**Chapter 15: A Piece of Vibranium**
**2022-10-19 Author: Great Demon Spirit**
Tony spent a long time touring the Steel City and was greatly shocked.
This was an incredibly vast city, where many Mutants lived, studied, and fought, always ready for war, fighting for Magneto.
It was less a city and more a military fortress, continuously training warriors for the Brotherhood of Mutants and sending them into war.
A massive war machine, led by Level Four Mutants. Every year, the Brotherhood of Mutants would search globally for talented and valuable young Mutants, bringing them all back here for training.
This was also the reason for the profound apprehension among countries worldwide: Magneto, the world's biggest terrorist leader, brazenly trained an army loyal to him under the watchful eyes of all, utterly disregarding every threat and warning, and proving incredibly unyielding.
In fact, this place was also Magneto's Achilles' heel. He couldn't abandon this place, couldn't abandon his people here, which gave various organizations worldwide an opportunity to exploit, ultimately maintaining a strange, unspoken understanding.
After all, Magneto couldn't stay put on this island forever.
But that wasn't all; what truly made Tony envious was the island's abundance of rare metals.
His Transformer's defense had never been satisfactory, the biggest drawback being its material. Ordinary vehicle materials were not high-grade; even common collisions would cause damage, let alone using them for combat.
Currently, the Transformer's defense largely relied on a continuous supply of Allspark Energy, constantly strengthening it, but this strengthening was ultimately limited.
If you attach a god-tier gem to a White-grade Equipment, even if it could pierce the heavens, how much power could this White-grade Equipment truly exert?
Tony drove his small truck around, observing some of the Mutants on the street using their abilities, deep in thought and greatly enlightened.
This was an independent nation, a nation of Mutants.
But it didn't belong to him. He still had to return to New York, which was the center of many major events and where Superheroes were everywhere.
With a soft clang, Azazel appeared beside Tony.
Azazel regretfully informed Tony that Magneto could not see him yet because there was an extremely important matter he needed to attend to.
"Erik really wants to see you, but he can't. Something more urgent, something that even impacts the future of Mutants, needs to be done," Azazel said. "If Erik succeeds in this, it will fundamentally change the landscape for Mutants and very likely end their disadvantaged status."
Tony shrugged, noncommittal.
"Magneto thinks highly of you. He feels close to you; it's been many years since a Mutant with Level Four potential appeared... Of course, you seem quite weak right now, only Level Three, aren't you?" Azazel teased.
"Come on, let's discuss something. Do you have any good metals here?"
Tony gestured, changing the subject, and had Optimus Prime transform into his three-meter-tall form, negotiating with Azazel. He was someone who could discuss anything openly, as long as it wasn't a hatred like Hulk's.
"The best, naturally, are Adamantium and Vibranium," Azazel briefly introduced these two unique metals to him.
Many passing Mutants noticed Optimus Prime, their eyes wide with exclamations, stopping to watch and discuss the arrival of a new Mutant.
"As long as you give me a quantity of Adamantium or Vibranium scaled to this three-meter height, and multiply that quantity by ten, I will join your Brotherhood of Mutants. That shouldn't be difficult for a large organization like yours," Tony said.
"Not difficult, my ass!" Azazel's face turned beet red, somewhat agitated. "Three meters tall? And ten times the quantity? You want to use Adamantium and Vibranium to modify your war machine? You wouldn't find that much on the entire Earth!"
"Perhaps you're just ill-informed!" Tony retorted. "By the way, according to what you told me, Adamantium must be at least Secondary Adamantium; anything later won't do."
Azazel's face darkened. He wanted to punch this kid; he had such thick skin.
Even with the Brotherhood of Mutants' vast resources, they wouldn't use them like this. He couldn't agree to Tony's request; such a decision had to come from Magneto himself.
"Does the Brotherhood of Mutants lack money?" Tony argued confidently, demanding benefits from Azazel, proclaiming that if the metal was delivered, he would belong to the Brotherhood of Mutants, willing to shed his blood for them.
Who was the richest in this world? Was it Tony Stark and his controlling interest in Stark Industries? Or Bruce Wayne and his controlling interest in Wayne Enterprises? Or the King of Wakanda and his kingdom?
Wrong. If Magneto heard that, he'd burst out laughing. If the priceless Vibranium mine wasn't counted, Magneto was the richest. He could freely control precious metals globally, throwing money around so much that you'd have no temper left.
Azazel, of course, didn't believe a single word Tony said. Shed his blood? With Magneto absent, if Tony really got enough metal, this kid would probably run off with the treasure without hesitation.
"What's more, are you sure you can control Adamantium or Vibranium in your current state? Are you sure you can change their molecular structure?" Azazel said with a hint of mockery.
This indeed hit Tony's weak point.
True Adamantium and Genuine Adamantium, together known as the hardest metals in the Universe. Vibranium also possessed the properties of absorbing and reflecting energy. Both metals were incredibly rare.
Even if Tony were given a weakened version, Secondary Adamantium, he would find himself severely limited, as the difficulty of modification was astounding.
In his current state, he lacked the ability to modify them. He would need to truly reach Level Four to even begin to qualify to manipulate Adamantium.
Even if Magneto himself were to make a move against an Adamantium Creation, he would have to fight with all his might to destroy it.
Ultimately, Tony managed to acquire a small piece of Vibranium from the Brotherhood of Mutants. This piece of Vibranium was not large, only about the size of a palm. With modification, it could probably cover one of his arms and a small portion of his shoulder with a thin layer.
The embarrassing part was that Tony was helpless; he couldn't modify it.
Tony activated the Allspark, and as energy permeated the Vibranium, it was instantly absorbed. Curious, Tony fed in another portion, which was violently repelled, causing Tony to stumble and fall.
"What good is this Vibranium to me? Do you want me to use it as a brick and smash people with it when I'm fighting for my life?"
Azazel gave a chilling, eerie laugh. He was a devil, not a good person.
Tony had no choice but to settle for the next best thing, trying to take a large cart of high-grade alloys, but Azazel refused.
"Such matters can only be decided by Magneto; he is our leader," Azazel said with a cheerful smile, giving Tony the soft shoulder.
Tony could only wander around the city himself, secretly prying off some alloys to slightly upgrade Optimus Prime. His defense roughly surged by fifty percent, but due to the limited metal and Azazel's close watch, the improvement wasn't much.
"I'll send you back to New York. Erik said you can return anytime," Azazel grabbed Tony and his Optimus Prime, instantly teleporting them to the outskirts of America.
Azazel released him, telling him he could go and that he could come to the Brotherhood of Mutants whenever he wished.
"Erik asked me to remind you not to fall for Charles's persuasion. His ideology is too hypocritical. Professor X's side is not a good place to go. If you join them, you'll be our enemy," Azazel said.
Tony asked him, "You're in such a hurry; where are you going?"
"I just heard a report that a new Mutant with wings has appeared."
"You're going to bring that person back to the Brotherhood of Mutants?"
"No, how could I? I'm going to confirm if he's Angel, then kill the guy," Azazel said nonchalantly. "The Mutant factions of Devils and Angels have been fighting for thousands of years."
"...Aren't you afraid Erik will kill you?" Tony was speechless.
Azazel said no more and, after a greeting to Tony, vanished.
Tony frowned deeply. He had always been extremely wary of this old monster who had lived for thousands of years. Azazel was definitely not an easy person to get along with.
He didn't believe a single word Azazel said either; every sentence had to be carefully scrutinized for any hidden traps.
At least this piece of Vibranium in his hand was real; he hadn't made the trip for nothing.
(end of chapter)