Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1659 Houston Command Center

The issue of Victoria Hand has been on the Patriarchal Order's table for a long time.

In countless religious tales, resurrection is a highly significant event. As the only person to have her physical pain healed in the Emperor's arms, Victoria Hand was practically a saint who had risen from the dead. However, the Royal Guard, Kamar-Taj, and the Immortal City's intelligence agencies were not concerned with this symbolic meaning. Observations of Victoria Hand had already begun long before the Royal Guard was established. Many wanted to know what changes this resurrected person would undergo, and what impact the Emperor's psychic powers would have on ordinary humans.

After multiple rounds of testing, Victoria Hand seemed to be awakening some kind of intuition. However, the test results were not entirely accurate, especially since no psychic spectrum was detected, making it impossible to say whether the Emperor's psychic powers had affected Victoria Hand. The test results could be attributed to her long-term experience in commanding special operations, or to an improved ability to make on-the-spot judgments in small-scale military operations. Black-armored interrogators had infiltrated Victoria Hand's dreams during routine hypnotic lie detector tests conducted by the intelligence department, but they found no evidence to prove that she had "precognitive dreams" or "déjà vu." Therefore, it was impossible to determine whether Victoria Hand had been altered by the Emperor's psychic powers.

Even so, her physical fitness, reaction speed, and other physical indicators all increased by more than 10%. Almost all the data from her physical examinations showed that even though Victoria Hand worked overtime until late at night every day and ate irregularly, her body remained healthy. She had already entered middle age, and such an improvement in physical fitness would have been impossible to achieve without complete, high-intensity physical training. And her physical training was merely routine training designed for senior commanders to achieve low-intensity operational standards.

In summary, Victoria Hand was not negatively affected and remained mentally stable.

However, Regent Victor von Doom still considered Victoria Hand a trustworthy person, even to the point of letting her know about the existence of outer dimensions and the fact that predators exist there. Commander Constantine of the Royal Guard explicitly pointed out that such trust lacked factual basis and was highly likely to have serious consequences in the future. Under no circumstances should Victoria Hand's authority in the intelligence department be elevated, and a portion of the Royal Guard's archives should be closed to Victoria Hand.

"Regarding the second operation," Commander Constantine asked, "how do you determine that Tony Stark won't inform the U.S. military about Derrick's prior entry?"

"Because he doesn't know where we planted the bomb." Victor von Doom smiled, then the smile vanished. He used to struggle with the feeling of outsmarting others in certain planning tasks, a weakness that only began to slowly dissipate after meeting the Emperor himself. "This is a game of strategy. You've overlooked how important it is to Tony Stark, and you've also overlooked the art of negotiation."

"Now I'm taking you to the Houston Command Center!"

On YouTube, Tony Stark enjoys immense popularity, so when he started his live stream, countless people from English-speaking countries around the world flocked to it. Colonel Rhodes, accompanying him, walked helplessly off-camera. Although he was already known as "War Machine," his trip to Houston was solely to bring Tony Stark, the designer of the Space Shuttle, to the scene. Furthermore, due to the military's secrecy surrounding the mission, he hadn't frequently appeared in public. This time was no exception; when Tony Stark introduced the Houston command center to the viewers, he made a concerted effort to avoid having his face on camera.

Seeing Tony Stark continue walking inside, Colonel Rhodes finally couldn't resist any longer. He pointed to the miniature camera hanging around the former's neck, quietly reminding them that they had entered a secure area. After that, Tony Stark ended with his usual quip, then obediently turned off the camera and the live stream. Colonel Rhodes took the equipment to examine it closely, but just as he was about to take it back, Tony Stark snatched it back.

"Tony."

"Don't think I don't know what they're thinking. They'll take all my equipment, just to find so-called evidence and new technology." Tony Stark clipped the device back into his shirt pocket. This device, which looked like a GoPro, had been modified by him to allow for remote activation and encrypted transmission. He was certain that Colonel Rhodes and the Pentagon would never guess that this seemingly commercially available camera equipment could now be used as spyware. "I'll sign a non-disclosure agreement, but the Pentagon won't touch any equipment I made myself. It's Friday, I need its help, and if they don't agree, I'll have to leave."

Colonel Rhodes sighed.

"Okay, I'll vouch for it," he said. "Can you guarantee this thing is switched off?"

"You've already pressed the button, Rhodes," Tony Stark winked dramatically. He didn't actually have control of the device; in fact, he'd already compromised when he handed it over to the Imperial Guard. The Emperor's prophecy was one factor in his decision, but the real driving force was the hypersonic nuclear bomb hovering in orbit—that was the real threat. He couldn't guarantee what those madmen who dared to declare war on NATO would do to prevent the so-called secret from being leaked. If he made the wrong choice, it would mean the outbreak of World War III. When that nuclear bomb detonated on Earth, the United States would certainly retaliate, and before figuring out who had launched it, every nation would launch its own nuclear strikes against the military facilities of any country posing a threat.

That would mean nuclear war and the end of the world.

Tony Stark, now burdened with the responsibility of saving the world, stepped into the Houston command center. The researchers and officers who came to greet him looked at him with different expressions. The former's eyes were full of admiration, while the latter's were full of suspicion, especially when they saw the miniature device tucked into his shirt pocket, their vigilance instantly reaching its peak.

"No problem, sergeant." Colonel Rhodes quickly waved his hand. "This is his personal equipment, and it has already been inspected."

Tony Stark smiled at the sergeant. "Do you need a body search, soldier?" He looked at the researcher. "Hey, I recognize you. You used to work at the Avengers base."

“Yes, Mr. Stark!” The researcher was clearly delighted, completely oblivious to the slight tremor in Tony Stark's hand as he shook his. “I also participated in Dr. Banner's gamma-ray project; it was quite a close call. I'd like to ask about the latest open-source big data neural network language model, TOLL 2.5, released by the Stark Group, regarding…”

"Then I can only say you're in luck." Tony Stark quickly interrupted the researcher's rambling. "Let's get started quickly; I've already promised Pepper I'd have dinner with her."

"Wait." The sergeant reached out to stop Tony Stark, who was about to continue walking. "We've received intelligence that the agents responsible for your safety have been attacked. Colonel Rhodes, I know this isn't directly related to Mr. Stark, but I must require him to investigate."

"A bomb. To be precise, all we need is for a terrorist organization to announce that a bomb is hidden in the Houston command center, and enough evidence to prove that the bomb actually exists, then we can make the Houston command center miss the opportunity to receive the signal from the Starship." Derrick first took the device, which was only as thick as an adult male's finger, and handed it to the First Classified Team's technical officer beside him. "What you need to do is guide the situation, Tony Stark. When you're in command center, your expertise will give you authority. Your authority will allow us to bring this device in—we'll store a jamming file on the device's hard drive, which you can use."

"Really no bombs?" Tony Stark blinked. "You're not going to let me smuggle things in like a drug mule on the border, are you? I refuse, not even a second thought."

"Your role isn't that significant, Stark." Derrick watched as the program was installed into the device. "Listen carefully. You'll be subjected to extremely rigorous questioning, so we'll provide remote assistance to ensure you can enter the Houston command center to implant this program."

"What kind of help?"

The sudden alarm instantly put the sergeant on high alert.

Colonel Rhodes pressed his earpiece. "Fire alarm. It's a false alarm. An employee argued with his supervisor and smashed the fire alarm with a mug." Tony Stark wasn't sure if this was the help the guard had mentioned, but he remained highly vigilant, on edge. Sensing his tension, Colonel Rhodes offered words of reassurance. "It's just a low-level alarm, Tony. The worst that can happen is someone smashing your head with a mug. Those poorly trained scientists don't have the strength to chop their boss's head off."

Colonel Rhodes's witty remark did not satisfy the sergeant.

"The safe house is here," the sergeant pointed to another passageway. The girl at the front desk stared wide-eyed, bewildered. "Follow me, Mr. Stark. You must wait in the safe house until the all-clear is lifted, Colonel Rhodes, and you too."

"I?"

“Yes, you too.” The sergeant drew his pistol. It was a P226, clearly modified; Tony Stark immediately recognized it as a product of Stark Industries' small arms division. Judging from the pistol's owner, this sergeant was clearly a Navy SEAL. The sergeant said in an undeniable tone, “Now, come with me. I must guarantee your safety.”

(End of this chapter)