probability Shift: 3x Boost]
→ Danger Sense Enhanced
→ Spatial Field: Warping activated
The first merc fired.
The bullet curved—ricocheted—bounced off a pipe—and hit the merc beside him in the leg.
Chaos.
Two slipped on oil that hadn't been there seconds ago.
One dropped a grenade—it rolled back under his boot before he could shout.
Rox didn't even move. He just walked forward slowly, golden strands glowing beneath his skin, eyes cold.
> "You're not unlucky," he said. "You're just on the wrong side of fate."
The last merc ran.
And was hit by a falling ceiling beam, dislodged by "coincidental" vibrations from earlier explosions.
---
🌀 [Combat Complete – Zero Damage Taken]
> Bonus Unlocked: Combat Instincts Lv. 2
Loot: Stane's encrypted data drive recovered
New Lead: Obadiah is developing a pre-Iron Monger prototype in secret
Rox walked up to the unconscious squad leader and pressed the drive to his own system scanner.
> [Decrypting… 38%... 52%... 91%...]
> FILE FOUND: "Project Reaver – Anti-Enhanced Armor Suit"
Status: 78% Complete
Funding Source: HYDRA Cell – Berlin
Rox's smile vanished.
> "Stane's working with HYDRA...?"
He stepped back.
> "Then I'm not just fighting business.
I'm already in a war."
---
Elsewhere – Berlin (HYDRA Cell)
A man in a shadowed room examined a hologram of Rox's face.
> "Unknown mutant. Probability manipulator. Doesn't match any known X-gene."
"Code-name: Ghost Luck."
He turned to a frozen stasis tank nearby.
Inside floated a glowing blue vial.
> "Release Phase One. Let's see if his luck survives… the Winter."
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