[Marvel : Spoiling Spider-man] Chapter 341 - 345

Chapter 341: Air Force One

[At the airport, President Ellis was about to board the plane, with a row of officers on both sides saluting him.]

[Eric Savin, disguised as Rhodes, descended from the sky, landed in front of everyone, and walked towards Ellis.]

[Ellis smiled when he saw the Iron Patriot arrive and saluted him, saying, "Colonel Rhodes, it's great that you could come! I feel much safer now!"]

[Eric Savin returned the salute, and then the two of them boarded the plane one after the other.]

[Meanwhile, the real Rhodes was driving a speedboat while looking back at Tony and said, "We have to make a decision. We can only save one—either the President or Pepper! We can't save both at the same time!"]

[Tony was about to answer when Jarvis' voice rang out: "Sir! There are new developments in Malibu! The crane has finally arrived at the scene and is clearing the basement entrance!"]

["What is the current status of my armor?"]

["The energy has been charged to 92%!"]

[Tony pulled out the charging wires after hearing this: "We'll have to make do with that!"]

"Oh! My God! Didn't anyone notice?" Aunt May II exclaimed while washing fruits in the kitchen. Seeing this scene, she subconsciously covered her mouth, unable to believe that Eric Savin had boarded Air Force One so easily.

"They probably never thought that someone other than Rhodes could be inside the Iron Patriot armor!" 2nd Gen Spider-Man sighed slightly.

"This is really a dilemma! On one side is the president, and on the other side is the woman he loves!" Uncle Ben lamented, wondering what Tony should choose.

"Gwen, have some fruit!" Aunt May placed a bowl of fruit in front of Gwen.

"Thank you!" Gwen replied as she picked up a grape and began eating it.

Ellis narrowed his eyes as he watched this scene, then instructed the staff beside him: "Everyone must verify their identity first in the future. I don't want something like this to happen again! Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" The staff member immediately nodded and responded.

[On Air Force One, Eric Savin saw the clock had reached 5 o'clock and began to prepare for action.]

[The two crew members on the plane didn't know he wasn't Rhodes. A bald black man saw him coming and said excitedly: "Oh! He's coming! He's coming! Take a photo with me!"]

[Another person wearing a Santa hat agreed enthusiastically: "No problem!"]

[He took the other person's phone and prepared to take a photo of him with the Iron Patriot, but was unexpectedly shoved into a nearby room.]

[Eric Savin then closed the door, removed part of his armor, revealed his glowing palm, and melted the door handle directly.]

[Then he came to another room where people were working. When they saw Iron Patriot approaching, they greeted him, "Everything is all clear, Colonel!"]

[Little did they know that Eric Savin was scanning and targeting them from behind his faceplate. After locking onto them, he picked up a small Statue of Liberty replica nearby and hurled it into one of their chests.]

[Seeing this, the agents immediately pulled out their pistols and fired at him, but the bullets had no effect on the armor made of gold-titanium alloy.]

[Eric Savin walked up to the two agents and fought them hand-to-hand, knocking them to the ground. One of the agents shot at him, but the bullet hit his armor and ricocheted off the glass, creating a hole in the window.]

[Documents inside immediately started flying around chaotically, and Eric Savin fired a quick repulsor blast with a backhand motion, knocking the agent away and causing him to get stuck in a cabinet. Then he couldn't help but admire the armor—it was truly amazing.]

[An agent tried to rush out, but Savin elbowed him in the stomach, grabbed him, slammed him against the ceiling, and then threw him onto the table.]

[He then pulled out a pistol from his waist and pointed it at the two agents outside the door, killing them one by one. The agent stuck in the cabinet tried to resist, but Savin also shot him in the head.]

[Ellis and another staff member hid under the table. The next second, the table was shattered by Savin's punch, and the staff member was thrown across the room, leaving Ellis alone there.]

[Ellis spotted a pistol in front of him and immediately crawled over to pick it up, but before he could shoot, his wrist was grabbed by Eric Savin, who clutched his neck and slammed him against the wall, causing the pistol he had just grabbed to fall to the ground.]

[Eric Savin opened his faceplate and looked at Ellis with a sinister smile: "What an honor! Mr. President!"]

[Ellis looked at him defiantly and said, "If you're going to do it, then do it!"]

["Don't be anxious, sir! This is not the Mandarin's style!" Eric Savin said with a wink.]

[At the same time, staff on the ground also discovered something was wrong: "Sir! Air Force One is in critical condition! There was a shooting inside and the temperature rose sharply!"]

[An officer came over immediately: "Quickly bring up the footage!"]

[As the staff operated the equipment, an image quickly appeared on the display screen. A figure flew away from Air Force One. After scanning, it was confirmed to be the Iron Patriot!]

["Is that Rhodes?" The officer asked, confused.]

"Has the assassination been successful? He has left Air Force One!" 1st Gen Spider-Man narrowed his eyes. Ellis's fate was unknown now, which was deeply concerning.

"Well, this means Killian's plan is already half successful!" Gwen understood what it would mean if Ellis had been killed.

"It's really abominable that anyone can come and go on Air Force One like that!" Uncle Ben exclaimed angrily. He wondered what the taxpayers paid so much in taxes for every year!

Aunt May sighed, "They always do this, don't they?"

The observers had mixed reactions—some believing that Eric Savin had succeeded and left Air Force One after killing Ellis. Some were angry, while others were jubilant.

Tony, knowing that Ellis would be fine after implementing enhanced security measures, didn't particularly care whether Ellis was dead or alive on the screen.

He was holding a glass of wine while listening to Maya explaining the details of the Extremis virus to him and Banner. Both scientists were confident they could help Maya stabilize the Extremis virus. After all, Banner had worked with Tony for nearly a year, and they admired each other's scientific expertise.

Maya was also impressed because as soon as she finished explaining certain aspects, Banner was able to add valuable insights, and Tony was able to suggest research directions she had never considered.

She believed that with the participation of these two brilliant minds, she would be able to perfect the Extremis virus and solve the overheating problem.

The only trouble was that both Tony and Banner were extremely busy and didn't have much time to dedicate to the project. They could only make some suggestions, leaving Maya to complete the details herself.

After all, they hadn't even participated much in Dr. Erik Selvig's research on the Tesseract.

Chapter 342: Monkey Games

[On Air Force One, Eric Savin had not left yet. He was holding a time bomb remote control in his hand and preparing to leave with a parachute strapped to his back.]

[Just when he thought everything was going according to plan, the two people he had locked in a room earlier unexpectedly cheered. He sensed something was wrong and immediately looked out the window.]

[The next second, an iron arm pierced through the adjacent glass, and then a repulsor blast shot Eric Savin directly backward. He fell to the ground and immediately got up, but couldn't find any trace of his attacker.]

[He subconsciously stepped backward, but Mark 42 unexpectedly appeared from behind him, slammed him hard against the wall, and threatened him with a glowing repulsor:]

["Where's the president?! Tell me now!!!"]

[Eric Savin curled his lips and said calmly: "He's not here!" His arm suddenly turned glowing red-hot and he grabbed Mark 42's arm.]

[Affected by the intense heat, the operation of Mark 42 was slightly compromised. Eric Savin looked at him coldly: "Go enjoy the jet!"]

["Speaking of air currents! Let's go fishing!" He picked up the remote control and pressed it. The door of Air Force One was immediately blown open, and the people inside were sucked out by the violent decompression.]

[Tony hit him with his elbow, but was caught by Savin's other hand. However, Tony had already learned from Rhodes about how he was attacked, and the Mark 42 was far more advanced than Rhodes' Iron Patriot.]

[Therefore, although Mark 42 was affected to some extent, he was still able to channel energy into the arc reactor in his chest. As he broke free from Eric Savin's grip, a powerful unibeam blast pierced straight through Savin's chest.]

[Eric Savin looked at Tony in disbelief, coughed, and slowly collapsed to the ground.]

["Can this wound heal? You son of a bitch!" After dealing with Eric Savin, Tony immediately rushed to rescue the people being sucked out of the cabin.]

The second generation Dr. Connors narrowed his eyes and looked at Eric Savin, who was unable to heal himself after his chest was pierced. He realized that the regenerative ability of the Extremis virus also had its limits.

If the heart was pierced, the Extremis virus wouldn't be able to heal the wound, nor would it cause overheating and explosion!

This was a crucial weakness when dealing with Extremis soldiers, though he didn't know that Tony and others had already confronted Killian.

Tony looked at the footage of the dead Eric Savin and smiled, "I discovered that day that a broken heart cannot be restored, which is why we were able to win so easily later."

"Yeah! The self-destruction of those Extremis soldiers is too powerful. It's simply a nightmare for anyone without protection!" Rhodes had to admit.

If Tony hadn't used the unibeam to pierce a soldier and discovered that he didn't self-destruct, they wouldn't have known about this vulnerability. If they had allowed the enemy to self-destruct, their casualties would undoubtedly have been much greater.

Many of the soldiers in Crossbones' team had been badly burned by such explosions.

[At this moment, passengers were screaming in terror as more and more people were sucked out of the plane by the rushing wind. Tony suddenly broke through the hatch and rushed inside.]

[But by this time, everyone had already been pulled out of the cabin, and Tony immediately directed the Mark 42 to pursue them.]

["How many people are down there?"]

[Jarvis finished scanning instantly and replied: "13, Sir!"]

["How many can I carry at a time?"]

["Four, Sir!"]

[Tony frowned, but quickly devised a new strategy.]

[The group was falling faster and faster through the air, and Tony accelerated to catch up with them, grabbing one of the women.]

["Slow down, slow down! Relax! What's your name?" Then he spotted the name tag on her chest and called out: "Heather!"]

[Not long after Tony began the rescue operation, Air Force One exploded and disintegrated in the air.]

["Listen to me, do you see that guy? I'm going to fly over to him and you need to catch him! Do you understand?"]

["What?" Heather was stunned for a moment, but before she could fully process what was happening, Tony accelerated and caught up with another falling passenger.]

"I'll electrify your arm so you can't let go! You can do it, Heather!"

[Heather reached out to grab the man's leg, but failed to do so due to nervousness. Tony immediately accelerated and chased after him again, and this time she successfully grabbed his leg.]

[Tony smiled and said, "Simple, right? There are still 11 more!"]

[He continued to fly towards the others, "Remember that game called Barrel of Monkeys? Let's play it like that!"]

["Altitude 18,000 feet!" Jarvis began to announce the altitude.]

["Come on! Everyone hold on to your monkeys!"]

[The group gradually linked up with each other, forming a human chain, but their altitude had dropped to 10,000 feet.]

["Six thousand feet!"]

[As the altitude decreased rapidly, Tony couldn't help but start shouting: "Come on! Come on, everyone! Come on! Come on!"]

["One thousand feet! Four hundred feet! Two hundred feet!"]

[Tony finally caught up with the last person and shouted: "It's a big monkey, catch him! Hello!"]

[After completing the chain, Tony immediately accelerated and pulled upward. The last man nearly hit a small boat below, but fortunately they avoided collision at the last second.]

[Finally, Tony lowered the altitude carefully and deposited everyone safely into the water. He scanned and confirmed that all 13 people had been rescued. The survivors cheered for the Mark 42.]

["Well done! Great job, everyone cooperated perfectly! Jarvis, we're only half done! We still have to find Pepper!" Tony said, controlling the Mark 42 to turn around and fly away.]

[At that moment, a truck suddenly appeared on a nearby road and honked its horn. The Mark 42 flew directly into its path and was struck head-on, with armor pieces scattering across the ground.]

"Oh! My God! He did it! Oh my God! He really did it!"

"Iron Man! I love you!!!"

"Great! MAN!"

"Yeah! Another incredible feat by Tony Stark!"

Tony, watching the broadcast, held his wine glass and after seeing that he had successfully saved everyone, he couldn't help but take a celebratory sip.

"I told you I could do it!" Tony smiled proudly. His successful mid-air rescue displayed on the screen clearly filled him with pride, and his voice grew noticeably louder.

But the very next second, when he saw his Mark 42 being smashed to pieces by a truck, his smile instantly disappeared, leaving him standing there in embarrassment.

He had just finished boasting about himself when reality delivered an immediate slap to the face. It was too fast and too unexpected!

Rhodes couldn't help laughing, "Tony, what happened there?"

"Damn, where did that truck come from?!" Tony complained angrily, glaring at the truck in the paused footage that Jarvis was replaying.

Chapter 343: Roxxon

[Tony closed his eyes and exhaled, saying, "Where did that come from?"]

[Then the door behind him opened, revealing Tony controlling the Mark 42 remotely through a virtual projection, while Rhodes stood on the speedboat and asked, "Tell me some good news!"]

[Hearing this, Tony replied calmly: "I saved everyone!"]

["Oh! Thank God!" Rhodes couldn't help but feel relieved.]

[But then Tony poured cold water on his enthusiasm: "Yeah! But the president was kidnapped!"]

[Rhodes turned his head and complained: "You couldn't save the president even with your battle suit. How are we going to save Pepper when we have nothing?"]

[Tony opened his mouth and asked Jarvis: "Ah! Jarvis, is it time?"]

["Is this the House Party Protocol, sir?"]

[Tony nodded: "That's right!"]

[Malibu Villa Ruins]

[Several large cranes were working at the site. One crane was lifting the massive stone slab that had collapsed onto the basement entrance. Workers were clearing away the rubble.]

[The next second, the door to the basement opened, and the remaining debris tumbled down. A curious worker walked to the edge to inspect the opening.]

[There was only a faint light visible in the dark chamber below, and then something rushed out from the darkness.]

[The scene changed to Pepper, still strapped to the examination bed. A staff member injected another dose of the Extremis virus into her body.]

[Killian approached and looked down at her. Pepper regained consciousness, and Killian greeted her with a smile.]

[Pepper ignored him and gasped for breath. She had successfully survived the second stage of the Extremis virus.]

[After recovering slightly, Pepper looked at Killian, shook her head and said, "Do you think he will help you? That's impossible!"]

[Killian blinked and moved closer to Pepper: "I captured you not only to provoke Tony Stark! In fact... there is a more embarrassing purpose!" He even laughed awkwardly at his own admission.]

["You are my..."]

[Before he could finish, Pepper took the initiative to complete his sentence: "Trophy."]

[Killian closed his eyes and laughed, then nodded in confirmation.]

[Pepper closed her eyes and turned away, not wanting to look at him.]

[At that moment, a figure descended from above. It was the Iron Patriot armor. Pepper watched with surprise as the suit walked toward them.]

[Killian turned around and looked at the armor, saying, "Good evening, sir!"]

[As soon as he finished speaking, the armor opened automatically, and Ellis fell out, landing on his knees. When Pepper saw him, she couldn't help but gape in disbelief that Killian had captured the President of the United States.]

["Welcome aboard, Mr. President!"]

[As the camera pulled back, a massive cargo ship came into view.]

["Have you heard of an elephant graveyard? Well, two years ago, this barge became the elephant!" Killian led the way, with Ellis following behind, looking in the direction Killian indicated.]

[Ellis quickly recognized the vessel: "This is the Roxxon!"]

[Killian was not surprised that Ellis could identify it: "Of course you remember it! It leaked nearly a million gallons of crude oil near Pensacola! Thanks to you, no rich executives were ever brought to trial!"]

[Ellis asked, "What do you want from me?"]

["Nothing grand, sir!" Killian looked at him with a smirk, "I just needed a good excuse to execute you on television! I've moved on!"]

["I've found a new political backer. He will take over your position by this time tomorrow! Tie him up!" After saying this, his expression hardened and he walked away.]

[The guard behind him grabbed Ellis by the collar and forcibly dragged him away.]

"Oh oh oh! Looks like our Mr. President is going to be in a little trouble!" Scott said lightly while sitting on the sofa in the living room.

Sam chuckled. "Yeah! But it doesn't look too serious. That oil spill incident isn't enough to really threaten him."

"But it's bound to be embarrassing!" Wanda remarked as she walked over and sat down next to them.

"Well! Maybe some corporate executives are going to be in trouble. Now that it has been exposed, the public can no longer turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to it," Pietro added.

Tony squinted as he watched Pepper being injected with the Extremis virus. She seemed to be holding on, which gave him some relief.

[Tony and Rhodes secretly approached the port and successfully boarded the ship after evading the patrols and staff.]

[Rhodes took the lead with Tony following closely behind, and the two hid behind a stack of crates.]

[At this point, Rhodes suddenly asked: "You're not going to go crazy all of a sudden, are you?"]

["I hope not!"]

[The two avoided various guards along the way and moved deeper into the ship. Soon they came to the back of a shipping container. Rhodes peered around the corner to assess the situation. To his horror, he saw Ellis, dressed in the Iron Patriot armor, suspended in mid-air. Below him, armed men were preparing their weapons.]

["Oh! My God!" Rhodes couldn't help but exclaim as he ducked back to Tony's side.]

["He's hanging from an oil tank, and they're going to burn him, man!"]

[Hearing this, Tony immediately understood Killian's plan: "A Viking funeral, public execution!"]

["Yeah! They're going to burn him alive with oil!"]

[The two knew there was no time to lose, so they quickly headed towards Ellis while trying to remain undetected.]

[At that moment, a voice came over a loudspeaker: "The live broadcast is about to begin, everyone take your positions!"]

[Killian was watching from the control room: "Okay! Switch from Camera A to E! Let's rehearse first!" The display screen was divided into four separate feeds. In addition to showing Ellis from various angles, there was also an icon representing the Mandarin.]

[Rhodes moved forward with his gun drawn: "Is your weapon ready?"]

[Hearing this, Tony immediately raised his pistol: "Yeah! What's the plan?"]

["Cover my six, watch your aim, and don't shoot me in the back!"]

["Six o'clock! Aim high! Watch your back! Alright!" Tony repeated while glancing behind them.]

[As they turned a corner, a guard on the roof opened fire on them. Tony immediately returned fire, but his shooting skills were poor and most of his bullets missed. Only one shot hit a nearby searchlight, but it didn't disable it.]

[The two were forced to retreat under the barrage of automatic gunfire, finally finding a safe position to take cover.]

[Tony crouched down and said defensively, "Did you see that? Nailed it!"]

[Rhodes complained: "Yeah, you barely scratched the light bulb!"]

[Tony insisted stubbornly: "I was aiming for the light bulb. You definitely couldn't hit it from this distance!"]

[After hearing this challenge, Rhodes didn't waste any words. He stood up, took careful aim, and shot the searchlight to pieces with a single shot. Then he crouched back down and gave Tony a knowing look without saying a word.]

Chapter 344: House Party Protocol

[Another enemy approached from a distance. Tony ejected the empty magazine, examined it and said, "I'm out of ammunition! Do you have any extra magazines?"]

[Rhodes complained: "They're not universal, Tony!"]

[Tony looked at him unconvinced: "I know what I'm doing. I built this thing! Okay? Give me another one!"]

["I don't have a magazine that fits that gun!" Rhodes explained again.]

["You have five of them! Come on!" But then Tony realized that the calibers were indeed different, so he changed the subject: "How about this, I'll do the reconnaissance. Are you ready?"]

[He immediately stood up and squatted down again in less than half a second. Rhodes looked at him: "What did you see?"]

[Tony said calmly: "It was too fast, I didn't see anything!"]

[Rhodes rolled his eyes helplessly, thinking: How did I end up with such a ridiculous teammate?]

["One more time!" Tony stood up again. This time he saw clearly: "Three men and one woman, all armed!"]

"Hahaha! Tony Stark, the stubborn genius, gets slapped in the face right after finishing his boast!" 2nd Gen Spider-Man couldn't help laughing, and Gwen beside him covered her mouth, looking utterly adorable.

George was also a little confused about Tony: "He doesn't even understand the difference between gun types and their magazines, yet he can build the most powerful weapons in the world!"

"Hahaha! Maybe it's because he never made conventional weapons? He's all about repulsors and missiles, not these ordinary firearms?" 2nd Gen Spider-Man suggested with a wild imagination.

On the other side of the multiverse viewing, Tony's face darkened as he glared at Rhodes. His eyes seemed to say: "Is it really that impressive that you're good at shooting?"

Rhodes looked puzzled and responded with a look that said: "You claimed I couldn't hit the target accurately, so I had to prove you wrong! And you didn't know magazines aren't universal, yet you blame me?"

Banner couldn't help but laugh as he watched the silent exchange between the two. It was truly entertaining to see Rhodes and Tony teasing each other like this!

"Oh! Poor Tony, he's made a fool of himself again!" Hill couldn't bear to watch. She had lost count of how many times Tony had embarrassed himself.

But in a way, this made him more down-to-earth and relatable—a real person who makes mistakes, gets sick, and talks nonsense, instead of the lofty future savior the world often saw him as.

[Three Extremis soldiers jumped down from above. Rhodes and Tony peered out and discovered that a large number of enemies had surrounded them from all sides.]

["Oh my God! I miss my suit so much right now!" Rhodes looked at the approaching enemies with a grim expression.]

["You're right! We need backup!" Tony gazed calmly into the distance.]

[Rhodes agreed: "Yeah! Massive backup!"]

[Tony spotted a small light in the distance and nodded: "You know..."]

[Rhodes followed his line of sight and narrowed his eyes in disbelief: "That... is that?"]

["Yep!"]

["That's all you've got?"]

["Yeah!"]

[A large formation of Iron Man armors flew in from the distance, then began to decelerate in the air and lined up in an impressive array.]

[The identifiable suits included: Mark 33, Silver Centurion! Mark 39, Gemini! Mark 17, Heartbreaker! Mark 40, Shotgun! Mark 35, Red Snapper! And many more...]

[Tony patted Rhodes' shoulder and said with a grin: "Merry Christmas, buddy!"]

[The armors surrounded the Extremis soldiers. Tony commanded: "JARVIS, target all Extremis heat signatures and eliminate them!"]

["Yes, sir!" As the order was issued, the armors began to move in unison. Mark 37 Hammerhead and others immediately began locking onto targets.]

[Tony crossed his arms: "What are you waiting for? It's Christmas!"]

[He then opened his hands, crossed them, and spread them wide: "Send them to hell!"]

[Mark 31 Piston immediately rushed forward, knocked down an Extremis soldier with a single punch, and then landed on a walkway to engage three more soldiers.]

[The Mark 41 Bones also quickly found its targets—several soldiers in a narrow corridor. Jarvis controlled it and announced, "Gentlemen!"]

[As soon as it finished speaking, it disassembled into multiple components and rushed towards the enemies, striking them all down before reassembling into a complete suit.]

[Meanwhile, Mark 31 Piston was being overwhelmed by three soldiers who had torn off its head and one arm. Realizing it was compromised, it grabbed one soldier and flew away.]

[It soared over Tony's head and crashed heavily into the ground, sacrificing itself along with the Extremis soldier!]

[The explosion from the Extremis soldier destroyed a walkway, which broke in the middle and began to collapse. Tony immediately ordered: "Jarvis, have Igor support it!"]

[A hulking engineering armor plowed through obstacles, rushed beneath the collapsing structure, and lifted it up. This was the Mark 38 Igor!]

[Rhodes asked: "You built all these during your free time?"]

[Tony nodded: "Everyone needs a hobby!"]

[The camera panned to the sky above the port, where numerous armors were engaged in battle with the Extremis soldiers. Killian's forces had suffered heavy casualties. While a small number of suits were struggling, most of Tony's armor legion was prevailing.]

[Tony assessed the situation and issued orders: "Heartbreaker! Go assist Red Snapper! Now!"]

[Three soldiers were gripping Red Snapper's limbs tightly. Heartbreaker rushed over and first blasted away the one holding onto its legs.]

[Then it attempted to attack the one on Red Snapper's back, but that soldier, knowing he couldn't just wait for death, leaped toward Heartbreaker instead.]

[One last soldier remained on Red Snapper. He climbed onto its back, grabbed the armor's faceplate, and forcibly tore it off.]

[Red Snapper accelerated and crashed into a shipping container, causing an explosion. The Extremis soldier also self-destructed after sustaining excessive damage, and the massive explosion sent oil barrels inside the container flying in all directions.]

[The room where Pepper was being held was struck by a flaming oil barrel. The powerful impact shattered the front wall, and Pepper was thrown across the room by the shockwave. Killian was also affected and slammed against the opposite wall.]

[The explosion caused widespread damage, and Tony's position became precarious. He immediately summoned the Mark 33 Silver Centurion and suited up: "Just in time!"]

["Oh! Yeah! Let me have one too! Come on?" Rhodes looked at Tony enviously and held out his hands.]

[Tony shook his head and replied: "Sorry! They only respond to my commands!"]

[Rhodes frowned: "What do you mean?"]

["I'll have one of them cover you!" Tony promised as he soared into the sky.]

Chapter 345: Villain's Last Stand

"Hahaha, is this revenge for Rhodes showing off his shooting skills earlier?"

"Classic stingy Tony Stark, taking his revenge immediately!"

"There are so many of them! These battle armors! They all have different functions!"

When everyone saw that Tony didn't offer Rhodes a suit, they could tell he must have done it on purpose because he was still annoyed about Rhodes' sharpshooting display.

Rhodes stared speechlessly at Tony, who was whistling innocently and looking at the ceiling. Tony casually walked to the other side while whistling, deliberately avoiding Rhodes' gaze.

[Rhodes looked confused as Tony flew away, and then Mark 17 Heartbreaker landed beside him and approached.]

["Good evening, Colonel. Can I offer you a lift?" Then it embraced Rhodes.]

[Rhodes complained unhappily: "Very funny!"]

[The Heartbreaker took off with him in its arms, but halfway through the flight, an Extremis soldier leaped up and grabbed onto its legs.]

[Affected by the sudden weight, Heartbreaker lost its balance, and Rhodes couldn't maintain his grip during the spinning and fell onto a corridor below.]

[Before he could stand up, he spotted two Extremis soldiers rushing toward him, but suddenly a massive suit of armor dropped down and blocked their path.]

[This armor was the Mark 25 Striker, with two enormous arms. It raised its powerful limbs and smashed them down, directly collapsing the walkway beneath them.]

[Two Extremis soldiers were thrown outward by the buckling metal, and Striker shot them both with precision repulsor blasts from its left and right gauntlets. Another armor flew overhead and finished them off with twin repulsor beams.]

[At that moment, Jarvis' voice announced: "Sir! I have located Miss Potts!"]

["About time!" Tony said as he flew to the location marked by Jarvis and entered through the gap previously blown open by the oil barrel explosion.]

[He quickly discovered Pepper pinned beneath debris and hurried over to lift the wreckage trapping her.]

[But as soon as he moved it, the structure shifted and more debris threatened to crush Pepper from another angle. She stopped him urgently: "Stop! Put it down! Put it down!"]

[Tony had no choice but to lower it again. He crouched down, looked at her and quipped: "See what happens when you hang out with my ex-girlfriends?"]

[Pepper closed her eyes, both angry and amused. Tony extended his hand toward her. Pepper cursed: "You're such a jerk!"]

["Okay! We can discuss this over dinner! Come on! Give me your hand, baby!" They both reached out, trying to grasp each other's hands.]

[But just as Tony was about to pull her free, a fiery hand suddenly burst through the floor and pressed directly against the Silver Centurion's chest piece, damaging its arc reactor.]

[Tony was thrown to the ground by Killian and temporarily lost power. Killian crawled out from beneath the flooring and glanced at Pepper.]

["Is this guy bothering you?"]

[Pepper closed her eyes in pain and looked away.]

[Killian quickly approached Tony who was lying immobile on the ground. "Don't get any ideas!"]

[He raised his body temperature, extended a glowing finger, and pressed it against the armor. The metal began to glow brighter as it heated up.]

[Killian looked at Tony with a smug smile: "Getting hot in there? Can't move? Like a little turtle about to be roasted in its shell!"]

[Pepper, still trapped beneath the debris, looked on with concern: "Tony!"]

[Tony took a deep breath. Killian glanced at Pepper, then taunted Tony: "She's watching! I think you should close your eyes... close your eyes!"]

[Tony stared coldly at Killian without saying a word. Killian continued to taunt: "Close your eyes, you don't want to see this!"]

[As he prepared to deliver a killing blow, Tony manually activated a hidden mechanism in the armor. A blade suddenly deployed from the forearm, slicing clean through Killian's arm.]

[Killian howled in pain from the severe injury, but the severed limb quickly began to regenerate under the influence of the Extremis virus.]

[Tony said calmly: "Yeah! Take your time, no rush."]

[The intense pain caused Killian to stagger and fall to the ground. His severed arm melted through the floor, creating a hole that Pepper fell through.]

[Killian found himself partially trapped on a moving conveyor belt below, temporarily immobilized.]

"Oh! My God! I was so scared just now! I thought Killian was going to succeed, but Tony Stark still had a trick up his sleeve!" The first-gen Aunt May exclaimed, so caught up in the moment that she momentarily forgot Tony Stark would survive this encounter. She patted her chest, still looking terrified.

The first-gen Uncle Ben reminded her that Tony Stark wouldn't die like this, so she could relax!

Rhodes, watching Killian lose his advantage by talking too much before being outmaneuvered by Tony, couldn't help but comment: "Why do they always talk so much? How many villains have died because they couldn't stop monologuing?"

"Exactly! Next time I get the upper hand, I'm taking action immediately and not wasting time with speeches that give the enemy a chance to recover!" Tony nodded emphatically. He had seen enough examples of villains being defeated because they talked too much, and he wasn't about to make the same mistake!

"Hahaha! Fortunately, Hulk doesn't have this problem!" Banner laughed from across the room.

"The big green guy doesn't stop to reason with you. He either smashes you or sends you flying!" Rhodes joked. Maya, who was organizing documents nearby, couldn't help but laugh when she overheard the conversation.

[Meanwhile, an Extremis soldier hurled a steel pipe at one of the armors. This suit was Mark 39, Gemini.]

[After being struck, Gemini staggered slightly but quickly recovered. It spun behind the enemy and fired a repulsor blast that knocked him backward.]

[When the soldier fell, he crashed into a control panel, breaking several cables. The massive industrial rollers in the distance immediately began to turn.]

[Tony disengaged from his damaged armor, stood up, and ran to check on Pepper, only to discover she was being carried away by the conveyor system.]

[Tony immediately ran outside, but as he rounded a corner, he spotted an Extremis soldier charging at him from behind. Tony quickly vaulted over a nearby railing.]

[The soldier attempted to follow but was intercepted mid-jump by an armor controlled by Jarvis! Tony ignored the confrontation and focused on locating Pepper.]

[Pepper found herself moving toward a dangerous intersection of conveyor belts. If she didn't escape this position quickly, she would be crushed when the two systems converged!]

[Tony ran desperately, shouting as he went: "Jarvis, give me a suit!" Then he leaped over a broken walkway and sprinted toward Pepper.]

[Jarvis immediately directed Mark 22 Hot Rod toward Tony's position. As Tony jumped from the platform, the armor approached him in mid-air...]