The villa begins to collapse, missiles outside continuing to bombard it, causing chaos and destruction.
Tony is in grave danger inside the collapsing villa. The floor tilts sharply and rapidly rolls toward the sea. Tony grabs a rebar, stabilizing himself amidst the chaos.
Jarvis's voice sounds: "Sir, Miss Pepper has left safely."
Leaning against the rebar, Tony gestures with both hands to disband and retract his armor. Suddenly, Mark 42 detaches from Pepper and swiftly flies toward him.
Outside, the gunship roars with whistling steel torrents, bullets blasting around Tony.
With difficulty, Tony squats and moves forward to meet Mark 42. One by one, the armor parts quickly cover and assemble onto his body. He rolls to dodge incoming bullets, the mask fitting perfectly.
The display inside his helmet lights up. Tony is about to take off when he suddenly notices a problem: "Jarvis, where is my energy?"
Jarvis responds calmly: "This is just a prototype, sir."
Bullets pour frantically onto Tony, but he finds no weapon to fire back.
The live broadcast's viewer count skyrockets. The tense, explosive scene grips the audience with heartache.
"This... no energy?!"
"How can this happen?"
"But luckily, he's wearing the suit."
"The suit is absolutely fine."
"What can you do without energy?"
"I think I have an idea..."
Tony loosens his grip, causing his body to fall. He then directs energy toward a nearby piano, hurling it directly at a helicopter. The piano crashes into the aircraft, igniting flames that cause it to plummet into the sea.
"One down!"
Jarvis warns: "Sir, this armor isn't ready for combat."
Tony ignores the advice, sprinting through the ruins to dodge bullets. He forcibly detaches a weapon module from his arm. Throwing it hard, he releases a powerful energy shockwave, causing an explosion that obliterates another helicopter. However, the blast sends the wreckage hurtling into the villa, knocking Tony into the basement.
Missiles fly relentlessly, bombarding the villa in a wild, chaotic assault. Vehicles sink beneath the sea amid the chaos.
Tony, unable to fly and pressed into the seabed by collapsing concrete, struggles desperately. A steel cable wrapped around his neck pulls him deeper into the abyss. Water floods into his suit, and his movements weaken as he fights to stay conscious.
Pepper rushes to the cliff's edge, shouting into the sea: "Tony!"
This moment sparks anxious murmurs among viewers:
"This... isn't it?!"
"Did Tony just drown like that?"
"Certainly not!"
"I hope not!"
"Pepper is so distressed."
They watch anxiously as the scene unfolds.
The Administration Bureau, the director, and others observe this scene intently.
Johan remarks solemnly, "It shouldn't be like that."
Tonio adds, "He can't fly, and he's at the bottom of the sea. It will be difficult for him to survive."
A physicist explains: "Underwater operations are inherently challenging. Even with suits, mobility is greatly hindered. I doubt Tony anticipated being submerged."
The chief frowns: "If Tony dies underwater, his memory will be lost."
The director has already received news from Councilor Gladwin. Terra is not as safe as it seems. The future of Terra's success hinges on capturing these fragmented memories.
"We can't stop now."
In the training ground, Ren and more than a dozen others stare intently at the screen, holding their breath, hoping for a miracle.
At Essen Heavy Industries, Astor stands nervously, shouting, "Iron Man! Come on!"
The live broadcast is filled with cheers. When the Ark reactor's glow on Mark 42's chest begins to dim, everyone's heart pounds with anticipation. Suddenly, Mark 42's arm disintegrates and separates from the rest of the armor.
The audience erupts in excitement.
"Ah! It's Jarvis!"
"Jarvis is controlling the arm parts?!"
"My heart's about to jump out!"
Jarvis's voice echoes: "Sir, please take a deep breath."
The detached arm parts automatically turn and hold Tony's hand. The vector propulsion system ejects energy, violently pulling Tony out of the wreckage. The armor reassembles on him, water inside the suit expelled by its drainage system.
Jarvis confirms: "Flight energy has been restored."
After flickering a few times, the thrusters roar to life, propelling Tony out of the seabed chaos.
"Yes! We're back!"
"F*ck, I'm in a cold sweat."
"F**k the terrorists! F that bald bastard!"
"The Mark 42 is incredible! Each part can operate as a separate module."
"Awesome!"
"I really want a suit."
Under his helmet, Tanner watches the scene, the odds suddenly soaring in their favor.
"The creation process of Jarvis has never been fully captured," he mutters with a frown.
Jarvis, the core support of the suit, is a crucial piece. Unfortunately, this part of the memory remains dormant.
"Jarvis is just software. If we could capture that, it would be a good starting point to rebuild him."
On a scenic cliff by the coast, a villa resembling Tony's stands quietly. Inside, several people watch the broadcast.
Seated in the middle is a man with sunglasses, while others glance at him with admiration.
The man in sunglasses, the Pope of the Abyss Religion, speaks softly: "Have you found him?"
On the left, an alluring woman responds immediately: "Sir Pope, not yet."
This man is the Pope, the feared leader of the Abyss Religion, the one the Director has dreaded.
"Not found? I can't wait any longer. I need some of his skills," the Pope says with calculated indifference.
The woman quickly replies, "Yes, Sir Pope. I'll dispatch all our members!"
The Pope stares at the screen, his face flickering behind his sunglasses, a flicker of excitement and madness.
"Virus, Jarvis, if only I could have both. I could build that team!" His voice is laced with frenzy.
He has glimpsed past-life memories, terrible teams, formidable forces. Limited only by Terra's resources, he couldn't realize them. But with the virus technology integrated with Jarvis's AI...
"I will be unstoppable!"
The screen flickers wildly, showing Tony's armor falling into ice and snow, then returning to a hotel where Pepper chats with Maya.
Maya's head bears a fresh wound, did she just escape the villa explosion?
"I think so."
"Can they still talk?"
"Probably."
Maya leans against the bed, reminiscing: "Before he built rockets, he was an idealist. He dreamed of space travel, loved to gaze at the stars. When the first V2 rocket hit the city, do you know what he said? The rocket was working perfectly; it just landed on the wrong planet."
Maya's voice softens: "We started naive, driven by pure science. Then arrogance took over, obsession followed."
She chuckles bitterly: "Looking back, I realize how far we've come."
Pepper comforts her: "Don't be too hard on yourself, Maya. You handed your research to a think tank."
Maya responds: "Yes, but Killian built that on military contracts."
Pepper laughs softly: "We've been through this. Don't blame yourself."
Maya looks at Pepper, grateful: "Thank you. I appreciate that."
"Did Killian cooperate with officials back then?"
"Did Maya realize her work caused someone's death?"
"Maya's still a good person, really."
"Maybe she'll even have the virus herself."
"That's hard to say."
Suddenly, a knock at the door interrupts.
Pepper quickly opens it. The waiter is about to bring in dinner when Killian appears behind him, twisting the waiter's neck.
"Run, Maya!" Pepper yells desperately.
Killian grabs Pepper by the throat, pressing her against the wall. Turning to Maya, he snarls: "Explain why you were at Stark's last night."
Maya gets up, voice trembling: "I was trying to fix this. I didn't know you and Mandarin would blow up that place."
Killian laughs coldly: "I see. So, you're trying to save Stark? Even though he threatened us?"
Maya pleads helplessly: "I told you, we can use him."
Killian's eyes narrow as he looks at Maya with a surprised smile.
The scene blurs again, as if being recaptured, filling viewers with anger.
"The most poisonous woman! Pepper ignoring past suspicions! She's so cunning! You want to kidnap her?"
"You're the greatest danger!"
"Tony, where are you? Come back!"
"This is so frustrating!"
"Are Maya and her team threatening Tony with Pepper to coerce the virus research?"
"New products! Listen to this, they're scum!"
"They probably handed the virus failure to Mandarin to get cooperation!"
Wait! A new thought strikes me.
"Pepper's in danger!"
"You mean... the virus?"
"Exactly! Killian hates Tony so much, and Pepper is Tony's love. If they infect Pepper with the virus, they could threaten Tony!"
Viewers watching the live chat are stunned. The severity hits hard. Then, a new message appears, surprising even the most seasoned:
"Killian threatens Tony with Pepper."
"Using her to force Tony to develop more weapons or modifications."
"Then Killian's power just skyrocketed."
"Getting out of control, out of control, destroying the Earth's history?"
"The virus has evolved from genetic material."