Chapter 413: Hunting Tony
While Tony was confident in the suits he built, he wasn't overconfident. Facing battle-hardened agents required caution to avoid any unforeseen accidents.
"All components have been retrieved from the lab and are ready for deployment," JARVIS said with clinical precision.
"Then let's begin." Tony came to a halt and rubbed his left arm. It was an old injury he had sustained, one that hadn't fully healed to this day.
Swish!
A seam opened in the sleek, high-tech silver-white wall, and a red-and-silver suit flew toward Tony, piece by piece.
Click!
The iron mask snapped shut, revealing eyes that glowed with a steady light.
"Agents are arriving on site. Do you wish to take a flight path?" JARVIS asked.
"No." Now that he was in the suit, Tony felt truly confident. He could fly out directly, but he chose not to. If the agents wanted to be forceful, he would show them exactly what his new armor could do.
Simultaneously, a group of agents arrived, their red laser sights converging on Tony's chest.
"Freeze, Stark, or we will open fire!" Now that Tony was suited up, all weapons had been switched to live ammunition.
"Open fire? You're welcome to try." Tony spread his arms wide, completely unfazed by the warning.
"Dammit!" the lead agent shouted, signaling with his hand.
In that instant, every agent pulled their trigger.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!!!
Tongues of flame spat from the muzzles. Countless bullets slammed into Tony's chest, only to be deflected harmlessly by the armor.
"You guys should ask the One-Eyed Pirate for an equipment upgrade," Tony said calmly, raising his right arm. A small missile rose from his wrist, locking onto the squad of firing agents.
Shua!
The moment he locked on, Tony fired. The missile streaked toward the agents, trailing a thin line of white smoke.
"Scatter!"
The agents stopped firing and dove for cover.
Boom!
The missile detonated, but it turned out to be nothing more than a smoke bomb. Thick white smoke billowed at the stairwell, completely obscuring their vision. They were Fury's men, after all; Tony had no intention of killing them. A distraction was enough.
With that done, Tony looked up and flew out of the Avengers Base, vanishing into the horizon.
On a floor above, Nick Fury watched the scene in silence. From current appearances, the possibility that the Scepter was in Stark's hands was high. Yet, deep down, Fury didn't believe it. Stark had no reason to lie about such a thing. If Tony hadn't hidden that specific sentence, he wouldn't be a suspect—but his secrecy had made him one.
"Stark, what are you playing at..." Fury narrowed his eyes, his sharp right eye trying to pierce through the mystery.
In the Sky
"Sir, Ms. Potts is waiting for you on the roof of the tower," JARVIS informed him.
"Got it." Tony was about to accelerate when JARVIS issued another alert.
"Four Quinjets are approaching."
The Quinjet was the primary strike craft of S.H.I.E.L.D., with a unique design that no one had successfully replicated. During the Civil War, Steve Rogers had tried to take one, but Silas had stolen it. Luckily, a replacement had been sent, or Steve might never have made it off that tarmac. Even if the Avengers went easy on him, the military wouldn't have.
"I don't have time to play games with them, JARVIS," Tony said without looking back, leaving the jets to his AI.
"Understood, Sir."
Avengers Base
Just as Fury was about to turn away, he heard a sound and looked up.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Over a dozen red armor components launched from the base, streaking toward the direction Tony had flown.
"And you call this an Avengers Base?" Fury muttered to Maria Hill beside him. Hill looked down, remaining silent. From the look of things, this wasn't a base—it was Stark's personal playground.
High Altitude
"Target locked. Permission to engage with interceptor missiles?" a pilot asked, the red crosshair on his screen centered on Iron Man.
"Wait! Watch your back!" Hill's voice crackled over the pilot's comms.
"Back?" The pilot frowned, but suddenly his radar pinged with dozens of red dots.
Clang! Bang! Clack!
Heavy metallic collisions echoed against the jet's hull. Before the pilot could react, the aircraft tilted at a miraculous angle.
"Hell!" The pilot didn't hesitate; he grabbed his parachute, opened the hatch, and bailed. Once outside, he was shocked to see his teammates had all jumped as well. Their Quinjets were being physically pushed off-course by what looked like autonomous mechanical arms.
"Sir, the Quinjets have been intercepted," JARVIS reported.
"Nice work, JARVIS." Tony's thrusters roared to life, and he vanished in a flash.
Stark Industries
"Tony!" Pepper stood on the rooftop, waiting anxiously. A red blur appeared in the distance, and as it drew closer, she recognized him.
Thump!
Tony landed on one knee before slowly standing up. The armor disassembled itself.
"Pepper." Tony walked toward her, momentarily lost for words.
"I believe you." Pepper didn't need a long explanation. She hugged him tight.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Tony said, patting her back, assuming she was just nervous.
"What are you going to do next?" Pepper asked, looking into his eyes. While he was wanted by S.H.I.E.L.D., the government hadn't moved against him yet. He still held the lifeblood of the world's new energy, and the government didn't want to get involved in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal messes.
"I'm not trying to prove anything. The One-Eyed Pirate knows my stance." Tony wasn't the type to go on a quest for truth just because he felt wronged. As long as Pepper believed him, he didn't care about the others.
"But... you need to find something to prove your innocence," Pepper worried. During the Civil War, Tony had suffered a fracture in his left arm. Steve and his group had been brutal, targeting the arm repeatedly—though they didn't know it was already injured. Tony always bore his burdens in silence; if Pepper hadn't caught him in the lab once, she never would have known.
"Trust me, it's fine." Tony instinctively hid his left hand behind his back; it was starting to ache again.
"No. I'm returning the role of CEO to you right now. S.H.I.E.L.D. won't dare touch you then," Pepper said hurriedly. That title was a shield; no agency wanted to mess with a massive corporate conglomerate.
"No, Pepper, I told you—don't be so tense." Tony had only come to check on her.
Pepper shook her head. The only thing she hated about Tony was how he refused to share his struggles. "Fine, have it your way. But Stark Industries is about to be renamed 'Potts Industries' at this rate."
"Aha, even better. I get to be a trophy husband," Tony joked.
"Sir, Rhodey has sent an urgent email," JARVIS interrupted.
Tony looked at Pepper. "I have to go."
"Go ahead. Since you became a silent partner, I hardly see you anyway," Pepper joked. Tony stepped back into the suit as it folded around him.
"Tony, what's going on on your end?!" Rhodey's voice came through the comms.
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