Rage

Clang. An Iron Suit landed on the battlefield.

"What happened, Zod? This..." Stark, who had rushed over after hearing the news, looked at the devastated scene in disbelief, his eyes fixed on the disheveled youth.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Aeo spun around, his ferocious expression startling Iron Man so much that he took a step back. "You're asking me why? Can't you see? The enemy attacked me less than an hour after I left your place!"

Aeo tore off his tattered clothes. Under the glare of solar radiation, some of his bruises and scars quickly dissipated, healing him. "Someone must have sold me out..."

"Otherwise, they wouldn't have ambushed me on my way back. Tony, do you know? They even deployed F22s..." Aeo's eyes glinted with dangerous cold light.

"I need to know if the Federal military was involved in this attack! If they were!" The leader, completely enraged.

"You will pay the price!"

Boom. Aeo shot up from the ground, flying towards Gotham City at a speed exceeding Mach 8.

"Wait." Stark's face changed drastically as he chased after him.

Meanwhile, at an altitude of over ten thousand meters.

Hill, who hadn't returned to headquarters yet, somehow obtained this news and rushed in shock to the Black Director in the rest pod.

"Something's wrong, sir! According to our intel, X was attacked by a well-organized group of unknown individuals. A fierce battle broke out on California State Route 4... they even deployed F22s!"

Nick Fury leaped up in shock. "What!"

"Who did it? Who gave the order to deploy F22s? Was X injured?" The King of Agents fired off a string of questions without hesitation, showing his surprise was no less than anyone else's.

"Where is he now?" Fury finally asked, his expression unreadable.

"We don't know who did it yet. The deployment of the F22s seems to have been General Wicks' order..." Black Widow and Phil Coulson had been sent to handle other matters. Only Hill was with Fury at the moment. She scanned the intel. "The reason given was the discovery of unidentified individuals engaging in combat on California State Route 4! As for Zod..."

Hill's eyes also showed a hint of worry. "He's currently heading towards Gotham City in anger..."

"To Gotham City, immediately!" Nick Fury stated decisively.

"Yes, sir!"

...,...

Bang. Accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder, Aeo landed heavily at a place that looked like an abandoned oil refinery, but was actually the secret base he and Bruce had built together.

"Eiffel, open the gate."

Aeo shouted.

Located on the outskirts of Gotham City, this place was sparsely populated, desolate, and sandy, making it unlikely to be discovered. Upon entering the secret base, Aeo saw Bruce already waiting for him.

Seeing him enter, Bruce was about to speak, but Aeo cut him off, his face grim. "Don't try to persuade me, Bruce, not at a time like this!"

Without looking at him, he addressed the Smart Terminal directly. "Eiffel, search the Federal military bases. I want to know who deployed the F22s!"

Bruce's face also darkened upon hearing this.

"I don't believe F22s would be deployed without the order of high-ranking Federal military officials!" Aeo shot Bruce a fierce look. "I want to know if this is an act of malice and a declaration of war from the Federation. If it is!"

"You will pay for it, Bruce!"

The leader of the Empire finally shed his benevolent mask at this moment, revealing his ferocity and ruthlessness.

After meeting Aeo's gaze for a moment, Bruce took a deep breath, calmed himself, and slowly said, "I know you're angry, but I don't think this was necessarily done by the Federation!"

"Listen, I'm not defending the government, but if this was truly the work of the Federal military, it wouldn't just be this. They would have deployed more forces, more people, and used all means comprehensively to force you to surrender and reveal yourself!"

Meeting Aeo's undiminished rage, Bruce analyzed calmly, "But look, I haven't been controlled by the government, and the base, S.H.I.E.L.D., etc., haven't been discovered or deployed. Clearly, this was just a personal action by a powerful organization that knows of your existence. They infiltrated the military, to the point where national assets like F22s were mobilized! But this doesn't mean the country is involved in a conspiracy against you. You know, if it were the government, your situation would be all over the news. They are the biggest leak; they can't keep secrets..."

Aeo's expression flickered as he looked at the network and news media, which Eiffel had brought up, displaying a scene of calm. After a long pause, he said, "Eiffel, did you find out who ordered the deployment of the F22s?"

Bruce, who had been observing his expression, felt a wave of relief.

"It was General Wicks of Lackland Air Force Base who gave the order!" A line of data appeared rapidly on the screen. "This morning, he ordered the base for routine flight training. Then, when you were attacked, the F22s happened to be flying in the nearby airspace. Wicks, using the excuse of unidentified individuals engaging in combat, ordered the aircraft to fire four Tomahawk missiles at the center of the battlefield, which was you..."

"General Wicks Riley, born..."

Looking at the vast amount of combat intelligence and detailed information on relevant suspects that Eiffel had uncovered, even though he knew that the 'Skynet' function, with Eiffel at its core, was powerful, Batman was still slightly shocked by the extent of Eiffel's thoroughness, which had even uncovered trivial matters like General Riley buying a pack of cigarettes at the supermarket.

And it wasn't over yet. As soon as Eiffel finished investigating General Wicks Riley, Aeo commanded again, "Eiffel, crack S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secrets with all your might! I want to know what they're hiding!"

Bruce's expression sharpened. "What do you want to do, Zod?"

"Bruce." Aeo's face was ashen, no longer as easy to talk to. "You might be right, the Federation might not be involved in a conspiracy against me, but undeniably, someone is targeting me!"

Waving his hand to interrupt Bruce's attempt to speak, Aeo said fiercely, "I said, when someone threatens my interests, I won't hold back! I will find out who leaked my information!"

Aeo gritted his teeth. "There must be a traitor within S.H.I.E.L.D.! Yes, if there wasn't a problem with them, how could the fighter jets be ready for me the moment I left Tony's place? Listen, I accept your and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s supervision, but that doesn't mean I'll listen to everything you say! When others target me, I will fight back! ...Don't stop me, Bruce. I might like your belief in fairness and justice, but when you choose war, I will repay it with death and fury!"