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Black Sky Units 16, 18, 22
Rhodey: "I knew it. The moment a guy gets a girlfriend, he forgets his bros."
A full set of Adamantium alloy armor.
He didn't even dare to imagine how much that cost!
A single gram of Adamantium was worth tens of thousands of dollars.
This suit? At least 200 kilograms!
That's a minimum of two billion dollars.
And probably even more!
It could withstand a nuclear explosion!
Gulp~!
A bitter tear slid down the corner of his mouth.
At this moment, he stopped worrying about Pepper.
Instead, he started worrying about himself.
If you really think about it... he's the weakest one here.
Tony's suit had gone through dozens of upgrades.
Pepper now had Adamantium armor.
And him? He was still rocking a modified Mark II.
Wait... hold on!
Rhodey pointed at the guy next to him—John Wick.
"And what about him?"
Pepper was Tony's girlfriend.
It made sense for her to have armor.
But what was the deal with this random dude?
No way... Did Tony dump him as his bro and pick a new one?!
Tony: "He's a Lizard Serum Soldier."
Since John was on their side, Tony figured Rhodey should at least know what he was dealing with.
Tony nodded toward John Wick.
John returned the nod—and transformed instantly.
A massive six-meter-long, 3.5-meter-tall lizard appeared right in front of them.
With a single swipe, he slashed at a metal table beside him.
Schrrrip~!
A three-centimeter-thick alloy steel plate.
Now? Five giant claw marks.
That hulking body, those thick limbs, those razor-sharp claws...
Rhodey broke into a cold sweat.
This... this thing could probably tear through his War Machine suit!
He tapped on his own armor.
Clang, clang, clang~!
Alright, his suit's still tough.
But damn, John was big, hard, and ridiculously strong!
So after all this... he really was the weakest one here?!
Rhodey's eye twitched.
His gaze unconsciously drifted downward—
To the big lizard's crotch.
Smooth.
Completely smooth.
Rhodey gulped and thought to himself:
I'm not jealous. Nope. Not jealous at all!
They all traded their junk for power—I have nothing to be jealous of!
Tony, seeing that Rhodey had no more questions, moved on to business.
"Next, I'll have JARVIS monitor everything in real time."
"All suits will be deployed around the perimeter, ready to engage the enemy at any moment."
Rhodey raised a hand. "Quick question—how many suits do you have?"
Tony, without looking up: "Forty-two."
Rhodey: "..."
Tony continued, "At the same time, I'll start tracking Killian's location."
"I'm not gonna sit around waiting for him—we'll strike first if he doesn't come to us!"
"Oh, and John, if you wanna change back, go to the next room first."
He definitely didn't want Pepper seeing another naked guy.
Meanwhile, at S.H.I.E.L.D.
Nick Fury stared at the news broadcast with a dark expression.
This was outrageous.
Absolutely outrageous!
Tony declared war on a terrorist organization—without even giving him a heads-up?!
And Aldrich Killian?
He's the Mandarin?!
The name sounded familiar, but Fury couldn't quite place it.
Not that it mattered.
What did matter was that Tony had intel but didn't share it with him.
What the hell did Tony think he was? A decorative figurehead?
Unacceptable!
S.H.I.E.L.D. could not just sit this one out.
Fury grabbed his communicator.
"Hello, Professor Charles."
"Hello, Director Fury."
On the other end, Charles Xavier's calm voice replied.
Fury: "Professor, I'm sure you've seen the news."
"I'd like to request your assistance."
But...
Charles: "Apologies, Director Fury."
"The X-Men are occupied with another mission."
"We've detected suspicious movements from Magneto's Brotherhood."
Fury took a deep breath.
The call disconnected.
He swore, After this mission, I'm expanding the Avengers Initiative.
Fury dialed another number.
"Coulson, get to my office. Now."
Moments later, Phil Coulson walked in.
"Boss."
Fury didn't waste time. "Who's available from the Avengers?"
After all, when superhumans fought, sending in regular soldiers was just a waste of lives.
Coulson shook his head.
"Cap and Barton are still on a mission."
"Dr. Banner is... training."
"Only Natasha is available."
Fury took another deep breath.
Once again, it was clear—the Avengers were too small.
Too few in numbers.
Leaning forward, he placed both hands on the desk, frowning in thought.
"Contact General Ross. S.H.I.E.L.D. is deploying Abomination."
"If he refuses, apply pressure—I don't care how."
"I need Abomination in Malibu within ten hours!"
Coulson's expression turned serious. "Understood, boss!"
Fury's single eye glinted.
This was the perfect chance to recruit Ron Stark and Spider-Woman Gwen Stacy.
And if he could keep Abomination under his control...
The Avengers' combat power would skyrocket.
No more waiting on others.
S.H.I.E.L.D. would finally become Earth's greatest force for justice!
"....."