Poor Dr. Lizard was still fast asleep, but the overly cautious Tony had tied him up and stuffed him into the car anyway. Once he had made sure everything was in order, the large and small suits of armor took off again.
"Insufficient energy, sir."
Tony glanced at the numbers on the holographic display, then abruptly turned and sprawled across the Steam Armor following behind him.
"What the hell are you doing!?"
Yuri spun a full 10,086 degrees and flung Tony away, but Tony soon shamelessly clung to him again. "I'm low on energy, okay? Cut me some slack."
"Not a chance—"
"Twenty million dollars!"
"...Deal!"
And so, Yuri and Tony arrived at Stark Tower as a pair of accomplices.
From far away, Tony spotted Iron Monger, almost as tall as Yuri's Steam Armor, swinging a fist at the woman he loved most. With a roar, he launched himself at Iron Monger like a missile.
"CLANG—!"
Iron Monger staggered and fell to the ground from Tony's impact, but Tony hadn't fared much better. Iron Monger was simply too big and too hard. Even with Tony's excellent shock absorption, the impact still left him reeling.
"Tony?"
Obadiah climbed to his feet in Iron Monger. He left Pepper, who was screaming in terror, and strode toward Tony, who was sprawled on the ground and struggling to get up.
"CLANG—CRACK—!"
Iron Monger never made it to Tony. Yuri dropped from the sky and crashed straight onto its shoulder.
The Steam Armor's heavy frame carried enormous momentum. On impact, it snapped both of Iron Monger's massive steel arms.
"NO—!"
Obadiah watched helplessly as ten sharp fingers pierced the faceplate and headed straight for his eyes. The next moment, an excruciating ripping sound rang out as the Steam Armor tore off Iron Monger's protective shell by brute force!
"Hey, Obadiah."
Yuri lightly flicked his bald head, then pinched the back of his collar and pulled him out. "It must be cramped in there. Come on out. Your nephew's out here, too."
Tony forced himself up from the ground. First, he helped Pepper, who had collapsed, her legs too weak to hold her. Then he bumped fists with the Steam Armor standing on Obadiah.
"Thanks, Yuri."
Pinned down and unable to move, Obadiah heard him and his flushed face instantly blazed with fury. "Yuri Ambrosius? You're meddling in Stark Industries' family business. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"CRACK!"
Yuri pressed down with his foot, snapping Obadiah's spine without hesitation.
Agonizing pain and numbness flooded Obadiah's brain. The next instant, he could no longer feel any part of his body below the chest.
Yuri lifted his foot from Obadiah, still not quite satisfied. As a Mutant responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs, breaking an enemy's spine was an instinct etched deep in his genes.
"What did you do to me?"
Obadiah rolled over, pushing himself up with his arms. He frantically slapped at the parts of his body he couldn't feel, hoping to feel even the slightest bit of pain.
"Paraplegia."
Yuri kicked him hard in the stomach with a foot as big as a watermelon. Tony might still have harbored some foolish hope for his uncle, but after that kick, Obadiah would be dead within a month unless he became a super-soldier.
"THUD."
Obadiah's bald head struck Tony's chest plate. One uncle was paralyzed from the chest down, and the other was left dizzy. The two of them ended up in a heap again, sprawling on the ground like a pair of dogs.
"Tony! Tony!"
With death staring him in the face, Obadiah somehow shook off the dizziness from the accidental headbutt. He pressed his upper body against the red-and-gold Mark armor and rapidly slapped Tony's faceplate with one hand. "I'm your uncle! I watched you grow up! I know I was wrong! Please, spare me!"
"You're not my uncle!"
Tony grabbed Obadiah by the back of his collar and tried to pull him off, but the old bastard clung on so tightly that even tearing his clothes didn't get him loose.
Tony had no choice but to flip him over and pin him underneath. Just as he was about to stand, he heard a strange metallic tapping from his chest plate.
Looking down, Tony laughed in fury. Obadiah was holding the extractor he had used not long ago to remove the new reactor, desperately trying to make it fulfill its purpose one more time.
"Heh..."
Tony rose with a cold laugh. He snatched the extractor from Obadiah's hand and crushed it in his fist. Countless scraps and shards struck Obadiah's face, and a few even fell into his mouth before he could close it.
Tony opened his hand and aimed his buzzing palm at Obadiah's shining bald head.
"ZAP!"
A round hole, about as wide as a thumb, appeared in the center of Obadiah's forehead. The night wind blew, and the white smoke from his scorched flesh dispersed into the air and vanished.
Yuri let out a long breath—his uncle was dead, and the root of the problem was gone. At last, he could sleep easy tonight.
"Thud, thud, thud..."
A hurried rush of footsteps came from the lobby on the first floor of Stark Tower. The Steam Armor and Mark armor looked at each other, and Tony waved him off. "Go on. I'll handle things here."
"Uh..."
The Steam Armor shrugged in a rather comical fashion. "I was going to ask what we should do with Dr. Lizard."
Tony fell silent for a moment. He thought again of the helpless version of himself in the living room. "Let's leave him with me for now. I'll bring him back to you once this is all taken care of."
Yuri sensed that something was a little off, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't pin down the reason.
Maybe he wants to get to know his future son, Spider-Man, a little better...
The footsteps drew closer. Yuri could just make out a bald man running at the front with a gun in his hands. He didn't hesitate any longer. After a brief farewell to Pepper nearby, he looked up and let go. The massive Steam Armor shot straight into the sky.
An hour and a half later.
A small island off the coast of New York.
The enormous Steam Armor dropped from the sky. After checking that no one was around, Yuri had the armor split open and stepped out at a leisurely pace.
Mysterious patterns shimmered across his muscles and bones. His skin turned from white to blue-green, and his golden pupils split into pairs in a bizarre fashion. His body rapidly grew taller and bulkier...
"ROAR—!"
As the sound carried messages to the surrounding area, Yuri, back in his Mutant form, stretched his limbs. Dozens of tubes at the back of his head twisted and swayed, looking terrifying in the moonlight.
"REE—!"
A clear cry rang out, brimming with undisguised joy. A monstrous bird with a wingspan wider than a truck swooped down from the sky. Its blue-black talons sank deep into the soil, forcibly stopping its enormous momentum.
Yuri smiled and patted the bird's head as it kept nudging into his arms. He let out a series of unintelligible low growls. The giant bird flapped its wings and soared into the sky once more. After circling above Yuri a few times, it flew off into the distance.
Not long after the giant bird had left, a huge head suddenly burst through the water's surface. "MOO—!"
Yuri didn't even wait for it to crawl ashore. With a low growl, he passed along the same command. "Roar..."
"Go fill your belly. I'll grant you another evolution!"
Before you continue