Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics Chapter 6067 - 5083: Fate of the Fighter (29)

"I think we can collaborate." Iron Man’s attitude improved significantly, and Pamela, wanting to send him away, wasn’t annoyed, "I have a very powerful virus here; maybe it can work with plants."

Pamela raised an eyebrow, "Tell me more."

Iron Man brought up the data on the Extremis Virus, though it only included some basic explanations. The core information was in his mind; otherwise, Brainiac wouldn’t keep pursuing him relentlessly.

Pamela glanced at the tablet then said, "This thing doesn’t have any effect on plants, does it?"

"Correct, I’ve tested it. It’s completely unable to be absorbed by plants. But since you’re using magic, maybe there’s a way. If this could be absorbed by plants, it would be a monumental advancement."

Pamela started contemplating, as she had obviously recognized the power of the Extremis Virus. She could say it was practically a gene editor capable of editing animal genes at will, achieving perfection; All Things Red should give Iron Man an award.

Thinking from Pamela’s perspective, naturally, she’d prioritize plants. If this thing could be applied to them, it would be ideal and beneficial, but it’s quite challenging and requires careful consideration.

"Don’t rush, let me think about it." Pamela began pacing in the lab, she searched her brain for professional knowledge, then started discussing with Iron Man, exchanging professional opinions.

As they say, when people are up to no good, they don’t feel tired. The two of them discussed the whole afternoon, still endlessly talking, and although not entirely fruitless, they had developed some ideas—the blending of scientific and magical methods—with the first step being to impart stronger animal traits to the plants.

They swiftly put their ideas into practice; Pamela began extracting the Extremis Virus using her plant magic, working through the night, and actually produced some results.

The process was tough and required extreme concentration. By dawn, Pamela felt a bit fatigued; she rubbed her temples and said, "I need to go rest; otherwise, it might get botched. You keep this stored until I return."

After speaking, she went back to the hotel to sleep. She didn’t know this world’s Iron Man wasn’t a good person; even if it was a preliminary result, he’d use it relentlessly.

Of course, he wasn’t crazy enough to spread it on street trees—Rebirth Alliance would tear him to pieces for that. He went to a nearby flower shop to buy a pot of flowers, intending to test the effects first.

Worried he’d get attacked, Iron Man donned his armor, forgetting Brainiac was inside it.

"What are you going to do?" Brainiac seemed a bit helpless, "Don’t play with dangerous items, or I’ll toss you into the Sun."

"Aren’t you annoying?" Iron Man really was finding it unbearable, "I’m in my own company, in my own lab, using my own materials for experiments, and you want to interfere?"

"You didn’t mention how dangerous this experiment could be." Brainiac resolutely disagreed, "The virus you prepared isn’t finished, mixing it with plants carelessly, what if something happens?"

"That’s why I only bought a pot of flowers." Iron Man started struggling, "Just this one pot of tulips, what could go wrong?"

"Ha, you really don’t understand Pamela." Brainiac snarled with a cold laugh, "You believe this thing could knock you senseless."

"Well, at least let me try it first." Iron Man said.

Brainiac was in a bind; he could certainly send Iron Man to the hospital, but being an outsider and an evil AI, consistently doing such things would draw the suspicion of the Rebirth Alliance, which Brainiac wanted to avoid.

Besides, he wanted to collaborate with Iron Man but hadn’t convinced him yet, so he refrained from being too harsh, thinking it would be enough for Iron Man to learn the hard way—take a few punches and understand why he shouldn’t mess with Pamela’s creations.

However, he underestimated the potential of the Extremis Virus.

Iron Man added the newly developed experimental version of the Extremis Virus into the fertilizer concocted by Pamela and poured some into the tulip pot.

Again, he wasn’t familiar with botany, barely knowing how to tend to flowers. He didn’t know how much fertilizer was appropriate for such a small pot or the concentration of Pamela’s fertilizer, simply pouring half a test tube into the pot.

After pouring, there wasn’t any reaction; Iron Man didn’t find it curious. The Extremis Virus modifies organisms over time—even fish would need to swim a couple of laps before showing any response.

Iron Man moved the pot to the window sill, placing it next to the pot of chrysanthemum, then went to the hospital to find Pepper. He was trying to negotiate with Pepper, offering divorce if she’d help save Happy, though Pepper hadn’t agreed yet, but Iron Man decided to persist.

Iron Man hadn’t anticipated Pamela’s level of power. After he left, the pot of tulips slowly began to grow, first shooting up overall, then sending out shoots; bud after bud emerged, transforming the entire laboratory into a mini tulip field.

If it were just plant magic, that might be the end of it, as plant magic itself only enriches plant growth. However, the Extremis Virus, which boosts animal traits, had been mixed in.

The tulips grown from the earth pulled themselves out one by one, continuing to grow taller, reaching over a person’s height; two leaves supported the lower part, while the upper buds kept expanding, with rows of sharp teeth forming at the oval flower opening.

Colorful toothed tulips wandered in the lab; they didn’t look ugly, rather possessing an eerie beauty, as if wandering into someone’s nightmare.

The aggression of this thing isn’t strong; it’s more like a bewildered Beast, only spinning in place without breaking the glass and escaping.

Yet, as the saying goes, when you’re down on your luck, even cold water chokes you. They didn’t break the glass, but the Chrysanthemum, previously infused with Magic Energy by Pamela, sensed something nearby. It felt threatened and began a frenzied attack, flailing its branches wildly.

The Tulip was struck by it, reacting like a Beast suddenly under attack, and immediately bit towards the Chrysanthemum. The Chrysanthemum wasn’t meek either, its vines whipping even faster. The two tangled together, until there was a bang, shattering the glass, and the sharp-toothed Tulip surged out.

Don’t forget, the Stark Building is currently at the Recovery Alliance Headquarters, and it’s right in the central core location, surrounded by Superheroes and Agents at work, including the Agent.

His task of protecting Pepper had already ended, because Iron Man always considered him an imaginary enemy. On the first day the Stark Building was moved to the Recovery Alliance Headquarters, Iron Man went to Nick to apply for a withdrawal of the Agent’s close protection task. So, the Agent could return to office laziness.

The Agent evidently underestimated the madness of this cosmos; he had just stepped out of the headquarters building when he watched a flock of Tulips jump out of the Stark Building window. Seeing all those colorful flowers, even the most composed person would doubt if they were poisoned by eating toxic mushrooms.

The Agent was momentarily stunned, questioning if he’d been hallucinated by those two madmen. Coincidentally, these plants, enhanced by the Extremis Virus, were terrifyingly swift, charging right at him in an instant.

The Agent instinctively drew his gun, fired a shot at the Tulip’s head, but it had no effect. Plants have no brain, no vital point in their entire body; the stopping effect of the shot was weak. Had the Agent not dodged quickly, he would have been bitten squarely on the arm.

The sound of the gunshot drew all the agents out; upon seeing the colorful Tulips, everyone froze.

"What’s going on? Haven’t I sobered up yet?!"

"Could we be under some Hallucination Technique?"

"What’s the name of that criminal? Scarecrow? Did he throw some poison gas here again?!"

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Stay alert!!!"

The agents were initially chaotic, but fortunately, they were well-trained. They soon organized a front line and began battling the sharp-toothed Tulips.

Nick stood by his office window, seeing this scene also thinking he was poisoned, then realizing Iron Man was at it again.

Nick swore, he truly wanted to take care of Iron Man; the Extremis Virus was indeed useful, but he just couldn’t handle it. Just a moment of inattention, and he caused a huge disaster.

The Court of Owls didn’t break in, Hydra didn’t break in, the Assassin’s Union was helpless, yet Iron Man made an internal strike, directly attacking the Recovery Alliance Headquarters; he truly deserved the villain role!

Thinking of this, Nick suddenly paused, standing in place lost in thought, even neglecting to arrange combat tasks until Natasha walked in.

"Found out, the Poison Ivy from another cosmos, known as Pamela Isley, teamed up with Iron Man for joint research, creating some enhanced version of the Extremis Virus, yet before completing it, he spilled it into the flower pots..."

"Natasha, do you think that movie villain characters absolutely have to be bad from start to finish?"

Natasha paused, puzzled by Nick’s question but replied, "But if the villain characters aren’t bad, then how would the plot progress?"

Nick fell into contemplation again, saying, "In real life, there shouldn’t be people who disregard profit and loss, being bad just for bad’s sake."

"But what if they’re seeking mental satisfaction?" Natasha suggested a possibility, "Some people feel happy when doing bad things, just like the Joker we captured."

"But Tony Stark isn’t that kind of person; he’s a profit-first ideologist."

Natasha seemed to understand a bit, saying, "In this situation, falling out with the Recovery Alliance doesn’t benefit him at all. Continuously angering us will only force us to put him on trial and throw him in jail."

"Yet it still happened," Nick said, "Don’t you find this scene familiar?"

"You mean Reed Richards?" Natasha immediately caught on, "This kind of experimental accident is most common in Richards’ lab. Even if he’s not doing it intentionally, it can’t be separated from his lack of safety awareness."

Nick nodded, not denying it, then said, "But it’s still too coincidental. Conceivably, once this attack on headquarters occurs, even if Iron Man didn’t intend it, we’ll be bound to expel him, forcing him to continue being a villain."

"What do you plan to do?" Natasha asked, looking into his eyes.

The female agent was essentially asking, since you suspect there may be an issue, do you plan to go along with it or resist?