The icy, bone-piercing deep sea, capable of crushing steel, was not silent.
On the contrary, it was ruled by a low, ceaseless roar. That violent energy had not fully dissipated; instead, it ricocheted and overlapped wildly among the seafloor terrain, forming countless deep-sea torrent vortices that surged in chaotic directions with terrifying force.
Like invisible giant hands, they violently tore at everything in these waters, churning deadly undercurrents.
At the center of this chaos, Tony Stark—his iconic gold-and-red Mark armor now covered in impact dents and energy scorch marks, like scrap metal freshly hauled from a furnace—gritted his teeth.
He drove the armor's remaining thrusters. What burst from the nozzles was no longer the steady, efficient exhaust of old, but intermittent, glaring blue-white turbulence unique to an energy overload.
His hands, encased in massive steel gauntlets, clutched a twisted and warped escape pod.
Through the cracked observation window in the pod's hull, Natasha Romanoff's pale face could be seen. Her eyes were shut, her breathing faint, while her vital signs flashed alarming orange-red warnings across J.A.R.V.I.S.'s monitoring display.
"Damn it... the currents in this hellhole are worse than Manhattan traffic during rush hour!"
Tony's voice came through the armor's internal communicator, laced with obvious panting and agitation. Every word seemed forced through clenched teeth.
The thrusters were struck once again by a torrent sweeping in from the side. The armor jolted violently, producing a teeth-grinding screech of metal scraping against metal.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., stabilize our posture! Prioritize energy for the stabilizers! Natasha can't be hurt!"
"Doing my best, sir."
J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice remained calm, but enormous computational strain lurked beneath that calmness.
"Environmental interference levels continue to rise. The energy density contained within the torrent exceeds expectations. Preliminary analysis indicates Infrasound vibrations and high-intensity fluid Shear Force. The armor's structural integrity is