Chapter 62: Tony: Lynn, Are You Sure You're Not Clark Kent?
If they wanted to waste Killian, they had to find him first.
The spirit of Chad Davis, while possessing a sliver of consciousness, was a broken record, just repeating the same mantra: Kill... Killian... Revenge.
So, Lynn had to agree with Tony's plan.
'This is how it happened, right?' he recalled. 'Tony finds the "Mandarin," finds out he's just a washed-up actor, and that leads him to Killian.'
Lynn followed Tony into the bar. It was packed, the noise of the crowd deafening.
The town might be small, but its nightlife was booming.
Tony, wearing a baseball cap pulled low, bought a drink at the counter.
He scanned the room, then nodded toward an older woman sitting alone by the pool tables. "That's her. Chad Davis's mother."
"You or me?"
"I'll take this one."
Tony swirled his drink, then shot Lynn a wink. "I've seen your file, buddy. You've got a way with the young ones. But a grieving mother who just lost her son? That requires my brand of charm."
Lynn just shrugged and leaned against the bar.
Tony took a deep breath and walked over.
"Mrs. Davis? Excuse me, ma'am, would you mind if I sat here?"
He gestured to the empty seat.
"It's a free country."
That was all the invitation he needed. Tony sat down and started to talk.
Lynn watched from the bar as Tony's quiet words eventually got her to hand over a file.
But just as Tony was looking through it, a woman in a sharp suit appeared out of nowhere, slammed him face-first onto the table, and slapped a pair of handcuffs on him.
Seeing this, Lynn downed the rest of his drink and headed over.
"Hey, what's going on?" a middle-aged guy, clearly the local sheriff, asked, stepping in.
"Apprehending a fugitive. You the local law? I'm with the National Security Agency."
The woman flashed a badge.
The sheriff was about to say something, but Lynn cut him off, stepping in front. "NSA? Tsk. I've worked with the NSA. Handled a few... special... cases with them."
He flashed his own NYPD credentials. "And by the way... that badge is a terrible fake. The sigil isn't even in the right place."
Hearing Lynn, the sheriff immediately drew his weapon.
The woman just sighed. "I really didn't want to do this."
She stepped toward Lynn. The hand she held behind her back suddenly began to glow orange-red, as if her veins were full of lava.
"Hey, Lynn, watch out!" Tony yelled.
The woman lunged, her glowing-hot hand slashing at Lynn's throat.
In a blur, Lynn caught her wrist, his grip like steel, ignoring the searing heat.
He shook his head. "Nice trick. Too bad you picked the wrong guy."
She tried to counter, but Lynn, still holding her arm, just flung her.
CRASH!
She sailed backward, shattering a window, and disappeared into the street.
At the same time, Tony Stark was yelling, "Get out! Everybody, run! Get out now!"
He scrambled over to Lynn, holding up his cuffed hands. "This woman is definitely one of Killian's. The guy who attacked Happy... he could do that, too."
"Now, get these damn things off me!"
The bar patrons were stampeding for the exits when a hail of gunfire erupted from the broken window.
Lynn reacted instantly, grabbing Tony and hauling him behind the solid wood bar.
Bullets ripped through the shelves, shredding bottles and sending glass and splinters flying.
Tony Stark, ducking, just grinned at Lynn. "Just another quiet, festive Christmas, huh?"
"You think this is 'festive'?"
Lynn looked at Tony's cuffed hands, grabbed the chain connecting them, and pulled.
"Whoa, hey, buddy, these are... these are reinforced steel, they're not your regular…"
SNAP!
The chain snapped before Tony could even finish his sentence.
"...Wow. Okay. You should really look into the World's Strongest Man competition. I think you'd break some records."
As Tony finished, the gunfire stopped.
Two sets of footsteps crunched on the broken glass outside.
A man's voice called out. "Tony Stark! Just come on out. All I want is that file you took. Give it to me, and you might live. If not... I guarantee your friends will be visiting your grave next Christmas."
Hearing the voice get closer, Tony grabbed an unbroken bottle of liquor, ripped a strip of cloth from his shirt, and stuffed it in the neck.
"You got a lighter?"
"Of course."
Lynn handed it over. Tony lit his makeshift Molotov, a smug look on his face. "Like I said... the power of science is limitless."
He vaulted up from behind the bar and hurled the flaming bottle.
WHUMP!
It shattered against the lead man, engulfing him in flames. But the man didn't scream. He didn't even flinch.
Instead, as the flames licked at him, his entire body began to glow a deep, molten orange.
"Oh... shit."
Tony's jaw went slack. "Is that the 'Extremis' from the file?"
Lynn stepped out from behind the bar, looking at the man, who was now completely unharmed, standing in the fire. He clapped Tony on the shoulder. "And I said... sometimes science just isn't enough."
As he spoke, two beams of raw heat shot from Lynn's eyes.
The beams hit the superheated man, blasting him backward, clean through the wall.
With a massive hole punched through his chest, the orange glow faded. The body collapsed, just a normal corpse.
"You son of a bitch! I'll kill you!"
The woman, who had climbed back in, raised her gun to fire.
But Lynn just raised his hand. The bullets thunked harmlessly against a shimmering Bone Shield.
"I almost forgot about you."
The heat vision, which had faded, flared again. One quick blast, and the woman was dead.
Lynn powered down, looking back at Tony. "Still think science is the answer to everything?"
"Absolutely."
Tony walked out, went to the woman's body, and found the key for the cuffs. As he unlocked them, he looked at Lynn.
"But... Lynn... are you sure you're a Sorcerer? And not Clark Kent?"
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HAND OVER YOUR GODDAMN INFINITY STONES!! 💎