"Tony!! I love this suit!!"
Obadiah shoved Potts aside and raised his foot to stomp on Tony.
"Stane!!"
Tony rolled over on the spot, jets of hot flames bursting from his hands and feet. He grabbed the Iron Monger and shot backward, crashing through a row of buildings as the two of them plowed through concrete and steel.
Although Tony had enough energy, his body couldn't withstand the blows of the Iron Monger. Obadiah easily pinned and struck him, forcing him into a defensive position.
"Tony!"
"I built this company from the ground up, and no one will stand in my way!"
"You won't succeed!!"
The Iron Monger stomped on Tony, then grabbed him and hurled him several dozen meters away.
At the same time, his infrared sensor instantly locked onto the target and fired a missile.
"Oh no!"
Boom!
A powerful explosion knocked Tony off balance and hurled him high into the air.
"Tony!!"
Potts stood frozen, watching the scene with a worried expression.
"How pathetic."
A quiet voice echoed beside her. Potts instinctively turned and saw a young man standing relaxed, observing Tony and shaking his head.
"You are…?" she asked, staring in confusion at the unfamiliar man – Alaric.
"Hello, I'm Tony's friend."
"Oh."
Seeing that he wasn't an enemy, Potts just nodded and turned her gaze back to the sky, where Tony was trying to regain control.
"Damn…"
Luckily, the suit's material was durable, so Tony didn't suffer serious injuries apart from dizziness.
"Stane! Stop!" Tony shouted as he flew upward.
"Stop?! Never!!"
"Tony, I really should thank you! You shut down the weapons division, but you created something even more powerful!!"
Laughing wildly, Obadiah activated his thrusters and shot toward Tony.
"He's really stubborn…"
Tony flew even higher until they reached the upper layers of the atmosphere. The two suits shone like falling stars in the dark sky.
---
Military base.
"Sir! He's appeared again!!"
The radar picked up Tony in flight.
"Connect to the colonel immediately and prepare the fighters!!"
A soldier grabbed the phone and was about to dial the number when a firm hand stopped him.
"No need. Guys, this is just an exercise."
Rhodey stopped the soldiers.
"Yes, sir!"
Rhodey, who had just arrived from Tony's villa, watched the radar screen anxiously, clenching his fist.
"Hang in there, Tony…"
---
High above the city.
Obadiah grabbed Tony, smiling triumphantly.
"Good idea, Tony!"
"But my suit is more advanced than yours in every way!"
"You're finished, Stark!!"
His voice carried both intoxication with power and greed, this suit could bring him wealth and power, and by killing Tony, the last obstacle on that path would disappear.
"Alright… but I just have one question," said Tony through clenched teeth, struggling to maintain altitude. "How did you solve the icing problem?"
"Icing? What ic—"
Obadiah didn't finish the sentence. At that moment, his entire suit began to be covered in frost, the engines stalled, and the power suddenly dropped. His face twisted in disbelief as his eyes widened in panic.
"That's it."
Tony struck Obadiah's helmet and watched as the helpless Iron Monger plummeted straight toward the ground.
"Phew! Luckily I discovered this problem long ago and upgraded the suit!" Tony sighed.
"Sir, the battery is below 10%," Jarvis reminded him.
"What?! Why is the consumption so fast?!"
Tony landed abruptly, trying to figure out the problem.
"Sir, your old core isn't efficient enough. The rate of energy consumption is too high."
"But it doesn't matter… it's over," Tony said, landing heavily on the ground.
"Hey! Potts, where are you?"
"Tony? It's great that you're okay!" Potts exclaimed, tears of relief in her eyes.
"I'm coming to find you."
Tony was already ready to head toward her.
"Do you think it's that easy?"
Obadiah suddenly appeared behind him, grabbed him, and squeezed tightly.
"Jarvis! Do something!"
"Sir, the electroshock system is disabled, the missiles are offline," Jarvis replied coolly.
"Molotov cocktails!" Tony shouted desperately as he struggled to break free.
A powerful explosion from the incendiary bomb blinded Obadiah, forcing him to release Tony.
"Smart move, Tony! But you won't escape!"
Tony quickly retreated behind a building.
"Potts!"
"Tony!"
"I need your help! We have to overload the reactor below and blow Obadiah up!"
"What should I do?!"
"Just listen to what I say! I'll buy you some time," Tony said determinedly.
"Really… have you never been prepared for situations like this? Tony, sometimes you're really reckless," Alaric muttered as he stood beside Potts, dissatisfied that he had to intervene.
This Iron Monger was a real monster, a massive armored body with powerful defenses and an arsenal of weapons surpassing most of Tony's previous inventions.
"Potts, who's that next to you?!" Tony's voice came through the communicator.
"Mister Mage! Are you there?!" he shouted right after.
Tony recognized the familiar voice and hurriedly asked.
"Tony, I'm next to your friend," Potts replied.
Mister Mage? The name sounded strange to him, but he didn't have time to think about it.
"I'm here, what do you need?" Alaric answered calmly.
"Mister Mage! I'll give you another five million, please, help me!!" Tony shouted, ready to use everything he had to save the situation.
He didn't want to risk it, immediately offering money so Alaric wouldn't refuse to help.
Five million was nothing compared to the threat of the massive reactor beneath their feet.
"Alright, I'll help you," Alaric said without hesitation.
"Great! I'm counting on you!!" Tony almost felt relieved, convinced that with the help of this mysterious mage everything would be resolved more quickly.
"Mister Mage?" Potts looked at Alaric in confusion. Who exactly was this man whom Tony trusted so much? And why did he immediately offer him five million?
"Aren't you going to help Tony?" she asked.
"No, I can handle it from here," Alaric replied and calmly threw the folded fan he held in his hand.
Potts was left speechless as an unbelievable scene unfolded before her eyes.
The folding fan spun in the air faster and faster, sparks bursting from it as it emitted a strange energy.
"Mister Mage! Your fan is on fire!!" Potts exclaimed, covering her mouth.
"Don't worry," Alaric replied calmly.
The magic was activated. The fan transformed before her eyes into a dazzling rainbow sword, which continued to spin at incredible speed. In an instant, it formed a wheel of light, streaking like lightning through the night sky straight toward the Iron Monger.
Tony was carefully watching from his hiding place, tracking the movements of the massive armored opponent.
"I found you, Tony!" Obadiah shouted and fired a missile.
The explosion forced him to roll across the ground, barely dodging the strike. He was nervous, he wondered why the mage hadn't yet come to help.
And then his eyes lit up.
The wheel of light pierced the darkness of the sky and reached the Iron Monger.
"What the… is this…?" Obadiah muttered in confusion, not understanding what was coming.
Before he could finish the sentence, the wheel of light simply passed through his massive armor as if it didn't exist. It cut through the body of the Iron Monger and Obadiah himself, leaving no trace of resistance.
Tony watched in shock as the wheel of light traced a perfect arc in the air and returned the same way it had come.
"This… it's over… Oh! Damn!!" he shouted, realizing what had just happened.
He looked at Obadiah and froze at the sight he had never seen before.
Obadiah, still locked inside the massive armor, had been literally cut in half. His body fell helplessly to the side, while blood seeped from the interior of the armor.
"God… this is disgusting," Tony muttered with disgust, feeling his stomach turn.
Even Coulson and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, who arrived later to secure the reactor and the remains of the scene, stopped visibly shaken and turned their eyes away uncomfortably when they saw the sight before them.