The next day, while Arthur was doing his morning training, Ruby suddenly appeared at his side.
[Master, Kingpin has already purchased the Vibranium. He wants to know when and where he can deliver it to you.]
"That was much faster than I expected…" Arthur said as he grabbed a water bottle and took a sip.
After wiping the sweat off his face with a towel, he told Ruby:
"Tell him to wait a moment."
[Understood.]
Ruby disappeared right after receiving the order. Arthur finished some stretches, picked up his phone, and called Tony. The line barely rang twice before it was answered.
{"Well, look who decided to call me. I bet ten bucks you're going to ask me for a favor—probably something shady."} Tony's voice dripped with sarcasm.
Arthur chuckled. "Not that shady. I just need someone you trust to receive a delivery for me."
{"Uh-huh… sure. And why don't you just receive it yourself, Mr. Lazy?"}
Arthur wiped the sweat from his forehead, keeping his calm tone. "Because I don't want to be tracked by SHIELD and their super-spies. If I go there, they'll track me. If you go… they'll just get grumpy."
On the other side, Tony laughed. {"Okay, I've got to admit, that logic is brilliant. Paranoid, but brilliant. Ever thought about working with me? I pay better than any of those publishers."}
"Pass. I like waking up without a thirty-page NDA on my nightstand."
{"Touché."} Tony laughed. {"Alright, I'll take it. But before that, what exactly am I receiving? Because if it's radioactive, poisonous, or a mystery box that explodes when I say 'popcorn,' I'm going to be very, very upset."}
Arthur stayed silent for a few seconds just to build suspense. "It's something far too precious to fall into SHIELD's hands."
Tony sighed theatrically. {"Oh great, a mystery. You do know I hate not knowing things, right?"}
Arthur smirked. "Then consider eternal curiosity as payment for your help."
{"Arthur…"}
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you. It's Vibranium."
{"Vibranium, like the one used in Captain America's shield?"}
"Exactly. And… you can keep a few kilos of it. It'll come in handy for your suits."
Silence. Then Tony burst out laughing. {"A FEW KILOS?! You just said that like you're offering extra fries with a combo! Do you have any idea how much that's worth?"}
"I do. Which is why I'd rather leave it with you than with Nick Fury."
{"You just made my morning the best one of the week."} Tony was still laughing. {"Alright, deal. But if SHIELD shows up at my door because of this little stunt, I'm sending Nick Fury to sleep on your couch."}
Arthur raised an amused eyebrow. "Deal. Just warn him he'll have to share space with the Pet Shop."
{"Pet Shop?"} Tony asked, confused.
"My pet falcon."
On the other end of the line, Tony laughed even louder.
{"I'm already sending someone to pick it up."}
Arthur hung up with a satisfied smile.
---
Meanwhile.
Kingpin was in his office, staring at the text message on his private phone.
It contained a very familiar address.
"Isn't this… one of Tony Stark's mansions…?" he muttered, perplexed.
He immediately picked up his office phone and summoned some men to handle the delivery.
The faster he finished this, the sooner he could return to his peace.
---
Kingpin straightened his suit and tie, taking a deep breath to keep his composure. Vibranium wasn't the kind of thing you delivered like a pizza—especially not at Tony Stark's doorstep. But he didn't want to risk a misunderstanding with Arthur.
A few hours later, a small truck followed by a reinforced black car discreetly stopped in front of Tony's mansion. Two bodyguards got out first, making way for the massive Kingpin.
The moment he rang the doorbell, the door opened for him.
As soon as he stepped inside, Tony's voice echoed:
"Well, if it isn't the Crime Santa Claus! And look at that—no sleigh, but one hell of a gift."
Kingpin kept his face stoic, though he clearly hated being there.
"Stark," he rumbled. "I have a delivery. It's… private."
Tony walked down the stairs slowly, exaggerating his pose, a cup of coffee in hand and a mocking grin on his face.
"Delivery? Ah, then you're my new favorite delivery guy. Tell me, Fisk, do you also ring the bell and run away, or do you prefer the 'sign here on the clipboard' style?"
One of Kingpin's men nearly stepped forward, but Fisk raised a hand to stop him. "Don't joke about this, Stark. This is extremely valuable material."
Tony raised his eyebrows, feigning surprise. "Valuable? What could it be… diamonds? Gold? A wedding cake? Or…" He paused dramatically, pointing with his cup. "Vibranium."
Kingpin narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
Tony laughed, satisfied. "Knew it. But I never thought I'd see you reduced to a delivery man. I'll treasure this memory forever."
Kingpin clenched his fists but chose not to react. He turned around instead, marching toward the exit as his men unloaded the heavy crates from the truck.
As the giant left, Tony called out: "Hey, Kingpin! If you ever get tired of crime, I'm always hiring. You'd make a great Santa Claus at the company Christmas party! Good pay, red uniform, only requirement is fitting down the chimney!"
Tony's laughter echoed through the hall as Kingpin left, visibly irritated.
Looking at the case, Tony muttered to himself with a grin:
"Arthur, you really know how to brighten my day."
A little later, he called Arthur to confirm he had received everything—nearly 200kg of Vibranium.
---
A few hours later, a Stark Industries truck parked in front of Arthur's house.
At that moment, Gwen and Jean also came out, curiously eyeing the huge truck in front of them.
There were many wooden crates inside.
Gwen looked at them curiously.
"What's in those crates?"
"Vibranium," Arthur replied.
"A rare mineral with energy manipulation properties. It can absorb any vibration or impact, and it has incredible resistance."
Gwen couldn't believe such a metal even existed in the world.
Jean, on the other hand, had heard about it but had never seen it in person.
"Why did you buy so much of this Vibranium?" Gwen asked again, curious.
"You'll find out later." Arthur chuckled.
After everything was unloaded into Ruby's lab, the Stark Industries workers left.
Not long after, Gwen also had to leave.
Jean smiled as she said goodbye to her, then turned to Arthur.
"You bought all this to make her a new suit, didn't you?"
She immediately understood why he wanted the Vibranium.
"Not all of it. I'll also create a few things for you."
"That way, you'll be able to fight at her side in the future."
Hearing that, Jean smiled.
"But won't this attract SHIELD's attention?"
"Ruby already handled everything. They'll never be able to trace it back to me."
"They'll never know where this Vibranium came from, nor where it went…"
Jean nodded, satisfied.
"Jean, it's been a while since we've been alone…" Arthur said suddenly, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Arthur, you want…" She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
---
Back in his office, Kingpin's new secretary informed him that he had received an email from Arthur.
Kingpin immediately opened it and saw that it contained a message with a PDF attachment.
In short, Arthur wanted him to contact a Japanese studio to adapt a manga he was working on together with an artist friend.
"The Voice of Silence…?"
After reading the title, Kingpin immediately clicked on the attachment.
It contained a few chapters of the manga.
The story followed a hearing-impaired student who suffered bullying from her classmates and decided to change schools. Years later, one of the boys who used to torment her tries to make amends.
This wasn't the type of story that interested him, but since it was a request from Arthur, he couldn't simply ignore it.
"Get in touch with the best Japanese animation studio."
Kingpin wasn't about to neglect this—not even for a moment.
---
(End of chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."