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Chapter 26: Everything on One Page
The outside world was shaken as well.
The experiment of Doom's group — a mission with five crew members in space — ended in disaster and complete failure.
After about a day, the rescue team brought the five astronauts back to Earth. They were all in a coma, though every other vital sign of their bodies was perfectly normal.
Three days later, they began to wake up one by one, while the world's attention was already fixed on the aftermath of the accident.
Meanwhile, Oscorp faced its own internal troubles. Two of its leading scientists, who had been researching the effects of spider DNA on humans, fled toward Europe with their results. But halfway through their journey, they died in a plane crash.
The four-year-old son of this once-happy family was then entrusted to his uncle, Benjamin Parker. A small event in such a vast world — but one that would soon have astonishing consequences.
Elsewhere in America, Bruce Banner was making small but promising progress in his experiments to create a super-soldier using gamma radiation.
And in the city of pleasure, Las Vegas, a young, wealthy, and handsome man was living recklessly in the company of beautiful women. His name: Tony Stark, one of the brightest geniuses of the new age.
Early in the morning, on his way back to California, he dozed in the car while his loyal driver, Happy, held the wheel. That day he was scheduled to present his latest invention to the company's investors. He had spent fortunes, and it was time to show results.
Unlike others, Tony hardly cared about news from outside — cosmic energy, space missions, world events. The only thing he lacked in life was true pleasure.
When he arrived at the towering Stark Industries headquarters, he headed straight to the CEO's office. Obadiah, sitting behind his desk, looked up.
— "Ah, Tony! You finally made it. I thought you'd forgotten."
At that moment, a soft, pleasant voice caught Tony's attention.
— "Good morning, Mr. Stark."
Tony turned to see a beautiful young woman standing beside the desk.
— "Well, well! A woman as gorgeous as you must be one of our new shareholders. But why don't I know you? Are you new here? What's your name?"
The woman lowered her head, pretending not to hear.
Obadiah chuckled.
— "Oh Tony, that's the new secretary you hired last week. Miss Pepper Potts. Forgot already? Maybe you need to see a doctor."
Tony smirked, but Obadiah quickly put his arm around him.
— "Never mind that. The shareholders are waiting for our genius. Let's go."
The lights dimmed in the conference hall. A projector came alive, casting complex blueprints and diagrams onto the screen. Tony stood before them all.
— "Alright, first of all, I don't expect you to understand this. The only thing you need is trust — trust in the greatest genius of the century, which is me."
Obadiah scratched his bald head and shrugged at the shareholders.
— "That's just Tony being Tony."
Tony continued:
— "Second, the secondary systems of this missile are complete. The main parts — power, target acquisition, precision strike — still need more time and money. Two years, or one and a half at best. And as you all know, research costs money. The more, the better."
One shareholder muttered with a smirk:
— "Yeah right… everything's ready, you just want more cash to party with."
Tony ignored the jab.
— "Third, don't bother me too much. My schedule's packed.
Fourth, don't call it 'that missile.' This beauty has a name: Jericho.
And fifth, Miss Secretary — I'd like a coffee."
He walked out, leaving the stunned shareholders behind.
Later, after a brief chat with his striking new secretary, Tony and his bodyguard drove back to his Malibu mansion.
— "Good morning, sir."
— "Hey J.A.R.V.I.S., what've you been up to lately?"
— "Nothing much, sir. Just answering calls on your behalf."
— "Wow, such hard work. How are our experiments going?"
— "Quite well, sir. They send their regards."
The banter continued, centering on the miniature arc reactor project. Still incomplete, still requiring time. Tony, impatient, brushed it aside and went upstairs to rest.
Back at the office, Obadiah stared at the Jericho blueprints with a sly smile.
— "This really is the idea of a genius. Tony, you're my golden ticket… but too bad. In a year and a half, you'll have a one-way ticket to join your parents. Ha ha ha…"
…
At the Doom Medical Center —
— "Ah, you're awake, man! We thought we lost you."
— "Where am I?"
— "Doom's medical facility."
— "Where are Reed and Susan?"
— "They're fine… but…"
— "But what, Johnny? What happened?"
— "The doctors tried everything, but… your face… it's beyond repair."
— "What? Give me a mirror!"
— "Calm down, you'll get used to it. It's not the doctors' fault."
He looked into the mirror, rage building in his eyes.
— "This is nothing… I'll kill you, Johnny. This time I won't let you go. JOOOOHNNNY!"
And thus, the story of the Fantastic Four began…
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