Marvel: Playing Iron Man, Falling In and Out of Love with Jinx

"Ahhh!!"

"What the hell is that?!"

"My hand, my hand is melting!"

"Open fire, all of you! Shoot!"

"No, help me!"

In the lobby, screams echoed one after another. Amid the chaos, Pride moved like the embodiment of every man's deepest nightmare. Its monstrous figure distorted the lighting, casting a massive, dragon-like shadow across the walls.

CRUNCH!

With a single bite, it ripped the upper half of a man clean off. Flames burst from its maw, engulfing the pirates. Without harming the surroundings, it reduced them all to ash.

Duke had spoken:

"Leave one. Burn the rest."

And so, one was left alive by chance, every other soul incinerated into drifting ash.

As the hot wind swirled and scattered the ashes out through the grand open windows, Pride trudged toward the lone survivor. Its towering frame loomed like a judgment day shadow.

Snort!

A blast of smoke hissed from its nostrils. The metallic voice that followed echoed deep from its throat.

"Out of mercy from Father... crawl."

"You maggot."

The one-eyed pirate, jolted back to awareness, bolted for his life. He left his prized flintlock behind, too terrified to even look back, stumbling into the dark veil of night.

Pride watched him vanish, exhaling a final puff of white-hot steam. Then, it bent down to pick up the dropped firearm, slowly ascending the staircase. Each heavy step groaned under its weight.

Upstairs, Jayce watched all this from the second floor. His Adam's apple bobbed with tension.

For the first time, his gaze toward Pride no longer held curiosity, but dread.

Through Pride, Duke had once again proven his philosophy:

In his hands, anything can become a weapon.

Or rather, everything he creates is a weapon from the start.

At the door of Duke's suite, Pride glanced at Graves, who stood at the threshold with a cigar in his mouth.

"Out of the way, worm," it growled.

Graves' jaw slackened. His cigar tumbled from his lips. In a panic, he reached to catch it, only to burn his fingers on the lit end.

"Tch, hot..."

Ignoring him, Pride pushed the door open, ducked its head, and walked in.

Inside, Duke was using a homemade emergency medical spray to treat Captain Leister's wounds, spray tech inspired by the Iron Man template in his knowledge module.

Leister watched the wound scab over rapidly under the mist and muttered in guilt, "I'm sorry, sir. We were careless."

"This wasn't your fault. It was mine."

Duke set the spray aside and began wrapping the wound in bandages.

"I should've taken Gangplank more seriously from the start. Pride gave me too much peace of mind."

"I was in confinement, for the record," Pride mumbled.

Even as a mumble, its voice was like a bass cannon. Everyone heard it.

"Shut it. Say one more word, and I'll lock you up again."

Pride fell silent immediately, placing the flintlock on the table and standing obediently by the wall. Neeko curiously approached the hulking figure, her eyes sparkling with wonder.

"I'm Neeko! What's your name, big guy?"

Pride glanced at her, eyes flickering, but said nothing.

Duke turned his focus back to Leister.

"I underestimated how deep Gangplank's control over Bilgewater runs. And how sharp his intelligence network is."

"Worse, I came in with a casual mindset, like this was just a game."

"So what now?" Leister asked as he slung his bandaged arm into a makeshift sling.

Duke pushed the medkit to the others and motioned for them to help the wounded.

"If they dare sell our cargo and still show up asking for ransom, ignoring every rule, then there's no point in us playing by the rules either."

"I'll handle this my way. You all just focus on helping Jayce with his project."

"Yes, sir."

Leister and the others left the room. No sooner had they exited than Jayce walked in.

Hands on his hips, he looked exhausted.

"What the hell was that all about today?"

"You and I are both new to Bilgewater, right? So why were they demanding ransom from us? And what for?"

"Jayce," Duke replied calmly, tossing torn clothes into the trash, "You just need to focus on your experiment."

"Enough with that!" Jayce stormed up and grabbed Duke by the collar.

"You keep telling me to worry about the experiment. Don't forget, it's your project too!"

"And aren't we friends? Why keep so many secrets from me?"

"Because you're a genius," Duke said, gently prying his hand off, "And your focus should stay on science."

"Even between friends, there are things better left unsaid. Knowing too much... won't help you."

Jayce scowled.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You really believed the Hextech Gate experiment was ours equally from the start?" Duke's lips curled in a faint, mocking smile.

Jayce tensed. He wasn't stupid, he got the message. Duke was mocking him.

Even though he had always looked out for Viktor and Duke along the way.

"You're a brilliant scientist, Jayce."

Duke gave him a pat on the shoulder and walked to the minibar. As expected of Bilgewater's most expensive hotel, the suite came with its own liquor cabinet.

He pulled out a bottle of Golden Rum and poured himself a glass by the window.

Holding the crystal glass up to the light, he gazed at Jayce's reflection in the golden liquid.

"But that's all you are. A scientist."

"Just focus on the research. As for me..." Duke turned with a mysterious smile. It made Jayce's heart skip.

"You'd do well not to dig too deep."

He downed the drink in one go, eyes shut, savoring the burn.

"Because you can't handle the consequences."

Jayce stood frozen, conflicted and bitter, then turned and left without another word.

Duke chuckled to himself as he looked at the bottle.

"Now I get why Tony Stark drank so much..."

"The taste of knowledge's curse... isn't sweet."

He poured another glass.

Silently, something in his inventory vanished, replaced by a beehive-shaped drone structure that unfolded behind him.

As he donned Edith, he linked directly into the drone's control system.

"Scan all factions within Bilgewater. Monitor every target. And if needed... activate one-strike kill protocol."

"Understood, boss."

Buzz...

The drones, shaped like metallic 'W's, and no bigger than swallows, shimmered with adaptive optical camouflage. One by one, they launched out the window, vanishing into the night.

Duke stared into the dark cityscape of Bilgewater.

"Since you've decided to break the rules..."

"Then no one plays by them anymore."

"Let's bring chaos to this city."

Late Night.

The Abyssal Maw – Deck.

THUD!

The one-eyed pirate collapsed onto the deck, disheveled and bloodied. All of Gangplank's lieutenants stood nearby, their expressions cold and indifferent.

"You left with sixteen men. You came back alone."

Seated atop a powder keg, Gangplank was grinding his cutlass with a whetstone, sparks flashing with each stroke.

"You owe me an explanation, One-Eye."

His voice was low and dark, like a storm about to break.

"It was that kid... he had a mechanical beast, a living one! It tore my men to pieces!"

"Then why are you the only one left?"

The sparks lit up One-Eye's terrified face.

"He said... he wanted a witness, so I, "

"So instead of dying with your men, you survived by the mercy of the enemy?"

Gangplank raised his face. His eyes were cold, like those of a shark.

"You disappoint me."

"Please, Captain, let me explain, !"

But Gangplank didn't wait. He stood and handed the whetstone to one of his lieutenants.

"Deal with him."

"What about the Pilties?"

Gangplank's lips twisted into a wicked grin.

"Sink their ship. Cut off their escape. Let's take our time with them."

Whistling a butcher's shanty, Gangplank strode into his cabin.

"Tides rise, tides fall, crimson as blood..."

Behind him, the officer raised a flintlock and walked toward One-Eye.

"Gut and quarter, don't leave a speck..."

One-Eye scrambled to crawl away.

"No tribute, no mercy..."

BANG!

The gun fired.

Gangplank's cabin door slammed shut as blood seeped between the planks.

End of chapter...

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