Underground Garage.
The cold clang of metal was the only symphony here.
Tony stood at the center of the platform as mechanical arms, with a kind of violent grace, precisely locked pieces of red and gold armor onto his body.
Chest plate, gauntlets, greaves…
"Paul Three, suit-up complete."
J.A.R.V.I.S.'s cool, electronic voice echoed inside the helmet. In his field of view, countless streams of data cascaded down like waterfalls.
[ARC REACTOR OUTPUT: 100%]
[FLIGHT SYSTEMS: NOMINAL]
[WEAPONS SYSTEMS: ONLINE]
Tony didn't respond.
His gaze pierced through the garage walls, as if he could already see the village thousands of miles away, shrouded in sand and gunfire—Gulmira.
In his mind, Paul's words echoed—a phrase spoken so lightly, yet it carried the weight of a mountain.
"Take it. Go and complete your mission."
In the end, he hadn't brought the gun named "The Dominator."
That was Paul's "answer," not his.
He would correct the world's mistakes—mistakes he had caused—in his own way.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., lock on to Gulmira's coordinates. Maximum speed."
"Right away, sir."
The thrusters under his feet erupted in a searing blue flame, the immense propulsion launching him instantly into the sky.
BOOM!
A sonic boom shattered the air above the mansion. A streak of red and gold light tore through the night sky, piercing the darkness like a sword aimed at the horizon.
…
Gulmira.
It had become a living hell.
Gunfire, cries, and curses mingled together, weaving a web of despair.
The thugs of the Ten Rings, like a pack of mad dogs, dragged the unarmed villagers from their dilapidated homes, forcing them to their knees in an open clearing with rifle butts and whips.
Dr. Yinsen was in the crowd, his hands bound behind his back, his face smeared with dust and blood.
He watched the villagers who had once greeted him with smiles now being abused like cattle. An invisible hand seemed to clench his heart, the pain so tight he could barely breathe.
He was powerless. Just a doctor, a pathetic wretch who had barely survived in a cave, saved only by the sudden conscience of a playboy.
"Take all the men away! Lock up the women and children!" a fleshy-faced leader bellowed in Arabic, spittle flying from his lips.
A middle-aged man desperately shielded his seven-or-eight-year-old son, refusing to let go.
"Please, spare my child, he's just a boy!"
"Spare him?" The leader sneered, grabbing the man by the hair and hauling him to his feet. "In Gulmira, no one defies the will of the Ten Rings!"
He drew a pistol from his belt, pressing the dark muzzle against the man's forehead.
The little boy, terrified, burst into tears, screaming in despair, "Papa!"
Dr. Yinsen's eyes went red. He struggled to stand but was kicked back to the ground by a thug behind him.
"No!"
He could only watch helplessly as the cruel smirk on the leader's face widened, as his finger slowly squeezed the trigger.
Time seemed to stretch infinitely in that moment.
Just at that critical moment!
WHOOSH—
A piercing screech grew louder, approaching from a distance, threatening to tear their eardrums.
In the night sky, a burning red dot magnified at an incredible speed!
"What is that?!" the thugs shouted, looking up in astonishment.
The next second, a red and gold figure, with the force of a thunderbolt, slammed into the center of the clearing!
BOOM!
The hard ground instantly cracked, a terrifying shockwave of air and dust blasting outwards!
The thugs were blown off their feet, nearly losing the grip on their weapons.
Through the swirling dust, a steel giant, over two meters tall, slowly rose to its full height.
His entire body was covered in sleek, intimidating red and gold metal armor. The circular reactor in his chest pulsed with a soft blue light, like the heart of a god.
Its electronic eyes glowed with a terrifying white light, scanning every thug present.
Silence.
A dead silence.
Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events.
The leader who was about to execute the man froze, his finger still on the trigger, his face a mask of shock and confusion.
Tony gave him no time to react.
He raised an arm, the repulsor in his palm instantly charging.
ZAP!
A searing beam of energy precisely struck the pistol in the leader's hand.
Like butter touched by a red-hot iron, the gun instantly melted and deformed, clattering to the ground as a lump of scrap metal.
"Aargh!" the leader screamed, his hand scorched by the intense heat, blood dripping from the wound.
"Now, it's my turn."
The cold, synthesized voice emanated from the armor, devoid of any emotion, yet it sent a chill down the spines of every thug, as if they'd been plunged into an icy abyss.
"You… Who's next?"
Before the words had even faded, the iron god moved.
He didn't walk but glided forward at an incredible speed. Micro-missile pods on his shoulders opened, and dozens of miniature projectiles shot out like a swarm of hornets.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
A series of explosions erupted one after another!
Before the thugs could mount any effective counter-attack, they were blown away, sent flying and screaming in chaos.
This wasn't a fight. It was a one-sided slaughter.
Tony's movements were precise and efficient. Each attack was perfectly calculated to destroy their weapons or incapacitate them, but without taking a single life.
In his own way, he was fulfilling his promise—to Paul, and to himself.
Dr. Yinsen struggled to his feet, staring blankly at the red and gold warrior moving through the crowd as if they weren't even there.
That familiar repulsor blast, that familiar flight posture…
It was Tony! It was really him!
He had returned! He was no longer the fragile inventor who needed protection in a cave. He… he had become a god!
The little boy stopped crying. He stared at the iron giant who had fallen from the sky and saved his father, and a light was rekindled in his small eyes.
It was the light of hope.
A few minutes later, the battle was over.
The clearing was filled with groaning thugs. Not a single one was left standing.
Tony landed softly in front of Dr. Yinsen. With a click, the metal faceplate retracted, revealing his tired but familiar face.
"Looks like I'm not late," Tony said, forcing a smile for Yinsen.
Yinsen's lips trembled. A thousand words were caught in his throat, but all that came out was a choked cry.
"Tony…"
"I'm back, my friend."
However, before the smile could fully form on Tony's face, it froze.
His gaze shot past Yinsen's shoulder, focusing on something in the distance.
The Ten Rings leader whose hand he had injured had somehow gotten back to his feet. He held one hand behind his back, a strange, crazed smile on his face.
"Tony Stark… We've been waiting a long time for you," the leader's hoarse voice rasped on the night wind.
He violently pulled a large object from behind his back—a shoulder-fired missile!
On the body of the missile was a glaring logo, one that made Tony's pupils contract instantly.
[STARK INDUSTRIES]
"Using a Stark Industries weapon to kill Stark…"
The leader's smile grew more sinister.
"What could be… a more fitting welcome!"