Tony Stark froze. A collaboration on the new element reactor?
After reading the file Urd had sent over, he sank deep into thought.
Zod, for his part, couldn't care less what was going through Tony's mind right now—he was busy. Racing was just a bit of daily entertainment for him. Once the fun was over, it was over.
…
James Rhodes, Tony Stark's good friend and the original "War Machine."
Of course, thanks to Zod Heath, War Machines were now flying all over the place, but Rhodes still earned his place as a War Machine pilot through his own efforts.
Anyone who ever became a War Machine pilot, without exception, became utterly obsessed.
It was quite simply the greatest invention and weapon in human history—a mecha that flew through the skies and dove underground, armor that no blade or bullet could pierce, firepower so ferocious…
As an aside, back when Zod Heath first built the War Machine and the U.S. ran its very first propaganda reel of counterterrorism operations using them, among those five War Machines, one was piloted by Rhodes.
Rhodes originally thought that from then on, warfare would revolve entirely around the War Machine, a weapon capable of both air and ground combat.
After all, the fastest fighter jets and missiles in the world couldn't match the War Machine's speed, and the firepower it carried could effortlessly annihilate a fully armed tank armored division.
Then that prediction fell apart, because humanity found itself with a new enemy—Mysterious Beings!
The powerful Mysterious Beings meant that even the War Machine couldn't perform to its fullest potential.
Fortunately, it was at that moment that Zod Heath showed his genius side again, producing the second-generation War Machine: the Iron Overlord.
Compared to the War Machine, the Iron Overlord placed a much heavier emphasis on firepower and close combat, which did make their flight speed only a little faster than an F-22.
They weren't as heavy as an F-22, of course, but their power source far outclassed an F-22's engines, so they were naturally faster.
Rhodes became one of the Iron Overlord pilots, and piloting the Iron Overlord, he racked up a solid kill count against Wolf-level Mysterious Beings.
Then his friend Tony Stark returned and created the Iron Man armor. Only, instead of selling it, he kept it as his own personal, exclusive gear—and because of that, he became an S-Class hero.
After that came the emergence of the third-generation War Machine—the Decepticon.
Compared to the first two generations, the Decepticon was a revolution beyond all imagination.
The Decepticon granted its pilot superhuman strength, capable of lifting over a hundred tons.
It also granted super speed, able to fly at a max velocity of around Mach 10 to 12.
The Decepticon armor could absorb radiation and other forms of energy and discharge them through emitters.
The armor was equipped with a vast array of weaponry, including arc pulse cannons (usually mounted in the palms), capable of countering both physical and energy attacks.
It was also fitted with cluster cannons, sonic weapons, flashbangs, incendiary rounds, grenades, micro-missiles, missiles, miniguns, Gatling guns, 40mm grenade launchers, 7.62mm M134 machine guns, a substantial back-mounted payload of grenades, four heavy shoulder cannons, specialized cannons, magnetic field generators, electromagnetic pulse, lasers, telescopic steel blades, and many other weapons.
Additionally, the Decepticon had a special coating for anti-radar detection and targeting locks, as well as motion sensors and other sensor systems.
The armor also included a life support system with a twenty-hour air supply, capable of operating in low-oxygen, underwater, or even space environments where a sealed suit was required.
"Colonel Rhodes, incoming intel. A Mysterious Being has appeared at the following coordinates."
The pretty young operator assigned to support the Decepticons back at base contacted Rhodes over comms.
"Headed there now."
Rhodes received the coordinates and erupted with terrifying speed—Mach 12. In just a few seconds, he reached the target location.
There he found a giant Mysterious Being, with War Machines, Iron Overlords, and combat personnel already injured.
Rhodes immediately deployed the Decepticon's weapon systems. Ferocious firepower poured out in a torrent.
It was said that the Decepticon employed a micro-space storage technology invented by Zod Heath, allowing it to carry a full three hundred kilograms of ammunition, and reload directly during combat.
That essentially made every single Decepticon a mobile firepower fortress.
The Decepticon's ferocious firepower landed and hammered the Mysterious Being hard—but it couldn't kill it.
"Stand aside, everyone. You've done an excellent job. Now it's the superhero's stage."
Accompanied by an outrageously arrogant BGM, Tony Stark made his entrance.
Only this time, the reactor on his chest was a triangle, and his whole presence radiated something entirely different.
At the same time, his full-body Iron Man armor had turned an obnoxiously flashy silver-white.
Liquid Secondary Kryptonite Symbiotic Armor!
Once he had thought things through and solved his palladium poisoning problem, Tony, as if touched by divine inspiration, developed the symbiotic armor.
And with it, his combat strength took a massive leap!
Because the symbiotic armor could be controlled by pure telepathy, solidifying and assembling in an instant. That was vastly superior and faster than any tech-based joint system. Its upgrade and growth potential was enormous. Its fluid nature meant the suit's material could be replenished at any time. Best of all, with just a little reinforcement, the Hulkbuster could be formed.
"Tony?"
Rhodes stared, stunned, at the silver-white Iron Man armor in front of him. You changed your style?
"Rhodes?"
Tony Stark was also a little surprised to find that one of the Decepticons was Rhodes.
"Zod Heath only put these outdated weapons on the Decepticon?"
Tony ran his mouth, as always.
"You jealous, Tony? Jealous that I've got this much firepower?"
Rhodes wasn't about to take it lying down.
"Jealous?"
Tony scoffed. He wasn't going to waste words on Rhodes. The giant Mysterious Being was about to make a run for it, so he immediately summoned more Liquid Secondary Kryptonite smart metal.
A huge volume of liquid metal flowed over his body, forming the massive Hulkbuster armor!
Of course, here it wasn't called Hulkbuster. It was called the "Giant Killer Armor."
It was specifically designed to deal with enemies of enormous size. As stubborn as Tony could be, the inspiration for this had come, without a doubt, from Zod Heath's Iron Overlord.
The giant Mysterious Being was smashed to the ground by a single punch from Tony. The new element reactor's power output was so much stronger than the old palladium reactor's.
Rhodes was stupefied.
"How about it, Rhodes? You admit defeat now, and I'll gift you a suit."
Tony spoke smugly. As he did, the liquid metal on his hand flowed, formed into a blade, and plunged straight through the giant Mysterious Being's body.
The giant Mysterious Being died on the spot.
Rhodes froze. Gift me a suit?
That made Rhodes's heart stir. After all, Tony had just demonstrated exactly how powerful his suit was. Even if it wasn't the exact same one Tony was wearing right now, Rhodes wouldn't mind that in the slightest.
/-\
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased chapters!
~ +20 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon! (+1 Chapter daily)
https://p-atreon.com/Its_Zack
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access Patreon normally)