"I have been thinking a lot about that," Tony said, walking over to DUM-E and grimacing slightly at the thought. "Believe it or not, I have been searching. I tried to imagine who my worthy successor would be."
This astonished Pepper, causing her to slowly back toward the sofa with an expression of surprise and confusion. She could hardly believe what was happening.
"And then I realized it was you," he said as he uncorked the bottle and turned to smile at her. "It has always been you."
Shocked, Pepper sat down on the sofa while Tony poured liquor into the glasses.
"I thought there would be legal problems, but apparently I can name my own successor. And my successor is you."
Pepper shook her head in disbelief and amusement as she accepted the glass, trying to hold back her tears.
"Congratulations. Here, drink."
"I do not know what to think."
"Just drink, baby. Do not think about anything," he said as he sat beside her and raised his glass.
They toasted, making Pepper giggle softly.
"I am sorry to interrupt, sir, but you need to see this," JARVIS said.
"Later, JARVIS. I would like to enjoy this moment with the beautiful new CEO of Stark Industries." Tony gave Pepper a flirtatious smile, making her blush slightly. To hide her discomfort, she took another sip of liquor.
"I am sorry, sir, but this is important."
Tony sighed.
"What is so important that you have to ruin my moment?"
"Our moment," Pepper corrected.
"Correction. Our moment." He gave her an exaggerated look that clearly asked if she was satisfied before taking another drink.
"This," JARVIS said.
Several photographs and recordings suddenly appeared, showing an unidentified person constructing a functional Arc Reactor.
Tony’s eyes widened.
He spat out his drink.
Pepper nearly choked on hers.
"What?!"
"The material was sent by an anonymous individual, and I regret to inform you that I have been unable to determine their location."
"What? How is that possible? JARVIS, show me everything. Every image, every angle, every reflection. I want something. Find anything."
"Wow," Pepper said in amazement as she put down her glass. "You have a lot of work to do. I.... I will be upstairs."
She kissed him on the cheek and left the workshop.
Once Pepper was gone, Tony began going through the recordings and photographs, searching for anything that might reveal the identity of the mysterious person or the location of their workshop. He had to admit that the precautions taken were incredibly sophisticated.
For the first time in a long while, Tony felt genuinely challenged.
And strangely enough, he liked it.
"Well, you mysterious bastard," he muttered, sitting down in front of the computer. "Let us see where you are hiding.... and who you are."
....
"Tony already received the package," Cortana said.
"Perfect. Now he must be looking for me, which is funny because he will be trying to bypass the superior intelligence of my beautiful girlfriend."
"Thanks.... Hmm. Peter?"
"Yes, darling?"
"Logan is at the door."
"What is Lo—.... Right. I remember now. Let him in."
Peter left the Cave to meet Logan. As he approached the front door, he heard knocking, so he hurried before the man decided to cut it in half. When he opened it, he found Logan standing outside with a cigar between his lips. Logan looked at him with visible surprise.
"So this is your face?"
"Yes. And this is my house."
"I suspected something like this because of the quality of the suit you always wear and all those gadgets. Does Red know?"
"No. And even if we meet, I can alter my pulse enough that she will not recognize me from my other identities."
Peter stepped aside and allowed Logan to enter.
"So I am the first to know who you really are, huh? Peter Parker. Young billionaire and head of Abstergo Industries."
"You keep yourself informed."
"I do." Logan took another drag from his cigar. "Tell me, is what you wrote in the letter true?"
"Every word. I can restore your memories, but first we will have to perform a small procedure. I may trust you, but I do not trust Xavier. What I am going to do is implant a chip in your brain that will allow you to control who enters your mind. Your skeleton offers some protection, but not enough. After that, I will repair the damage to your memories."
"Good."
Peter entered the security codes and stepped into the elevator with Logan, taking them down to the Cave. Throughout the descent, Logan kept one eyebrow raised. Once they arrived, he followed Peter while carefully observing the massive underground base.
"You are rolling in money if you can afford all this."
"I own a company that brings in millions of dollars. I have to spend my money on something. Jason is supposedly the one responsible for supplying this place with equipment."
"So Jason is the aggressive one, and Peter is the approachable one. Your little act really works."
"Theatricality and deception are powerful weapons. In case anyone ever asks Spider-Man how he obtained such expensive equipment, I already have a contingency plan." Peter entered the medical wing and pointed toward a chair. "Sit down."
Logan sat while Peter gathered everything he needed and arranged the equipment beside him. After positioning the lamp, he put on a pair of gloves, picked up a scalpel, and brought it close to Logan’s nose before beginning a small incision.
"Does it have to be through the nose?" Logan asked irritably.
"Would you prefer I enter through somewhere less convenient?"
Logan clicked his tongue, and Peter continued working.
As he made the incision, Peter sprayed the area with a liquid that significantly slowed Logan’s regeneration, giving him enough time to perform the procedure.
"What is that?"
"A chemical compound that temporarily slows down your healing factor. It should work on almost any regenerative ability."
"Grr."
"You have been taking the pills?"
"Yeah. Since I started taking them, I feel better than before."
"Perfect. That was one of the disadvantages you had every time you fought Sabretooth. Your regenerative factor was doing twice the work, which is why you became more exhausted than usual, even if you did not consciously notice it."
Peter continued speaking while guiding STEM through the incision.
"Okay. How are you feeling?"
"Like something is crawling through my nostrils and cutting things along the way."
"That is most likely exactly what is happening. You should stop feeling it once STEM reaches the correct position."
Peter gestured toward a nearby screen, where a blue light was slowly moving toward a red marker. When it finally reached the destination, Logan grimaced.
"This is unpleasant."
"It has reached the hemisphere. Now it needs to position itself between the two."
"Argh!"
Logan grabbed his head.
A second later, Peter looked at the screen.
"Done."
He wiped Logan’s face with a cloth and cleaned the area. Once everything was finished, Peter removed his gloves and gestured toward another room.
"Come with me. Now we deal with your memories."
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