The influence of the Sanctuary extended to all races and civilizations on Earth, touching every aspect of life. Yet this did not mean the planet was entirely peaceful.
Evil and crime still occurred, though human traffickers were increasingly curtailed. The Sanctuary maintained a policy of non-interference in the interests of individual nations, which sometimes led to diplomatic friction. Progress had been made, but it was far from complete.
Countries like the United States and Britain continued to stir trouble. The existence of their military-industrial complexes ensured they would not let the status quo remain stagnant. They still sought to expand military capabilities and profit from conflict.
Initially, they were cautious, unsure of the Sanctuary's stance. But once they realized the Sanctuary would not overtly intervene, these "hungry wolves" began to create disturbances openly and secretly, fostering friction and war while placing arms orders. None of this had anything to do with Tony Stark personally. Years ago, he had closed the weapons division of Stark Industries to focus on clean energy and other scientific projects—his financial security was never at risk.
Tony was especially invested in developing the MK armor. After years of optimization, he had reached a bottleneck.
Boom!
In a coastal town in Florida, Tony, clad in the second-generation MK armor, screamed as he rocketed backward like a cannonball, smashing through buildings along the way until he finally slid to a halt on a dock.
"The armor shell is 18% damaged, energy consumption at 46%," he reported.
"Thanks for the reminder, J.A.R.V.I.S.," Tony said, brushing himself off. Then, waving to the onlookers filming from afar on their phones, he called out: "Hey! You all might want to step back. Young man, you look barely ten—trust me, you're too close!"
Despite his warnings, many onlookers, curious at the appearance of a billionaire superhero in MK armor, edged back only reluctantly, still too close for Tony's comfort.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., we need to handle this quickly," Tony muttered, eyes fixed on the street ahead. A seemingly ordinary white man was rampaging uncontrollably—his recently awakened ability had spiraled out of control.
Awakenings like this were not uncommon, and often local agencies like S.H.I.E.L.D. could intervene. But sometimes, the abilities were too powerful, requiring Avengers intervention.
Initially, Tony had subdued the man using a hypno-needle and suppression, but the mutant had awakened again with greatly amplified powers, knocking Tony aside effortlessly.
"First he controlled frost, then fire and wind, and now metal? A composite ability? That's unexpected," Tony muttered. Controlling metal posed a direct threat to his second-generation MK armor, whose shell was primarily metallic. His third-generation MK armor, which incorporated anti-metal materials inspired by Magneto, was not yet fully operational.
Tony had planned for this kind of encounter.
"Alright… let's deal with this," he muttered, activating the engines and soaring into the air. His gaze locked on the mutant wreaking havoc below.
"Have you calculated his metal-manipulation range?" Tony asked J.A.R.V.I.S.
"Yes, sir. Safe distance: fifty meters."
"Perfect. We'll need a distraction—a small fireworks display."
Tony targeted a car some distance from the mutant, activated micro-missiles from his wrist, and detonated the vehicle. The explosion drew the mutant's attention. As he turned, Tony deployed two small flat devices from his wrists.
Electric currents and electromagnetic forces pulled at the mutant's feet while anesthetic smoke emitted from the devices, quickly absorbed through the skin. The mutant struggled, but soon collapsed into a deep sleep.
"Aha, nap time, buddy," Tony quipped, smiling.
Cleanup and containment would be handled by special agents, while Tony moved on.
He soon arrived at his seaside villa in New York, disassembled the armor with the help of its mechanical arms, and ascended to the second floor muttering:
"Putting this on and taking it off is still too slow… J.A.R.V.I.S., upload the combat data. We still need further optimization."
"Understood, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. responded.
End of Chapter)
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