Marvel's Iron Lady

After careful consideration, Miss Stark ultimately decided not to fully reveal the truth to the still-bewildered Spider-Man. Given the current situation, there was no need to lay everything on the table, as it could invite unnecessary danger.

Instead, she simply scolded Peter for the significant damage his fights caused to the city's infrastructure and then let him go. Finally, after the ordeal with William and his daughter, she returned to Stark Tower to get some rest.

However, early the next morning, before the workday had even begun, Jarvis blasted her out of bed with explosive news.

"What did you say?! Norman's speech site was bombed? What were the security personnel doing?!"

With her hair a mess, she angrily crawled out of bed, heading to the kitchen to grab a cup of hot milk.

In the villa's expansive hall, a large projection screen was displaying news reports of the morning's shocking events.

Miss Stark flipped through several channels, and nearly every news outlet was covering the horrifying incident.

"A bombing... how many casualties? And how many of the injured hold policies with Disaster Control?"

The situation was more unexpected than she had anticipated. She had heard that Norman was planning to deliver a public speech, but she hadn't expected it to end like this.

Slumped on the sofa, she held her glass of milk, her expression growing darker by the second.

"Apologies, Miss. The city's emergency services are still tallying the numbers, and it may take some time before we have precise information," Jarvis's cold, synthesized voice reported, without offering any more concrete details about the explosion.

"Was Norman injured?"

"Mr. Osborn received a tip-off from the police and left the scene early."

Hearing this, Miss Stark frowned in dissatisfaction.

"That damned rich man—how typical. People like that always value their lives above everyone else's."

"Well, Miss, I should point out that you are also one of those people," Jarvis quipped, keeping a formal tone even in jest, but Miss Stark wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"Because of the explosion, Mr. Osborn's approval ratings have dropped a few points."

"That's to be expected. What matters is how they handle it moving forward... I'm still figuring that part out."

Looking out through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the city skyline, her mind was far from at ease. She wasn't particularly concerned about Norman's well-being, but rather about who would dare to carry out such a vengeful act.

"Miss, I intercepted a video from the city government's database. You might find it interesting."

With Jarvis's words, the news broadcast on the screen abruptly cut off, replaced by a different scene.

The footage showed the area around Times Square where Norman's speech was held—a busy intersection, and one of the most crowded places in the city.

Because of the large crowds, the city had placed heavy emphasis on security, with Silver Sable International deploying significant personnel.

But the dense crowd also provided cover for those with explosives to infiltrate the event and cause havoc.

The surveillance footage, taken from a camera positioned high above the intersection, clearly laid out the sequence of events—

Miss Stark watched as Norman left, and a few masked individuals emerged from the crowd.

Then, those masked, black-suited individuals, right in the middle of the gathering, initiated a full-scale suicide bombing.

Yes, suicide bombings—but not the kind that typically involve fire and smoke.

The black-suited, masked men who exploded unleashed a wave of gray energy from their bodies.

As the gray wave spread outward, what remained after the explosion were black-and-white flames.

Flames—or at least they looked like flames, though the color seemed drained from them. Perhaps they weren't flames at all.

Questions swirled in Miss Stark's mind, making it difficult for her to comprehend what had just happened.

She hadn't been at the scene herself, hadn't witnessed the explosion, and based solely on the video, it was hard to determine what exactly had occurred.

But one thing was clear to her—this was no conventional bomb. It was something far more bizarre.

This was likely why the city had decided to withhold the information—they didn't know what it was either.

"Damn it... what kind of monsters are these, and why are they here?"

Right now, figuring out what had happened was the top priority, so Miss Stark began contemplating her next move.

Should she notify S.H.I.E.L.D.? They probably already knew about the situation in New York, and she saw no need to get involved with them.

Setting aside S.H.I.E.L.D., the only people she could consult were a select few others.

After some thought, she opened her phone and scrolled through her contacts, settling on a familiar name.

While the sun had already risen over New York, Eastern Europe was still cloaked in darkness and silence.

In a hotel room, Reed Richards and Susan Storm were rudely awakened by the ringing of a transatlantic phone call.

"Who would be calling at this hour—who is it?"

Lying in bed, Susan groggily rubbed her eyes, asking in a sleepy tone.

Reed didn't answer. He gently removed Susan's arm from around his neck and reached for the ringing phone.

At that moment, the Fantastic Four were not in New York. They had traveled to Latveria.

Latveria, a remote country in the Balkans, was Victor Von Doom's homeland.

Lying in the hotel bed, Reed stared at the unfamiliar American number displayed on his phone.

He didn't recognize the number, and couldn't figure out how it had reached him here.

Could it be a prank call? Reed wasn't sure, but it was indeed coming from New York.

While he had brought his team to Eastern Europe, that didn't mean he had come for a vacation or to avoid contact.

If the call was truly urgent, hanging up might lead to unnecessary trouble.

With his still-groggy brain, Reed answered the call, only to be met with a loud, angry voice.

"New York is falling apart—where the hell are you and your team on vacation? Don't you care?!"

When Miss Stark first encountered the Inner Demons organization, she immediately realized that this wasn't something Silver Sable could handle.

The individuals with special abilities could hide anywhere, unleashing their powers on unsuspecting crowds.

New York didn't have many superheroes, and the Fantastic Four alone made up a large part of the city's defense.

That was why Miss Stark had turned to Reed Richards first—his team hadn't yet gotten involved in the situation.

This was understandable, as gang wars weren't their usual focus, though they would occasionally step in.

But this time, the threat posed by the special abilities of the Inner Demons was endangering both the city and its people.

By all accounts, the Fantastic Four should have stepped up to help.

However, Miss Stark didn't know that Reed and the others had already left New York and even the U.S., heading to Eastern Europe to deal with Victor Von Doom's lingering issues.

"Sorry—we're not in New York right now, so there's nothing we can do."

Even if they left for New York immediately, it would take at least ten hours to return, assuming everything went smoothly.

Moreover, given their superhero identities, they couldn't exactly use regular means of travel.

After ending the call with Reed Richards, Miss Stark's mood soured. She had no desire to get personally involved.

Based on the surveillance footage, she hadn't directly studied it, but she had a rough idea of the Inner Demons' special abilities.

The strange, color-drained energy waves they emitted were likely some kind of special power, perhaps not of this physical world.

They could store this energy within themselves and release it all at once, creating an explosion-like effect.

Even though Silver Sable International had top-notch equipment, how could they possibly handle foes with such abilities?

And even if Osborn authorized the National Guard to intervene, it would still be like using a shield against a spear—it wouldn't be enough.

But she couldn't very well ask for help from Kamar-Taj or request that the Guardians stationed at the Sanctum Sanctorum step in.

Given the situation, what other choice did Miss Stark have? In the end, she decided to give Nick Fury a call.

Admittedly, using the Infinity Stones could easily resolve all of this—but was she willing to do that?

The appearance of the Inner Demons organization was something she hadn't foreseen in her glimpses of the future. This was not supposed to happen.

This was the consequence of altering the future. If she used the Stones again, who knew what else might change?

S.H.I.E.L.D. had already been briefed on the situation in New York, but Nick Fury hadn't taken any drastic actions.

When Miss Stark called him, it was as if Fury had been expecting her call all along.

He handed the problem over to her and put the entire New York branch of S.H.I.E.L.D. under her command.

His straightforwardness was baffling, even suspicious to Miss Stark.

But when she heard that Captain America, Steve Rogers, was stationed in New York, she felt more at ease.

Upon counting the available heroes left in New York, she realized there were still a few around.

So, she made up her mind to assemble a team of superheroes to confront the Inner Demons crisis plaguing New York.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon: 

Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven