Tony Stark realized he had been too naive. Without the Mark IV armor, one wrong word right now would spell his doom.
But Tony Stark remained composed. As if he didn't feel the threat radiating from Max Dillon, he simply finished the wine in his glass, looked across the bar at Max, and said:
"Good question. I'll answer them one by one. First, how did I find you... that's the simplest part. Batman provided all the addresses where you might appear."
Max Dillon's features crinkled together in confusion.
"What??"
"You heard me. Batman." Seeing Max Dillon's reaction, Tony Stark knew he was on solid ground. "That legend who flies through the sky, moves underground, turns invisible, and transforms into a bat."
"Oh, right. The Batman I'm talking about isn't that imposter vampire on Riker's Island."
Watching Max Dillon open his mouth, clearly about to ask more questions about Batman, Tony Stark quickly cut in:
"The second question follows the same logic. The list of addresses that Bat provided included your home."
"When he asked me to make contact with you, he said there was a thinking lightning phantom stuck in New York's power grid. He said he's starving, but he's a good man."
Of course, those weren't Batman's exact words, but Tony Stark wasn't the type to get hung up on details at a moment like this. He had to divert Max Dillon's attention before the man could find holes in his story.
"I have two flaws: First, I can't stand seeing an interesting technical problem right in front of me and leaving it unsolved. Second, I can't stand seeing good people down on their luck. You fit both categories. That answers your third question."
Max Dillon let out a cold, sharp laugh. Golden electricity flashed in his eyes, looking ready to strike at any moment.
"You're too naive, Tony Stark. You took off your armor and stood before me in such a fragile fleshy body—aren't you afraid I'll turn you into charcoal?"
He took the bait.
Tony Stark kept his expression calm and spread his hands.
"Come on, man. I can tell from your daughter that you're a good father. Even though you've turned into this... form, your family hasn't shunned you in the slightest. Your daughter even keeps circling around you."
"That proves the sense of security you give her runs deep—deep enough to reshape a child's instinctual understanding of danger. You made her believe that even if Daddy has changed into a different form, he is still the hero who protects her, not something to be feared."
Hearing Tony Stark mention his daughter, a trace of unconcealable pride appeared on Max Dillon's face.
"Therefore, I don't believe a father like that is a threat I need to deal with using conspiracies. I am more inclined to believe that such a father is just... temporarily leaking a little electricity."
Tony Stark noticed that fleeting look of pride on Max Dillon's face, and the corners of his mouth tipped up slightly.
"And I just happen to be the best engineer in all of New York, bar none."
Tony even intended to reach out and pat Max Dillon on the shoulder, but after a stray arc of electricity zapped his fingertip, he decisively abandoned the idea.
"As for taking off the armor?" Tony tapped the faintly glowing arc reactor on his chest. "I can't drink properly wearing that thing, and I can't make you believe I want to make a friend rather than capture a specimen."
"So, do you want to solve your leakage problem together? I have the best laboratory—and coffee—in New York. If we succeed, you won't go hungry anymore, and I can brag hard to that Bat. If we fail... well, at least we tried, and the coffee is unlimited."
Having said so much in one breath, Tony Stark felt his mouth go dry, but he forced himself not to turn around and pour more wine.
He watched Max Dillon with a hint of nervousness, ready to bolt the moment the other man's mood shifted, waiting for a chance to suit up in the Mark IV and persuade him using physical means.
Facts proved that Tony Stark had worried too much.
Max Dillon reined in the golden electricity on his body and looked at Tony Stark with a somewhat bitter smile.
"I didn't know the famous playboy, Tony Stark, was such a smooth talker."
"I was forced into it," Tony said, finally letting his guard down completely. "That stance you had just now was scarier than when those terrorists in the Middle East pointed guns at me."
"You say that as if I wasn't scared when you came running into my house wearing that armor," Max Dillon replied grumpily. "Now we're even."
Harry's rationality, memories, and emotions had merged with the Green Goblin's madness, paranoia, and violence, fusing into a brand-new, extremely dangerous personality.
From Harry's perspective, he wanted to believe Peter Parker. He could fully understand and feel Harry's emotions toward his father and his complex complex regarding Peter.
But from the perspective of the younger Green Goblin, even watching Norman Osborn sleeping quietly in the Batcave, he used the Green Goblin's conspiracy theories and desire for control to interpret and respond to everything.
This made the younger Green Goblin duplicitous. Even though he knew his words would wound Peter Parker's heart, he still spoke in a sharp, caustic voice:
"A long-missing father, an old friend turned hero, a rescue story with all the details omitted... Peter, this reunion you prepared for me—the script is written a little too perfectly."
"Perfect enough to look like it was custom-made just to gain my trust."
"And then what? I need to be grateful to you? I need to hand over everything at Oscorp to thank you for saving me and my father?"
Batman's face showed no expression, as if his heart were made of stone.
"I don't need your gratitude."
"I was being sarcastic!"
"I won't offer you any explanations right now, Harry." Batman approached Harry step by step. "I will find a way to solve the problems affecting you and your father. In the meantime, I will manage the Oscorp Group for you."
Harry Osborn stood his ground, watching the encroaching Batman. A trace of mockery appeared on his face.
"Look at that. True colors revealed, huh?"
Facing the hand Batman extended, Harry Osborn offered no resistance whatsoever, allowing Batman to bind him tightly with spider silk.
Yet even while tied up, the look of mockery on Harry Osborn's face did not diminish, as if he had proven that Batman was exactly the scheming liar he thought he was.
"..."
Batman said nothing. He simply took a vial of serum from his utility belt.
This was a Gamma inhibitor Batman had created after learning that Harry Osborn had injected the Super Soldier Serum and transformed into the younger Green Goblin.
Without any hesitation, Batman inserted the needle into Harry's skin. He watched as Harry Osborn's eyes grew unfocused, and then, under the effects of the Gamma inhibitor, he passed out.
Batman steadied Harry Osborn's body with both hands to keep him from falling to the floor, placing him next to Norman Osborn. Then, he looked toward Morbius, who had remained silent ever since arriving in the Batcave.
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