"Throw me 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 metallic arm glinted ominously.
Upon receiving the order to kill Stark, he acted like a machine executing a command, immediately 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 mechanisms activating instantly. Tony grabbed the mechanical arms that sprang out and yanked them upward. The arc reactor in his chest flared to life, pumping out immense 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 mechanical arm, and fired a repulsor blast, only for his opponent to dodge with agile movements.
With eerie calm, the black figure lunged forward like a pouncing panther, delivering a devastating punch to the helmet 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 emergencies. 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 time however, with the assistance of J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony gained the upper hand, pummeling 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? Someone else could clean that up.
....
Through the omnipresent surveillance of the Red Queen, Sean learned of Tony's attack immediately...
He hadn't expected the energy conglomerates 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 metal 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 America had only just awoken, yet his old comrade had already become a killing machine on the enemy's side.
In the original timeline, this man (James "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 metal arm and brainwashing him into a mindless assassin.
Had events proceeded unchanged, this man would later trigger an Avengers civil war, fracturing Captain America and Iron Man's friendship. But thanks to a time-traveling butterfly's wings, that future might never come to pass.
"Stark Industries isn't having an easy time," 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 consumer 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 game between a femme fatale and a supervillain? Now that was an entertaining way to kill time...