However, Killian's strength was simply too formidable. Iron Man, even in his second suit of armor, was still no match for Killian.
Killian held Iron Man's arm with one hand, pinning him to the ground in a kneeling position.
"Now, we're finally on the rooftop!" Killian said to Iron Man, a hint of mockery on his face.
On the rooftop?
These words flashed through Tony Stark's mind, instantly bringing back his memories, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"It's him!"
Tony Stark gasped in disbelief.
He now realized who Killian was.
About a decade ago, Tony Stark attended a science conference in Switzerland. There, he met a "homeless scientist" in an elevator.
The man claimed to be a fan of Tony Stark's, appearing very excited and enthusiastic, eagerly expressing his desire to collaborate with Tony Stark.
As the world's most famous scientist, Tony Stark would encounter such people almost everywhere he went.
Moreover, at the time, his mind was preoccupied with having a friendly "exchange" with another female scientist, so he was even less inclined to bother with that guy.
Tony casually brushed the man off, falsely claiming to meet him on the rooftop.
And then… there was no then.
Tony Stark had a night of friendly exchange with the female scientist.
As for the homeless scientist?
Tony Stark completely forgot about him the moment he stepped out of the elevator.
However, what Tony Stark didn't know was that the man took his casual remark seriously and waited for him on the rooftop all night!
From this perspective, everything Killian did to Stark in the future, as shown on the screen, was in a way Tony Stark's comeuppance.
"Stark, do you know this guy?" Captain America asked, turning his head when he saw Tony Stark's reaction.
Everyone else present also looked at Tony Stark.
If they knew the identity of such an extremely dangerous individual, it would be all the better.
"Yes, I remember who he is. We'll discuss it after this question," Tony Stark said to everyone, looking at the big screen.
Hearing this, everyone returned their gaze to the big screen.
Buzz!
Just then, Killian extended his right hand, which began to glow intensely red. He formed it into a blade and fiercely brought it down on Iron Man's head.
It split the Iron Man armor in half!
From head to toe, it was cleaved into two pieces.
Everyone present couldn't help but narrow their pupils. Splitting armor with bare hands? That's a bit exaggerated, isn't it?
Bang!
Tony Stark, having been ejected from the armor, fell heavily to the ground.
"Mark 42 is returning!" Jarvis's voice rang out.
Following Jarvis's reminder, a bright light flashed in the night sky. A suit of armor, spraying dazzling light, flew towards Tony Stark again.
Tony Stark immediately got up, ready to receive it, waiting for the Mark 42 to don him, transforming him into Iron Man to battle Killian.
However... clang!
The Mark 42 accidentally hit a nearby handrail, stumbled, fell from the air, and crashed to the ground.
It shattered into a pile of parts.
Dr. Banner: "..."
Captain America: "..."
Black Widow: "..."
Everyone present was speechless. Was this Mark 42 supposed to be a joke?
At such a critical moment of life and death, are you serious?
Could Tony Stark really produce such an unreliable suit of armor?
Tony Stark, meanwhile, couldn't help but cover his face!
"You don't deserve her, Tony. It's a shame, I almost made her perfect!" Killian said mockingly.
"Yes, I don't deserve her! But you're wrong about one thing, she's already perfect," Tony Stark said. Then he pointed at Killian.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Each of the scattered parts on the ground seemed like an individual entity, spraying flames as they flew towards Killian.
They "embedded" themselves onto Killian's body, assembling into a complete Iron Man suit.
It thus imprisoned Killian inside.
"This modular assembly is truly a genius design, worthy of me!" Tony Stark's eyes lit up.
This scene before him had given him a great inspiration.
"Jarvis, do me a favor, destroy Mark 42!" Tony Stark then ordered Jarvis.
Boom!
The Mark 42 immediately exploded.
Everyone in front of the screen breathed a sigh of relief. That terrifying guy was finally eliminated.
But before they could fully relax, their breath caught again the next moment, because Killian was still not dead.
He dragged his riddled body out of the ruins!
"He was blown up like that, and he's still not dead!" Hawkeye Barton couldn't help but gasp.
"There is no such thing as a stand-in! You said you wanted to find the Mandarin, you thought you saw him, but it was me!" Killian shouted at Tony Stark, "It was me from the beginning, Tony, I am the Mandarin!"
"So he is the Mandarin!" Tony Stark's expression suddenly turned serious, his eyes gleaming.
He had been searching for the Mandarin all this time, and he never expected the Q&A system to reveal the Mandarin's identity here.
This was perfect, saving him the trouble of searching further.
Bang!
No sooner had Killian finished speaking than he was sent flying by a stick. Pepper, whom everyone thought had died in the fall, appeared once again.
At this moment, Pepper's body was also glowing with "Extremis red."
It turned out that she, too, had been transformed into one of those enhanced individuals.
Seeing this scene, Tony Stark's face grew even darker. Killian had completely landed on his kill list.
Pepper, transformed into an enhanced individual, had explosive combat power. She easily dismantled a suit of armor and used the missiles equipped within it to blow Killian to smithereens.
This time, Killian was truly dead.
"I finally understand why you're unwilling to give up the armor," Pepper said to Tony Stark with great emotion at this moment. "What do I have to complain about?"
"It's all my fault, I'm to blame!" Tony Stark said, then reached out to embrace Pepper.
"No, no, no, don't touch me, you'll get burned!" Pepper said anxiously.
However, Tony Stark still domineeringly embraced Pepper, "Don't worry, I can cure you. I researched this 20 years ago. I can make you better, Jarvis."
"All done, sir. Any other commands?"
"You know, initiate the clean-up protocol!"
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
One suit of armor after another exploded in the night sky. The dazzling light was truly as beautiful as fireworks.
Pepper nestled in Stark's arms, looking up at the extremely extravagant fireworks display, a happy smile on her face.
"Do you like it?"
"I do!"
The scene ended here.
"So that's what the fireworks show was about! Although it's a bit different from what we imagined, it's still very romantic, and Miss Pepper will like it."
Black Widow spoke first.
"That was a brutal war, a life-and-death struggle. I see no romance in it!" Thor said with a serious expression.
"Thor, you're so dense. If you keep talking like that, your girlfriend will dump you!" Black Widow couldn't help but glance at Thor.
"Who am I? I am Thor, the God from Asgard, son of Odin!" Thor chuckled dismissively. "If I truly had a companion, she would only consider it a gift from the heavens!"
"Stark, you said earlier that you knew the Mandarin's identity. Who is he?" Captain America asked, staring at Tony Stark with a serious expression, without any preamble.
"About ten years ago, I met that guy at a science conference in Switzerland," Tony Stark said to everyone. "What was his name again? Killian? Kilian? Killian? Never mind, I'll remember it."
At the time, Killian was just a clown, a seasoned loser, to Tony Stark. How could Tony Stark remember his name?
"Stark, you'd best remember," Captain America solemnly reminded Tony Stark, "This man kidnapped the president and launched many terrorist attacks around the world. He must be eliminated, Romanoff."
At this point, Captain America couldn't help but glance at Black Widow, "Did you copy it with your Sharingan?"
"Don't worry, Captain, I've already copied it," Black Widow nodded and said.
Captain America finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they knew what the person looked like, even if Stark ultimately couldn't remember their name, it wouldn't matter.
Through Jarvis, they could still easily find him.
"Stark, the events in this video should have occurred after Savin attacked Air Force One," Black Widow then said to Tony Stark.
This point was quite easy to determine.
In that video, Tony Stark and Rhodey were driving a yacht to stop Savin from hijacking the president.
During their conversation, it was revealed that Pepper had also been captured, and they debated whether to rescue the president or Pepper first.
And in this video, there was a scene of Pepper being captured.
The rescuers were still Iron Man and Rhodey.
Rhodey had also said he missed his armor, wasn't that because Savin stole the armor when the Mandarin sent him to hijack the plane?
All of these details aligned, making it basically undeniable.
"None of these things will happen, I'll make sure of it!" Tony Stark said firmly and decisively.
Now that he knew who the Mandarin was, would he give the other party a chance to cause trouble?
[Please answer the question: Which of the following characters invaded Asgard and killed Thor's mother, Frigga?]
[A. Malekith, leader of the Dark Elves]
[B. Hela, Goddess of Death]
[C. Thanos, the Mad Titan]
[D. Surtur, the Fire Giant]
[Friendly Reminder: The correct answer will receive a bottle of Super Divine Water as a reward; an incorrect answer will result in a random deduction of one personal attribute, including but not limited to knowledge, experience, skills, possessions, etc.]
As the new question appeared, the atmosphere instantly became somewhat stagnant. Everyone couldn't help but glance at Thor.
Thor, however, was completely stunned, shaking his head repeatedly, unable to accept it: "No, no, no, this kind of thing won't happen, no, it definitely won't happen!"
Seeing Thor's reaction, everyone understood that Thor wasn't disbelieving the future predicted by the Q&A system; he just didn't want to believe it in his heart.
After all, such a thing was indeed somewhat cruel for Thor.
"That's right, Thor!" Captain America nodded heavily. "This is impossible!"
The others didn't say much, and even Tony Stark, who was usually sharp-tongued, remained silent.
"Alright, let's start answering," Thor said to everyone, lifting his head after adjusting his mood.
"Thor, we don't know much about Asgard. What conditions need to be met to invade Asgard?" Captain America asked, looking at Thor with a serious expression.
"It's almost impossible," Thor shook his head. He couldn't imagine how it could happen.
"Asgard is guarded by Heimdall. No matter who it is, their ship cannot approach Asgard! They would be discovered by Heimdall immediately!"
"So, first and foremost, they need to get past Heimdall!" Black Widow emphasized.
"Or they have to eliminate Heimdall first!" Tony Stark added, "Remember the 'Battle of the Rainbow Bridge'? Laufey infiltrated Asgard, but Heimdall wasn't there."
However, getting rid of Asgard's "radar" was indeed the first step, regardless of how it was done.
"And what else?"
Captain America asked Thor again with a serious expression.
"Even if, for some reason, the enemy bypasses Heimdall and invades Asgard, that's like a sheep knocking on a wolf's den, guys, that's Asgard!"
"We have the strongest warriors in the universe, and we also have the fiercest firepower and the most advanced fleet in the universe. No matter who it is, as long as they illegally enter Asgard, they will be taken down immediately!"
"They won't even get close to the Royal City before being eliminated."
Thor said to everyone with a serious expression.
"Royal City? If I understand correctly, that's where your 'royal family' lives?" Dr. Banner guessed.
"Precisely!" Thor nodded, "Loki, my father, my mother, and I all live within the Royal City."
"Thor, what if they enter the Royal City? The question said that the opponent ultimately killed your mother; he did indeed break into the Royal City!"
Captain America asked again in a deep voice.
...
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