Chapter 28: Tony Stark
Hawkeye and Daredevil were slumped on the ground, and Leo Bright was the only one still standing at the pier.
"You actually beat Kingpin," Hawkeye and Daredevil couldn't believe their eyes.
Daredevil, or Matt Murdock, had encountered Kingpin before and had barely escaped with his life. Kingpin's fists were relentless; you might strike him ten times without effect, but one hit from him and you'd be coughing up blood.
Such was the physical disparity.
"He's strong, but I used a bit of trickery," Leo admitted, downplaying his achievement.
After this battle with Kingpin, Leo realized his many shortcomings.
Problems that seemed trivial at first had turned into deadly hazards at critical moments.
"Strategy is a form of strength," Hawkeye smiled, wincing as he pulled out a playing card embedded in his shoulder. Using a disposable bandage from his backpack, he wrapped it around the wound, stopping the bleeding.
"Communication's back up," Leo informed Hawkeye, hearing Skye's familiar voice in his headset.
"It was the car," Hawkeye said. "There must've been something on it blocking external signals."
The heavy, gold-trimmed presidential car had vanished.
Under the cover of the black smoke, Kingpin made his escape.
But fortunately, a large cache of goods remained at the dock.
In the chaos, the cruise ship had fled the scene, heading for the Atlantic.
Hawkeye pulled out new communication equipment, trying to contact headquarters. In his duel with Bullseye, almost half of his gear had been destroyed.
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrived about half an hour later.
Out at sea, Quinjet fighters began cordoning off the area. Thanks to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources, they intercepted the cruise ship in the Atlantic within ten minutes.
But by the time agents boarded, everyone on the ship had already been killed.
Nick Fury arrived at the pier in a Quinjet.
His expression was grim.
"Stark weapons, as expected."
"Looks like there's trouble within Stark Industries."
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were cleaning up the battlefield. The bodies strewn across the port told of a brutal battle.
Three heroes had faced off against 300 gang members, plus Bullseye and Kingpin.
Bullseye was half-conscious, and Hawkeye Barton had sustained serious injuries.
Kingpin had lost an arm, and Daredevil was covered in wounds, with several bullet holes, though none were fatal.
"You did well."
"You surprised this old man," Fury patted Leo on the shoulder.
Looking at the sixteen-year-old boy, his youthful, handsome face was a mask of confusion.
Who would have thought that this seemingly harmless kid had severed Kingpin's arm and decimated the entire dock?
The gang members lay defeated.
Apart from the tenth that Hawkeye and Bullseye had taken down, Leo had dispatched nearly all the rest.
He was now a man drenched in blood.
An exaggeration, perhaps, but his steel-cutting knives were even dulled.
"I need a shower."
"And I regret it, the bonus should be doubled."
Leo quipped as he walked into the Quinjet, setting down his gear.
"This guy..." Fury scratched his head.
"Might be a bit too bloodthirsty..." Fury thought, troubled.
About ten minutes later, Leo emerged from the Quinjet in casual clothes, sporting a new hairstyle.
The port was nearly cleared, and the few survivors were taken into custody by S.H.I.E.L.D.
Among them, the severely injured Bullseye was treated and then placed in a special isolation chamber.
"Why not just kill him and stop wasting prison resources?" Leo asked disdainfully.
"There's always something prisoners can do," Fury replied with a smirk.
"Bullseye is one of Kingpin's closest allies. He knows a lot about Kingpin's operations, and our intelligence officers will extract that information from him," Fury explained.
Leo nodded, saying nothing.
From his perspective,
Enemies should be eliminated.
Why keep them around?
He disliked seeing movie and TV protagonists spare enemies out of sentimentality,
Only to have those enemies return to kill their loved ones.
Then the hero would erupt, unleashing their full potential.
A cliché plot.
Yet many directors and writers still loved crafting such stories.
About half an hour later,
The port was nearly cleared, and Tony Stark arrived in his private jet.
With his personality, he wasn't one to heed Fury's orders.
However, when he saw the photos Fury sent, he immediately got up from his latest dalliance.
This was a matter of principle.
He wouldn't allow his weapons to fall into the wrong hands!
His father had instilled this!
Tony approached the weapon crates, taking one look and recognizing them as his company's products.
He opened a crate, revealing the delicate warheads inside.
"The Rattlesnake series, damn it, these are basically the latest batch of products we have in circulation," Tony cursed.
Anyone would be upset to find their achievements betrayed by their own people.
Especially when Tony had no clue who was behind it.
He rarely involved himself in the company's day-to-day operations, leaving it all to Obadiah Stane.
Tony frowned, forming some suspicions but keeping them to himself.
Leo had just checked the latest transfer on his computer, feeling pleased, and walked over.
If everything was settled, he was ready to head home and get some rest.
"Hey, it's you," Tony Stark was deep in thought when he suddenly looked up, surprised to see the young man approaching.
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