Men Never Look Back at Explosions

After returning from Afghanistan, Tony began researching the second generation of the Mark series.

He holed himself up in his basement workshop, working tirelessly, yet he encountered many problems along the way.

For instance, the thrusters' propulsion was too powerful, causing him to slam his head into the ceiling, while the recoil from the repulsor cannons sent him crashing heavily into the wall...

Regardless, Tony was truly a super genius; in just a few short weeks, he had a prototype for a brand-new suit of armor: the steel-silver Mark 2.

To test the armor's performance, Iron Man flew out of the luxury villa in Malibu and soared into the sky.

Flying higher and higher in his pride and indulgence, Tony grew increasingly smug after enjoying the thrill of flight, pushing the armor to climb until he reached the stratosphere.

The temperature there was extremely low, causing the armor to ice over rapidly, turning him into a block of ice in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, the system rebooted before he could fall to his death, allowing him to escape disaster.

Tony realized where the problem lay and decided to improve the Iron Man armor, replacing the outer shell with an advanced alloy used for military satellites. He then applied the classic red-and-gold paint job, marking the birth of the Mark 3.

However, he had never spoken of these things to anyone, for since returning from Afghanistan, he didn't know who he could trust. William's words had left Tony feeling shocked.

It will be very cold up there, be careful not to catch a cold. This was a jab at the icing problem of the Iron Armor—how could he have known about that?

"Damn S.H.I.E.L.D." Tony felt certain that S.H.I.E.L.D. was monitoring him. Just as he was about to confront William, he found that the man had vanished, with no clue as to where he had gone.

Tony looked at the photos in his hand; no, he had to stop these shady dealings!

"I was so naive to believe your words." Tony found Obadiah Stane and produced the photos to hold him accountable. "We are conducting arms deals in private, aren't we?"

Obadiah took a deep breath, wrapped his arm around Tony's shoulder, and said in a low voice, "Tony, who do you think opposed your return to the company? It was me."

Tony's expression froze. Obadiah was an old friend of his father's, and after Howard died, he had been diligently assisting him in managing the massive Stark Industries.

In the past, Obadiah had been like a father to him. But Tony was sharp; ever since he returned from Afghanistan, he had sensed that something was wrong. He smelled a conspiracy!

Afghanistan, a war-torn region.

Deafening artillery fire made the earth tremble, gunfire echoed all around, and the cries of people could be heard everywhere. This was a scarred, war-ravaged zone; before him lay shattered ruins, a scene of utter devastation with raging fires burning bright.

Militants had raided the area. No one stopped them; those who dared to resist were slaughtered, and the defenseless civilians were herded together, awaiting a death sentence.

"God, save us!"

Just then, a sharp whistling sound suddenly tore through the air from above, and a phantom descended from the sky.

It was a person—or to be precise, a person wearing armor. He was encased in red-and-gold plating, his eyes glowing, with a blue energy source in his chest.

The thrusters on his body erupted with powerful propulsion, kicking up a massive shockwave as he landed on the ground like a god descending!

"Rat-tat-tat..." The militants on the scene were startled and immediately opened fire, but the bullets simply clattered against the armor's metal shell, not even leaving a white scratch.

He was struck by a punch and sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing into the roof of a ruined house.

This person was Tony, or as he could be called, Iron Man. After learning about his company's arms deals, he had piloted the Iron Armor here, intending to resolve everything himself and wipe out these militants!

The Mark 3 was equipped with powerful arc repulsors on its palms, a devastating unibeam in its chest, six-barrel miniguns on its shoulders, and micro-missiles and infrared flares on its frame.

Before the invincible Iron Man, these militants had no ability to resist.

The surrounding militants launched attacks at Iron Man one after another, but their bullets were unable to pierce the armor's defenses.

Tony's palm repulsors roared, striking down the enemies before him one by one. Even those who tried to threaten him with civilians were taken down by the miniguns.

He hadn't expected this suit of Iron Armor to be so powerful. Just as Iron Man finished off the surrounding enemies and prepared to fly away, a tank in the distance took aim and blasted him out of the sky with a single shot!

The downed Iron Man crashed into the ground, kicking up a thick cloud of dust. The enemy originally thought this guy had been finished off, but soon, that steel figure crawled out of the impact crater.

"Boom!" Another shot rang out, but this time Iron Man was prepared; he tilted his body slightly, and the shell grazed past him.

He raised his right arm, and a micro-missile shot out, piercing the tank's thick hull with a metallic ding.

Iron Man turned around and walked forward without looking back; the surroundings were silent, save for the sound of his heavy footsteps.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed. The tank erupted in a roar of flames, turning into a massive fireball as fragments of the tank rained down from the sky like scattered flowers.

Iron Man's arrival had scared the militants out of their wits. If not for those photos, Tony would never have known about these things. And the mastermind behind it all was currently mopping the floor in a fast-food restaurant.

"William, what exactly did you say to Tony Stark yesterday?" Coulson asked curiously.

Coulson had tried every possible method to schedule a meeting with Tony, to the point where he was nearly going bald.

But that was just Tony's personality; after all, his father was Howard, and he was the CEO of Stark Industries.

He hadn't expected William to complete this thorny task so easily.

William had first tracked down the female reporter who had a thing with Tony, used S.H.I.E.L.D.'s name to take the photos, and then showed them to Tony.

At first, Tony's expression was only one of anger, but after William whispered a single sentence to him, his entire demeanor changed.

It was an expression of utter disbelief. What could have been said to surprise him so much?

William smiled. After all, he was someone who knew the movie's plot; he knew the reporter would find Tony, and he knew the trope about Iron Man icing up in the sky.

These were his advantages. He had his own selfish motives for helping Coulson, as Coulson would play a pivotal role in the future Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D., and building a good relationship with him was definitely the right move.

Besides, he also wanted to get a close look at Iron Man. Just as he remembered, Tony was arrogant, conceited, and radiated an aura of "I'm handsome and I'm flashy."

"Actually, there's no harm in telling you." William stopped mopping and pointed to his own chest. "I just reminded him to exercise well every day and pay attention to his health!"

Get some sleep and rest early, goodnight~