Chapter 1060: Astonishing Mundane People (Part 37)

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Steve's friend, Bucky, walked up behind him and patted his shoulder. Steve, with his hands on his hips, shook his head and said:

"At first, when Tony told me he arranged for Venom and Thor to make contact with Schiller, I felt very uneasy. How could an alien symbiote with questionable sanity and a God-King from Asgard possibly have any effect on treatment?"

"But now, it seems that maybe our thinking was too narrow. Human thinking is always too emotional, and because we're concerned about our friendship with Schiller, we spoke too indirectly."

"Thor had a valid point, but if it were me, I wouldn't be able to face Schiller in such a bad state and say such things."

At this moment, Professor X approached in his wheelchair, taking off the headphones he had been wearing. He then said, "I can sense that Schiller just had a momentary emotional fluctuation, which is very rare for someone on the autism spectrum."

"'Lack of empathy' is a very typical manifestation of autism spectrum disorder. Most of the time, what you see of their emotions is just an act, and genuine emotional fluctuations are few and far between."

Charles rubbed the side of his headphones and continued, "Some patients with milder symptoms can gradually recover with age, but the severity of Schiller's condition clearly cannot be left unchecked."

"Speaking of which, Tony has us here watching the monitoring equipment, but what is he doing himself?" Steve furrowed his brow with some confusion and said, "These past few days, he, Stephen, and Loki have been so secretive, I wonder what they're up to..."

"Perhaps he's arranging the next steps of treatment..." Charles speculated, but soon he furrowed his brow and said, "Wait a minute, why do I feel something's not right?"

Seeing Charles' gradually serious expression, both Steve and Bucky walked over to him. Charles furrowed his brow deeply and closed his eyes, presumably using his abilities to investigate something.

After a while, he opened his eyes and looked at Steve, saying, "Here's the thing, Tony wants me to use my abilities to constantly monitor Schiller's emotional changes to observe the treatment's effects."

"But I won't use my telepathic abilities to monitor anyone for extended periods. That would be against morals and ethics."

"But I also feel that for a psychiatric patient, it's necessary to carefully observe their emotional fluctuations to prevent sudden loss of control and any resulting danger. So, I've adopted a compromise."

"Previously, the Radiance Alliance built a base in the mental space, with each person having their own mental space connected to the public space by a road. I can indirectly monitor the other's emotions through the thought waves transmitted along this road."

"This kind of monitoring is passive. If the other person doesn't have significant thought waves, I won't receive any prompts, nor will I see any details of their thoughts or secrets in their minds."

Upon hearing this, Steve sincerely praised, "Professor, your moral standards always astonish me. It's remarkable how, even with such immense power, you can still hold yourself to such high standards..."

Charles gave a wry smile but didn't say much more. Instead, he continued, "After monitoring just now, there seems to be nothing wrong with the thought waves Schiller transmitted, but..."

Charles wore a somewhat troubled expression. Bucky keenly sensed something and spoke up, "Is it someone else having trouble?"

Charles looked at him with some surprise but nodded and said, "I'm not sure if it's my abilities acting up, but I sense Tony Stark's pain and weakness..."

Steve paused for a moment, then said, "Could it be that he's feeling pain for Schiller's condition?"

Charles shook his head, "No, he's shown signs of pain before, especially when watching Schiller on the streets, but this is different. The pain now is very intense, and his thought waves are getting weaker. In simple terms, he might be in danger..."

Charles's words were very cautious and tactful, but Steve was nearly shocked. He said, "Professor, are you sure? Tony might be in danger? What's he doing now? My goodness! I knew they were going to stir up trouble!"

With that, he turned to start gearing up, picking up his shield, ready to head out, but Bucky stopped him and turned to ask, "Professor Charles, where is Tony Stark right now? Are there any enemies nearby?"

"He's in the laboratory at Stark Tower, and there are no enemies around." Charles hesitated for a moment, but then slightly crossed his moral line to help Steve and Bucky locate Stark's position.

"Do you need me to come help?" Charles asked, turning his head to glance at the empty playground of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, where many mutants had gone with Magneto to intern in the Andromeda Galaxy.

Steve stood still, took a deep breath, calmed down, and then said, "No, Professor, you stay here to monitor Schiller's condition. I'll go deal with Tony's situation. We can't afford to lose focus."

Charles nodded, feeling that Steve's decision also had its reasons. Whether it was Tony Stark or Schiller Rodriguez, they were both important to humans and mutants alike and could not afford to lose either of them.

After Steve and Bucky left the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, they immediately rushed towards Stark Tower. In the past, Steve could usually charge into the building and then take the dedicated elevator to the floor where Stark was.

But today, even before he got close to the building, he was intercepted by security robots. The robot, named "Didi," beeped twice and then said to him, "Sorry, Stark Tower is currently under full lockdown. No unauthorized personnel are allowed inside. Please leave immediately..."

Steve tapped his shield and said, "Aren't I an invited guest?"

The security robot just repeated the same sentence. Bucky pulled Steve's arm and said, "It might be because of me that you can't get in. I'll stand back, and they should let you in."

Steve realized that Stark might not have had time to update the security whitelist recently, and due to their past conflicts, he wouldn't have allowed Bucky into Stark Tower.

So, after a brief thought, Steve asked Bucky to step back a bit, and then he planned to go in alone.

But unexpectedly, as Steve was about to enter, the security robot's arm emitted a series of electric sparks. Steve instinctively rolled to the side just in time to avoid being electrocuted.

He furrowed his brow deeply and said, "What's Tony up to?! Is he trying to keep me outside? Damn it, he must be up to something big!"

Then, Steve took two steps back and whispered with Bucky for a moment. Afterward, he extended a hand and said, "Alright, alright, it seems like we're not welcome here right now. Let's leave..."

As they began to step back, the security robot also stepped back. But the next moment, a shining shield cut through the air, and with a "bang," it smashed onto the security robot's head. Immediately after, two figures dashed into Stark Tower.

Instantly, chaos erupted in the reception hall of Stark Tower. Various types of robots collapsed under the onslaught of Captain America and the Winter Soldier.

The two of them successfully made their way to the elevator. Steve shouted, "JARVIS! Open up!"

As expected, there was no response at all. Steve stomped his foot in frustration and then shook his head, saying, "Let's take the staircase! It's only a few dozen floors!"

The two rushed towards the staircase but encountered more obstacles. Although the robots had no lethal weapons, the constant stream of them was enough to keep them occupied for a while.

Steve used his shield to block a robot's punch, then swung it forcefully, knocking the robot to the ground. He then turned to cover for Bucky, while Bucky's mechanical arm swung, creating a trail of afterimages. Many robots fell with electric sparks and rolled down the staircase.

"What is Stark up to?!" Steve angrily yelled, "Why is he using these electronic junk to block us?!"

"He's buying time," Bucky said calmly, "These robots don't have any attacking capabilities, but they're tough to beat because he knows we don't have wide-area attack methods..."

Steve snorted and said to Bucky, "Stand back!"

Bucky immediately grabbed onto a ventilation duct on the ceiling and jumped to the other side of the staircase.

Steve lifted his shield, embedding a sparking robot on its edge, and then with a strong swing—

"Zi-ahh—!!!"

A large-scale burst of electricity erupted. Instantly, the corridor filled with robots collapsed in black smoke. Steve waved his hand and said, "Let's go!"

The journey ahead saw the two constantly clearing out waves of robots. Stark Tower seemed to have turned overnight into the stronghold of evil robots, and they had to stop every few floors for at least ten minutes.

By the time they finally reached the laboratory floor they were aiming for, nearly an hour had passed.

Steve's sense of foreboding grew stronger and stronger. He no longer cared about conserving his energy but ignored all the attacks of the robots, charging straight towards the laboratory.

Bucky shouted from behind, "No! Steve! Be careful!!!"

Just as Steve reached the door of the laboratory, with a "boom," a giant robot fell in front of him and raised its fist.

Steve, still in a running posture, didn't have time to block and could only watch as the huge iron fist came crashing down on him.

But just as the shadow was about to touch his head, suddenly, all the robots stopped their attacks and fell silent.

Amidst the dimming light and the gradually fading mechanical friction, Steve distinctly heard the wailing of these inorganic beings, like the howling of a sea breeze.

Beyond the towering defense robot, the laboratory door slowly opened before Steve.

And what appeared before him was Tony Stark, bare-chested, leaning on the lab table, electrodes emitting smoke from his chest where they had been attached to his heart. Tony had already stopped breathing.

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 1061: Startling Mortals (Thirty-eight)