"Mom—f**k."
High above New York City, Tony Stark had just breathed a sigh of relief when the space behind him twisted into a blue circular portal. A giant Sentry stepped through the portal and blasted Tony away with an energy cannon.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A large hole ripped open in Tony's Blood-Edge Armor. Nanoparticles scrambled to repair the damage as Tony crashed through several office floors. Employees screamed, staring in terror as Tony tumbled across the ground.
"Hi. Welcome to the 'Tony Stark Weird Show.'"
The nanoparticles finished repairing his armor. Tony stood up, lifted his mask, and smiled wryly at the frightened crowd.
"Look, it's Tony! Iron Man! Tony Stark — the city's superhero!"
"Wait—Tony Stark is supposed to be holding a press conference right now. Why is he here?"
"What is going on?!"
After the initial panic, recognition spread through the crowd like wildfire. Eyes widened with admiration. Several women screamed so loudly they fainted—more hysterical than seeing a global superstar.
"Well… being this popular—yeah, I'll never get used to it."
Tony had only lifted his visor to break the tension, but the wave of adoring stares made him smirk. He pulled the visor back down and launched out of the building.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
The moment he shot out into the open sky, Tony saw ten Sentries hovering in the air, completely surrounding Hulk, Captain America, Ant-Man, Nick Fury, and the surviving S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
"Hey—what the hell? I just saw ONE Sentry giant. Why are there ten now? Is this some kind of joke?"
Tony's tone sounded relaxed, but only he knew how tense he truly was.
Boom boom boom!
In midair, several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents activated weapon systems on their Blood-Edge Armor. Blue beams shot out from the muzzles, blasting several Sentry giants backward.
"Move!"
Behind Nick Fury, one of his agents fired again, the blue beam forcing a Sentry giant back three meters.
"Go!" Fury barked with urgency.
Veronica immediately redirected all Blood-Edge Armor units, propelling them out of the encirclement.
"Target escaping. Pursuit initiated."
The lead Sentry giant's single mechanical eye flashed red. Its body shrank rapidly, its speed skyrocketed, and it shot toward Tony like a missile.
Swish—
Behind the giant Sentry, a blue beam pierced straight through another Sentry. That damaged unit flickered, flashed in front of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and grabbed the agent's head. A faint cracking sound followed—his body shriveled into dust as all vitality was drained away.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
The Sentries accelerated, chasing the Blood-Edge armors at terrifying speed. Tony dumped every bit of power into the propulsion system, breaking Mach 10 as they weaved between skyscrapers.
"Warning: High-rise building ahead. Evade?"
A massive building loomed closer and closer. Tony's eyes locked on it—yet he made no move to dodge.
"Warning: collision in 100 meters… 50 meters…"
Veronica's voice echoed. Tony's eyes blazed with reckless brilliance. At only two meters from the wall, he punched both boosters down, spun sideways, and shot straight up the building's edge.
BOOM!
The Sentry chasing directly behind him slammed into the skyscraper at supersonic speed. A massive explosion erupted—forming a mushroom cloud beneath Tony.
Behind him, Hulk's Blood-Edge Armor also weaved wildly through the cityscape. Several pursuing Sentries misjudged their turns, crashing into skyscrapers and exploding.
"Ha! Don't underestimate Tony Stark! I'm Iron Man. A super genius."
Thousands of meters up, Tony finally relaxed when he saw only three Sentries still remaining.
Beside him, Hulk, Captain America, Ant-Man, Nick Fury, and two remaining agents watched confidently. They thought the remaining Sentries were manageable.
Then—
Fwoooosh—
From within the explosion below, dozens of broken Sentries rose back into the sky. Some had missing limbs, others half-destroyed torsos.
Under Tony's horrified stare, the metallic bodies began regenerating at high speed.
"Body integrity 30%. Activating Self-Healing Factor Module."
Red energy threads wove through each Sentry's body. In seconds, all units had fully regenerated.
"Self-repair complete. Running diagnostics… Diagnostics complete."
"Warning. Mode change: 'Clearance Mode' switching to 'Destruction Mode.'"
"Destruction Mode activated."
"Switching attack parameters…"
"Attack mode changed: 'Superpower Module' activated."
The Sentries' single mechanical eyes flooded with cascading data.
Tony didn't understand it all—but he understood enough to know he was screwed.
One Sentry turned ice-blue and emitted freezing mist.
Another crackled with purple lightning.
A third raised its hand—an invisible telekinetic field pulsed outward.
"F**k… If I survive this, I'm building anti-Sentry armor. No matter what."
Tony cursed and activated a weapon module behind him. An X-shaped rail cannon deployed, charging rapidly. A massive energy shield formed around his armor.
"Ice-Giant module activated. Frost module charging."
"Charge complete."
The ice-blue Sentry's single eye flashed with a deadly blue glow.
Frost poured out, freezing the surrounding air.
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[Naruto: I Don't Want Recognition]
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