Chapter 1211 - Rich Dude, Handsome Dude, Mr. Wayne

Luke couldn’t waste time while the inventory was being upgraded. He opened the dark room in passing and paid Ivan Vanko a visit.

It had been a few days since they last met, and Ivan had put on a little more weight. He looked a little depressed, but not overly so.

When he saw Luke, who came in with a mask on, he simply raised an eyebrow before he continued reading.

Luke asked, “So, have you thought it through?”

After a brief silence, Ivan tossed the book aside. “Why don’t you just kill me? Don’t talk about your rule of not killing people. I don’t believe you’re that sort of idiot who will tie yourself down with rules.”

Luke chuckled. “No, I just don’t kill anyone because there’s no need to.”

Ivan glanced at him. “So, you’re responsible for me getting loose and causing trouble a second time?”

Luke was amused. “There are fugitives every year. Should I blame myself for not charging into prison beforehand and killing them all? Or should I kill them before they go to prison? In the end, should I kill them first because I suspect they might commit a crime later?”

“Don’t quibble. You were the one who let me out.”

Luke wagged his index finger. “The ones who let you out were capitalists who play around with the law. It was their greed that led to your escape. As for me, I’m never responsible for other people’s greed.”

Ivan narrowed his eyes. “If you let me out again, aren’t you afraid that I’ll go after Tony Stark?”

Luke shook his head regretfully. “Your plan to deal with Stark last time was interesting, but you got it wrong from the beginning. At most, you’ll cause a lot of other people harm, and then die, while Tony still won’t suffer any losses.”

Ivan gave a low laugh. “Are you sure?”

Luke looked at him like he was an idiot. “First of all, Tony Stark is a super capitalist with a net worth of hundreds of billions. The problems you created for him might affect his net worth a little, but he’ll still be one of the richest men in America.”

Unsurprised, Ivan nodded. “I know that. And?”

Luke said, “Secondly, he’s Iron Man. Even if you finally defeat him, that is just one failure on his path to becoming a hero. He’ll rise again and stomp on the villain that you are. Only then is the movie over, and the whole world satisfied. As for your father and Howard Stark, nobody cares. Tony Stark is more upright and successful than you, so naturally, his father is more upright than your father.”

There was a glint in Ivan’s eyes. “Really? What if I kill Stark?”

Luke asked, “Do you really think you can kill him?”

“I can try.”

Luke, however, smiled. “Sure. You’ll die if you try.”

Ivan raised an eyebrow. “Will you kill me then?”

Luke shook his head. “No, but someone else will if you do something bad. It’s none of my business.”

Ivan closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them and gazed at Luke. “Black Cat?”

Luke smiled but didn’t say anything. There was no need to make cheap verbal threats.

Ivan’s armor was ridiculously big and coarse. Gold Nugget only needed to ambush him and he would be dead in seconds.

It was just that Luke had never let Gold Nugget kill anyone for safety reasons.

If Ivan truly dared to continue making trouble in New York, it wouldn’t be strange for Boogeyman John or V to shoot him.

Lowering his head, Ivan pondered for a long moment. “What do I get if I agree to work for you?”

Luke said with a smile, “Your face and your nickname as Whiplash can’t be used anymore. How about full plastic surgery so that you can go out and play in armor?”

“What do you mean?”

Luke said, “You might not know, but Black Cat is not the only friend I have. So, I don’t mind having one more.”

“Even me?”

Luke chuckled. “Do you really think I’m a stickler for morality? I just hate bad guys.”

Ivan was amused. “So, both times before, it was because I was the bad guy?”

Luke nodded matter-of-factly. “You can try getting revenge on Tony in private. I don’t care if you beat him up and run or record it and upload the video online. However, if you fight him in an area where a lot of innocent people are gathered, do you dare say you’ll bother to take into account the possible casualties?”

Speechless for a moment, Ivan shook his head honestly. “No.”

Both he and Luke knew that he never planned to attack the audience at the expo, but he also didn’t care how many people he accidentally injured.

So, while he wasn’t a bad guy, he didn’t have any good intentions. He just wanted revenge.

After a brief silence, he finally nodded. “I can work for you, but for how long?”

Luke said, “Until you die.”

Ivan leaned back on his hands. “Isn’t that the same as going to prison for the rest of my life? Why would I agree?”

Luke said, “As long as you don’t implicate the innocent, I have no interest in keeping you locked up. Is that so hard to understand?”

Ivan narrowed his eyes. “Are you saying that you will only give me freedom if I become a good person?”

Luke shook his head. “No; it’s fine as long as you don’t become a bad person. Otherwise, I can only beat you up until you’re a quadriplegic, and I’ll get caretakers to watch you until you’re a hundred years old. Don’t worry, I’m confident I can cripple you without killing you.”

A chill ran down Ivan’s spine.

Batman had no reason to lie to him, nor let him out.

Rubbing the goosebumps on his arms, Ivan nodded. “Deal. When can I start?”

Luke said, “After the makeover.”

Ivan frowned. “Do I have to get plastic surgery?”

Luke said, “You’re quite handsome, but I’m not interested in helping you deal with crazy arms dealers, the FBI, Homeland Security, and NYPD. So, plastic surgery is necessary, but I can make you even more good-looking so that women can’t help but throw themselves at you.”

“…Are you really Batman?”

Luke chuckled. “The one and only.”

“Then what should I call you?”

Luke said, “Rich dude, handsome dude, or Mr. Wayne or Bruce will do.”

Ivan had a strange expression on his face as he asked, “Your name is Bruce Wayne?”

Luke nodded. “That’s right. Now, choose a face for yourself.”

…

There was no way that Luke would use the Thousand Faces nanotechnology on Ivan.

Ivan wasn’t some tech noob. Even if he didn’t know how to use the nanotechnology, he could still experiment with ways to destroy it.

Luke didn’t want him to know about the Thousand Faces System.

Thus, Osiris, the medical A.I., used conventional methods to perform plastic surgery on Ivan’s face, and then erased or modified the tattoos on his body.

After that, Ivan turned from a coarse and burly man into an almost elegant gentleman.