The Marvelous Dragon Balls

Chapter 73: The Great Tony Stark

Seeing Saint shocked, Coulson broke the vow he had just made once again, and said with pride: “May is very talented, and the director gave her access to our records on Kunlun. With that information, she began cultivating her Ki in just one day!”

Saint looked at Coulson with disdain: “You know, I feel sorry for you, being a layman. You shouldn’t talk about what you don’t understand! What does this have to do with talent? She’s been learning martial arts for years and years. With that, it’s only logical that she could grasp the concept of Ki with MY help. I tell you what; I’m willing to bet that she’s your only successful case! As large and mighty as SHIELD is, how good would it be to have only one ‘talent’? So, am I right?”

“…”

Coulson was speechless again.

Seeing that he did not refute his supposition, Saint pointed to Melinda may, and said coldly: “Coulson, you’ve asked me before to teach your agents. Now, I’ll tell you plainly, for her, I can give some pointers!”

Melinda’s eyes went bright, and her heart started thumping fast in excitement! But then, Saint’s tone changed, and he added: “Of course, it will not be for free.”

Coulson frowned slightly, and after exchanging looks with Melinda, she asked instead of him: “Saint, can you tell me what you want?”

“I want a lot…” Saint shrugged: “But you’re not the one calling shots here. Instead of asking me, you’d be better off asking the one eyed man and see how much he’s willing to pay for me to instruct agents of your bureau.”

“I understand.” Coulson nodded, putting the matter on hold for a while. Then, he turned around to Melinda May and said: “May, we should leave.”

While she was reluctant to change to topic, Melinda was professional enough to know that duty was above all. She turned around and walked to the cockpit saying: “In one minute, the cabin’s door will close. We’ll be taking off in three.”

Three minutes later, the left and right engines of the Quinjet blasted off blues flames simultaneously, creating a burst of wind around the jet. Then, the fighter started levitating like helicopter to the sky. After getting to a sufficient height, a pair of engines behind also released their flames, pushing the Quinjet forward heading into the clouds.

……

At the same time, in the southwestern part of Afghanistan, in a cave in the desert…

In the deepest part of the cave, the sound of a hammer hitting steel could be heard, and a handsome man, one with a moustache and a goatee, tirelessly waving his gavel in sweat, could be seen.

The playboy fanaticized about by thousands of women, the chairman and heir of Stark Industries, the talented scientist and engineer, and the great inventor and philanthropist did not lose his charm under the harsh conditions of captivity. The current kind of arm-trade in the Marvel World and future energy emperor, Tony Stark, was forging his own way to freedom.

In contrast to his glamorous future image in his Iron Suit, saying that he wasn’t at his best would be an understatement. But compared to the middle-aged bald man in glasses by his side, he still looked much better.

“Yinsen,” Tony turned around and said to the man by his side: “Pin-nose pliers.”

Yinsen handed him the tool he needed, and then pointed to stack of drawings in the corner of the cave in worry: “Stark, with how things are going, it should take us around half a month to make all the parts you’ve drawn. You think they will give us so much time?”

“We will fight for time.” Tony used the pin-nose pliers to finely adjust the edge of the metal piece in his hand, and without turning he said: “Yinsin, we will definitely come out of this alive; I promise!”

Yinsen smiled bitterly and said: “How are you so confident?”

“It’s because I’m Tony Stark!” Tony hit his chest.

Hearing the sound of metal, he looked at the light going through his top and couldn’t help but fall into memory.

About a month ago, after a demonstration of Stark Industries’ new Jericho Missile to the US army, he was ambushed on his way back to the military base.

Ironically, the terrorist group who attacked them, the Ten Commandments, used weapons from Stark Industries, which were even branded with his trademark!

With the protection of his high-tech bullet-proof vest, Tony survived, but not without many shrapnel penetrating into his chest. If it wasn’t for the highly skilled Dr. Yinsen, he wouldn’t be alive today.

Yinsen took out most of the shrapnel with surgery. However, some were too small and entered his blood vessels. There was no choice for the doctor and the scientist, Yinsen, but to build a magnet electromagnet to keep them from reaching his heart.

Therefore, the first thing Tony Stark woke up to was a car battery connected through wires to his chest…

Such an arrogant man would never accept such a life! For a long time, Tony did not make any compromises, never yielding to the Ten Commandments, accepting death.

That was until Yinsen asked him, after long sessions of torture: “Is this how you want to go out? Is this the last act of defiance of the great Tony Stark? Or are you going to do something about it?”

These questions changed his arrogance into pride, and reminded him of what he had faith in the most: himself!

The first thing he did was to falsely agree to the Ten Commandments’ requirements, by acting like he was recreating the “Jericho” missile for them. Using the some of the materials that they had provided, he started by making a Miniature Arc Reactor, one that would replace the car battery protecting his heart, and that would be used for something much bigger, later on!