Opening a portal with his Sling Ring, Peter took Daniel on a brief trip to Kamar-Taj—a place he had barely visited more than a few times—and then traveled directly from Kamar-Taj to the New York Sanctum Sanctorum. At this very moment, Strange was gathering every sorcerer he knew to deliberate over Mephisto's descent. Most importantly, they were trying to deduce his objective.
"Our world is the most unique, and therefore the most susceptible to the covetous desires of others. Before Mephisto's arrival, we were completely safe."
Strange hadn't noticed the arrival of Daniel and Peter as he continued his analysis. "But that is no longer the case. The question remains: since antiquity, Mephisto has always possessed the capability to pull this off. Why now? Why must it be exactly now?"
"You mean to say that Mephisto must act now, or at least within this specific timeframe, to realize his own plan." Wong understood Strange's logic. "And this opportune moment did not exist before, nor will it exist after, correct? What could it be? Spider-Man?"
"We have no way of knowing. The only thing we do know is that if the Kang Dynasty comes to pass, this opportunity will vanish entirely. Therefore, this object or condition must be something Kang intends to eradicate, or something whose existence he is completely oblivious to. Only these two categories would be excluded from the Kang Dynasty."
Strange analyzed the only valuable piece of intelligence available. Whatever Mephisto desired, it was destined to be something Kang had failed to discover—and thus left out of the Kang Dynasty—or something Kang intended to eliminate. The latter category pointed directly to Spider-Man, because Peter's abilities were sufficient to tear apart the Cosmic Cube itself or create a duplicate of it.
This was precisely why Strange had requested Peter to leave; he was highly likely to be Kang's primary target. As for the former category, even Strange was at a loss, leaving him with no choice but to advise the Avengers and others to keep an eye out for information that Kang might be ignorant of.
Though, in all probability, they had no idea what it was that Kang didn't know either.
"Oh, you're here."
Noticing Peter, Strange nodded. He then let out a sigh of resignation. "As you can see, we are currently screening for Mephisto's plan. This demands numerous divinations and rituals. Consequently, we temporarily lack the surplus strength required to protect you, Spider-Man."
"Oh, I know. I can just handle some matters concerning the Spider-Verse. But as for the Avengers..."
Hearing this, Strange stood up and looked at Peter. "Speaking of which, you don't need to worry. Someone has extended a helping hand to Stark. Furthermore, you happen to know this person—it's Norman Osborn."
"Huh?"
A few days ago, Stark Industries Headquarters.
Tony took a deep breath. He had originally arrived here clutching a bouquet of roses—because he had no idea what else to give his girlfriend. But upon driving into the parking lot, he realized that walking straight into the CEO's office with just a bouquet of roses felt a bit awkward. So, he snapped the stems off the roses, tucked them into his breast pocket, and strolled flamboxantly into the Stark Industries headquarters.
The events of the past two days had left a massive number of Stark Industries employees feeling utterly at a loss. The primary source of anxiety and dread was the future of the company. The sudden collapse of Avengers Tower felt like the end of an era; no one wanted to imagine what lay ahead for Stark Industries.
Walking along the corridor, Tony had already spotted several employees packing up cardboard boxes and making a run for it. He arrived outside Pepper's office, retrieved the roses from his pocket to hold them in his hand, and knocked on the door. He then pushed his way inside without waiting for a reply.
Pepper, who was busy working, looked up. Spotting Tony, she stood up in slight surprise. "Tony? I thought... I thought you wouldn't be coming to the office?"
"I came to get a handle on the company's situation. After all, as you know, a pretty major incident occurred." Tony extended the roses as he spoke. "For you."
"Yes, a lot of things happened, but I could have just told you when I got home." Pepper accepted the flowers and placed them on her desk.
Tony folded his arms and continued, "Well... how do I know you wouldn't purposely keep me in the dark just to save me the worry?"
"Would I do that?"
"You would."
As Tony spoke, he noticed Pepper reaching for her water cup. Promptly beating her to it, he picked up the cup and handed it to her, continuing, "Our current troubles are only temporary. As long as we issue a public announcement to clarify the facts and tell everyone that a demon was responsible—not that they'll believe it anyway—the point is, I can still manufacture even better products."
Pepper stared at Tony while sipping her water, remaining silent. The greatest crisis at hand was the nationwide skepticism surrounding products designed by Tony Stark, triggered by the simultaneous explosion of over a hundred Arc Reactors. If the current Stark Industries didn't rely on Tony's inventions, what else did they have left to offer? Were they supposed to reopen the weapons manufacturing lines?
As Pepper continued to drink her water, her phone suddenly rang. She quickly picked it up and answered, "Hey, hello. Yes, it's me. Mr. Osborn, hello. Yes, please go ahead..."
Norman Osborn? Tony recognized the name but had no idea why the man would be calling. He took the bouquet of roses back and propped it up between two books.
Meanwhile, Pepper covered the phone's microphone in utter disbelief. She turned back around to face Tony. "Wait a minute, you're a shareholder in Osborn Corp?"
"Yes. Previously, Norman Osborn hoped I could help him buy up shares from retail investors to prevent Osborn Corp from falling under the controlling interest of the Pentagon. I hold roughly... a fourteen percent stake? Somewhere around there. I didn't use Stark Industries' accounts, so I didn't cause any trouble for you."
"He is willing to acquire your shares in Osborn Corp at a premium, with a portion of the payment being settled using the Stark Industries shares that Osborn Corp has been buying up recently."
Tony's mouth fell open. He gestured with his hand, and Pepper handed the phone over to him. Tony then took the call. "Hello, Norman. Yes, I'm right here at the company, checking in on my girlfriend... I know what you're trying to do. You intend to throw me a lifeline, but regardless of your motives, this total disaster isn't something you can just take over."
"Osborn Corp intends to participate in the Stark Industries Expo? Alright, I understand. Pepper will make the arrangements... Roxxon is snapping up Stark Industries shares? Well, I'm entirely unsurprised by that; they were bound to do so. Agger Dario hired Obadiah Stane Jr. and Justin Hammer?!"