Chapter 735: Peril, Thanos, Peril (Part 1) (Patreon)

In DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

In Stark Tower's lab, documents and materials were piled high, necessitating JARVIS to equip his new body with a set of mechanical arms to organize all these experimental materials.

Each set of mechanical arms had four limbs, fixed to the shoulders and waist of JARVIS's mechanical body. The upper arms worked in tandem with his hands to sort different documents, while the lower arms stuffed them into various cabinets.

Some experimental data were too complex for simple programmatic interpretation and required confidentiality, leaving JARVIS and Stark as the only ones capable of handling these tasks.

In the adjacent room, Otto was hammering the table in frustration, exclaiming, “If you distrust my technology, then why bother asking for my help?!”

“I’ll say it again, the tentacles can be directly integrated into the human nervous system without side effects, there’s no need to add another layer of Mech armor!”

“Of course, I've reviewed your research materials, but I'm just not comfortable with mounting four large tentacles on my back. It's simply too ugly!” Stark retorted with raised voice.

“You must understand, my fans like Iron Man for the sleek, high-tech gear, not for ugly tentacles. I brought you here to solve problems, so please, just shut up and get to work, okay?”

Taking a deep breath, Otto recalled the string of zeros on the contract Pepper had given him. Shaking his head in resignation, he began to equip Stark's Mech armor with mechanical tentacles.

To further enhance his work efficiency, Stark felt the need to add a few more hands himself.

Often criticized as a capitalist exploiting his employees, Stark had to prove that he could be even tougher on himself.

He created a comprehensive life-support armor, powered by magical energy, allowing him to go without sleep for a week.

The relentless focus on his experiments without sleep, food, or drink was also why his anxiety disorder had become so severe.

This time, he planned to add four mechanical tentacles to his life-support armor, similar to Doctor Octopus.

Though he could command JARVIS to activate robots to assist in his work, their flexibility and tactile sensation could not match his own hands. If a neural connection could effectively give him the benefit of additional hands, it would be worthwhile.

After a half-day's work in the laboratory, Otto fine-tuned various models of mechanical tentacles. Strange emerged from a magical portal, preparing for the upcoming surgery.

Any neural connection surgery required an operation. After some technical advancements, Strange was trying less invasive, even external, neural connection surgeries.

Simply put, this involved using a special material to extend human nerves outside the body, making the use of various neural-connected external devices more convenient and less painful.

However, since this technology was still untested, it couldn't be used on Stark, who had to rely on traditional internal neural implants for tentacle control.

“I must warn you, neural connection surgery is risky. I've handed the risk notification book to JARVIS. But frankly, whether you sign it or not doesn't matter, because if the surgery fails, I'll activate the gem and we can do it all over again.”

“Also, Schiller will be here in ten minutes,” Strange glanced at his watch and corrected, “No, seven minutes. He's always punctual.”

“Wait, why is he coming?” Stark questioned, stepping backwards into his Mech armor, which then enveloped his body.

Unlike other combat suits, his life-support Mech armor was designed for extreme lightness, almost imperceptible. Wearing it, Stark appeared to be in a tight combat suit, with mechanical structures visible only at the joints.

Strange, placing a medical file aside, warned Stark, “I must remind you, external neural surgery is very painful, extremely so.”

“The most important thing is, you refuse anesthesia. I really don’t know how you...”

“Let’s not talk about it,” Stark dismissed, turning his head away. Otto interjected, “If you’re trying to prove your masculinity in such a childish way, then I must say, you should go back to college.”

Stark snorted, “Masculinity? I'm not as immature as that kid Peter. Don't you know? Any dose of anesthesia can damage the brain, a risk I cannot afford.”

“So, you didn’t use anesthesia when you were messing with that thing in your chest??” Strange asked, somewhat impressed, “I have to acknowledge, you do have some guts.”

Stark paled slightly at the memory, mumbling, “Let’s not bring that up. I don’t want to remember.”

In life-threatening situations, one can push their limits, but the fear remains afterward. Stark's unstable mental state was partly due to the shadows left by his past experiences in Afghanistan.

“Good morning, everyone,” Schiller entered the lab, holding a medical file and eyeing Stark, “I hear a big boy wanting to showcase his masculinity is here for a neural connection surgery without anesthesia?”

“Enough talk. My heart rate will be too high for surgery if this continues,” Stark inhaled deeply, “Soon, you'll see what real masculinity is.”

Ten minutes later, screams pierced New York's quiet skies.

“Ah!!!! Ahhhh!!!”

“Beep—beep—beep—”

"The alarm sounded." Schiller turned his head to look at the instrument beside him, recording and speaking simultaneously, "Brainwave activity is also abnormal. Stop immediately!"

Strange immediately ceased his actions, removed his gloves, took out a gem, and with a flash of light, reversed time to the moment before the surgery.

Stark, secured on the operating table, was gasping for breath, his head covered in cold sweat. Though the wound and blood had vanished, his memory remained unaltered; he was engulfed by an intense pain just moments ago.

Stark, with his upper body bare, propped himself up with one arm, sitting up from the operating table.

As Strange tidied the surgical tools, he glanced at Stark's back. Just moments ago, there was a window, neither large nor small. The wound was not deep, and the bleeding was minimal, but the process of nerve integration brought extreme pain.

"I say, mate, how do you endure such pain???" Stark looked at Otto and said, "Even with anesthetics, it's beyond human tolerance."

Otto shook his head and replied, "Indeed, during the surgery, I woke up from pain seven or eight times. But as it was intermittent, it wasn't so severe. If you don't use anesthetics at all, I can only wish you good luck."

Schiller then turned to Strange and asked, "What about having Professor X forcibly shut down his brain? Would that work?"

Strange shook his head, "It's hard to say, but it might affect the brain. His thoughts are too active, his brain activity far exceeds that of an ordinary person. If we suppress it forcibly..."

Without finishing his sentence, everyone present understood his conclusion. Schiller pondered and suggested, "What about borrowing a symbiote? It could directly block the pain."

The others fell silent, seemingly contemplating. Strange, stroking his chin, added, "It should work. These symbiotic organisms are miraculous, capable of controlling every cell in the human body..."

"But previously, the symbiotes all returned to their homeworld... Wait, isn't there one symbiote that didn't leave?"

Schiller and Strange exchanged glances, while Stark, lying on the operating table, suddenly had a bad premonition.

"Rotten being, we meet again!"

Venom's deep, raspy voice echoed in Stark's mind. Annoyed, he slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed, "Get out of my head, you damned rotten mud!"

"Oh, oh, oh, let me listen. Which little darling is it, unable to bear the pain, seeking their Venom daddy? Soon, I will record every change in your cells and inscribe it in my genetic catalog, telling the whole Space that Tony Stark is a crybaby afraid of pain! Hahaha!"

"Shut up, rotten mud! Should I tell the whole Space about your idiocy? Soon, I'll open a Portal, take a tour in Klyntar, and inform your kin that it takes you two hours to learn linear functions!"

Watching Stark sit in a daze, Strange, preparing the experimental tools, nudged Schiller with his shoulder and commented, "I bet they're already arguing fiercely."

"This is good. Tony needs a change of mind," Schiller replied, glancing at Stark. "Don't you think he's been a bit obsessed lately?"

Strange also looked at Stark, speaking in a lower voice, "I've noticed he always lacks a sense of security. When things don't go well, he becomes irritable. But when they do go well, he fears they will soon plummet."

"Like recently, with the Solar System construction plan progressing smoothly, yet he insists on straining his brain, not resting for a minute, afraid to stop."

"I asked him why he does this. He said, these people won't always unite. Since they are improving now, we must seize this opportunity."

Schiller paused his work, sighing, "In his view, good times are always brief. Long-term depression, stagnation, and violence are the norm."

"I think it's deeply related to his father," Strange added solemnly. "It's like describing a drunkard. Sobriety is rare, mostly they're like rotten mud... I know this all too well."

"Yes, people who grow up in such circumstances often feel the need to accomplish everything in the quiet days, as there could always be a drunken brute bursting into their room at any moment, subjecting them to abuse and beatings. This is where their sense of insecurity stems from."

"Have you ever thought about treating this issue?" Strange looked up at Schiller and added, "Of course, I'm not saying you must do this, but if possible, it would be healthier for him."

"I tried before, but these personality traits have become a part of his identity, and they are likely too deeply ingrained to remove."

"Wait, personality traits?" Strange turned his head towards Schiller and asked, "I remember you said that each character in your Temple of Thought's high tower represents a part of your personality traits, and you can control when these traits come out to work. How do you manage all this?"

Hearing this, Schiller paused his actions momentarily but soon resumed, his head bowed in silence, seemingly unwilling to answer the question. Seeing this, Strange did not press further.

After Venom possessed Stark, Strange resumed the surgery without the need for an incision. Venom opened a tiny wound on Stark's back, implanted a neural connection device, and remotely connected it to the life-support Mech armor.

Not only was the procedure painless, but the moment it connected, Stark felt as though he had gained additional, controllable arms. After confirming this, he connected the remaining two tentacles.

Stark, sitting on the operating table, shook his head and blinked hard, exclaiming, "This feeling is incredible, it's like... like I really have extra arms."

Otto, working on the Mech armor's back, suggested, "Your experience would be even better if you didn't use this Mech armor as an intermediary."

Instantly, the four tentacles twitched, one slapping Otto off balance. Stark apologized, "Oh, sorry, that wasn't intentional."

"Alright, let the most brilliant Venom see what strange contraption you've come up with... Tentacles?? If you wanted tentacles, why didn't you come to me?"

Venom snorted, and instantly, numerous black, slimy tentacles burst from Stark's back, each connected to his nerves and directly controllable by his brain.

"Listen, even if mechanical tentacles are less useful, I would never resort to using your rotten slime!" Stark retorted loudly.

Ten minutes later, in the laboratory, Stark yelled, "You pile of rotten slime! I'll say it again! Don't mess around when I ask you to fetch materials!"

One of the black, slimy tentacles on Stark's back swiftly retracted, but another immediately started rummaging through a document cabinet.

As Stark and the symbiote clashed, Schiller and Strange, having just organized the medical materials, entered the room. Stark continued his work, but his ears perked up.

He heard Schiller say, "I've come up with something amazing recently. Do you want to see it?"

"Something amazing?" Strange turned his head to look at Schiller and asked, "What is it? What could you possibly have that you'd call amazing?"

Stark, too, turned around curiously, only to see a ring of light suddenly illuminate above Schiller's head.

Stark and Strange drew closer to Schiller. Strange, taking the lead, waved his hand and said, "I thought it was something significant. It's just a magic light effect. I can do that too!"

After saying this, Strange snapped his fingers, and a ring of light appeared above his head, as he shook his head smugly at Schiller.

However, Schiller just smirked coldly. Under Stark and Strange's gaze, he reached out and effortlessly removed the light ring from his head.

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, without ads and support the work.]

XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX

Next Chapter>>Chapter 736: Peril, Thanos, Peril (Part 2)