[Third Person PoV]
"Kota! Where's Kota!?" Mandalay's voice cracked through the chaos. Her usually calm demeanor was shattered; she spun around wildly, eyes scanning the burning forest, her voice trembling with panic. "Someone find him—now!"
Midoriya froze mid-motion, his breath catching in his throat. He stood amid the wreckage, the twisted metal remains of two destroyed Ultron sentinels clutched in his trembling hands. The sound of Mandalay's voice cut through the haze of battle like a knife. His eyes widened.
"He must still be up on the mountain!" Midoriya shouted, his voice tight with urgency. Without hesitation, he hurled the mangled sentinels aside. The ground cracked beneath his feet as green lightning sparked around him. In an instant, he vanished from sight, leaving only a burst of wind and a fading streak of emerald light as he tore through the forest—dodging laser fire, leaping between collapsing trees, and weaving through the storm of destruction that surrounded them.
All around, the sounds of agony and desperation filled the air—cries of pain, shouts for help, the thunderous roar of explosions that swallowed voices whole. Smoke choked the skies, and the air was thick with the metallic tang of blood and burning circuitry.
Meanwhile, Momo's hands trembled violently, streaked with grime and blood as she pressed one palm over Tony's unmoving chest. Her face was a ruin of dried tears, dust, and despair. Her lips moved in a whisper that barely rose above the crackle of distant fire. She prayed—prayed that the impossible genius who had saved them time and again could somehow save himself now.
Seconds dragged into eternities. And then—she felt it. A pulse. Faint, but there. Her eyes flew open in disbelief.
"Tony…?" she breathed.
The faint beat grew stronger. Then, all at once, Tony's eyes snapped open—glowing a deep, unnatural red. His body jerked upright with mechanical precision, like a machine rebooting.
He sat up with a gasp and glared at the heavens, his face contorting in fury as he threw up two middle fingers. "THE HELL YOU MEAN GROW UP?!" he bellowed, his voice raw with rage. "YOU GROW UP, YOU TWAT! THE WORLD DOESN'T REVOLVE AROUND ME, YOU SAY?! I'M TONY MOTHERFUCKING STARK—"
Before he could say more, Momo lunged forward, grabbed his face with both hands, and pressed her lips against his—cutting off his tirade mid-sentence. The world seemed to stop for a heartbeat.
Every guy within sight froze like statues, their jaws dropping. Eyes wide, faces red, they stood staring at the unbelievable sight—Momo Yaoyorozu kissing Tony Stark like her life depended on it.
Tony blinked in surprise, his brain catching up a moment later. His hand came up—first to her chin, gentle, grounding—and then his other extended past her, as liquid metal flowed from his palm. A pulsing orb of violet electromagnetic energy ignited in his grasp, painting the battlefield in a ghostly glow.
Instantly, every Ultron sentinel in the air froze—engines sputtering, optics flickering. Tony's fingers curled slowly into a fist, and one by one, the sentinels crumpled, shrieking as their metallic bodies folded in on themselves like soda cans. Then came the eruption—massive, dazzling, painting the sky with fiery blossoms that scattered like fireworks.
Aizawa, normally unflappable, stood slack-jawed, scarf limp at his sides. His tired eyes reflected the falling embers of burning metal that rained around them.
When Momo finally pulled away, she collapsed against Tony, arms wrapped tight around his neck. Her voice trembled as she sobbed into his shoulder, "I thought… I thought I lost you!"
Tony let out a quiet chuckle and stroked the back of her head. "What's my name?" he asked softly.
"W-what?" she stammered, not understanding.
"My full motherfucking name," he repeated, a grin tugging at his lips.
"T-Tony… Tony Stark," Momo managed, half-laughing through her tears as memories flooded back—of his impossible inventions, his reckless genius, his unstoppable will.
"And do you remember what that means?" Tony said, pushing himself to his feet, still grinning like a man who had just spat in death's face.
Momo let out a shaky laugh as she stood beside him, wiping her cheeks. "The man who turned dreams and imagination into reality," she said, echoing his own words back to him.
"Atta girl," Tony said warmly, brushing away a final tear with his thumb. "So you should know by now that such a man isn't so easily killed. Death is merely the figment of one's imagination, that's not the reality I envision so it didn't come to be"
(A/N: Chapter 77)
He kissed her forehead before stepping past her, pulling off his torn, bloodstained shirt as he turned to face the stunned crowd. Despite the hole still glowing faintly in his chest, he spread his arms wide and grinned. "Well?" he shouted over the crackling fires. "Where's my god damn welcome party?"
"TONY!!" The chorus rang out in disbelief and joy.
Mina and Toru sprinted toward him first, tears streaking their faces—but before they could reach him, a blur of motion crashed past them, almost knocking them off of their feet.
"BROOOOO!!!"
Kaminari and Kirishima barreled into Tony, tackling him to the ground in a mess of laughter and tears.
"Woah!" Tony barked out mid-laugh, completely caught off guard as the three of them hit the dirt. "Alright, alright, easy—my ribs just clocked out, give 'em a second to respawn!"
The sound of laughter—real, unguarded laughter—finally broke through the lingering smoke and fire. For the first time since the battle began, hope felt real again.
"Okay, okay, I get it! Get off me, you weirdos!" Tony grunted, wriggling beneath the two emotional wrecks clinging to him, wearing a disgusted face.
Kirishima and Denki sat up reluctantly, sniffling as they wiped at their faces. Both looked down at Tony with red-rimmed eyes and expressions that hovered somewhere between relief and disbelief.
"Bro, we thought you died!" Kirishima said, his voice cracking as fresh tears welled up. His lip quivered despite his attempt to sound composed.
"Yeah, not cool, man!" Denki added, his usual grin replaced by an uncharacteristic frown. "Don't scare us like that again!" His voice trembled with raw emotion.
For a few seconds, both sat there in silence, eyes glistening. Then, as if the emotional dam broke all over again, they simultaneously lunged forward and wrapped Tony in another crushing hug.
"Ugh!" Tony groaned as he was pulled into their arms once more, his face twisting in mock agony. "Just for the record, I want it perfectly clear that you two are acting incredibly gay right now."
"Shut up, man!" Denki barked, his voice muffled against Tony's shoulder. "We were grieving you! Let us have this!" His tone was half-angry, half-embarrassed.
Kirishima nodded furiously in agreement. "Yeah, you can't just die and expect us to be chill about it!"
Tony rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, Aizawa's dry voice cut through the moment like a whip.
"That's enough, you two," he said, sounding exhausted but faintly amused. His scarf fluttered in the breeze as he stepped closer. "We don't know the extent of Tony's injuries—"
"You're right!!" Denki and Kirishima both yelped in unison, springing off Tony so fast it was like they'd been shocked. They stumbled backward, suddenly terrified they might've broken him.
"How are you feeling?!" Kirishima asked quickly, kneeling beside Tony again but hesitating to touch him.
Tony groaned as he sat up straighter, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. "Aside from a deep, burning, murderous rage?" he said dryly. "Frightened."
Aizawa blinked, taken aback by the unexpected honesty. "That's… understandable," he began cautiously, crossing his arms. "What you just went through—"
"Oh, no, no," Tony interrupted, waving a dismissive hand. "You've got it all wrong. A stab through the heart? Please. That's a Tuesday for me."
Aizawa's brow furrowed. "Then what—"
Tony pointed upward, his expression shifting from sarcasm to genuine concern. "That."
Everyone followed his gaze toward the storm-choked sky. The clouds churned violently, a vortex of thunder and electricity swirling in unnatural patterns. Bolts of lightning split the heavens, painting the battlefield in eerie flashes of blue-white light.
Tony's usual bravado faltered. His shoulders hunched slightly, and he rubbed the back of his neck with an uneasy laugh. "Knowing Melissa as well as I do—and considering the movies I just showed her—I can confidently say she's not taking this little incident well."
Mina blinked, confused. "What do you mean… not taking it well?"
Tony grimaced, looking anywhere but at the sky. "She's going berserk," he said flatly. "Like, full-blown end-of-world berserk. And… uh…" He hesitated, his voice lowering to a sheepish mutter. "I have absolutely no idea how to calm her down right now."
There was a long, heavy pause. The wind howled through the trees, the faint hum of static electricity buzzing in the air.
Finally, Tony added quietly, "I'm kinda… terrified to go anywhere near her at the moment."
Everyone turned to stare at him in a collective silence. Eyes widened. Mouths opened slightly. Even Aizawa blinked twice, too stunned to immediately respond.
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