Danvers was rather taken aback by the Kryptonian Empire's technological prowess.
It was seriously formidable. Forget the armor that refused to break no matter how hard she hit it—the raw destructive power of their weapons alone was absurd.
If Danvers couldn't absorb energy, she'd probably have been wounded.
The Grey Knights surrounded her with high-frequency blades, only to find their attacks couldn't do a thing to her.
Danvers, hemmed in by the Grey Knights, was just as frustrated. No matter how much force she used—even activating her Binary state—she still couldn't make their armor budge. In the end, she had no choice but to flee.
"Target locked. Priority enemy designation for future encounters."
Within the Kryptonian Empire, the Black Queen, who controlled the armor-spirits of both the Grey and Black Knights, spoke after reviewing the footage.
Zod Hess had also given her Carol Danvers' file, but the Black Queen hadn't expected Danvers to be this formidable.
"Energy absorption like that is just too broken."
The Black Queen packaged the video and sent it to Zod.
After watching, Zod Hess didn't give it much thought. It was only Captain Marvel. Even if she could absorb energy, so could Zod—he even had Doomsday.
Not to mention, energy absorption could be outright erased by a high-priority ability like the Phoenix Force. In other words, if Zod got bored, he could instantly kill this Captain Marvel.
"Way prettier than the flatbread-faced version. I never knew the comic-book Captain Marvel was this good-looking."
Zod mused to himself. Still, the vibranium-adamantium composite truly delivered. Captain Marvel in Binary state wielded planet-busting destructive force, yet she couldn't make a dent.
If it had been pure vibranium or adamantium, they'd probably have been wrecked like when Thanos shattered Captain America's shield.
So this approach clearly had a future.
Metals were atomic structures. For Zod Hess, whose mastery of matter extended to the subatomic level, this concept ran far deeper.
Vibranium was already insanely tough just because of its relatively stationary molecular structure. So what if he created a metal whose very atomic structure was static?
Zod Hess had once created a metal with density rivaling a neutron star, but it was far too heavy—only wearable by using a bio-field to hold it together.
Now, however, Zod's own defenses far exceeded that neutron-star armor, so he no longer needed it.
"Creations at the subatomic level… but why, in the Marvel universe with so many powerhouses who've reached this domain, has no one chosen to create their own matter?"
Zod looked at the metal in his hand.
This was a new metal he had just created. Its unique atomic structure allowed it to absorb heat and kinetic energy—theoretically, it could absorb all forms of energy. But the difference was, the absorbed energy, once processed by this special atomic arrangement, would be amplified and then sent right back.
In other words, this metal could counterattack.
It absorbed an attack and retaliated in an instant. Against energy attacks, it reflected the energy back—multiplied several times over. Against kinetic attacks, it rebounded the force.
He wasn't sure how it compared to the Silver Surfer's galactic glaze, though.
But this was definitely the strongest metal he could create at present. Any stronger, and he'd probably have to start fumbling around with "I reckon" power.
Problem was, Zod didn't have the "I reckon" power.
He named this metal "Impact Steel."
It was excellent material for making shields.
"Come to think of it, that guy Tony Stark's symbiote research seems almost complete. That liquid-metal symbiote armor should be coming out soon, right? Though I can't believe the liquid metal is actually made from my secondary kryptonium."
Zod muttered.
In materials science, Tony Stark seemed to have made zero progress—or rather, he still couldn't crack the replication of secondary kryptonium.
Much less develop any impressive new alloy.
Then there was the F1 race he'd promised Tony Stark.
Well, to be honest, back when he was learning to drive, his wide turns had prompted the instructor to say, "Wanna learn drifting? That'll be an extra eight grand." And so Zod ended up a pretty handy driver.
Of course, the gap between an F1 car and a regular vehicle was huge. Zod needed to familiarize himself beforehand—after all, he only had a passing familiarity.
"Alright then. When the time comes, I hope you don't lose too shamefully. And don't make me regret sponsoring that extra team just to get you on the grid."
Tony Stark spoke with supreme confidence.
Well, Zod knew exactly why Tony was acting this way.
Because he was dying of palladium poisoning.
The act had to be complete, after all. Back then, Zod had sent those beast-soldiers—still busy searching for Antarctic bears in Africa—to give Tony Stark a hit, leaving real shrapnel in his chest that required the miniature arc reactor to keep at bay. Tony had even built that first reactor himself, in a cave.
But he'd dragged things out for so long, and with no Obadiah Stane popping up to give him a real push, Tony had been living it up for quite a while.
Now the party was over.
"So you've finally decided? To slap that reactor into an F1 car and go wild?" Zod's interest was thoroughly piqued.
"Honestly, I've already got the basic mods planned. First, reinforce the chassis with my secondary kryptonium, then use the same alloy as the Mark series for the outer shell—"
"You fucking idiot!"
Tony flinched so hard even his punctuation almost jumped out.
At this very moment, aboard Tony's private jet, Zod was on his way with him to the fastest race on Earth in Monaco. On the surface, it was a fun trip, but in reality, Tony just wanted to beat Zod.
Picking something you're good at and your opponent isn't to score a win might sound a bit cheap, but that was all part of the game. If you don't like it, don't play!
The flight attendants on the private jet pulled out all the stops with a pole dance, firing on all cylinders—mainly because there was a very special guest today.
Zod Hess! The renowned Zod Hess, the world's richest man and also the most handsome man alive. Most importantly, this super-genius actually seemed devoted—no scandals or gossip ever came out about him.
If any of them could land him, they'd never have to work another day in their lives!
"But speaking of which, why are you tagging along?" Swirling his red wine glass, Tony raised an eyebrow at Virginia's personal assistant, Natalie Rushman—the Black Widow, undercover at Stark Industries. "Where's Pepper?"
"The CEO already arrived in Monaco to make preparations," the Black Widow replied evenly. "After landing, you have three interviews regarding the clean energy project. At noon, there's a cocktail party; quite a few corporate CEOs are expected to want to meet you. At eight in the evening, you have a local press conference. The CEO arranged all of this for you—"
/-\
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