[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-marvel-a-lazy-ass-superman":3,"chapter-marvel-a-lazy-ass-superman-marvel-a-lazy-ass-superman-chapter-513":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Marvel: A Lazy-Ass Superman",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1722019,2198,"Chapter 513 513: Where the Serum Went","marvel-a-lazy-ass-superman-chapter-513",513,"\u003Cp>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For 40 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Patreon - Twilight_scribe1\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tony Stark picked up the files on the desk and flipped through them rapidly, saying nothing the entire time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jack Reacher, as if adding footnotes to his own theory, continued:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If we don't use the concept behind the Winter Soldier Program, then we can't explain why an American MIA soldier never returned home and instead remained in a former World War II Allied nation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nor can we explain why a decorated war hero who once served in the Howling Commandos—someone who should have known Howard Stark personally—would carry out that assassination as if he didn't recognize him at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I personally went to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington and visited the Captain America exhibit. I confirmed Sergeant 'Bucky Barnes' appearance and wartime record.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I find it extremely difficult to believe a brave and honorable war hero like that would murder an old friend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And do it in such a disgraceful way—disguising it as a traffic accident.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did Henry finally get a chance to observe Tony Stark's reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was very different from the rage Tony showed in Captain America: Civil War, when Baron Zemo exposed the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, Bucky Barnes—already mostly recovered mentally and aware of what he had done—was standing right there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The feud had been dragged into the open by a third party.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bucky offered no apology.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Captain America defended him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone would explode under those circumstances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially someone as emotional as Tony Stark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, there were only files on the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No inseparable pair of best friends standing there to irritate him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That gave Tony room to calmly think through the causes, consequences, and possible hidden factors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or perhaps—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was so furious he literally couldn't speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Henry and Reacher simply weren't the targets of that fury, so Tony was restraining himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Either way—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Timing mattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Baron Zemo had orchestrated everything carefully and revealed the truth at the most destructive possible moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the already fractured group of heroes hadn't completely imploded, it would have been a waste of all his effort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for what effect it would have now that Reacher had exposed the truth years earlier—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Henry was genuinely curious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Motivation?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tony carefully placed the file back onto the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The deliberate gentleness made it obvious how hard he was suppressing his anger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"First, we can rule out personal revenge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That idiot looks like he was brainwashed into being nothing more than a killing machine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So there was definitely someone behind this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But what was the motive?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We all know the Red Empire collapsed only days later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Assassinating a capitalist through covert murder wouldn't save anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And the world treated my father's death as an accident—not some glorious red victory.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Regarding that…\" Reacher rummaged through the pile and pulled out the bottom-most file.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This was obtained by chance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It may explain some things.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He continued:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As I mentioned earlier, every capable nation continued super-soldier research after the war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There were broadly two directions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One: pursue entirely new approaches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Two: replicate the successful Captain America model.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"However, Dr. Abraham Erskine—the principal researcher behind the serum—was dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The original formula and serum were lost or destroyed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So the only advantages remaining in American hands were:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Captain America's blood samples.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And Howard Stark himself, one of the scientists involved in the original project.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reacher placed a finger on the file.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For a long time, recreating the original super-soldier serum used on Captain America was a military task assigned to Howard Stark.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I heard there were several partial successes over the years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I couldn't access those records due to clearance restrictions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But the final successful transport involved Howard Stark personally.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Officially, he and his wife were driving from a research facility back to their home on Long Island, New York.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In reality, they were transporting five doses of super-soldier serum to be delivered to someone—or some organization.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They were intercepted en route.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Stark couple died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The serum vanished.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tony picked up the final file.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside was a classified transport schedule.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Howard and Maria Stark had been only one segment of the delivery chain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The document was incomplete, but enough remained for a clear conclusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone who obtained that plan and wanted the serum would naturally strike the weakest link.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Howard and Maria Stark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From that angle—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Starks had not been the target.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were collateral damage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The realization made Tony's anger surge instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he could breathe fire, he would have found some unlucky bastard and roasted him alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which idiot designed a plan this flawed?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the cargo was truly important, why wasn't it escorted under heavy guard?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why entrust it to an older married couple?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The result:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They lost the serum—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And lost two lives with it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tony did not doubt the file's authenticity for a second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It also explained why Bucky Barnes, after forcing the crash, first opened the trunk instead of immediately killing anyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because his primary mission was the serum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Howard and Maria's deaths were less assassination than cleanup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had to die to conceal the theft.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tony's suspicion immediately shifted to another group:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The people who had told him the crash was merely an accident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they knew the serum had gone missing—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could they have concluded it was accidental?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That meant they had lied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But why?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Did they know the truth?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had they helped cover it up?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe even participated?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tony said none of this aloud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew the difference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hiring the U.S. Army Military Police to investigate an old crash was one thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Penetrating another organization and investigating internal operations was another entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the intelligence world, that was nearly equivalent to declaring war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could not outsource that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nor did he need to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jack Reacher had already done enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had uncovered the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And if this were a normal police case, the next step would be arrests and interrogations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when Reacher had been loaned out, the military had drawn clear boundaries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They likely suspected there was more to the Starks' deaths too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They just lacked details.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So they lent Tony one of their best investigators—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With limits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reacher was not allowed to escalate matters recklessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which meant Tony now needed more intelligence and leverage of his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he asked another question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Who got the stolen serum?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reacher hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then chose honesty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I suspect…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...that one of the doses may be connected to the man currently on television.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Henry and Tony both turned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>CNN was broadcasting the grand opening ceremony of New York City's Watchtower Building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Descending slowly from the sky at the center of the screen was a man in a golden bodysuit, blue-green cape, and black belt bearing a large S symbol.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The media called him the world's first true superhero.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Known to the public as:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Golden Guardian\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sentry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>🎉 Power Stone Goal Announcement! 🎉\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I'll release one bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones we hit!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let me know what should I do\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Your support means everything—let's crush these goals together! Keep voting, and let the stones pile up! 🚀\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\u003C\u002Fp>",1193,"2026-06-06T15:31:35.574Z",1,"novelbin.me","e67d082c195f70cad8b180a428703b3cdb800bc471b456f654ce9d96145c5d2d","marvel-a-lazy-ass-superman-chapter-514","marvel-a-lazy-ass-superman-chapter-512",556,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmarvel-a-lazy-ass-superman-cover.jpg"]