Chapter 33: The Undead Ivan Vanko
The new semester at Empire State University had begun.
Lance Ryder spent the entire morning handling various procedures before finally finishing most of the necessary tasks.
Two issues were especially important.
The first involved his immigration and residency status. Because Lance had purchased a house in advance, he had been able to obtain his green card without much delay. For most people, dealing with that paperwork alone could take several days.
The second major matter was insurance.
Student visas placed many restrictions on international students, and insurance costs made up a large portion of studying abroad.
Of course, if someone had enough money, things became much easier.
Empire State University was one of the top universities in the United States, and even the world. Every year, countless students dreamed of studying there.
Lance had managed to resolve both his residency status and admission procedures very quickly.
Money had played a decisive role.
Without it, even with internal connections at the university, completing those processes so smoothly would have been nearly impossible.
Sunil Bakshi—and the Bakshi family—had proven extremely capable in handling matters like this.
In fact, only a few days had passed since Lance last met Justina Hammer, but a great deal had already happened.
The biggest development came from unexpected news spreading across the media:
Ivan Vanko was still alive.
The sudden report immediately drew the attention of government authorities.
Large numbers of agents were dispatched to track him down.
And the person who benefited the most from this news was Justin Hammer.
Before the story broke, Justin Hammer had been forced to shoulder the majority of the blame for the Stark Expo disaster.
That was why prosecutors had been rushing his case forward so aggressively.
But once reports of Ivan Vanko's survival appeared, the situation changed.
Until Vanko was captured, the case against Justin Hammer no longer seemed so urgent.
Tony Stark was actually the first person to question the story.
During the final battle, he and Colonel James Rhodes had watched Vanko activate the detonation sequence.
Before that moment, Stark had already inflicted serious injuries on him.
Even if Vanko had somehow escaped the explosion, he shouldn't have been able to avoid the massive police and military search afterward.
Since the night of the explosion, there had been no trace of him at all.
Several burned bodies had been discovered at the scene, and initial identification had even confirmed one as Ivan Vanko.
So how could another Vanko suddenly appear?
Investigations soon revealed something else.
Behind many of the media reports was Wilson Fisk, the underworld ruler of New York—better known as Kingpin.
Two days earlier, a shipment that had just arrived at the Port of New Jersey had been attacked.
The cargo—worth millions—had been stolen by someone wearing steel armor.
And according to witnesses, the man had removed his helmet during the robbery.
They claimed it was Ivan Vanko.
That was the information circulating through underground channels.
Of course, no one could directly confront Kingpin to confirm the story.
He would never admit to running illegal operations or losing goods to a criminal.
But by quietly spreading the information through the media, he had successfully pushed the authorities into action.
At the same time, Kingpin himself had begun to suspect something strange.
Multiple investigations suggested that Ivan Vanko was already dead.
Yet several of Kingpin's most trusted men insisted they had personally seen him.
Something about the situation didn't add up.
The police eventually discovered surveillance footage from an ATM camera near the port.
A blurred image showed someone resembling Vanko.
Even though the video quality was extremely poor, the figure looked convincing enough.
Tony Stark later obtained a copy of the footage.
However, even JARVIS was unable to enhance the image enough for a clear facial comparison.
That alone made the situation suspicious.
Still, regardless of the truth, the rumors served their purpose.
Public attention shifted away from Hammer Industries.
And the pressure on Justin Hammer eased slightly.
If Justina hadn't met Lance earlier, she might have believed the story herself.
But after their meeting, she no longer trusted the rumors.
In fact, during the past few days, pressure from the military and the White House had also decreased.
Even prosecutors and media outlets began shifting their focus.
But all of this was only the beginning.
Although Lance's actions had relieved some of Justina's immediate pressure, his larger plan continued without interruption.
Sunil Bakshi waited patiently for Hammer Industries' stock price to collapse before buying in.
Although the sudden "appearance" of Ivan Vanko slowed the decline slightly, it only delayed the inevitable.
Bakshi continued accumulating shares quietly.
From Lance's perspective, this was like waiting patiently for the market to provide more opportunities.
He didn't interfere with Bakshi's strategy at all.
As for Justina—
Lance had already done enough.
If she managed to survive this crisis, she might prove capable of standing on her own.
If she failed, she would simply be discarded.
The only reason Lance had spent time dealing with her was because he saw potential.
And right now, capable people were exactly what he needed.
Bakshi alone wasn't enough.
He required more subordinates who could operate independently.
Although Lance owned a house not far from Empire State University, the school required freshmen to live in campus dormitories.
As a student from the Netherlands, he had no choice but to follow the rules.
Whether he returned home at night was another matter.
But officially, he had to maintain a dormitory residence.
Fortunately, the dormitory conditions were fairly good.
Most rooms were designed for two students.
When Lance arrived, the room had already been cleaned and prepared.
He didn't have many belongings.
He placed a few textbooks inside, mainly so he could rest at noon or study in the library without needing to return home.
Sometimes when it was late at night, staying in the dorm would be more convenient.
Of course, living in a dormitory required a few preparations.
Americans rarely drank hot water.
Dormitories didn't provide any.
If students wanted hot water, they needed to boil it themselves with an electric kettle.
Whether they used it for coffee or tea was up to them.
Just as Lance stepped outside to buy supplies, the door across the hallway opened.
A young man and woman walked out at the same time.
Both looked slightly surprised when they saw him.
The pair shared similar features.
They had the appearance of Latin American mixed heritage, both quite attractive.
The young man spoke first.
"You're new here, right?"
"Hello, I'm Van Gonzalez, a sophomore. I guess I'm your roommate."
"And this is my sister, Michelle Gonzalez. Her dorm room is across the hall."
Empire State University didn't strictly separate male and female dormitories.
Buildings were mixed, though individual rooms still contained either all men or all women.
In later years, even co-ed dorm rooms would become common.
Lance paused briefly before introducing himself.
"Hello. My name is Lance Ryder. I'm from the Netherlands and just started school."
"I'm also a freshman," Michelle said, offering her hand.
"I'm majoring in computer science."
Lance shook hands with both siblings.
"My major is biological science and engineering."
"I'm studying economics," Van added with a grin.
"Looks like we all picked different fields."
"So when it's time for morning classes, everyone's on their own."
He paused, then said cheerfully:
"We're heading to the cafeteria now. Want to come along and check it out?"
Lance hesitated briefly.
Then he nodded.
"Sure. Thanks."
Normally, he had little interest in socializing with strangers.
But Van Gonzalez was his roommate.
And his sister Michelle was quite striking—her Latin features and confident presence made her hard to ignore.
More importantly, Lance needed to appear sociable.
Officially, he was only eighteen years old.
People in government—especially those in the White House—were certainly watching him closely.
Van proved extremely talkative on the way to the cafeteria.
He enthusiastically explained various details about campus life.
Michelle listened quietly.
From Lance's perspective, Van was straightforward and easy to read.
He wasn't particularly calculating.
Which meant Lance had little interest in becoming close friends with him.
Still, Van clearly had decent social skills.
The fact that he managed to arrange for his sister to live in the room across the hall proved that much.
The three of them had just sat down in the cafeteria when another pair joined a nearby table.
A young man was speaking excitedly.
"…Mary Jane, this is where I'll be living for the next few years. Isn't it great?"
Hearing the name Mary Jane, Lance couldn't help glancing over.
But his attention focused more on the young man sitting across from her.
He looked slightly thin and gentle.
Yet beneath his clothes, Lance sensed an unusual power hidden inside his body.
Could that be… Peter Parker?
Spider-Man?
The thought irritated Lance slightly.
First the Hulk.
Then Iron Man.
If he hadn't avoided certain encounters, he might even have run into Black Widow.
And now—
Spider-Man.
Odin… what exactly are you planning?
Mary Jane, with her long red hair and lively face, looked at Peter like he was an idiot.
"Parker," she said.
"I've visited Empire State University plenty of times."
"I know this place better than you."
"And are you even sure you're enrolled here?"
Mary Jane wasn't actually a student there.
She attended a nearby arts college, studying acting.
She was already a small-time performer.
Not famous in the entertainment industry—but recognizable among ordinary people.
"Alright, alright, let's just eat," Peter said quickly, trying to change the subject.
"Harry will be here soon."
Mary Jane rolled her eyes but looked amused.
Lance only glanced at them briefly before looking away.
Staring too long would easily trigger Spider-Man's spider-sense.
And Peter Parker's instincts were extremely sharp.
Still, hearing the name Harry reminded Lance of something.
Harry Osborn.
From the information Lance had gathered, Dr. Curt Connors—the Lizard—had already been imprisoned.
But Norman Osborn, Harry's father, had not yet been exposed as the Green Goblin.
However, several newspapers had already mentioned sightings of a mysterious figure matching that description.
Which meant—
The inevitable clash between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin was approaching.
Maybe it had already begun.
Add in Kingpin, the underworld king of New York.
Along with all the other villains tied to Spider-Man's story.
Soon enough—
The entire city of New York was going to become extremely lively.
End of Chapter 33
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