Malibu Beach, deep in the night.
A black sedan with military plates sped forward like an arrow shot from a bow, braking hard in front of the Stark mansion with a harsh screech of tires against the pavement.
Colonel James Rhodes threw the car door open, rushing toward the entrance wrapped in the chill of the night.
His face was thunderous, his brow furrowed with deep, inescapable worry.
The sheer finality in Tony’s voice during that phone call had pierced his heart like a poisoned thorn.
It hadn’t been a plea for a friend’s help; it was a clean, final settling of affairs.
He knew Tony Stark too well.
The closer that man was to a desperate end, the more frivolous and wild he acted on the surface.
When he discarded even that layer of disguise, it meant things had deteriorated beyond anyone’s control.
To protect Pepper?
No, that was just Tony making sure he had no distractions so he could rush toward death with a peace of mind.
Rhodes knew very well that the true eye of the storm could only be right here with Tony.
“Sir, Mr.
Stark is currently in the subterranean workshop.
He has given orders that no one is to disturb him,” Jarvis’s cold electronic voice broadcasted from the wall speakers, devoid of any emotion.
Rhodes ignored it, using his own clearance to override the security lock and opening the corridor leading down to the workshop.
A piercing alarm instantly echoed wildly through the hallway, red warning lights flashing alternately, but Rhodes did not care in the slightest.
When the heavy alloy doors slid open to both sides, a gust of hot air mixed with the scent of scorched metal and ozone rushed out to meet him.
Massive robotic arms were dancing rapidly around Tony, welding torches spitting blinding white light as they crudely welded thick, temporarily added armor plates onto the red-and-gold Mark III Armor.
Unlike its previous sleek and gorgeous contour, the Mark III at this moment looked bulky and ferocious, radiating a pragmatic style that spared no expense for real combat.
Tony stood before the workbench, completely focused, watching the robotic arms mount an extremely bizarre attachment onto the armor’s right arm.
It was a ruggedly styled, one-handed warhammer made entirely of a dark gray tungsten-steel alloy.
Its head was massive, filled with an unreasonable aesthetic of pure violence.
He was adding the most primitive close-combat option to his armor and manually modifying the arm’s mechanical targeting system.
Tony did not know any fighting techniques, but this suit of armor could grant him unparalleled strength.
He knew very well that when facing the [Probability Mist], which could interfere with precise electronic targeting, all fancy lock-on systems would turn into useless scrap metal.
In the end, the only thing he could rely on was raw, primitive strength.
As long as it hit, one swing of this hammer would turn whatever it was into a pile of scrap.
He did not dare gamble on whether Obadiah had discovered the true effects of the [Whispering Leech Ashes].
If the man had actually used that stuff on the Iron Monger, then all of Tony’s long-range attacks would have a hit rate hovering around zero.
“I hope…
I won’t have to use this thing,” Tony muttered to himself, looking at the ferocious warhammer.
“Tony!”
Rhodes’s roar interrupted his thoughts.
Tony snapped his head around.
“What are you doing here?” he roared.
“Didn’t I tell you to go protect Pepper?!”
“Protect Pepper?
And leave you here to die alone?” Rhodes was also furious, marching right up to him and pointing at the combat-modified Mark III.
“What the hell are you trying to do?
What did that phone call mean?
Were you giving me your last words?!”
“My business is none of your concern!” Tony’s anger almost boiled over.
Within this rage lay a deeper frustration at his own powerlessness and an extreme fear for Pepper’s safety.
“You should be by Pepper’s side right now, not wasting time here with me!”
“I…”
Rhodes choked on his words, his tone softening.
He knew Tony was just scared.
“Listen, Tony, whatever it is you’re facing, we do it together.”
Tony stared at Rhodes, the fury in his eyes slowly dying out, replaced by a profound exhaustion.
He shook his head, grabbed his phone from the table, and immediately dialed Pepper’s number.
No matter what, he had to confirm Pepper’s safety first.
The phone rang a few times before connecting.
“Tony?” Pepper’s slightly surprised voice came from the other end.
“Pepper, where are you right now?
Are you safe?” Tony’s words rushed out like a machine gun.
“I’m…
I’m at the company.
I’m safe.” Pepper’s voice sounded a bit strange.
She paused, then added, “Consultant Hall had me stay in the Arc Reactor chamber.
He said I can help you from here.”
Leon Hall?
Pepper was with him?
Hearing this name, Tony’s racing heart inexplicably settled halfway, but the thought flashed by in an instant.
He let out a sigh of relief, just about to say something else.
“Ah—!”
Immediately after came the loud crash of shattering glass and the panicked screams of a crowd!
“Pepper?
Pepper!” Tony’s heart was instantly squeezed by an invisible hand.
He roared frantically into the phone.
“Tony, a giant robot just flew to Stark Tower!
What is that—” the voice on the other end cried.
“Jarvis!”
Almost at the exact same moment, every screen in the subterranean workshop automatically switched to the exterior surveillance feed from the penthouse of Stark Tower.
Beneath the night sky, a massive, grotesque steel giant landed on the roof of Stark Tower like a demon.
That hulking, burly silhouette was none other than the Iron Monger, which Obadiah had hidden in the shadows!
He ripped away the communication antenna on the roof with one hand, then threw his head back and let out a deafening roar.
His venomous voice broadcasted across the skies of Manhattan through his amplification system.
“Tony Stark!”
“I dedicated my entire life to Stark Industries!
Yet you, just like your father, enjoy everything with a clear conscience!”
“You could have stayed a quiet genius, a comfortable inventor!”
“You brought this on yourself!
Tonight, I will bury you right here with your own inventions, with your own creations!”
Tony stared dead at the massive silhouette on the screen, the Arc Reactor in his chest flaring with a brilliant blue light.
The shock and fear in his eyes rapidly condensed into a cold, murderous intent.
Without a second thought, he turned and roared at Rhodes, “Make the call!
Mobilize everyone you can to go to Stark Tower and protect Pepper!
Hurry!”
“Pepper, stay right where you are.
Rhodes is sending people now!” Tony finished, hanging up the phone.
He strode toward the assembly gantry of the Mark III.
“Jarvis, initiate emergency donning protocol!”
The surrounding robotic arms responded instantly, plates of red-and-gold armor snapping shut with cold, metallic clangs.
“Good luck, sir.”
*Clack!*
The faceplate slammed down, and streams of ghostly blue data lit up across his retinas, shutting out all emotion.
In the next second, the glass dome of the mansion shattered outward.
A streak of red and gold soared into the sky, tearing through the air as its thrusters painted an angry trail across the night sky, hurtling toward the Stark Tower where the storm had already descended.
The grand battle was on the verge of breaking out.