Chapter 240 Howard's Friend Mr. Potts
"Peggy wanted to come over but was held up by something else."
Steve explained apologetically.
At this time, various matters regarding the youth potion have been put on the agenda. Peggy is in charge of this matter and is busier than Steve every day.
Tony nodded and said, "Understandable. Aunt Peggy is always so busy."
As soon as these words came out, Tony was suddenly stunned.
Of course he knew Peggy. She had been Howard's colleague for many years and had even held Tony in her arms when he was a child.
But now the other person suddenly became younger than himself, and Tony had no time to change his words "Auntie".
No, it has to be changed.
If he doesn't change, won't Steve become his uncle?
Bruce didn't give Tony time to continue thinking. Now that everyone was present, the family visit could begin.
He flew in front of Steve and Tony, flapped his wings, and knocked out the souls of the two men.
Steve was fine, but Tony was not prepared at all.
He felt dizzy for a moment, and when he regained his composure, he saw himself lying on the ground.
Steve floated beside him and asked, "First time?"
Tony didn't answer. He looked at his hands, which had become translucent.
Have I turned into a ghost?
Katoom flapped its wings, flew between the two souls, and then pressed their shoulders with its wings.
"and many more……"
Tony wanted to say something, but then, their figures seemed to be attracted by a particle, twisted and disappeared on the spot.
……
A white light flashed before his eyes, and Tony slowly opened his eyes.
He found himself standing on the side of a road in a city. Cars passed by from time to time. The models were a bit old, like they were models from more than 30 years ago.
The surrounding architectural style is similar to that of the United States in the 1980s.
If it weren't for the thin white mist that always permeated the ground, Tony might have thought he had traveled through time.
The so-called world of the dead looks no different from a normal human city, and is not as scary as the legends say.
"Wait, where are they?"
It was then that Tony realized he was the only one standing there.
People passed by from time to time, but Steve and the two owls were nowhere to be seen.
Are they scattered?
Tony's heart tightened, he had no plans to settle in the underworld for a long time!
Master Katum must be found!
But just as he had this thought and hadn't even taken a step, someone suddenly patted his shoulder from behind.
"Potts?"
Tony turned around, saw the man's face, and then he was instantly petrified.
Howard, his father.
The person I wanted to see on this trip actually appeared in front of me, catching me off guard.
And Howard's behavior towards Tony was a little strange.
"Don't you remember me? It's me, Howard Stark."
Howard pointed at himself and laughed, "We've seen this before, in 1970, at the . Army base in New Jersey."
Tony swore he had no idea what his dad was talking about.
He is a little angry now.
Even if they haven't seen each other for more than ten years, they shouldn't be unable to recognize their own son, right?
"Don't you remember?" Howard continued to prompt, "We discussed the issue of children."
"I--"
Tony was just about to tell his identity, but at this moment, an extremely terrifying idea emerged in his mind.
Wait, does Howard know someone who looks exactly like him?
And 1970 was almost the year when I was born.
No way……
At this moment, Tony felt his hands and feet were cold, and he felt that he had discovered the truth.
There is a possibility that he is not Howard's biological son!
It's the one called Potts.
Wait, why does this person have the same last name as Little Pepper?
Tony became even more desperate. Potts was not a common surname. If his last name was really Potts, he might be related to Pepper Potts by blood.
"I just want to visit my relatives..."
Tony wanted to slap himself a few times. What kind of day was today that made him hear two pieces of bad news in a row!
"Remember it!"
Seeing Tony's expression change, Howard also smiled.
"I never thought I would see you here. This world is so big, and the probability of meeting someone you knew in life is incredibly low."
Howard put his arm around Tony's shoulders enthusiastically and said, "You must come to my house today. Let's talk about the stories of these years!"
Tony followed Howard like a puppet.
He still couldn't accept this fact.
Is it true that I am not Howard's biological son?
"I always thought that you were so harsh to me just because you didn't know how to express your love..."
Tony murmured in his mind, "Turns out, I'm not your son at all!"
……
"It's your own fault."
On the rooftop in the distance, two owls stood there, watching the entire process of Tony's worldview being overturned from beginning to end.
Katum wanted to laugh.
Tony's current situation is equivalent to being tricked by his future self.
In "Avengers 4", Tony traveled back in time to 1970 in order to get the Cosmic Cube.
There, he met a young Howard Stark.
Tony, under the pseudonym Howard Potts, had a heart-to-heart talk with his father.
This is certainly a very heartwarming scene, but it is not very appropriate now.
Tony might think he was adopted.
Bruce had no idea what Katum was chuckling about, so he looked around and asked, "Where did you throw Steve?"
They clearly came here together, but Katum insisted on sending the two people to different places.
What’s the purpose of this?
“Steve is right where he wants to be.”
Katum sighed, "Steve is different from Tony. He has many acquaintances in this world."
Tony came to the underworld just to see his parents, but there were a lot of people Steve wanted to see.
only--
Katum sighed. It was when he came here that he realized a serious problem and chose to separate Tony and Steve.
These two people cannot be allowed to see Howard at the same time.
Otherwise, something big will happen!
……
Steve was standing on the street at this time, talking to someone.
This man's name is Jones. He was a member of the Howling Commandos during World War II, and a soldier under Steve.
"You don't look much different, just a little fatter," Steve said.
"Because I died right after World War II."
Jones said, "You will probably be the same person you were before you died."
After that, he looked Steve over and sighed.
"It seems like you really died in that plane crash, otherwise you wouldn't be so young."
Jones felt forced to accept reality. "We always thought you could perform a miracle and come back from the bottom of the sea."
"If you put it that way, I have indeed created a miracle."
Then, Steve explained to Jones what happened afterwards. He did not die, but was frozen under the glacier for seventy years.
The other party was stunned by what he heard.
But Jones soon discovered the problem.
"This is the world of the dead!" Jones said, "The fact that you appear here means that you are still dead."
"Well... it's a little complicated to explain." Steve stroked his chin and said, "No matter how you understand it, I came here just to see an old friend."
"Then you'll probably be disappointed." Jones shook his head. "The world of the dead is too vast. Unless you died at the same time, it's hard to meet someone you knew in life!"
Even relatives may not be able to meet each other.
"It's okay, I will find him." Steve seemed confident.
The shield he now carries on his back is blessed with magic.
It is not impossible to find someone in a vast crowd.
"I hope so," Jones sighed.
He didn't ask who Steve wanted to see because it was obvious.
It was either Peggy Carter or Bucky Barnes.
……
"Maria! I'm back!"
Howard took Tony to an apartment.
The billionaires of that year, in the world of the dead, also lived the lives of ordinary people.
Maria Stark came out of the kitchen wearing an apron, and when Tony saw his mother's face, he almost couldn't control his tears.
But he couldn't cry and had to stay calm.
He must find out his own background!
"Sit down, Potts."
Howard brought two glasses of water and placed one on the coffee table in front of Tony.
"Thank you."
Tony held the cup with both hands, looking a little nervous.
"Potts, I've been feeling a little weird since just now."
Howard asked, "Why do you look so young? Even younger than the last time we met."
When they met in 1970, Potts was in his late s.
But Tony now looks to be in his thirties. It’s impossible for people to get younger as they get older, right?
"I had some facial tweaks done."
Tony thought of a response almost instantly, "I met someone who made my heart flutter, and I just wanted to rejuvenate myself."
"I see."
Howard nodded, and then asked, "So she is now..."
"Still alive!" Tony said quickly.
"Is that so?" Howard lowered his voice. The fact that Potts was here showed that it was ultimately a sad story.
Tony also realized that the atmosphere was not right, so he changed the subject.
"Tell me about you, Howard."
Tony said, "It is a blessing to be able to reunite with my wife in this world."
Hearing this, Howard showed a wry smile on his face.
"It's not luck," he said. "Maria and I died at the same time, so our souls have never been separated."
"That's right."
Tony put down the cup, his tone full of regret and sorrow.
Of course he knew the reason, and it was also the pain in his heart, but in order to find out the truth about his life experience, he had to ask.
"I heard that souls with strong obsessions will linger in the human world, but I didn't expect you to let it go so quickly."
Tony said, "For example, when I first became a spirit, I kept hovering around my children and couldn't bear to leave."
Hearing this, Howard nodded heavily.
"Who isn't?"
He smiled bitterly, "But we were in a daze at the time and couldn't control our behavior. When we woke up, we were already here.
"In fact, since we got here, we have been thinking about Tony all the time. We want to see him, but we are also afraid to see him."
This feeling is understandable, after all, this is the world of the dead.
If I could see Tony, it would only mean that he was dead too.
No parent would want to see this.
Tony was silent for a moment. Howard's true feelings made him see the appearance of a father.
No matter what his background is, at least Howard's love is real.
He was overwhelmed with emotions at this moment, and for a moment he could not control his emotions, and blurted out: "If only that accident had not happened."
"Ok?"
Howard noticed something was wrong and asked, "How do you know I died in an accident?"
"That's not hard to guess." Tony said calmly, "You and your wife died at the same time, so it's likely that something happened by accident. I think it was a traffic accident, right?"
This explanation made sense, so Howard stopped worrying about it.
“It wasn’t a traffic accident.”
Howard said, "We were murdered."
Ok?
For a moment, Tony's breathing hitched for a few seconds.
All his true background was forgotten, and the only word echoing in his mind was murder.
"murder?"
He tried hard to keep his expression from getting out of control and asked, "Then do you know who killed you?"
"of course I know."
Howard sighed, "In fact, that man was once my comrade-in-arms."
"Who?" Tony asked immediately.
"Bucky Barnes."
Howard said the name with a wry smile. He looked so heavy now, obviously he hasn't accepted this fact yet.
The comrade who fought side by side with him became the murderer who killed him.
Howard still remembered that before he died, he begged Bucky to spare his wife's life, but the other party completely ignored him.
Just like the experience of my comrades in arms, it didn’t exist at all.
Tony's breathing also became heavy. He knew who Bucky Barnes was. He was a good friend of Captain America Steve, who died in an operation.
revenge!
The idea popped into Tony's mind naturally and he couldn't get it out of his mind.
There is no reason to forgive.
Regardless of whether Howard is his biological father or not, he raised him since he was a child and let him inherit the Stark Group.
It is reasonable for Tony to avenge him to the end!
"what is going on?"
Tony clenched his teeth. He felt extremely painful and had difficulty breathing.
He pinched his thigh desperately, trying to distract himself from the heartache.
"Why did he kill you? Did he want money? Or was he hired by someone else to kill you?"
"I do not know."
Howard said, "He didn't say anything, and he didn't show any mercy, like he didn't know me."
He couldn't figure out what he had done to offend Barnes that made him behave like this and not even give him a chance to talk.
If there is a chance to talk, Howard believes he can help Barnes solve all the problems.
Thinking of this, Howard put away his thoughts and decided that he should not continue discussing such profound topics in front of his old friend.
After all, it's all in the past and there's nothing I can do now.
“It’s a bit ridiculous actually.”
He tried to lighten the mood. "Colonel Barnes was already considered dead. I was also killed by a dead person. This experience can be made into a horror movie, right?"
“It’s not horrible at all.”
Tony was unyielding and only cared about Howard's death, "It would be a good revenge movie!"
(End of this chapter)
