"Throw the briefcase!"
Tony, who had just crawled out from under the car, shouted at the terrified Pepper...
Watching the black-clad figure effortlessly slaughter his elite bodyguards like chickens sent a chill down his spine.
As if suddenly awakened, the secretary bent down and reached into the overturned vehicle, her hands trembling as she pulled out the red briefcase wedged between the driver's seat. With all her strength, she hurled it toward Tony's feet.
The black figure, having finished off the bodyguards, stepped over the wreckage. His eyes were cold, his face concealed by a black mask, and his tallic arm glinted ominously.
Upon receiving the order to kill Stark, he acted like a machine executing a command, imdiately locking onto his target, who was now stepping onto the red briefcase. But before he could strike, the situation changed abruptly.
The briefcase unfolded like a precision machine, its internal chanisms activating instantly. Tony grabbed the chanical arms that sprang out and yanked them upward. The arc reactor in his chest flared to life, pumping out imnse energy as countless components and armor plates rapidly assembled around his body.
Bullets ricocheted off the armor's surface, sparks flying. The emotionless man raised a submachine gun and opened fire at the now-armored Iron Man.
Now clad in his portable suit, Tony showed no fear. He kicked aside the overturned car, raised his chanical arm, and fired a repulsor blast, only for his opponent to dodge with agile movents.
With eerie calm, the black figure lunged forward like a pouncing panther, delivering a devastating punch to the helt before twisting his body and slamming a brutal elbow into the chest reactor.
Sparks erupted as Tony staggered.
This portable armor (Mark V) was designed for ergencies. Foldable into a briefcase for easy transport, it sacrificed durability for convenience.
With only a single-layer design and minimal weaponry beyond palm repulsors, its offensive and defensive capabilities were limited. Worse, its energy supply was strained.
Shaking his dazed head, Tony quickly activated J.A.R.V.I.S.'s AI system, blocking several more heavy blows before seizing the attacker's shoulder and slamming him to the ground!
The black figure rolled aside, narrowly avoiding a crushing kick from the armored boot, then sprang up and charged again.
This ti however, with the assistance of J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony gained the upper hand, pumling his opponent until the man crashed into a concrete bridge pillar.
*Booom!*
With a thunderous explosion, a repulsor blast shattered the pillar, but the assailant had already flipped over the railing and vanished.
"Damn it!" Tony cursed under his breath before rushing to comfort the shaken Pepper.
As for the chaotic aftermath? Soone else could clean that up.
....
Through the omnipresent surveillance of the Red Queen, Sean learned of Tony's attack imdiately...
He hadn't expected the energy conglorates to act so swiftly and brutally... resorting to assassination like cornered beasts baring their claws.
"An overreaction," Sean mused in Umbrella's lounge. Thankfully, Tony had his portable suit. Otherwise...
The cold-blooded killer from the footage (with his powerful tal arm and machine-like precision) was unmistakably the Winter Soldier. Who would've thought those corporations had ties to HYDRA, even deploying their ultimate weapon?
Captain Arica had only just awoken, yet his old comrade had already beco a killing machine on the enemy's side.
In the original tiline, this man (Jas "Bucky" Barnes) had been Steve Rogers' closest friend, the only Howling Commando to die in service. After falling from a train, HYDRA recovered him, grafting on a tal arm and brainwashing him into a mindless assassin.
Had events proceeded unchanged, this man would later trigger an Avengers civil war, fracturing Captain Arica and Iron Man's friendship. But thanks to a ti-traveling butterfly's wings, that future might never co to pass.
"Stark Industries isn't having an easy ti," Sean remarked with a faint smile.
The energy giants clearly felt threatened. Tony's "new energy era" didn't just challenge individual interests, it threatened an entire entrenched system.
Beyond oil magnates, it would destabilize chemical, transportation, and countless linked industries. This was precisely why Sean had targeted the mid-to-low-end consur market first.
Challenging the energy sector head-on invited vicious retaliation... Tony's assassination attempt proved that. More attacks would surely follow.
If even Stark Industries faced such heat, Umbrella charging in blindly would fare far worse.
But this wasn't Sean's concern. While Stark Industrial pushed flashy new energy, Umbrella (through Oscorp's smart grid projects) had quietly introduced Dr. Octavius' solar technology to the mass market.
Compared to Tony's disruptive approach, Sean's gradual conquest of the low-end sector was far wiser. Currently, Umbrella faced minimal resistance, with its affordable and efficient solar products warmly received.
Not that Tony was reckless... given Stark Industries' resources, any energy market entry would provoke backlash. Rather than clawing up from the bottom, he chose to strike directly at the summit. Umbrella, lacking comparable scale, benefited from having a bigger target drawing fire.
Sean's strategy? Silently feasting at the table, avoiding notice until strong enough to claim more, and eventually, the throne itself.
"Things are getting interesting."
Shifting focus from corporate battles, Sean turned his attention to his new neighbor. A smirk played on his lips.
So Nick Fury had chosen this form of surveillance? A spy ga between a fem fatale and a supervillain? Now that was an entertaining way to kill ti...
User Comments
0 comments from readers