Wildfire, Iron Monger

So, after a month of ferment, the entire Apple City was like a carnival of chaos, with all sorts of bizarre vehicles practically visible on every street.

"You're surrounded. Don't think you can escape with that money."

"Release the hostages immediately, and we'll talk like gentlemen!" The squad leader stood behind a police car, megaphone in hand, shouting procedural lines at the robbers inside the bank.

"Bam!"

With the bank's glass door kicked open, a group of robbers swaggered out.

The squad leader was about to shout again, but when he saw the gear on the robbers, he froze on the spot.

"This... the hell..."

"Too absurd..."

Merlin and the Punisher, watching from the periphery, were also taken aback.

"Whoa! They came pretty well-prepared."

Every one of the robbers stepping out looked like a human fortress, clad in thick black heavy armor that wrapped their bodies tightly.

The leading brute wore a Rhino Metal Headgear and carried a Vulcan Machine Gun, its cold barrel slowly spinning up.

The leading brute was decked out in the Rhino Heavy Armor Set, much pricier than standard heavy armor, but also a lot cooler.

It was a limited-edition set in the game.

"Oh, shit..." Seeing the Vulcan Gatling drawn, every cop let out a curse, fired a few test shots, then scrambled to flee.

"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat..." The Vulcan Machine Gun's barrel spun at high speed, glowing with blue-hot flames, as countless bullets screamed out in a dense hail.

The police cars, at that moment, were like paper—within the blink of an eye, they were reduced to scrap, riddled with bullet holes.

"Boom! Boom! Boom..." Under the constant spray of the machine gun, police car after police car exploded into fireballs.

Even Merlin and the Punisher, far off, could feel the ground shake and the wave of heat wash over them.

"Where's the sniper? Take him out, now!" The squad leader, grimy and ducking behind a building, grabbed his radio and yelled.

No sooner had he spoken than a gunshot rang out.

"Bang!" The burly robber wielding the Vulcan stumbled, a bloody hole appearing in his shoulder.

Armor-Piercing Rounds!

The robbers' faces shifted.

"There's a sniper! Take cover!"

But before they could fall back, an orange armored car suddenly rammed through the police vehicles, charging into the encirclement like a steel beast, pulling up in front of them and blocking the sniper's line of sight.

Insurgents.

Merlin couldn't help but raise an eyebrow from a distance—this robbery crew had some cash to burn.

The robbers quickly tossed the money into the car, dropped their heavy weapons on the ground, and, dragging their bulky armor, scrambled inside the armored vehicle.

"Buzz, buzz..."

"Feels like a dream," Frank muttered, watching the armored car speed off with police cars and a helicopter in hot pursuit.

Back in the day, Hell's Kitchen was the real crime-ridden district, but after stepping out, he'd had his eyes opened wide. Now Hell's Kitchen was the most peaceful place around.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..." Just then, a vigilante vehicle with flashing sirens zipped past them, kicking up a gust of wind as it chased after the armored car.

"Fwoosh!" An electromagnetic wave suddenly burst out, and the armored car, still racing down the road, stalled and came to a halt.

In the next moment, the police convoy, led by the vigilante vehicle, had the armored car completely surrounded.

"Quite the show..." Merlin's eyes lit up at the sight. Tomorrow should be even livelier.

"Ahahaha, Spider-Man, you'll never catch me!"

A shadow suddenly streaked overhead. They both looked up to see Gwen Spider-Man chasing someone flying through the air with a Jetpack.

Spider-Man swung on webs, weaving between buildings, but could barely keep up with the jetpack user.

Just as the guy was gloating, Gwen Spider-Man flipped her hand—not to shoot a web, but, like a magic trick, she suddenly pulled out an Atomic Gun and aimed it at him.

Criminal: "..."

"Fwoosh!" A pulse shot out, the sheer force knocking him out of the sky.

"Definitely quite the show," Frank said dryly.

Merlin glanced at the photo in his camera—Spider-Man pulling a gun—and nodded with satisfaction before swinging a leg over his motorcycle.

"Let's go."

Even though it was night, Apple City under the dark sky was still like New Year's Eve—streets, buildings, and the sky all a mess of chaos.

Only in the shadows did things seem orderly, with plenty of people busy earning cash to buy their favorite weapons or vehicles, then heading out to join the fun like everyone else.

Besides, many shut-ins had also come out, buying weapons and then setting off to play the hero.

In short, one word—chaos.

Click! A series of lights flickered on, illuminating the vast hangar brightly.

Three aircraft lay quietly in the hangar like three beasts at rest.

They were the Stealth Striker, the Hydra, and Frank's Wildfire.

"My god, you actually built this big guy too." Frank's eyes lit up as he walked up to the Hydra, speaking in amazement.

"Your Wildfire isn't bad either. I've added some good stuff to it."

"The same kind as Iron Man's." Merlin walked over to the Wildfire, opened the belly hatch, revealing the Cold Fusion Power Core glowing with white light inside, and winked at him.

"Tony Stark actually agreed to hand over the technology to you?" Frank walked over, looking up at the core emitting a milky white glow, somewhat surprised.

"Or did he help build it?"

"I made it myself. It wasn't that hard." Merlin said casually.

"After installing the Cold Fusion Core, I also reinforced the hull of this fighter. Its top speed can reach Mach ten."

"For countermeasures, I chose chaff, and I also equipped it with tracking missiles. The Cold Fusion Core solved the Wildfire's problem of slow startup..."

Merlin gave a detailed rundown of the Wildfire's specs, then headed into the cockpit.

"I'll go test it out. Be right back!"

Frank took a few steps back and nodded.

Under his watchful gaze, the compact Wildfire moved out onto the spacious plaza outside. The fighter's engines ignited, the nozzles rotated downward, and white energy blasted out. Under immense thrust, the fighter shot straight up into the night sky.

Whoosh!

The Wildfire hovered in midair for a moment, then suddenly shot forward, leaving a streak of white light across the night sky before vanishing at the horizon.

Merlin piloted the fighter as it raced over Apple City. But just as he accelerated to Mach one, two beams of white light suddenly rose up ahead.

As they drew closer, Merlin finally made out what the two white lights were.

Iron Man. Iron Monger.