"Jarvis, how long will it take for Rescue One to be deployed from the satellite to the Baxter Building?"
Tony Stark was practically manic as he forced himself into the Mark IV armor, launching into the sky the very second the suit finished sealing around him.
"Five minutes and forty-one seconds, sir," Jarvis replied.
By the time the AI had finished speaking, Tony was already streaking into the clouds.
"Too long! Divert all output power to the thrusters! That guy only gave me two minutes—I need to be there in one!"
"Navigate to the coordinates provided by that suicidal moron! Maximum speed! Good God, if he dares lose a single hair before rescue arrives, I swear I'll wrap him in those black webs of his like a mummy and hang him from the top of Stark Tower!"
The terrifying overload and scorching heat generated by the Mark IV's full-throttle flight made Tony feel as though he'd been shoved into a malfunctioning centrifuge and tossed into a blast furnace.
Accelerating from a standstill to supersonic speeds, the skyrocketing G-force slammed into his chest like a concrete wall. Tony's cursing quickly became labored and fragmented:
"Damn… it… Mark IV… I'm installing… buffer gel… the second I get back… Jarvis! Vitals!"
Gray spots flickered across his vision—a sign that the extreme G-force was draining the blood from his brain.
Jarvis's voice remained as steady as ever, though a hint of urgency had crept in. "Sir, your retinal vessels are dilating. I strongly advise an immediate reduction to subsonic speed."
"Cabin temperature is forty-six degrees Celsius. External armor friction temperature has exceeded—"
Tony Stark gritted his teeth, cutting Jarvis off. "Slow down?! That idiot needs help! Heaven knows what kind of mess he's in if he's actually asking me for backup! Push the overload limit! Turn the AC to max! I don't care about the energy consumption!"
Outside the suit, the air was torn into a wake of glowing plasma; inside, sweat was evaporated into acrid, salty steam the moment it left his pores. Tony licked his lips, tasting the salt on his tongue. Only a dozen seconds of flight had already left him feeling nauseous and dizzy.
That egomaniac, that brooding, antisocial control freak… the moron who spends his days playing dress-up with criminals in New York is actually Peter Parker…
Tony could practically hear his own heartbeat. Every inch of his body was being subjected to agonizing, rhythmic torment.
Blood was likely seeping from his pores, altering the friction coefficient inside the Mark IV. Since Tony was essentially naked beneath the armor, the shifting metal was undoubtedly abrading his skin raw.
"I have detected that your myocardial load has reached critical levels. I am automatically rerouting navigation to Metropolis Hospital," Jarvis announced.
The moment Jarvis finished, a sudden burst of adrenaline allowed Tony to override the AI's safety protocols.
"Metropolis Hospital can wait," Tony snapped. "Now, give me a shot of epinephrine and a dose of baropressors!"
"And contact Electro—tell him to get to the Baxter Building at full speed!"
Stark Tower and the Baxter Building were both in Manhattan, not far apart. However, from the moment Batman had contacted Tony via the encrypted channel to the time Tony had scrambled into the suit, at least forty seconds had already elapsed.
Even so, by pushing the suit to its absolute breaking point, Tony arrived in the airspace above the Baxter Building with less than ten seconds remaining on the two-minute clock.
"Scan it!" Tony shouted.
Jarvis didn't need specific instructions; the AI immediately prioritized the situation, initiating infrared, ultrasonic, and X-ray scans of the entire Baxter Building.
"I'm sorry, sir. The composition of the Baxter Building's construction materials is highly complex. Standard scanning methods are ineffective," Jarvis reported.
Tony didn't hesitate for even half a second. "Find the weakest point."
"Two points identified. One in the southeast corner, and one directly ahead of your current position."
"No time to circle around. Blow it up!"
Beep—
Amidst the faint chirp of the system, deployment data for two small anti-armor missiles flashed onto the UI inside Tony's helmet. He leveled both arms, aiming directly at the section of the wall Jarvis had flagged.
The red plating on his forearms slid back, and two anti-armor missiles rose from their launchers. These were the most powerful weapons in his current arsenal, designed to punch through tanks and heavy bunkers.
Simultaneously, the missiles ignited, streaking toward the Baxter Building under laser guidance.
A thunderous explosion rocked the air as a gaping hole was blasted into the side of the building.
Tony flew forward, grabbing the edges of the breach and wrenching the opening wide enough to fly through. A question nagged at the back of his mind: How the hell did a moron like Peter get inside in the first place?
The answer became clear the moment he entered the building and followed the path toward the "all-wave projector" coordinates Batman had provided.
Tony saw a corridor that looked as if it had been shredded by massive claws, the walls and floors torn apart from the outside in. Clearly, that idiot Batman—Peter Parker—had burrowed his way in along this path.
The passage was littered with the corpses of various dinosaurs. Some had their heads crushed flat; others had their skulls sliced into segments by razor-sharp talons.
When did he grow claws?
And what is the deal with these dinosaurs?
Dammit, it's the twenty-first century. Why am I seeing dinosaurs?
As one question was answered, a dozen more took its place. Then, he heard a roar—the unmistakable, primal fury of the Hulk.
"F*K!"
Startled, Tony snapped his hands up, aiming his palm thrusters toward the source of the sound.
"Tony Stark. This is Otto Gunther Octavius."
A voice crackled through the communication device Batman had left near the all-wave projector. The name sounded vaguely familiar to Tony, but before he could place it, Jarvis filled in the blanks.
"Sir, this is Dr. Otto Octavius. He disappeared two months ago following a nuclear fusion experiment in the sewers."
"Doctor Octopus?" Tony realized, remembering the moniker the NYPD had given the man.
"Correct, it is I," Dr. Octavius replied. His voice was low and commanding, almost mimicking Batman's tone. "The sound you heard belongs to the Hulk. His other identity is Bruce Banner."
"However, I strongly advise against mentioning the name 'Banner' in front of the Hulk. That is all you need to know."
Tony realized the situation was spiraling far beyond his expectations. One by one, mysterious forces he had never encountered were surfacing in the wake of Batman's distress signal.
That idiot Batman… just how much is he hiding from me?
Tony was careful not to mention the name "Peter Parker" over the comms.
"A great deal. But please believe that, regardless of his methods, his intentions are for the best," Dr. Octavius said. "Batman's safety is in your hands now, Tony."
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