Tony's Misfortune

Swoosh!!!

The phone was thrown straight downstairs by Heisenberg, instantly smashing a crater about half a meter in diameter and twenty centimeters deep near the intersection.

Flying gravel sent a dozen or so protesters nearby wailing in pain, but that didn't stop the march—instead, those bastards only shouted louder!

"Look at this, he's so arrogant!"

"He thinks he's a god!"

"He won't let us take drugs!!!"

"Only his gun stores can sell guns!"

"He's as evil as that green thing!"

"An alien Hitler!!!"

"We need a Savior!"

"America doesn't need an alien's spirit!!!"

Listening to those bastards' slogans, Heisenberg kept fuming for a while, then gradually calmed down.

Without a doubt, those assholes were trying to provoke him, make him lose his mind, and commit violent acts against them in front of countless people!

Then they'd latch onto those violent acts and tear him apart in the media.

If that happened, Heisenberg might quickly go from the media's constantly hyped Hulk-killer and New York's guardian—

To an alien murderer and a cosmic Hitler!

But so what!!!

Heisenberg wasn't about to swallow his pride, and he'd never take a loss lying down.

Even if you're deliberately provoking me, I'll make sure you feel enough pain while your plan succeeds!

He pulled the same trick again, blowing a cold breath straight at the pool.

The massive ice block instantly slammed down toward the densest crowd below.

Swimming Pool: "You always manage to drain me dry..."

Swoosh!!!

This time, Heisenberg didn't use Heat Vision to shatter the ice.

If that enormous block of ice crashed into the crowd, over fifty people would be turned into paste in an instant.

The protesters weren't idiots like on TV.

As soon as they saw the ice falling from the sky, the ones at the center of the crowd panicked.

They tried to scatter, but faced a sea of people pressing in from all sides.

Shoving and trampling broke out immediately, but mostly people fell and waited to die.

In just moments, despair had descended on them.

Too bad...

Dozens of streaks of light flashed by in an instant, and the thick ice was accurately hit by dozens of micro-missiles at about sixty meters above the ground.

With the missiles' explosion, the crowd slammed to the ground.

The intense shockwaves made many people's eardrums sting, but no one complained about those bombs.

Because the ice that would have killed them had now shattered into countless tiny fragments.

Still, they weren't having a good time—first knocked flat by the violent blast, then pelted mercilessly by falling ice chips.

When they struggled back to their feet, almost everyone had blood on their faces.

As for their desire to keep marching...

It only grew stronger!

Because they'd been rescued by Iron Man!

Even if Iron Man was just saving lives, his rescue of those protesters had already boosted their morale.

And when Iron Man and Heisenberg clashed, one of them was bound to be in the wrong.

If New Yorkers didn't think Iron Man was wrong, then everyone would know Heisenberg was the one at fault!

On the rooftop, Heisenberg frowned at the streak of light flashing through the sky.

After hastily firing his missiles, Iron Man himself came speeding in right behind them.

He'd arrived so promptly because, early on when this protest was just forming, he'd already gotten word through J.A.R.V.I.S.

As for where J.A.R.V.I.S. got that info...

Don't ask, just say AI is amazing.

Anyway, I, Tony Stark, definitely did not hack into New York City's surveillance system.

What does what J.A.R.V.I.S. does have to do with me, Tony Stark?

If it were any other day, Heisenberg wouldn't have minded another instance of Tony saving "New York's citizens."

After all, he did have a certain appreciation for Stark as a person.

Especially the Stark who snapped his fingers...

If Heisenberg had been in that situation, he definitely wouldn't have snapped—cough—he wouldn't have even charged out to fight Thanos.

He had a wife and daughter, after all. For those poor souls who vanished in the snap, Heisenberg would've just held his family close and mourned them.

And precisely because he couldn't do it himself, he maintained a certain respect for those who could.

But today...

"Tony Stark..."

Heisenberg murmured.

"You're really damn annoying!"

Boom!!!

Heisenberg broke the sound barrier in an instant. Under the gaze of countless onlookers, he grabbed Tony Stark's neck, still protected by steel armor.

Iron Man and J.A.R.V.I.S. couldn't even track Heisenberg's trajectory.

With Earth's current technology, there was no analyzer capable of recording speeds in the tens of thousands of Mach at close range.

As for the miraculous armors Iron Man later developed—though they were a testament to Tony's personal genius—it had to be admitted that he'd gained far too much from the Chitauri invasion.

Without those alien technologies broadening his horizons, he might still have developed those later armors.

But the timeline would've been far slower than in the original story.

In short, no matter how much Iron Man reinforced his current armor, it couldn't withstand even a single punch from Heisenberg now!

To survive a few blows from Heisenberg, he'd need at least the nanotech armor he used against Thanos.

So...

With his fateful neck gripped by Heisenberg, Tony rolled his eyes beneath his helmet.

"Hey, Heisen—urgh—you're squeezing too hard, are you trying to crush me to death?!!"

Heisenberg ignored his greeting entirely. Instead, he tightened his right hand, denting the neck of the Iron Man armor inward.

The seal around his throat grew tighter, and Tony instantly tasted fear. But what made him a hero was...

"Stop!!! Urgh, I can't breathe. I'm just saying you don't need to massacre them—there are plenty of ways to make them leave..."

"You talk too much, Tony!"

Heisenberg cut him off, yanking Tony closer.

He reached his free left hand toward Tony's faceplate.

A pinch. A pull.

Tony's face was exposed.

And the multi-million-dollar faceplate that controlled the entire armor and J.A.R.V.I.S. was tossed into the distance by Heisenberg.

Staring at the struggling man before him, Heisenberg let out a disdainful snort.

"Tony Stark, arrogant, reckless playboy. You think just because you're some big-shot President, your opinion is the only one that matters?"

Slap!

With a heavy strike, Heisenberg shattered his armor.

He even activated his Biological Field for this blow, reducing Iron Man's armor to fragments that fell away from Tony's body.

Completely stripped of his armor's protection, Tony was just a pitiful man with Heisenberg's hand around his throat.

He struggled desperately, his legs flailing in the air like a fish thrashing about.

Heisenberg's words continued.

"You think you saved them, but I guarantee you—every single one you saved is a criminal stirring up chaos in Hell's Kitchen.

You should know what I've been doing lately. They're marching because my demand for peace has crushed their living space!

Yes, you saved a few lives, dozens, maybe more.

But you've built the sturdiest protective net for those damned demons. You've made them believe their actions are effective!

Look at us—you and me. We're like baboons on display, performing for them!

Do you think they'll pity you for your failure?

They'll only regret your death—regret that a superhero couldn't stop me—and then they'll go find the next you.

If the people standing beneath my building were a bunch of five- or six-year-old kids, then of course I wouldn't hurt them. I'd just kill the bastards who organized them.

But the people beneath my building aren't kids. They're scum who don't deserve your sacrifice!"

You like the superhero gig, I get it, but I'm telling you—don't give yourself to people who aren't worth it, and don't you dare sacrifice yourself for someone who doesn't deserve that sacrifice!

Get the hell out!!!"

When Heisenberg roared that last part, he simply gripped the neck in his hand and dragged Tony forward through the air.

They smashed through over a dozen buildings back and forth, until finally, Heisenberg pressed Tony to a stop against the wall of one of them.

Throughout it all, Heisenberg used his Biological Field to protect Tony—otherwise, Tony would've been dead a hundred times over.

As for why he didn't just kill Iron Man?

No reason. He just didn't want to.

Heisenberg wasn't a true devil; he had his own likes and dislikes.

He only did what he wanted to do, and he didn't want to kill Tony Stark. Simple as that.

But even if he didn't kill him, he wasn't about to make Tony's life easy!

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"

Just as Heisenberg pinned Tony to a stop, a piercing scream rang out beside them.

The voice felt painfully familiar to Tony, and when he strained to turn his head toward the source...

It was Little Pepper, Pepper Potts, screaming.

After a brief shriek of shock, Pepper quickly grasped the situation.

So she choked back her scream and rushed toward Heisenberg and the Tony he had in his grip.

"Oh my god, why, Mr. Heisenberg, what happened between you two? Please, let him go first, I'm begging you, boohoo~~~."

In an instant, Pepper was at Heisenberg's side, crying and tugging at his right arm, which held Tony by the neck.

Seeing this, Heisenberg let go with a bored shrug, and Tony slid down the wall.

As Heisenberg stepped back, Pepper threw her arms around Tony and held him tight.

Then, still crying, she turned her head and cautiously asked Heisenberg.

"Mr. Heisenberg, I'm willing to pay any price for him. So what do we need to do to make you satisfied?"

"Make me satisfied?!!"

Pepper's question made Heisenberg purse his lips in annoyance.

He glanced around irritably, then walked to the fridge, pulled out a bottle of whiskey and three glasses.

Striding over to the reception sofa in Pepper's office, he set the glasses on the coffee table, opened the bottle, and filled all three.

Without waiting for the flustered pair to sit down, Heisenberg picked up his own glass and took a sip.

Setting it down, he spoke softly to Pepper.

"Am I really that terrifying in your eyes? So terrifying that you think I need to exact a price from you?"

With that, Heisenberg waved them over.

"Stop clinging and crying and showing off your love—your Tony hasn't even lost a scrap of scalp. I've been shielding him with my Field the whole time!"

"Is... is that so...?"

Hearing this, Pepper finally relaxed a little.

She quickly checked Tony over, and once she confirmed he had no injuries at all, she breathed a sigh of relief.

At that moment, Heisenberg continued.

"Calm down and come sit. Have a drink to steady your nerves.

It's not you two I'm angry at—it's those protesters and the ones pulling their strings. I know who to blame!"