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The giant bear still vaguely resembled Happy.
Absolutely. After transforming, his exaggerated physical strength and sheer brutality, combined with teleportation, made him a force to be reckoned with. With enough combat experience, he could even go toe-to-toe with Abomination.
But right now, Happy's eyes were blood-red, his face twisted into a feral snarl.
Clearly, like John Wick, he was being tormented by unbearable pain, his mind not entirely stable.
However, the serum Happy took was custom-made by Ron. To compensate for the intensity, Ron had slightly reduced the dosage to ensure Happy could withstand it.
Even so, his potential was undeniably strong.
Ron's Sharingan flickered into existence, and with an overwhelming surge of mental energy, he instantly trapped Happy in an illusion. The giant stood frozen in place.
Suddenly, Happy's expression changed. He grinned awkwardly, eyes squinting as he rubbed his hands together. His mouth stretched into a wide, perverse smile, drool dripping from the corners of his lips—his entire demeanor was downright creepy.
What the hell?!
Ron hadn't even done anything—he had just triggered the thing that made Happy feel most at ease, letting him sink into it and vent the rage caused by his pain.
But why was he acting so sketchy? What exactly was making him this relaxed?
Ron's eye twitched. He couldn't bear to watch any longer. If he did, he'd have to take Gwen to cleanse her eyes afterward.
Leaving Happy under the watch of the Iron Man suits, Ron grabbed Gwen and teleported away.
One hour later.
Ron righteously dropped Gwen off at home.
"Jarvis, what's going on at the Malibu villa?"
"Sir, Mr. Tony Stark asked me to inform you that everything is normal."
Ron's face darkened. "Tell him he can't stop me from coming back. Otherwise, when he dies, I'm selling Stark Industries—and making Pepper marry Happy!"
"Sir... zzzt... Ron, when you come back, I swear we're having a man-to-man fight! ...zzzt... Everything is normal, but according to Colonel Rhodes, there's a 50% chance Killian has already made his move."
Jarvis's response was laced with static, as if he was dealing with a lot at once.
Ron ignored it. "Got it. I'll be there soon."
Back in the deserted mountains.
Ron found Happy back to his usual self. "Time to head back to Malibu."
Happy's bear-like face lit up with excitement. "I've been waiting for this!"
Just then, Jarvis's urgent voice cut in:
"Sir, the Mark 31 suit has been attacked!"
"Sir, the Mark 31 suit has been destroyed!"
The silence of the villa was instantly shattered.
Tony's head snapped up, eyes filled with shock and confusion, which quickly turned to fury.
"Jarvis, notify Pepper and John Wick!"
Without hesitation, he suited up and blasted out of the villa.
He had over forty Iron Man suits deployed within a ten-kilometer radius, each controlled directly by Jarvis. If an enemy attacked, they'd be facing over forty top-tier AI-powered battle suits.
On top of that, Jarvis was monitoring everything via satellite.
Yet, the enemy had still managed to silently take down one of his suits.
That was a satellite!
Tony understood exactly what that meant.
He shot out of the villa at full speed.
The enemy, realizing they'd been discovered, abandoned stealth.
The sounds of combat erupted from all directions as Iron Man suits engaged the intruders.
At the same time, over the ocean, several black dots appeared in the sky, rapidly closing in.
"Gunships!"
Inside his suit, Tony clenched his teeth as the enhanced visuals zoomed in on the incoming helicopters.
So, the enemy had reinforcements.
First, they blocked the satellite feed, and now they had choppers coming in.
Good thing Ron had warned him. He had prepared in advance—and even sent Ron to New York to keep him out of harm's way.
Even with all of Ron's power, he couldn't possibly tank missiles with his bare body.
What?
An Adamantium suit?
But what if these maniacs decided to drop a nuke?
It wouldn't be the first time something like that happened.
If it weren't for his duty to protect Earth, he would've stormed the White House right after the Battle of New York and taken care of business himself.
But now, fully prepared, Tony made sure the battle would unfold on his turf.
With a burst of energy, he launched himself into the fight.
Piloting the armor, he charged forward.
Meanwhile, inside the villa, Pepper and John Wick rushed out.
"I'll take care of them!" John Wick transformed into a giant lizard and leaped toward the Extremis soldiers battling the Iron Man suits.
Tony glanced at Pepper. "Pepper, handle Chen."
Compared to Killian, the regular Extremis soldiers were clearly less of a threat.
With the two joining the fight, most of the Extremis soldiers turned their focus on them. Their goal was to kill people, not destroy machines—once their enemies were dead, no amount of armor would matter.
But in doing so, they freed up more Iron Man suits.
Following Tony's command, the suits soared into the sky, heading for the helicopters above.
Not far from the villa, Brock Rumlow and his strike team watched the battlefield, completely at a loss.
What the hell?
During the Battle of New York, when aliens invaded, most of them were just cannon fodder—so even Natasha and Hawkeye could take part.
But now? It was an all-out brawl with no weaklings in sight.
Looking around, not a single enemy was "normal."
Either they were encased in titanium-alloy Iron Man suits, or their bodies were glowing red-hot, radiating intense heat that distorted the air around them.
How were they supposed to intervene in this?
Use guns? The bullets would probably melt before they even reached their targets.
No wonder Tony hadn't assigned them a real mission when they arrived—just a vague order to patrol the area.
It wasn't that he looked down on them. He simply had no use for them here.
Gritting his teeth, Rumlow gave a reluctant order: "Provide support when possible."
Cursing in his mind, he thought, Damn it, why didn't we bring heavier firepower?!
But nobody cared about his frustration. It didn't matter, and it wouldn't change the outcome of the battle.
Just as Tony and his dozens of Iron Man suits closed in, the distant helicopters suddenly launched more than a dozen mini-missiles, blazing through the sky toward them.
They didn't give a damn about their own men still fighting John Wick on the ground.
Without waiting for Tony's orders, J.A.R.V.I.S. intercepted the missiles.
Whenever possible, counter-missiles were deployed; when there wasn't enough time, the suits simply crashed into them.
In an instant, the sky lit up in a dazzling display of explosions.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The deafening sounds echoed continuously.
Seeing Tony's defenses in place and their attacks proving ineffective, the helicopter pilots swiftly descended.
When they were still dozens of meters in the air, Killian and six others leaped from the chopper.
Each of them radiated an intense, fiery glow—like molten lava surging beneath their skin.
At that moment, a bizarre thought popped into Tony's mind:
If their bodies are made of lava, wouldn't their bones have melted?
What's holding them together?
Where do they store their consciousness?
And most importantly… how do they, uh, reproduce?
But of course, Killian wasn't about to answer any of these questions.
He didn't waste time monologuing like a typical villain—he went straight for the kill.
The seven of them raised their hands, unleashing searing energy blasts at seven different Iron Man suits.
Within seconds, J.A.R.V.I.S. issued a grim report:
"Mark 30 Blue Steel—destroyed."
"Mark 28 Jack—destroyed. Unable to continue combat."
Tony's face darkened.
They had barely made contact, and he was already suffering heavy losses.
The temperature readings were alarming.
The soldiers fighting John Wick were generating heat around 3,000 degrees.
The six surrounding Killian? 5,000 degrees.
And Killian himself—8,000!
That was insane.
His Iron Man suits were made of gold-titanium alloy, and even after all his improvements, their melting point was only a little over 2,500 degrees.
Meanwhile, at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters…
Nick Fury was watching a live feed of the battle.
Not from a satellite, but through the body cams of Rumlow's strike team.
His face had darkened so much that his features were barely visible.
"Agent Coulson, what the hell is going on with Ross? Why hasn't Abomination arrived yet?"
John Wick turning into a giant lizard was a surprise, sure.
But in Fury's eyes, it was nothing special.
Nowhere near as useful as Abomination.
And definitely not as powerful as the Hulk.
When it comes to raw power, even just defense, the gap is huge.
Think about it—Abomination, as a knockoff Hulk, can crush RPG rockets with his bare hands and tank mini-missiles like they're nothing.
Nick Fury had no doubt about one thing: as long as it wasn't a nuke, Hulk could take it all head-on and survive.
But now, hours had passed. The battle had already begun, yet Abomination still hadn't shown up.
What the hell was going on?
And they even dared to block the satellites? Even S.H.I.E.L.D.'s satellites were cut off?!
After the Battle of New York, Nick Fury's deterrence was at an all-time high—unprecedented, even.
Who the hell would dare ignore him like this?
"Boss, Abomination is on the way. He should arrive soon," Coulson reported seriously. "But I've been pushing General Ross multiple times, and he just kept stalling… until the Malibu villa sent word."
Ross's delays, combined with the satellite interference—
Nick Fury immediately understood what was happening.
On the surface, the battle was taking place at Tony's place. But behind the scenes, another war was unfolding.
"Those bastards… they're insane!"
"That's Tony Stark we're talking about! Howard Stark's own son!"
"And they actually dare to plot against him?!"
Howard's connections stretched across the entire country, and yet they still had the guts to make a move?
A cold, murderous glint flashed in Fury's one eye.
"Coulson, find out who's behind this. I want names."
"We don't have to interfere, but we damn well need to know."
"Once you have the intel, send a copy to Stark."
"Yes, boss." Coulson's expression was just as cold. Stark wasn't just an Avenger—
He was also a major investor in S.H.I.E.L.D. and a top-tier tech expert.
Meanwhile, in another office, Pierce's sharp gaze was fixed on the battlefield.
Unlike Fury, he was more interested in John Wick.
Two identical reptilian creatures—it meant they could be replicated.
And if Hydra had one thing in abundance, it was people.
John Wick was ridiculously strong, battle-hardened, and even had regenerative abilities—able to regrow lost limbs.
Back in Malibu, the battle raged on.
But he wasn't Wolverine—he still had weaknesses.
If his heart or head took a serious hit, he'd die all the same.
Those Extremis soldiers weren't as strong as him, but each of them still had strength in the dozens of tons. Combined with their searing energy, they could easily pierce through his defenses.
One-on-one? He could end the fight in an instant.
One versus five? Or even one versus ten?
He was completely tied down.
The Extremis soldiers were former special forces operatives. Their combat skills were no joke.
John Wick…
At the very beginning, while the enemy was caught off guard, two of them were torn apart by sharp claws.
After that, not a single enemy was killed.
If even John Wick was struggling, let alone Pepper.
She had only recently crammed some combat knowledge and wasn't capable of dealing any effective damage. With zero real battle experience, she was practically useless. Even with an intelligent system assisting her, the satellite-linked armor couldn't provide 360-degree flawless surveillance.
In the fight against the Extremis soldiers, she was constantly at a disadvantage.
Fortunately, they couldn't fly, and they couldn't harm adamantium.
Once Pepper confirmed she was completely safe, she simply abandoned her defense.
With a single slash of her adamantium blade, she sliced an Extremis soldier clean in half.
Surprisingly, this made the enemies hesitate, becoming more cautious instead of mindlessly attacking.
She barely managed to keep most of them occupied.
But the fiercest battle was between Tony and Killian.
One suit of armor after another charged in—
And was torn apart by Killian's men.
Tony took matters into his own hands.
Relying on the adamantium-coated armor, he aimed to take Killian down quickly.
However, he focused too much on temperature and overlooked Killian's sheer strength.
Killian blocked Tony's punch, then twisted around and dug his fingers into the armor's seams.
With a powerful yank—
The armor's outer shell was ripped clean off.
Inside the helmet, Tony's expression instantly changed.
"Tony Stark, bet you never thought this day would come, huh?"
"Today, you're dead. No one can save you!"
Through the armor's protective visor, Tony and Killian locked eyes.
Killian grinned viciously and reached for Tony's helmet—
"Tony! I'm here!"
A deafening roar echoed through the battlefield.
A massive figure, three meters tall and two meters wide, appeared out of nowhere.
With a single punch, Killian was sent flying.
The towering figure blew on his fist repeatedly. "Fuck! That's hot!"
Tony stared at the vaguely familiar face, completely dumbfounded.
"Motherf—! Happy?! Where's Ron?!"
"..."