Fierce Battle

Pepper Potts ran out of Stark Industries in a panic, standing at the entrance and gasping for breath.

That had been far too close. She had almost been caught by that steel monster. Luckily, S.H.I.E.L.D. had come to help. Maybe they could catch Obadiah.

Just as she thought that, her phone rang. Tony was calling.

"Tony, thank goodness! You're alive!" Pepper Potts said excitedly. "Obadiah— that maniac has gone crazy!"

"I know." Tony still sounded like a domineering CEO. "Listen, get out of there right now. It's dangerous!"

Pepper Potts was just about to reply when she heard a strange sound coming from beneath her feet. The ground trembled, and cracks appeared across the pavement, spreading rapidly. A gigantic mechanical hand burst out of the earth.

"O-Obadiah!" Pepper Potts cried, her face stricken with terror. As the ground shook, it collapsed, and a hulking figure crawled out. Pepper Potts stumbled backward in fright, dropping her phone in the panic.

The Iron Monger stood in front of her. Obadiah said coldly, "I used to like you. You were clever and capable. But now you're no use to me. You can die."

The Iron Monger raised its arm, and the barrels of its Gatling gun began to spin. Pepper Potts screamed in terror. Just as the bullets were about to fire, a piercing cry rang out from the sky:

"Let go of my secretary!"

Iron Man plunged down from above with a shrill roar. The Iron Monger had only just looked up when Iron Man was already upon it. Tony roared, wrapped his arms around the Iron Monger, and slammed it into the ground.

The tremendous force ripped through the pavement, sending them crashing into Stark Industries. They smashed through a wall, flew outside, and finally broke through the trailer of a huge truck before tumbling to the ground.

A shrill chorus of horns blared. They were on the highway, where cars sped along at high speed. The arrival of Iron Man and the Iron Monger threw traffic into chaos as cars swerved to avoid the two hulking metal figures.

People could hardly believe their eyes. What was going on? Was someone filming a movie?

Several cars rear-ended one another, and the scene descended into chaos. An Audi Q7 nearly hit the Iron Monger as it climbed to its feet. The mother driving and her two children screamed in terror. The Iron Monger picked up the car, intending to smash it down on Iron Man, who was lying on the ground.

"I love this armor!" the Iron Monger declared, holding the car over its head as if showing off its strength.

"Put them down!" Iron Man said as he got up. "This is between us. They have nothing to do with it!"

"You're always so naive."

Obadiah sneered as the Iron Monger hoisted the car and strode toward Iron Man. Seeing the mother and children screaming inside, Tony clenched his fists. He couldn't let innocent people die because of him.

From the day he put on the armor, he had decided to protect everything around him!

"Boom!" Iron Man poured all his strength into the Arc Reactor in his chest. A dazzling Unibeam roared out, striking the Iron Monger square in the chest and sending it flying into a car.

The car in the Iron Monger's grip flew out too, but Iron Man caught it just before it hit the ground.

Catching the car was no easy feat, though. Tony put every ounce of strength he had into it, and felt like his lower back was about to snap.

After finally setting the car down, the excited mother floored the accelerator, and the car shot off, carrying Iron Man a long way. Tony tapped on the windshield and said,

"Don't panic, ma'am. I'm not trying to scam you for compensation!"

As Iron Man and the Iron Monger fought fiercely, William and Coulson had just made it to the rooftop of Stark Industries.

Coulson watched Tony and Obadiah's battle anxiously. If those two kept this up, they'd tear the highway apart.

"Coulson, who do you think will win?" William asked curiously.

"In terms of size and strength, Obadiah's armor has the advantage." Coulson looked worried. "And from what I understand, Stark left in a hurry. His armor isn't fully charged."

William furrowed his brow. "Oh, that's a problem."

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Coulson said, rolling his eyes. "S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't paying you for nothing."

William smiled at Coulson's words.

After all, he was working for S.H.I.E.L.D. now. The moment the Iron Monger appeared, he had transformed into Soldier: 76 and charged into battle. But against a heavily armored suit like the Iron Monger, an assault hero like Soldier: 76 struggled. His attacks couldn't pierce its Steel Body.

So William had lost his first battle against the Iron Monger. It wasn't a crushing defeat, but to Coulson, it was still a loss.

They were on the rooftop now, watching the two fighters battling on the highway in the distance. It was already too far for the Pulse Rifle to hit reliably. And even if it could, Soldier: 76 dealt less damage to distant enemies.

William didn't have much time left. The Iron Monger was clearly stronger than Iron Man, and Iron Man wasn't fully charged. If William couldn't help Tony, Obadiah might defeat him. The movie hadn't gone that way, but who could guarantee what might change in this dangerous Marvel Universe?

"Athena," William called in his mind. "Is there a way for me to hit the Iron Monger?"

"Have you forgotten the new hero you recently acquired?"

Only then did William remember the hero he had unlocked a few days earlier—Hanzo.

Hanzo was a hero people both loved and hated. They loved him because his headshots dealt massive damage, and the sound of a headshot was incredibly satisfying.

They hated him because so many beginners liked playing Hanzo, and most of them were just feeding the enemy kills. But a skilled Hanzo player, given enough resources, really could crush the opposition.

Soldier: 76's weapon had limited range, and its firepower dropped off sharply over long distances. Hanzo was different: his damage stayed the same at any range.

Of course, that was assuming you could aim.

"Athena, I'm already in Soldier: 76 form. Can I still transform into Hanzo?"

"No problem. As long as you're within the Overwatch System's transformation time limit, you can switch heroes at will. But once the transformation time runs out, you won't be able to use any of them for a short while."

William finally understood. As long as the transformation time hadn't run out, he could switch freely between any heroes he had unlocked. So far, he had only unlocked Soldier: 76 and Hanzo. Once he had more heroes, the Overwatch System would be an incredibly powerful ability!

"Athena, get me ready to transform into Hanzo!"

Amid a dazzling burst of light, Soldier: 76's form changed once more:

His gray-white hair turned black and was tied back, with a lock of side-swept bangs falling over his forehead. His combat uniform transformed into a samurai outfit.

A quiver appeared on his back, and a flask hung at his waist. His left chest was exposed, bearing a massive Dragon Tattoo that extended down his left arm.

"Hanzo transformation time remaining: 3:00"

Coulson watched Iron Man and the Iron Monger through his binoculars. Just then, he noticed a flash of light beside him.

He hurriedly lowered the binoculars, just in time to see William transform from Soldier: 76 into Hanzo. His face changed completely, as if he'd seen a ghost.

If Soldier: 76 had looked like a warrior from the future, then what was this supposed to be? A Japanese samurai? A gangster boss?

"How much are you still hiding from us?" Coulson asked after a moment of silence.

William didn't even spare Coulson a glance. A brilliant flash of white light passed, and a longbow appeared in his hands. He pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back and was about to draw the bow.

Coulson stared, dumbfounded. What the hell, where had that bow come from? Was William Doraemon or something?