Since Aldrich came to visit Atreus Wayne, wouldn't it make sense to give his good buddy Tony a heads-up?
Ring—
Surprisingly, no one answered the video call on the other end.
After 20 seconds, the call suddenly connected, and a nearly bald middle-aged man appeared on the screen: "Uh, sorry to answer this call, Mr. Wayne. I'm Ethan, Tony's chief assistant."
"Uh, where's Tony?"
"He... he's been pretty manic lately. He hasn't slept in 72 hours; he's been in the workshop the whole time."
"And you?" Atreus noticed Ethan's heavy dark circles.
"Me? I'm doing a bit better; I manage to get about three hours of sleep a day."
It's true that like attracts like Atreus saved Ethan, and now Ethan is going crazy alongside Tony.
"Ethan, take care of yourself."
"Thank you, Mr. Wayne. Do you want me to pass along a message to Tony?"
"Tell him to be cautious of a guy named Aldrich Killian. He came to see me once, but I have a feeling his real target is Tony."
"Uh, got it. I'll try to remind him when I get the chance."
In the end, it was clear that Tony either didn't hear the warning or didn't take it seriously.
The female hunter stationed outside Stark Tower reported to Atreus that Aldrich was trying to break into Tony's place.
"Boss! Confirmed: Target 1 has entered Stark Tower."
Stark Tower isn't the building that got wrecked during the New York battle—Tony's private residence. This is the office building of Stark Industries, a relatively low structure shaped like a "T."
The female hunter, observing from a nearby tall building, had a clear view of Stark Tower's surroundings, making it impossible for Aldrich to hide his movements.
Tony boasted about his company's security, but unfortunately, the new head of security was his former bodyguard, Happy, who was a bit too overzealous in checking employees. The female hunter, disguised and flashing a fake ID, waltzed right in, and Happy didn't notice a thing.
The female hunter discreetly placed some small surveillance devices in the office.
Not long after, she discovered that Aldrich was trying to pull Tony's company away from him by showing Pepper some new tech that caught her attention.
He was demonstrating AIM's new neural research using a 3D hologram in the office.
"The Extremis Virus can help humans evolve perfectly…"
In simple terms, it's a virus that changes human DNA, giving them enhanced strength, agility, fire-based abilities, and more.
As he explained, he held Pepper's hand or casually touched her shoulder while moving her body.
Interestingly, Tony had recently missed a dinner with Pepper because he was absorbed in his research. Seeing that Pepper didn't seem to mind Aldrich's contact, he grew bolder, increasing physical contact—though still staying within the bounds of friendship.
Aldrich had no idea that Atreus and the women were watching everything unfold.
The women didn't have much to say about this cutting-edge science.
From another angle, though, it was a different story.
Catwoman shifted her crossed legs, switching positions, and smugly commented, "This guy's technique is weak. He's clearly failing. Miss Potts is focused on the science."
Sarah lightly teased Catwoman, "Success sometimes has nothing to do with technique. You claim to have high skills, yet Atreus still managed to win you over."
"I did not!" Catwoman snapped, her fur practically standing on end.
"Sure, sure! You're already completely in Atreus 's grasp; go ahead, keep pretending," Dinah chimed in, adding fuel to the fire.
Catwoman fumed, turning her head away, refusing to look at Atreus or the Lance sisters.
Atreus handed her a can of Coke, using it like a microphone to break the tension: "So, Miss Love Expert, what's your take on this?"
Reluctant at first, Catwoman eventually gave in after Atreus placed a hand on her leg, making her spill everything: "This guy definitely has bad intentions. He knows Miss Potts is Tony's girlfriend, yet he's still making moves. That means he wants to take everything from Tony—his woman, his reputation, his wealth, and his status."
"Bingo. But no prize," Atreus said with a smile, not moving his hand.
Meanwhile, Aldrich's bragging continued.
Dinah suddenly asked, "Is the Extremis Virus really as amazing as he says?"
Atreus smirked, "Whether it's flawed or not, its potential is limited. Right, Hunter…?"
He addressed this to the comms device, which was connected to the female hunter's earpiece.
"Yes, Boss! I just got close enough to sense him, and I definitely picked up a faint killing intent. He's using some sort of fire-based enhancement, but he can't fully suppress the power."
"How strong?"
"Not even one-tenth of your strength, Boss."
Atreus smiled and ended the call, shrugging.
Black Canary looked a little disappointed.
At that moment, Atreus suddenly grabbed her hand. In the next second, she felt an intense power flowing through her body from the point of contact.
"This is…"
"The power you wanted!" Atreus said, smiling.
Canary felt her entire body tingle with energy. She didn't just feel lighter—her limbs seemed filled with raw strength.
She slowly walked to the center of the room and casually performed a side kick.
Whoosh! A gust of wind erupted from nowhere.
That single kick sent out a shockwave as if a giant balloon had exploded.
The sharp-eyed women even noticed a brief visual distortion in the air where her kick had sliced through.
"This…" Not just Black Canary—all the women stared at Atreus in disbelief.
Still smiling, Atreus explained, "This is power from Zeus, the Greek king of gods. A power called [The Slayer]. I can steal the souls of enemies I kill and extract their unique abilities. Of course, I can also share this power with my women."
The women's faces blushed all at once—this was too embarrassing.
Catwoman, being cautious as ever, asked, "What's the catch?"
"The life of the enemy. Also, the conversion rate isn't high—you can't fully absorb all their abilities. And… if your own soul isn't strong enough, it could be tainted by the dying enemy's soul."
There's no such thing as a free lunch.
The cost seemed reasonable.
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