Then You Should've Said So

Meanwhile, on the rooftop of a building near Stark Industries headquarters.

Chen Xiao sat on the edge of the roof, his legs dangling over the side and swinging. He held a bucket of popcorn he had no idea where he had gotten. He grabbed a handful, stuffed it into his mouth, and crunched away loudly.

Rhodey stood beside him with a handful of popcorn in his own hand. He had no idea when he had taken it, probably instinctively reaching out when Chen Xiao offered it. He chewed the popcorn, his eyes never leaving the battlefield in the distance.

Pepper sat on Chen Xiao's other side, hugging her knees with her chin resting on them. She did not eat any popcorn. Her eyes were fixed on the red-and-gold figure in the distance, her fingers gripping her pant leg so tightly that her knuckles had gone white.

"He shouldn't have dodged that punch just now." Chen Xiao chewed his popcorn, his voice calm as though he were commenting on a ball game. "He should've taken it head-on, then counterattacked."

Rhodey shook his head. "He couldn't take it. That hunk of iron's fist is bigger than his head."

"True." Chen Xiao grabbed another handful of popcorn. "But his speed's decent. Iron Monger can't catch him."

"What good is that?" Rhodey said. "He can't hurt it. Look at those Palm Cannons. They're like scratching an itch to Iron Monger."

"Not enough energy." Chen Xiao said. "The old core only has half the output of the new one. It's really limiting him. Those Palm Cannons are probably only at sixty percent power."

Pepper's fingers clenched tighter.

"Then what does he do?" Pepper asked, her voice tense.

Chen Xiao thought about it. "Wait to die?"

Rhodey turned and glared at him. Pepper glared at him too.

Chen Xiao raised both hands. "Just kidding. He's still got another move."

"What other move?" Pepper asked.

Chen Xiao did not answer. He chewed his popcorn and watched the two lights in the distant night sky grow farther apart—they were climbing higher and higher, becoming smaller and smaller.

Rhodey narrowed his eyes and watched for a while. "He's flying up. Iron Monger's chasing him."

"Mm," Chen Xiao said.

"Why's he flying up?"

"Just wait and see."

Pepper stared at the two shrinking points of light, her breathing growing rapid. She did not know what Chen Xiao meant, nor did she know what Tony was doing. She only knew Tony's energy was running low. Chen Xiao had just said it—the old core had only half the output of the new one. With insufficient energy, how could he fight?

A dull boom sounded in the distance. It was not an explosion, but the sound of some enormous object slamming into the ground—deep and heavy, like a building collapsing.

Pepper abruptly stood up. "Tony!"

Chen Xiao reached out, caught her wrist, and pulled her back down. "Don't panic. That wasn't him."

"Then what was it?"

"Iron Monger," Chen Xiao said. "It fell."

Rhodey stared into the distant night sky. The red-and-gold point of light was still there, but much dimmer than before. It flickered, like a candle about to go out.

"His energy's almost gone," Rhodey said.

"Mm," Chen Xiao said.

"You're not going to help him?"

"He told me not to." Chen Xiao chewed his popcorn. "He said this was his business."

Rhodey fell silent for a second. Then he grabbed a handful of popcorn, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed hard.

Pepper sat there, her fingers clutching her knees, nails digging into the fabric of her pants. She watched the flickering red-and-gold light in the distance, her lips pressed into a thin line.

Chen Xiao offered her a handful of popcorn. "Want some? Relax."

Pepper did not take it.

"He'll be fine," Chen Xiao said, drawing the popcorn back and eating it himself.

"How do you know?" Pepper's voice was very soft.

"Because I'm here." Chen Xiao smiled.

Pepper said nothing. Her gaze never left that fading light.

The scene shifted.

Iron Monger's weapons were already trained on Tony.

He lay on the ground, gasping for breath. His armor was damaged in several places, especially around the waist, where the plating had completely fallen away, exposing the wiring beneath. Sparks occasionally sputtered from it.

Iron Monger stood some distance away, its shoulder missiles locked firmly onto Tony.

Obadiah's voice came from within the armor, hoarse and crazed. "Tony—you can't beat me—you never could beat me—you think you're smarter than me? You think you're stronger than me?"

Tony said nothing. His gaze fell on the Arc Reactor in Iron Monger's chest, shining with a blinding white light. His own core's energy display had gone black. There was no data on the screen. He did not know how much power he had left—maybe a fraction of a percent, maybe none. He only knew the thrusters would no longer ignite, the Palm Cannons would no longer fire, and the armor was nothing more than a metal shell.

"JARVIS..." His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping over sheet metal.

"Yes, sir?" JARVIS's voice was quiet, as if coming from a great distance away.

"Call Chen Xiao."

"Already notified."

Tony closed his eyes. The white light of the old core in his chest was nearly extinguished, leaving only a faint glimmer, like the final flame of a dying candle.

On the rooftop, Chen Xiao's phone rang.

It was vibrating. Bzzz, bzzz, bzzz. It buzzed three times in his pocket.

He set down the bucket of popcorn, pulled out his phone from the pocket of his hoodie, and glanced at the screen. "Give me a hand."

Chen Xiao stood and brushed popcorn crumbs from his pants.

"Let's go. He called for me."

With a sweep of his right hand, a blue portal silently unfolded on the rooftop. Arcs of electricity danced along the edge of the gateway, making faint crackling sounds. On the other side was the battlefield in Area 16: gray concrete, scattered rubble, and a broken Iron Man.

Chen Xiao stepped through. His flip-flop crunched against the gravel.

Rhodey followed him.

Then Pepper, without hesitation.

The three emerged from the portal and stopped several meters from Tony.

Inside Iron Monger, three additional targeting reticles suddenly appeared on Obadiah's missile lock interface. He focused his eyes and saw a young man in a hoodie and flip-flops, a Black officer in a military-green T-shirt and sweatpants, and a blonde woman in a light-gray sweater.

His eyes widened.

"What the hell is this?"

The portal closed behind the three of them. Blue arcs lingered in the air for several seconds, twisting like tiny snakes before fading away.

Obadiah's voice came from the armor, his composure cracking. He had been through far too much tonight, but seeing something so unnatural still threw him into a panic.

Chen Xiao ignored him.

Tony lay on the ground with his faceplate open. He saw Chen Xiao, then looked at Pepper and Rhodey behind him. His gaze swept over the three faces before finally settling on the bucket of popcorn in Chen Xiao's hand.

"You guys... were watching the whole time?"

Rhodey said, "And eating popcorn."

Tony rolled his eyes.

Pepper crouched down and looked at Tony. Her eyes were red, but she did not cry. She reached out, wanting to touch his face, but her fingers paused at the edge of his faceplate before gently touching his forehead.

"Are you okay?" Her voice was soft.

"I'm fine," Tony said. He looked into Pepper's eyes, then turned to Chen Xiao. "He's tough. His armor's too thick. My Palm Cannons can't penetrate it."

Chen Xiao nodded.

He turned around to face Iron Monger.

Iron Monger included Chen Xiao within its attack range. Its machine gun began spinning, bullets pouring down like a waterfall.

A cascade of lightning surged from the ground and formed a barrier that blocked the bullets. The machine gun spun even more frantically until the ammunition belt ran dry with a click. Chen Xiao lowered his hand, and a golden-yellow brick appeared in it. The instant Iron Monger opened fire, Chen Xiao had used lightning to create a hollow waterfall—a high-temperature cavity inside, heated by electric arc discharge. The bullets melted like butter when they entered, and he kneaded them into a brick for fun.

Inside the armor, Obadiah stared at the young man in a hoodie and flip-flops, still holding a piece of popcorn. His sensors scanned Chen Xiao frantically, but the result was only one thing: human, ordinary human, no weapons, no armor.

But he did not believe it. Ordinary human, my ass! Where had that lightning come from!? Where had that glowing ring of electricity come from!?

"Who the hell are you?" Obadiah asked Chen Xiao again, but Chen Xiao did not answer.

He took a step forward.

Iron Monger took a step back.

Chen Xiao put the piece of popcorn in his hand into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

Then he raised his right foot.

The sole of his flip-flop left the ground. The mischievous sandal even wobbled as he lifted his foot. He raised it slowly, as if doing something that required his complete concentration.

Then he stomped down.

Boom—

It was not the sound of a foot hitting the floor. It was thunder.

A brilliant blue arc exploded beneath his foot like a glowing serpent, racing across the ground toward Iron Monger. The instant it touched Iron Monger's foot armor, it spread through the entire leg like electricity finding a conductor: calf, knee, thigh, every plate of armor wrapped in blue light.

Then came the waist. The arc leaped from the legs to the waist armor and climbed up the metal shell like countless glowing vines coiling around it. Then the chestplate. Then the arms. Then the head.

The entire Iron Monger was enveloped in blue lightning, all within microseconds.

The arcs jumped wildly across the metal shell with a piercing crackle. White smoke rose from the gaps in the armor—not the kind caused by fire, but the kind produced when metal was scorched and vaporized by extreme heat. Sparks burst from the joints one after another like miniature fireworks.

Obadiah's voice came from inside, turning into screams.

"Ah—ah—ah—"

They were not exaggerated movie screams. They were real screams, forced out from the depths of his throat, filled with terror and pain. His body convulsed inside the armor. His fingers could no longer grip the controls, his legs kicked wildly, and his whole body shook violently as if being electrocuted.

Then it went rigid.

The electric arcs continued for five seconds. After five seconds, they stopped.

Iron Monger stood in place, motionless.

A few blue arcs remained on the silver-gray metal shell, jumping twice across the armor's surface before dissipating. The Arc Reactor in its chest was still glowing, its white light unextinguished, but Obadiah had fallen silent. He was still inside, but he had passed out.

Chen Xiao brushed the dust off himself.

"Iron conducts electricity," he said, his tone as calm as if explaining a physics problem. "No matter how thick the armor is, it won't help."

Rhodey's mouth hung open. The popcorn in his hand fell and smacked Tony in the face. He looked at Chen Xiao, then at Iron Monger, then at Chen Xiao again. His mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.

Pepper was the same. She stared blankly at Chen Xiao, then at the smoking Iron Monger, her lips moving slightly.

Tony lay on the ground, wiping the popcorn stuck to his face as he stared at the unmoving Iron Monger.

"...Then you should've said so," Tony said.

Chen Xiao looked back at him, rolled his eyes, and spoke innocently.

"You said this was your business."

Tony opened his mouth, then closed it.

Pepper crouched down and supported Tony by the shoulder, while Rhodey grabbed his other arm and draped it over his own shoulder.

Chen Xiao shoved over the hunk of scrap metal, sat cross-legged on top of it, and reached for the energy core. In the distance, sirens wailed, growing closer and closer.