Chapter 86: Everyone meets again.
"Felix, look! He clearly has no intention of joining our alliance, yet you're still pushing him!" Tony exclaimed, a little exasperated by Danny's direct refusal. He'd secretly hoped Felix's persuasion would be more effective. What a waste of a dramatic entrance! But Tony had personally witnessed Danny's strength, and he genuinely supported his joining the team. It was just a bit embarrassing that the Justice League seemed to be getting rejected.
"Cough, we'll talk about the future later! I'm sure Danny will come around eventually. After all, joining our alliance makes life incredibly exciting! And surely, you've learned those skills for a reason, haven't you?" Felix was mentally prepared for Danny's initial reluctance. He figured Danny, fresh from Kunlun, was probably a little reserved and uncomfortable with new faces.
"Now, Tony, weren't you going to tell us about your potion research? Why did you suddenly summon us here?"
"Felix, don't worry, I'll explain everything once everyone arrives," Tony replied, waving a hand dismissively.
"It'll save me from repeating myself and wasting my breath! Come on, everyone, let's take a seat and wait for the others. I've notified them all, they should be here any minute now!" Tony led the way, settling comfortably onto a sofa and gesturing for the others to join him.
"Fine by me, I've got time," Felix said nonchalantly, taking a seat on the sofa opposite Tony. Banner, already close friends with Tony, didn't hesitate, flopping down next to him.
Only Danny remained standing, looking somewhat awkward, still unfamiliar with the people and surroundings.
"Come, sit down, Mr. Rand. I have a feeling you'll agree to join us eventually. Sooner or later, you'll be good friends with everyone here. You don't have to be so formal, just make yourself comfortable!" Seeing Danny's hesitation, Felix sighed, hoping to ease his discomfort.
"Thank you," Danny murmured. Felix's words seemed to have an effect. After a moment of internal debate, Danny finally took Felix's advice. He thanked everyone and slowly lowered himself onto the sofa. However, his posture remained stiff, like a student sitting rigidly for a teacher, making him look strikingly out of place.
"I swear, Felix, are all the people from Kunlun as peculiar as him? This is a sofa! You're supposed to sit comfortably, however you like!" Tony remarked, finding Danny's formal posture on the sofa almost comical.
Time crawled by. Nearly half an hour later, Felix felt a little exasperated. He realized he should have just teleported and picked everyone up himself from the start. But when Tony had asked earlier, they'd all claimed to be "on their way" and insisted there was no need for a pickup.
Finally, the notified members began to arrive. Thor was first, –naturally. Being able to fly certainly had its advantages! Second to arrive were T'Challa and Annie, surprisingly together. This made Felix wonder if something was going on between them, though he was too polite to ask directly. (In reality, it was a simple misunderstanding. Their cities were close, and Annie, new to this world, had no car or driver's license. T'Challa, as the Prince of Wakanda—the richest nation—drove a vibranium-enhanced vehicle, so he'd simply offered Annie a ride.)
Felix introduced Danny Rand to everyone, and a general welcome was extended.
Finally, when Captain America, Steve, arrived, everyone was accounted for.
"Seriously, Steve, were you running? Why are you so slow?" Tony complained the moment Steve walked in, shield in hand.
"Sorry, everyone, I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long," Steve apologized with an embarrassed smile.
"Oh, next time we meet, I'm just going to teleport and pick you all up individually! You're all too slow!" Felix declared, exasperated that i–t had taken so long to assemble everyone.
"Well, it's not that we're too slow, Felix, it's that you're too fast!" Thor interjected, hitting the nail on the head. "You can cross thousands of miles with a single thought, but even for me, flying takes a lot of time! Not to mention everyone else."
"Alright, regardless, next time I'm picking you up." Felix conceded. "But now that everyone's here, Tony, you can finally tell us about the research results you and Banner have been working on!" Felix had been waiting over an hour; it was finally time for business.
"Cough, alright, I'll get straight to it. Everyone here is a member of the Justice League, so there's nothing to hide," Tony declared. It was finally his turn to perform. He stood up from the sofa, patting at non-existent dust, cleared his throat for attention, and began his dramatic reveal.
"Almost forgot, there's one person who hasn't officially joined the league yet, but Felix just said he'd join sooner or later, so it shouldn't matter! This time, I've called everyone here because of the superpower potion Felix brought back last time. This potion has seen incredible progress thanks to Bruce and my tireless research!"
"A superpower potion? What's that?" T'Challa, still seated on the sofa, heard the term for the first time and couldn't help but ask, intrigued.
"Cough, T'Challa, don't interrupt me! You'll understand once I finish!" Tony retorted, annoyed by the interruption. "Back to the topic... In earlier tests, we found the success rate of this injection was incredibly low—less than one percent! Almost no one would risk taking such a potion for such a slim chance."
"However, through my efforts—and of course, with Bruce's invaluable help! We've finally managed to significantly increase the success rate of this potion! Now, the injection success rate has reached over 74%!" Tony paused for effect.
"It's just... there's still one problem we can't solve. There's an unknown ingredient among the components of this medicine, one we don't have in our world. Or perhaps, we simply haven't found it yet."
"Whatever the reason, I regret to say that this medicine can only be brought back by Felix. It cannot be replicated or mass-produced—at least not for now!" Tony continued. "Oh, I almost forgot. Felix brought a total of eight of these medicines. Bruce and I conducted many experiments and used up most of the dosage of one bottle. So, to be precise, we now only have a little over seven doses left!"
"Alright, I'm done! You can ask any questions or share your ideas now!" Tony finished, then settled back onto the sofa, waiting for their reactions.
Everyone fell silent, lost in thought, their expressions varying.
"A 74% success rate? While it seems high, there's still a 26% chance of failure! That's not a small number, Tony. Can't you improve it further?" Felix finally broke the silence, though a hint of dissatisfaction lingered in his voice.
"Felix, do you think scientific breakthroughs happen just by wishing for them?" Tony retorted, a little exasperated. "Bruce and I are two of the most brilliant minds of this century! We've worked tirelessly for nearly a year, researching this medicine, to perfect it to this extent! If you want to improve the success rate even further, there's no hope without a massive breakthrough. The time and energy needed for that would be incalculable—two years, three years, maybe even a decade, and still no guarantee of success!" He sounded almost incredulous that Felix wasn't satisfied. Does he need a 100% success rate to be content?
"Stark is right," Banner interjected, agreeing with Tony. "Scientific advancement requires flashes of inspiration and continuous experimentation before it can slowly progress. This is especially true in biology. As for this particular potion, when I first saw it, I was utterly shocked by its effects! It's hard to imagine how it was created. The idea that someone could develop an elixir to give humans superpowers is truly incredible!"
"Even with its initial low success rate, I deeply admire the person who developed it. They were definitely one of a kind genius! But Stark and I aren't ordinary people either. With the powerful AI, Jarvis, we've bypassed countless tedious experimental processes, allowing us to achieve this level of improvement in just one year."
"This is the maximum improvement possible in a short timeframe. If we continue to study it, it would take a monumental amount of time for only marginal gains, which isn't very efficient. While a one-quarter failure rate seems significant, biological agents are like this; they can never be made perfectly. There will always be failure rates and side effects. Moreover, for a potion that shouldn't even exist in this world, achieving this much is already a blessing!" Banner's explanation underscored the immense difficulty of their work. Only he and Tony truly understood the challenges involved. Without Jarvis's help and Tony's comprehensive lab equipment, it could have taken centuries to make significant progress. Of course, their own extraordinary talents played a crucial role.
"Okay, I'm sorry, Tony," Felix admitted, a sudden realization dawning on him. "I truly was being a bit greedy. This success rate is actually far beyond what I ever expected!" He recognized that he was indeed being unreasonable, especially considering the extraordinary efforts Tony and Banner had put in.
"Alright, that settles it then. We have exactly seven complete potions. While there's enough for one person each, there's still a significant failure rate." Tony paused, looking around the room. "So, whether you use it or not is entirely up to your own wishes! But no one should worry too much about the consequences of failure. Bruce and I have minimized the side effects of the drug as much as possible."
"Now, if the injection fails, it won't directly cause a collapse of the body's gene chain. Instead, you'll just feel weak for a while, possibly with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea. So, who's willing to inject this potion and gamble on successfully mutating an unknown superpower?" Tony asked, seeing that no one had further questions, directly addressing the group.
"I'm definitely taking one!" Felix was the first to speak, which was entirely within Tony's expectations. After all, he'd brought the medicine back for his own use, hoping to strengthen his abilities. And he wasn't afraid of side effects; his evolutionary adaptability wasn't just for show! Surviving in space without harm meant a few potion side effects were nothing.
"I'm taking one too!" The next voice, however, surprised both Tony and everyone else.
"Why are you all staring at me?" the person asked. "My abilities in the League are a bit low. Of course, I need to make every effort to improve my strength! Otherwise, how can I face the dangerous situations ahead?"
It was Captain America, Steve, who spoke, the second to volunteer, his voice following Felix's almost immediately.
"Well, it's nothing, just a little surprised," Felix responded. "Captain, are you absolutely sure? Or perhaps wait until I've gone first, and then observe the outcome? There's no rush."
"No," Steve directly rejected Felix's suggestion. "Didn't Stark just say that even if it's unsuccessful, it's just a period of weakness? That's no big deal for me." He dismissed the potential side effects as insignificant.
"Haha, you truly are Captain America! So brave!" Tony said with a meaningful smile, admiring Steve's courage. He couldn't help but recall the side effects he'd seen in the lab. The poor mouse from a few days ago was still as good as dead. It could barely move after days of intense, continuous excretion. If he and Bruce hadn't been force-feeding it highly nutritious food, it would surely have perished by now. Of course, apart from that, there were no other fatal side effects. Tony, despite his flaws, never gambled with a friend's life. It was precisely because he could guarantee the potion's absolute safety that he had called everyone together.
"I'm taking one too!" A voice interrupted Tony's musings. He looked over to see Thor speaking.
"Alright, three people should be enough for now. Let's see how they fare, and then you all will have a more intuitive understanding," Tony said, after tens of seconds passed without anyone else volunteering. "Come on, let's head down to the underground lab to get ready!" He waved a hand, rose from the sofa, and led the group toward his subterranean sanctuary.
SHIELD Headquarters
Meanwhile, at SHIELD headquarters, in Nick Fury's office, Agent Hill, dressed in her signature black, was delivering a report.
"Director, do you remember those two self-proclaimed superheroes, Starlight and Black Panther, who appeared suddenly a year ago? Our monitoring agents just reported back, they both unexpectedly left the city by car today, together."
"Oh? What's their objective?" Nick Fury took a sip from his coffee cup, sitting at his desk, a hint of curiosity in his tone.
"Director, we'll get to that. There's also news that Thor, the Asgardian currently residing on Earth, suddenly flew off at the same time. The agent monitoring him couldn't maintain pursuit." Agent Hill continued, relaying the message's contents.
"Oh? Interesting. Go on," Nick Fury's eyes flickered with fleeting interest as he took another sip of coffee.
"Furthermore, at that exact moment, Captain America also abruptly departed the residence SHIELD had arranged for him," Hill added.
"What's their purpose? Don't tell me it's Stark's villa!" Nick Fury's expression finally lost its playful demeanor, replaced by a bad premonition. He abruptly placed his unfinished coffee cup on the table and demanded, his voice low and serious, "They actually know? Why didn't we get any intelligence? And what are they gathering for? Are they holding a meeting?"
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