Superman from the comics: Starting with the Black Robe

Chapter 364 Return to Ultron Headquarters

Chapter 364 Return to Ultron Headquarters

Tony took the communicator with some skepticism and began to examine it, trying to find some evidence that the other party had gone mad.

It wasn't that he didn't trust the Invisible Woman, but the probability of survival in a spaceship that exploded in half outside the material world was extremely low.

The Invisible Woman was able to survive until the spaceship crashed inside Tony's luxury villa for two reasons: first, she was able to project an extremely powerful force field to protect herself; second, she was located in the rear power section of the spaceship.

As for the first half of the spaceship, without thrusters and warp engines, what difference is there between it and scrap metal?

Putting everything else aside, even if they miraculously manage to survive until the material universe, the probability of them plunging into deep space is almost 99%.

Based on Susan's description, Tony felt that her three family members did not have the physical ability to survive in space.

In other words, rather than believing that the Invisible Woman is still alive and the other three members of the Fantastic Four are still alive, Tony is more inclined to believe that the Invisible Woman has gone mad and is mistaking some received cosmic noise for a delusional distress signal.

But no matter what, the emotions of the victim's family are the most important. Tony, who was checking the received signal, was absentmindedly thinking about what good reason to give them until he transferred the signal to Jarvis for cross-checking.

"what?"

something wrong.

The signal source is clear and stable, unlike any cosmic noise, but the overall signal waveform looks rather unpleasant.

"Sir," Jarvis suggested after finishing the analysis, "perhaps you could try adjusting the wavelength—"

Those who work with one machine can always think on the same wavelength, which is exactly what Tony is planning to do:

"Thank you, Jarvis. I already thought of that—shortening the wavelength and changing the frequency. I just didn't have time to say it!"

By shortening the wavelength and increasing the frequency, the message can be read correctly: "This is the Fantastic Four, Reed Richards. We are in another universe, it's safe, and with us are... *sizzle*..."

The signal ends here; what follows is just a string of background noise whose meaning cannot be analyzed.

Tony felt a pang of frustration, like someone who had just finished reading a crucial part of a serial novel only to have it abruptly end.

"What's next?!"

"That's all."

"Sir, this information is incomplete, and the original signal also seems particularly strange."

Jarvis gave Tony another hint: "Maybe it's not gone, but just hasn't been teleported over yet."

"I get the feeling you've gotten a lot smarter lately, Jarvis?"

Tony had considered this as well: "In other words, the environment in which the other party sent the message is likely not synchronized with our time."

There are places in the universe where, for example, the perception of the flow of time differs between two locations: the inner side of a black hole and the outer side, which is far away from the black hole.

The person on the inside quickly makes a simple gesture to the person on the outside. When the person on the outside observes, it will only feel like the other person is doing slow motion frame by frame. It may take an hour before they can see the whole picture.

At this moment, both sides are likely in a similar situation, with the Fantastic Four on the other end transmitting a message that lasts for one or two seconds, while Tony may not be able to learn the full content of this message for another week or two.

"Madam, I will definitely help you find your family, but all we can do now is wait for the signal to be received. In the meantime, please contact me if you need anything."

After Susan explained the situation, Reed's wife, a former researcher and Mr. Fantastic, expressed her understanding: "Thank you for your help."

"That's Jesus for real!"

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Tony finally managed to skip over one difficult question: "Maybe I should tell these people the world is about to end, so they'll stay away from me?"

Just as he was about to go find Dr. Banner to check on the progress of the search for the Space Stone, Jarvis was again in the HUD.

A new visitor was projected onto him:

"Sir, General Ross has come to visit."

Thaddeus Ross, a lieutenant general in the North American Air Force, is an indispensable figure in the military. Although he has not reached the highest rank, his power is almost enough to influence the entire system.

Like S.H.I.E.L.D., the military also has its own means and resources outside of the "world of ordinary people," and the manager of these resources is General Ross.

"What's he doing here?"

"He said he wanted to discuss some things with you, Sir. Whether as a former arms dealer or Iron Man, Tony and General Ross have some connection, but not much."

If it were a friend of Rhodes' caliber, Tony could easily leave him hanging until next Christmas, but General Ross couldn't:

"He really knows how to pick his timing!"

Tony could guess with his toes what General Ross was trying to do.

They either ask what the reflection in the New York sky was like half an hour ago, or they ask how Nick Fury actually died.

Unfortunately, Tony couldn't share the truth about either of these things with him. If those military bastards found out about these things, who knows what kind of trouble they would cause!

There are priorities and urgency. If things continue to drag on like this, everyone will be doomed when the next collision crisis arrives.

"While I'm busy saving the world, why does everyone seem to want to chat with me for a bit?!"

A somewhat impatient Tony was ready to simply feign drunkenness and cancel the meeting with General Ross: "Jarvis, just say I'm drunk!"

"There is another way."

Jarvis manipulated another suit that Tony had previously retired, assembling it into a humanoid form. The engine activated, the visor closed, and he looked exactly like a fully armed Iron Man: "Without opening the Iron Man suit, who would know what's hidden underneath?"

This gave Tony a clue, and he immediately approved Jarvis's idea:

"I doubt General Ross will insist on seeing my handsome face. Jarvis, you handle him for me! Just use our usual topics, Hollywood, whiskey, Vanity Fair, and stuff like that—"

Having dealt with another matter, Tony strode into his shared research lab with Dr. Banner. Here, he could finally focus on studying the gamma rays emitted by the Tesseract fragment, hoping to use them to track the location of the Space Stone—

"It's over!"

Dr. Banner shrugged: "Come earlier next time, maybe you can catch me doing reverse tracking."

As a scientist whose main focus is gamma rays, Dr. Banner might be more efficient without the incessant interference of Tony Stark.

He has found the last place that is associated with the cosmic cubic ray signal, but the problem is that "it points outside our universe."

"coordinate?"

Tony took over the machine and skillfully began locating the coordinates.

It's just crossing universes, he's done that kind of thing a lot before.

"You've been to so many parallel universes? Why don't the rest of us Avengers know?"

Dr. Banner was somewhat displeased; why would Iron Man keep such a significant matter from everyone?

"Aren't we the Avengers? Shouldn't a team work together to overcome difficulties?"

"No," Tony rapidly analyzed the coordinates, unconsciously beginning to attack S.H.I.E.L.D. and everything related to them:

"The Avengers were originally formed simply because Nick Fury, a beach bum, thought it would be easier to manage us rebellious types by bringing us together."

The coordinates were already set before they were even finished speaking. Looking at the parameters of the other universe, Tony's brows, which had been furrowed all along, furrowed even more deeply.

"What a coincidence."

The Space Stone in their universe is located in the same universe where Superman and Ultron 30K fought a fierce battle.