At that moment, Carl silently flew up beside Tony. Unlike Tony's repulsors, Carl's cloak allowed him to fly without making a sound.
"What are you looking at?"
Carl's sudden voice made Tony jump. His repulsor instantly snapped up, aimed straight at Carl, about to fire.
Carl dodged at once.
"Damn it! Are you trying to murder me?!"
Carl grabbed Tony's wrist, and only then did Tony realize who it was.
"Damn—can't you make some noise next time, or at least warn me first?" Tony snapped irritably. "You almost made me blast you! Do you have any idea how scary it is to hear someone speak out of nowhere in midair?!"
"You think I wanted to come?" Carl rolled his eyes. "Pepper was worried sick about you."
Tony snorted and looked down toward the ground.
"So, what's the plan?" Carl asked. "Follow procedure, or go in loud?"
By "procedure," he meant infiltrating quietly. For both Tony and Carl, sneaking in unnoticed was trivial. One of vibranium's defining traits was sound absorption—silent movement was practically standard.
"Let's just go full rampage," Tony said. "I don't feel like sneaking around."
He dove straight down. Carl followed closely behind.
"Hey, what's that?" one guard in the compound shouted, pointing at the sky.
Something with a blazing trail was plummeting straight toward them.
"Enemy incoming!"
Before the warning even finished—
Boom!
Tony's armor smashed into the ground. A powerful shockwave exploded outward from him, instantly sending nearby guards flying, blood streaming from their ears and noses.
"Not bad, right?" Tony said as he stood up. "Picked that up from your Skye. Didn't realize shockwaves were this useful."
The guards in the garden were cleared out in a single move, all knocked unconscious.
"Decent," Carl said casually, pointing around. "But the power's a bit low. Look—none of the buildings collapsed."
Flowers and hedges had been pulverized, but fountains and decorative structures remained intact.
"That's called precision control," Tony snorted. "You wouldn't understand."
He strode up to the front door of the villa, tore it off its hinges, and walked straight inside.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—
The moment Tony crossed the threshold, gunfire erupted from all directions. Bullets slammed into his armor, clanging like music, but not a single one left even a scratch.
Tony raised his hand. A repulsor blast fired, and several drone cannons unfolded from his back, opening fire at minimum power.
Even at the lowest setting, the drone cannons punched finger-thick holes straight through bodies, leaving charred edges around the wounds.
With automated targeting, the drones were ruthlessly efficient. In moments, every guard inside was dead—fragile as paper.
Once no hostiles remained, the drones retracted and seamlessly merged back into the armor. That was the beauty of nanotechnology: every weapon integrated perfectly into the main suit.
Carl followed behind leisurely. There was no need for him to act at all—Tony had everything under control. At this point, he was basically just here to watch.
They made their way to a bedroom. The bedcovers were noticeably raised—someone was clearly hiding underneath.
Tony stepped forward without hesitation, yanked back the covers, and aimed his repulsor.
"Ahhh—!!"
Two piercing screams rang out.
Under the covers were two stunning women in revealing lingerie, staring at Tony in sheer terror.
Tony lowered his arm. At that moment, the sound of a toilet flushing came from the bathroom.
Tony gestured for the women to stay quiet and turned toward the sound.
The two women immediately bolted, fleeing silently without even stopping to grab their clothes.
Moments later, a bearded man stepped out of the bathroom.
Tony recognized him instantly—the Mandarin from the broadcasts.
The man raised both hands at once. He knew exactly what he was facing. Iron Man—who didn't know him?
"Move one inch—"
The repulsor hummed to life.
"Understood! I'm not moving!" the man said quickly, freezing in place.
"You're the Mandarin?" Tony sneered. "Why are you such a coward?"
He looked utterly unimpressed. He had never seen a terrorist this pathetic.
"I'm just an actor!" the man blurted out. "I don't know anything!"
He pointed at the sofa. "Can I sit down? This pose is killing me."
Without waiting for permission, he dropped onto the couch.
"Alright," he said, spreading his hands. "My name's Trevor. I'm just a Hollywood actor. The 'Mandarin' doesn't exist—he's completely fictional."
"Who told you to play the Mandarin?" Tony demanded. "Killian?"
"Yes—Killian," Trevor said hastily. "He made up the Mandarin and hired me to play him."
"And he had me act like a serial-killer lunatic," Trevor continued, talking faster and faster. "Using people's stereotypes about terrorists. Middle Eastern look, threatening speeches—all of it was an act."
"You were just acting?" Tony said coldly. "Then what about the people you 'executed' on TV?"
Trevor pointed to the side.
Tony followed his finger and saw a massive green screen. Instantly, he understood.
"So those executions were all CGI."
"Alright," Tony said. "Then where are those people now?"
"Underground," Trevor replied immediately. "They have some kind of lab down there."
He pointed outside, toward a separate building.
"The entrance is there."
---
At the same time, deep underground, the Iron Patriot armor was suspended by heavy chains. Several technicians were using cutting wheels, trying to pry it open.
Inside the armor, Rhodes remained calm.
As if these tools could ever cut through it.
Killian stepped forward, waving the technicians away.
"Good afternoon, Colonel Rhodes," Killian said pleasantly. "Comfortable enough?"
"Not bad," Rhodes replied flatly. "Your men are just a bit noisy."
With the armor's systems disabled, Rhodes couldn't get out—and they couldn't get in. He was oddly unconcerned.
"My apologies," Killian said smoothly. "I've had them leave. I think a face-to-face conversation would be better. Don't you agree?"
As he spoke, Killian placed both hands on the armor's waist.
His hands began to glow, red-hot—like molten lava flowing beneath his skin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 20 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you enjoyed Marvel Manifestor, please give it a Power Stone and leave a review! Your support means everything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~