After obtaining J.A.R.V.I.S.'s source code, Herman didn't linger in Stark's office. Once he got the name Bucky Barnes, Tony Stark immediately unleashed his AI to scour the net for information.
Herman had no intention of sitting around drinking in a place like that. He simply used Raven Teleportation and vanished from Tony Stark's office.
"And you're telling me that's not magic?" Tony Stark muttered, staring at the cloud of ravens that dispersed as Herman disappeared, leaving no trace behind. Calling it "spatial teleportation technology" sounded downright ridiculous to him.
As a scientist, Tony Stark could only classify Herman's abilities as magic. He'd never heard of any scientific method that could summon a flock of ravens out of thin air.
"JARVIS, while you're looking into Bucky Barnes, also pull up today's news. I want to see what's being reported about the villa."
Stark knew what had happened at his estate was bound to dominate the headlines. He was desperate to know who exactly he had crossed—Herman hadn't explained who that attacker, Whiplash, really was.
"Yes, sir."
JARVIS's voice carried that familiar, magnetic tone, said to be modeled after a butler who once served the Stark family.
"According to current reports, sir, your villa has been reduced to rubble. I can no longer establish a connection to the network there."
JARVIS, being an AI, naturally handled conversation with ease. After summarizing, he immediately began projecting fragments of news reports in front of Stark, assembling nearly every piece of online coverage about the villa—including related discussions across social media.
"Many people died."
Tony Stark's heart sank.
He wasn't concerned about the destruction of one villa; a few million dollars could rebuild it easily. What haunted him was that innocent lives had been lost in such a disaster.
"Log every victim. I need to compensate their families as much as I can." His heart ached with guilt for the lives lost.
He knew he had to act if he wanted to quiet that guilt. The hellish photos from the scene only deepened his remorse, making him start to regret his arrogance and reckless behavior.
At that moment, Tony Stark experienced a different kind of awakening. He began reflecting on whether the identity of "Iron Man" should ever have been used as a tool for showing off.
"Has anyone figured out who was behind the attack? Pulling off something of this scale on US soil isn't something just anyone could manage."
Though remorseful, anger flared in Stark's chest as he questioned JARVIS.
This was the advantage of artificial intelligence.
No need to type.
No need to dig through spam and useless ads.
"According to the Department of Defense's latest announcement," JARVIS replied, "it was a covert operation by Russia."
"Tsk. Those clowns who only ever beg Congress for funding—are they really just going to pin everything on Russia?"
Stark didn't buy it. If Russia really had developed armor tech, the US government wouldn't be sitting still.
They'd be all over Stark Industries, demanding access to his equipment, or pressuring him to build stronger weapons.
Paranoia.
It was practically a disease among the US high command. Besides, could Russia's mech forces really march all the way to New York without facing resistance?
To Stark, that claim was fit only for fooling a three-year-old. And when he saw crowds online parroting the official line, he wondered if part of the population really had IQs lower than that.
Pathetic.
No critical thinking whatsoever.
If the government claimed drinking disinfectant could kill a virus, would people actually try it? Stark shook his head in disbelief.
"They might still try to pin it on China," JARVIS added with a dry touch of humor. "Its recent rise has many in the upper ranks panicking."
His tone remained emotionless, magnetic as ever.
"The billionaire who just left is from China. That country is truly not to be underestimated."
Tony Stark suddenly spoke up. "Jarvis, do you think that ancient civilization in China might actually have magic?"
"Of course, I don't mean that shamanistic nonsense. I'm talking about an entirely different way of harnessing energy, something completely unlike what we use today."
Tony rubbed his chin, letting his imagination run. He knew his thoughts sounded ridiculous.
But... wasn't a man flying around in the sky, like Homelander, just as ridiculous?
"Sir, I've searched through China's networks, and there's no information suggesting the existence of magic."
"They call supernatural powers 'cultivation,' but this only exists in their literary works."
Jarvis gave his report with meticulous precision. And, being a system built on aggregated big data, he sometimes included bizarre findings.
"According to what I gathered, while there's no cultivation or magic, in the Sichuan region of China, every adult receives a giant panda as a mount."
"These creatures are said to have once served a demon god in their mythology, possessing terrifying power."
Jarvis said it as if it were fact.
"..."
Tony Stark was speechless for a while.
He stared at Jarvis's host system and let out a heavy sigh. "Sooner or later, I'll give you a proper upgrade."
At this point, Tony felt his AI was an idiot. Handing over the source code to Herman didn't sting nearly as much anymore.
What kind of nonsense about giant pandas... and demon gods?
Did they really think Tony Stark had never studied Chinese culture? He was a man who had trained in Wing Chun!
Tony turned toward the stack of news reports about the villa.
"Keep digging. Information on the attackers."
He waited.
"I've gathered new information. The Department of Defense has released the attacker's body. He's been identified as an engineer from Russia."
Jarvis projected a stream of news feeds.
Among them was the discovery of Whiplash's corpse by officials at the scene. Looking at the unfamiliar Russian man in the image, Tony still couldn't believe he was military.
"This doesn't prove Russia launched the attack. Why would they skip bombing the White House and come after me, just a billionaire?"
Tony issued another command. "Search the Defense Department and S.H.I.E.L.D. networks. Find out what they're trying to hide."
He waited again.
With most of Jarvis's processing power already tied up tracking Bucky Barnes, there was little left for news retrieval.
"Sir, internal S.H.I.E.L.D. data indicates these suits and the attacker originated from a cartel in New Mexico."
Jarvis's answers were growing more absurd by the second.
"..."
Tony was at a loss for words.
He fell into silence again, realizing he probably hadn't equipped Jarvis with enough logical filtering systems.
A New Mexico cartel?
That was even more ridiculous than blaming Russia!
At least Russia was a major power. But a cartel? Sure, New Mexico's cartels were notorious worldwide for being rich and well-armed, but how could they possibly mass-produce so many armored suits?
If they had that kind of capability, they would have taken over Mexico long ago and marched an iron army straight into the US! Tony certainly didn't believe Mexican cartels were so obsessed with making drugs that they had no ambition for world domination.
Besides, he had no enmity with Mexican cartels.
In fact—
He'd once been a customer of their "product."
There was absolutely no reason for them to make a move against him.
"Looks like I'll have to find the answers myself." Tony took matters into his own hands, diving directly into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database.
But then something baffling happened.
"A lot of information's been deleted?"
Tony came up empty-handed, but he clearly noticed that large portions of data about the incident had been erased before he even got in. The attack had only happened a day ago—what could be so urgent that it needed covering up?
He frowned, realizing things were far from simple, though he couldn't see exactly how.
The deletions were thorough.
Irrecoverable.
Even the data about the origin of the mechs had been tampered with, rewritten to suggest they came from a growing anti-American multinational coalition.
Tony Stark wasn't buying that either.
"Could it be... S.H.I.E.L.D. themselves?"
He stared at the last scraps of data—grisly photos of the attacker's mangled body. He knew there was no way to get answers from a dead man.
"Maybe that devilish man knows something." Tony muttered, thinking of Herman.
"News about Herman Chu is trending online," Jarvis said calmly.
"Because he showed off his Homelander powers at my villa, I guess." Tony dismissed it, raising his glass for a sip.
"It's because he defeated those mechs, and a journalist broadcast the entire battle live," Jarvis corrected.
Pfft—
Tony Stark spat his drink everywhere.
"The U.S. military isn't the one that stopped the mechs?"
Tony Stark's eyes widened in disbelief.
"The U.S. military declared defeat almost immediately." JARVIS played footage of American fighter jets being wiped out in a single exchange.
"..."
Tony Stark's expression was a mix of shock and irony.
As expected—the U.S. military really couldn't be counted on.
He had thought that with weapons once produced by Stark Industries, they might put up a fight. Instead, they'd been defeated so cleanly it was almost laughable.
"Only a few dozen jets defending all of New York?" Tony muttered incredulously. "If America's that weak, it should've collapsed long ago."
"Most of the aircraft were reassigned to deal with other missions. A massive green monster caused the military severe losses," JARVIS explained.
Watching the footage of mechs swarming the sky like locusts, Tony understood it wasn't just about poor military equipment. As the creator of the Iron Man armor, he knew better than anyone that mechs represented the next era of warfare.
Today's so-called advanced fighter jets couldn't even compare to him in a single suit of armor, let alone an entire legion of mechanized soldiers.
"This man is a genius, no doubt about it. He not only beat me to the miniature reactor, but also managed to design fully operational war mechs."
Tony studied the suits on screen, quickly gauging their performance. They weren't weaker than his Iron Man armor at all.
"Of course, it's partly my fault. I never bothered to research micro-reactors. Otherwise, I'd still have beaten him to it."
That arrogance had always been part of Tony's nature. But as he looked at the endless tide of steel mechs, his expression grew more uneasy.
"JARVIS, are you absolutely sure that so-called insane billionaire handled all of this alone?" The more Tony analyzed the mechs' sophistication, the harder it was to accept. Even if Herman Chu was a powerful superhuman, how could he possibly deal with so many advanced suits at once?
"The entire process was captured on a live stream."
JARVIS pulled up the footage recorded by reporter Lois.
Herman hovered in the sky.
Surrounded by mechs coming at him from every direction.
He gave only a scornful smile.
Then... a terrifying ripple burst outward from where he stood. As it spread, the countless mechs filling the skies turned to ash in an instant.
"You're sure this isn't some promo clip for a movie or TV show?"
Tony Stark's expression was beyond words.
His eyes bulged wider than a cow's.
After verifying again and again that this was real footage, Tony felt his throat dry up, unable to form words under the sheer weight of shock.
It was as if the universe itself was mocking him. How could a human like this even exist?
From such a small frame...
How could so much destructive energy be unleashed?
Right then, Tony Stark's mindset mirrored Whiplash's perfectly. Their worldview—built on classical physics—had completely collapsed. Of course, Tony's despair wasn't as extreme as Whiplash's.
After all, he hadn't been Herman's enemy and hadn't tasted that crushing hopelessness. Even so, Tony felt the world had gone utterly insane.
"Does he not have to follow the law of conservation of energy?"
After a long silence, Tony finally regained himself.
His gaze was heavy as he stared at the footage JARVIS projected. No matter how many times he watched that scene—an entire Iron Legion erased in the blink of an eye—he simply couldn't wrap his head around it.
"Now I see... why S.H.I.E.L.D. called him a God among men. Power like this could topple the entire world order."
"If he wanted, every nation would be forced to live under his shadow," Tony said in a low, grim voice.
It wasn't concern for the future of the world.
It was the sudden realization of something terrifying.
If Herman could obliterate an entire army of mechs in a second... then he could just as easily destroy Tony Stark in his Iron Man armor.
The more he thought about it, the colder the realization became. Against that kind of power, he doubted his suit could protect him at all.
The pride he'd carried as Iron Man—
Vanished in an instant.
"That insane billiona... no, that man is actually this strong? No wonder S.H.I.E.L.D. was willing to grant him so many privileges."
Tony didn't even dare call Herman an insane billionaire anymore.
He became cautious, worried that if Herman ever heard his complaints, he might show up at his door. After all, Homelander in The Boys was infamous for holding grudges.
Maybe it wasn't fair to mock the public's way of thinking after all.
At that moment—Even Iron Man instinctively compared Herman to Homelander...