Subduing Tony

"I think highly of you. You're a smart man, and now I can offer you another choice."

Shendu's tone carried an authority that allowed no refusal. "Submit to me!"

Tony stared at Shendu before him for a long time without speaking.

Another steel bar shot toward Tony. He did not dodge. One suit from the Iron Legion charged over without hesitation, blocking the attack beside him.

"What? Have you completely given up on your legion now?"

Shendu continued, "Submit to me, and I can show you what a true legion is."

"These legions are useless now. Since they're useless, there's no need to keep them. They'll only waste JARVIS's processing power."

Tony's tone no longer carried its previous confidence. "You're afraid. Or rather, nuclear missiles can hurt you."

"So what if you know? You don't think you still have any nuclear missiles you can use, do you?" Shendu waved a hand. "Even if you do, how would you launch them? The world's satellite systems have all been crippled."

"JARVIS is independent and isn't subject to any nation's orders. The control authority you obtained from S.H.I.E.L.D. does not include JARVIS."

Tony waved his hand. "Take a guess. Do I have private nuclear missiles or not?"

Shendu did not answer. He saw a green figure appear atop the building behind Tony, staring at him.

"Sir, new life signs have been detected nearby. Based on known data, they are Mr. Banner and Ms. Natasha."

"Reinforcements have arrived. Do you think you still stand a chance?" Tony said coolly.

The moment his words fell, JARVIS's warning sounded inside his helmet. "Sir, something is wrong. Mr. Banner's target is you. He's too close. Unable to stop him!"

"Tony!"

Banner's furious roar, now transformed into Hulk, rang beside Tony's ears.

Hulk's massive fist smashed toward Tony's helmet without the slightest hesitation.

Hulk's blow knocked Tony off balance in midair, and he crashed to the ground like a bird with broken wings.

Hulk leaped before Shendu and reverted to Banner's form.

"Valmont, I heard everything. I didn't expect you to be this strong, able to contend with Tony as he is now."

Banner felt Stark Tower trembling beneath his feet. "What's going on with this building? It feels like it's come alive."

Shendu smiled and walked up to Banner. "How did you find this place?"

Banner replied, "Natasha and I went to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Although Natasha told me about the current situation, and I learned from the news that Fury had a problem, it was still hard to believe."

"In Fury's office, I found the mark Steve left behind. I was planning to find him when I noticed the commotion here."

Shendu looked Banner up and down. "So what do you think about all this now?"

Banner thought for a moment. "Honestly, I don't know who to believe right now. Tony has betrayed us, and Fury has gone mad."

Banner looked Shendu over, narrowing his eyes. "Actually, I'm not clear on your position either. I only helped you just now because I was dissatisfied with Tony's betrayal."

"You haven't decided on a position yet?" Shendu narrowed his eyes, a cold gleam flashing through them.

Banner did not notice the change in Shendu's expression. All his attention was on Stark Tower, which was moving beneath his feet. "By the way, what exactly is going on?"

"I'm very dissatisfied with your answer."

Banner did not understand what Shendu meant. "What did you—"

A mouthful of blood sprayed from Banner's mouth. He stared at the hand protruding from his chest in disbelief.

Shendu's hand had pierced through his back and emerged from his chest. The heart in his palm was still beating.

The power of Shendu's Mind Stone poured from his palm into the heart. The bright red heart in his hand gradually turned green, and Shendu used dark magic to place it back into Banner's body.

Once the heart returned to his body, Banner's form rapidly changed, and Hulk appeared once more.

"Roar!" Hulk threw back his head and roared.

Shendu looked at Hulk before him in satisfaction. In the movie, Hulk had been struck once by Ancient One, after which he became a useless Hulk.

Now, Shendu had used the Mind Stone to completely erase Banner's personality, leaving only Hulk's.

Shendu planted a thought into Hulk's new heart: kill Fury.

Shendu withdrew the Mouse Talisman's power, and Stark Tower stopped moving. Stepping on floating chunks of stone, Shendu slowly descended until he reached Tony.

He looked at Tony lying on the ground. His armor had been completely shattered. Before Tony hit the ground, JARVIS had activated the emergency system to barely keep him alive.

Shendu stood amid the flames, his shadow stretching endlessly behind him as countless Shadow Ninjas emerged from it.

"Take him somewhere safe and keep him under control. Remember, don't kill him. Leave him some hope of escape," Shendu ordered the ninjas.

New York, an unnoticed little room.

Fury gripped a pager tightly in his hand. Unlike Ross and the others, who had fallen into despair, Fury knew he still had another card to play.

"How is Tony doing?" Fury asked Steve.

Steve's face was livid. "Judging by the situation outside, Tony should have been defeated by Shendu."

Fury sighed. "I was still too arrogant."

Ross seized the chance to mock him. "You know that now? You wanted to control the world's weapons systems. What were you thinking?"

Fury ignored him. He stared at the pager in his hand, his finger continuously rubbing the transmit button.

"New York is practically gone, and you're still holding that antique?" Ross looked as though he hated to see iron fail to become steel, reaching to snatch the pager from Fury's hand.

Fury raised his head and glanced at Ross, who was about to make a move. With one hand, he subdued the man and tossed him to Steve.

"Old man, behave yourself." With that, Fury left.

Steve caught Ross and looked at Fury's departing figure. He gave Ross a helpless expression. "General, in this situation, you really shouldn't say things that undermine unity."

"Roar!"

While they were still resting, a roar rang out, and Hulk's green figure charged into view.

Hulk swept his gaze around, sniffed the air, then rushed in the direction Fury had gone.

Ross watched the frenzied Hulk from the side. His legs had long since lost their strength. No one present understood Hulk's condition better than he did.

"He... he's gone mad!" Ross whispered.

Steve frowned tightly as he watched Hulk's retreating figure. One of the orders he had received from Shendu was to protect Fury's safety.

"General, sorry."

Steve tied Ross to a nearby pillar, picked up his shield, and rushed in Fury's direction.

Fury was now outside, looking toward Stark Tower. The tower was no longer in its original location.

"What kind of technology is this? What did Tony do to make the tower move?"

At that moment, Fury felt that he still understood Tony far too little. His current technology was beyond anything Fury could even imagine.

The stones by his feet began to tremble. "Fury!"

Hulk's voice came from behind Fury.

"Looks like the reinforcements are here. There's probably no need to call her for now."

Fury turned around and looked at Hulk charging toward him. A shiver suddenly ran through his heart. Hulk's eyes had already turned completely red.