Total Defeat

The Destroyer's massive hand clamped around Iron Man's ankle and squeezed hard, crushing the thruster beneath his right foot until it sputtered out in sparks and dented the leg armor.

Iron Man was slammed violently into the ground by the Destroyer, nearly falling apart from the impact.

"Leg cushioning system damaged." JARVIS's electromagnetic voice crackled as he said intermittently, "Right foot thruster disabled."

"I know. My foot hurts like hell—I might have cracked a bone." Tony Stark sucked in a cold breath, his face twisted in pain.

The failure of his right leg's thruster and cushioning system sent vibrations through his entire body, leaving Tony Stark's organs shaken and his head swimming as though he were about to cough up blood. Yet the intense stabbing pain of a fracture in his leg kept him painfully awake.

Bang!

The Destroyer raised Iron Man again, his limbs dangling limply, and smashed him once more into the crater in the ground. Dust flew everywhere, and Tony Stark's consciousness began to blur.

Just as the Destroyer raised Iron Man for another slam—

Suddenly.

Machine-gun rounds rained continuously across the Destroyer's armored surface, throwing up countless sparks. The Destroyer paused and turned its face toward the source of the gunfire.

A silver-white War Machine flew in from the sky, its entire body equipped with high-powered machine guns, firing ceaselessly at the Destroyer.

"Tony, wake up! Tony!!! JARVIS, shock him awake!" Seeing Iron Man hanging helplessly from the Destroyer's hand, Rhodey shouted urgently from inside War Machine, offering a highly practical suggestion.

"Thanks, I'm awake. Cough—JARVIS, don't listen to him." Tony Stark coughed several times before saying urgently through the pain, "Thanks, buddy. If you'd come any later, you'd only be attending my funeral!"

Even in pain, he still found room for a joke.

Taking advantage