057. Father, Please Strike Me Once More

“Just now, when you were flying through the city, the damage you caused—” At the mention of this, Tony Stark and James Rhodes immediately grew anxious.

“I was being controlled! I didn’t want to do that—I just couldn’t control myself!” James Rhodes hurriedly explained. It hadn’t been his intention at all. If anyone wanted to assign blame, they should go after Ivan Vanko, the man pulling the strings. He, himself, was innocent.

“I… just wanted to end things quickly, to minimize the trouble and destruction to the city,” Tony Stark added. Normally, given his personality, he’d never bother with explanations—he’d just fight his way out. But he was drained of power, and with the circumstances as they were, he had no choice but to bow his head. Besides, their opponent was simply too overwhelming.

“Ivan Vanko certainly bears the greatest responsibility, and he’s already been punished. But don’t think you can wash your hands of this completely. Even if you’re not primarily to blame, you’re still involved,” Su Ye said, approaching step by step.

Tony Stark and James Rhodes instinctively tried to back away, but the steel cables around their ankles blocked any retreat.

“So, what exactly do you want?” The two of them, at this moment, couldn’t help but recall Ivan Vanko’s own thoughts from earlier: Please don’t come any closer…

Su Ye didn’t waste more words. Often, action spoke louder than any explanation.

If you can do it, don’t talk about it.

With a devil’s stride, he closed the distance in an instant, his approach sending a chill through Tony and Rhodes. Then, a large black-gloved hand swung up.

Smack!

The first slap landed squarely on James Rhodes. Though the heavy cannon that had once rested on his shoulder had already been sliced off by Ivan Vanko’s whip, the remaining stump was still large and conspicuous.

The blow was powerful—Rhodes spun through the air in a dizzying 1800-degree turn before crashing to the ground, motionless.

Had Jarvis not reported that James Rhodes was alive, just unconscious, Tony Stark would have detonated the War Machine suit on the spot, taking out this bastard before him.

Su Ye didn’t spare a glance for the fallen War Machine. He turned to Iron Man, raising his hand again.

Smack!

Iron Man’s face was knocked askew, but his body didn’t lift off the ground. It seemed this slap hadn’t been quite as forceful.

Across from them, Batman spoke up once more.

“Do you prefer studying, or going to the park?”

“Huh?” Tony Stark was bewildered. What kind of question was that—studying or going to the park? Did this guy think he was a grade-schooler? And who did he think he was, Howard Stark?

Smack!

Tony was still puzzled when another backhanded slap landed, twisting his face to the other side. Though his helmet absorbed much of the impact, his head still rang—he was starting to worry about a concussion.

“Do you prefer a stroll in the park, or a walk on the beach?”

So, was the correct answer to the previous question “going to the park”? I get it! Tony’s mind was fuzzy, but he forced a smile. As long as he understood the pattern, he could answer the questions and avoid more slaps.

Smack!

Another slap, this time from the front. Iron Man’s head jerked the other way.

“Your love of learning—did you get that from me or your mother?”

From you? From your uncle! Who the hell are you? Are you insane? Motherf—

And what did this have to do with the previous questions? Weren’t we talking about parks and beaches?

No, the question came after the slap. Which meant he never had a chance to answer in the first place—the questions were just a pretense for more slapping.

Smack!

“Growing a beard—did you inherit that from your mother? Dare to deny it?”

Smack!

“What birthday present do you want, left hand or right?”

Smack!

“…”

A barrage of absurd questions followed. By the end, Tony Stark couldn’t even remember what was being asked, let alone consider any answers.

The endless stream of slaps, left then right, battered his helmet out of shape. He began to worry that, if this kept up, his own head would be squashed into the shape of that egg-headed singer from the Snow Country, crooning ‘One Plum Blossom’ in the snow.

If he really ended up looking like that, how could he ever hope to impress anyone again? Sure, money could turn a monkey into a prince, but even then, there were limits.

At last, after five full minutes of relentless slapping, Su Ye finally stopped. His arm was sore from all the effort, but his gloved hand was unharmed.

Gazing at the sight of Iron Man—whose head now looked as if it had been trapped in a door—Su Ye found himself worrying he might have knocked something loose in there. Without Iron Man, the world would lose a lot of its entertainment.

“This is just a light punishment, a warning. From now on, watch yourselves. I’ll be watching you from the shadows!” With those words, Su Ye turned, hefted the lifeless Ivan Vanko over his shoulder, and shot Tony Stark a cold glance before launching himself straight into the sky.

Iron Man’s faceplate was so battered and bent it obscured his vision. It took all of Tony Stark’s remaining strength to rip the mask from the helmet. With his swollen face, he looked in the direction Su Ye had flown.

There, he saw a massive, bat-like black figure soaring away into the night.

At the same moment, atop the Oracle Eco-Park, a huge searchlight flicked on, beaming into the distant sky. Tied to the light was the limp body of Ivan Vanko, blood from his severed arm splattering across the lamp and staining it red.

Because of the body and blood, the searchlight’s beam cast a dark shadow in the middle—a shape resembling a bat.

“Batman…?” Tony Stark murmured, before collapsing to the ground.

High above, the great bat-signal hovered in the night sky—visible to half of New York City.

For most people, it meant nothing yet. Compared to the fireworks that had lit up the city earlier, this bat signal was insignificant.

But for the SHIELD agents who had followed Black Widow to the Oracle Eco-Park to wrap up the scene, the sight filled them with awe.

“First Spider-Man, now a Batman shows up… not to mention Green Armor Guy. Just how many superheroes does New York have?”