"I know two great men, one of them is you, and the other is this young man in front of you."

In 1884, the manager of the Paris power plant, Charles ? Batchelo wrote this letter to his friend Edison, in which he enthusiastically recommended to him a young man from the European Big 6.

Barcello and Edison had been friends for many years, having served as his assistant, helping Edison improve the telephone, demonstrating Edison's microphone on the spot, and overseeing the installation of Edison's first complete commercial electric lighting on the Columbia, and they had a deep friendship. But the letter did not have the desired effect, and the words of the letter deeply stimulated Edison's arrogant self-esteem.

"You don't understand American humor." Some time later, with a brutal refusal, Edison pushed Tesla, who was asking for payment, out of the door, and obtained the patent for the more powerful DC motor that the young man had spent more than half a year researching.

Since then, the seeds of discord have been planted by the two geniuses, and the subsequent AC and DC war has been in full swing.

In order to protect his own interests, Edison began a campaign of slander against alternating current and Tesla, using the death of a large number of cats and dogs to prove that alternating current is not safe, and making electric chairs available to the federal government for the execution of felons. In order to confirm that his Ming was not dangerous, Tesla used electricity to guò his body in front of everyone, lit electric lights, and even melted wires, which stunned the reporters present.

The same status gap, similar background experience, under the impetus of people with a heart. Many people really equate Howard with Edison, and Erick as another genius persecuted by vested interests, especially in connection with Tesla's death earlier this year, and a very unfavorable public opinion against Stark was stirred.

"Hell Edison, hell AC and DC fights, I didn't do anything at all, how could anyone equate me with that kind of despicable guy." In Stark Industries' headquarters building, Howard's original elegant image is gone, replaced by an angry businessman.

"There's nothing strange about that, Howard." His partner, Obadai, said. "Who made us the largest arms supplier to the military now. A lot of people are unhappy with us, they want to see us fall and never get up again, it's just a means to fight us, and there's no need to be angry with them. ”

"But it's ruining my reputation, Obadi." Howard waved his arms vigorously and walked to the window to look down on the street below. "Not all of our weapons are really out of the same category, some are only slightly better, and some are even on par with similar products. The Pentagon is willing to buy our products, in addition to the fact that our offer is low enough, and the point is my personal reputation, they value Stark's reputation. That's why I opened my fanny pack, and I couldn't let them hit me at this point. ”

"But they didn't attack by name, they just insinuated from the side." Obadiah struggled and tried to convince Howard. "I don't think it will last long. The other side did not respond, and I got information in the Ministry of Defense that he had already been drafted by the Scientific Strategy Corps. Maybe he will be back in Europe soon, and when he disappears from the public eye, the media enthusiasm will not last long, and we don't need to worry too much. ”

"Scientific Strategy Corps?" Howard frowned. "That small multinational force? I almost forgot that I was also offered an offer over there, and maybe I could meet this modern Mr. Tesla. ”

The genius scientist said, his eyes shining coldly.

Another era.

After a bit of renovation, Tony's seaside mansion has finally returned to its owner, and now that the devastated home destroyed by Roddy and Eric is gone, Stark's taste has been reinstated - a pre-concept building is born between lush woods, green lawns, steep cliffs and azure waters.

Walking into the living room, which seems to be one with the sea and the sky, and down the spiral staircase, Pepper arrives in what outsiders think is the most anticipated room, but she is not as much expectant as the others, because the owner of the building has been fighting for 72 hours there.

"Tony?" Before she could descend the stairs, Pepper saw the man on the sand at a glance, his head leaning back on the back of the sand, and the coffee table in front of him was filled with old yellowed notebooks, which took up almost half of the table, and even the face of the man was covered with their companions.

"Hi, Pepper." Hearing the call, Tony came back from his half-asleep and half-awakened, and when he looked up, his tired face full of sleepiness was immediately revealed.

"What are you looking at?" Pepper asked suspiciously, she thought Tony was fiddling with his alloy toys again, who knew if he was looking at the past Wen Jiàn.

"My father's notes." Tony grabbed the notebook that had slipped off his face and threw it on the coffee table. "Ever since Fury told me about Howard's relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D., I've been interested in his past. You see, my hard work was not in vain, and from the dusty archives I found many things that I didn't know before. ”

"Including your new elemental motivation?" Pepper asked.

"Yes, his design isn't perfect, but there are some unique things about it, and I think he must have a lot of secrets waiting for me to discover." Tony nodded in reply.

"What do you want to know?" Pepper looked around the room, and then the original Mark V armor had been completely discarded, replaced by something that had never been seen before: a gigantic alloy skeleton, reinforced ceramic armor for space use, and polymer parts.

Tony didn't explain to her, just leaned on the sand and spoke slowly.

"For example, what he has done, how he came to be connected to agents, and the mysterious things that the Science Strategy Corps, the predecessor of S.H.I.E.L.D., has sealed, I can't wait to learn about them."

Tony was a little worried, and Pepper seemed to see him again, who was often on the verge of anxiety and collapse.

"Don't worry." Seeing his girlfriend's worries, he patted Miss Potts on the leg, and Tony comforted her. "I just want to be stronger, Pepper, I'm ...... I don't want it to be like the last time I was in Lafasheng Bay. Feel that feeling of weakness again, and believe me, that feeling has been enough for once. ”

Pepper can understand Tony's feelings, that time Iron Man did lose face in front of the public - the first to rush up, the first to fall, and was rescued by the thunderbolt that had conflicts in the past, so many heroes got together and failed to destroy the level virus mutant, and in the end it was someone else who took action to save the situation.

She could really understand Tony's feelings, so she gently stroked Tony's shoulders and relieved him of his depression in a soft voice.

"That's not your responsibility. And wasn't the catastrophe wiped out by Eric in the end? ”

"That's a good point, but here's the problem." Tony flanked his arms frustratedly. "A young girl is targeted by a villain, and of course she will ask the police for help, but who am I? I'm a hero, I'm Iron Man, and I once declared in Congress that I would do everything I could to protect the people, but I turned out to be the one who needed to be protected...... It's a shameful feeling. ”

"So you're going to get stronger." Pepper glanced at the old handwriting, and she understood Tony's thoughts.

"Yes. Human strength is intelligence, and I acknowledge and accept the reality that many people are stronger than me. I see them as a driving force for me to draw inspiration from, Hulk, Stoneman, Johnny, Fireman...... They have strengths but also flaws, even Reed. He's on a similar path to me, but I'm still confident I'm one step ahead. It's like the difference between Edison and Tesla, I may not work as hard as him, but I have more inspiration. That alone is enough to make a decisive difference between us. Then there's Xavier and Magneto, and they're very strange, but I can still find a way to deal with it - I'm not talking big. I just have faith. ”

"In that case, what are you worried about?" Pepper asked with concern, rubbing his shoulder. "I like to see how confident you look."

"Thanks, so do I." Turning sideways, Tony kissed her forehead.

"I see, it's Doctor Strange. He banished Eric to another dimension, and I've heard that he was the strongest magician. At this point, Pepper finally remembered someone, and she clapped her hands and cried out.

But Tony didn't nod, and he gave a wry smile.

"No, he's not. I modeled all the behavioral inputs I learned about him, and with the news I learned, he was only targeting one person, and it had nothing to do with me. ”

"Then you're targeting ......", Pepper wondered, and she suddenly reacted. Eric? You're crazy, he's our friend. ”

"I know, I know." Tony waved his hand repeatedly. "He has saved my life more than once, but...... But ......"

He used two "buts" in a row to get his words out.

"But he also made me feel ashamed, and I'll never forget the time I looked up to him at the Hammer Fair and Pelican Island, there were so many of them, and I always seemed to be the one who was rescued in front of him. Sometimes I wish I had armor under my clothes, or on my pride, as if that was the only way to make me feel better. Tony finally spoke his mind, which made him feel a lot better.

"Don't convince me, Pepper, I'm not trying to be an enemy of Eric, he hasn't returned from exile yet. Perhaps it is the nature of men that we refuse to give in. Like Howard, his notes mention that he's met people who can't be defeated no matter what, like Eric and I are now, but I don't want to run away like Howard...... I don't know what to say, but I hope you can help me. ”

Tony said sincerely, Pepper saw the light of supplication and hope in his gaze, and she sighed for a moment, only to reluctantly agree.

"Okay, I'll take care of the company's business, but you have to pay attention to rest."

After another kiss, Pepper got up and walked away.

As she walked up the spiral staircase, she looked back to see Tony pick up Howard's notes again. (To be continued!)

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