The Man Makes the Suit

The people able to attend were either high-ranking officials or distinguished guests, along with many influential reporters.

If the machines went out of control and wiped them all out, Hammer Industries would probably face retaliation from dozens of forces. Forget the company—even Hammer himself might not survive.

War Machine's expression changed drastically. His helmet immediately snapped shut as he shouted, "Everyone, run!"

As he spoke, he lunged at the nearest Steel Soldier.

Rat-a-tat-tat...

Luckily, he got there in time. The bullets sprayed into the ceiling, sending countless fragments and shards of glass raining down. The venue descended into chaos, filled with the screams of female guests.

Apocalypse stepped in front of Pepper Potts and Black Widow. "Natasha, get Pepper out of here first."

The moment she heard his tone, Black Widow knew Apocalypse was inside the suit. Without hesitation, she grabbed Pepper's hand and ran toward the fire exit.

Bullets struck War Machine's and Apocalypse's armor, producing a rapid chorus of clanging.

Some guests were hit by stray bullets. They screamed and collapsed instantly.

Fortunately, the Steel Soldiers' main targets were not ordinary people. Most of their firepower was focused on War Machine and Apocalypse.

War Machine said, "Tony, save the people first. We can't fight here. There are too many people."

Apocalypse thrust both hands into the ground, and the enormous carpet rose into the air, sweeping toward the Steel Soldiers.

The Steel Soldiers' spinning Gatling guns unleashed a torrent of bullets, shredding the carpet to pieces in an instant.

But that brief moment was enough!

Apocalypse pushed off with his feet, triggering a sonic boom where he stood. With a boom, he had already lunged before a Steel Soldier.

His hands curved like hooks as he ripped out the Steel Soldier's power source. The machine's indicator lights slowly dimmed, and it soon stopped moving.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Using the same method, Apocalypse produced more than a dozen sonic booms, and more than a dozen Steel Soldiers were scrapped.

By the time the shredded carpet scraps drifted to the ground, every Steel Soldier in the hall had collapsed almost simultaneously.

Meanwhile, War Machine had only just knocked down a single machine.

That speed!

That destructive power!

War Machine and Hammer were both dumbfounded!

One was a scientist and weapons contractor, while the other was a soldier. They knew better than anyone what it meant to accelerate more than a dozen times in two or three seconds, reaching the speed of sound instantly each time before coming to a complete stop.

No machine could withstand such horrifying extreme starts and stops. Even if one could, the human body could never endure such rapid changes in velocity.

Hammer muttered, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! This violates the laws of physics! This can't be real!"

Apocalypse walked over to Hammer. "Tell me. How many Steel Soldiers did you make? Where is Ivan?"

Hammer immediately came to his senses. Ivan had designed and manufactured these machines. There was no need to ask—he had to be the one controlling everything from behind the scenes.

"He's at Hammer Building."

Apocalypse connected to Black Widow's earpiece. "Natasha, did you hear that? The person controlling this is at Hammer Building. It's Ivan, the one I asked you to help me find information on last time. Go subdue him. I'll deal with the Steel Soldiers outside."

"Understood! I'm on my way."

At that moment, hundreds of Steel Soldiers slowly activated inside the armory, their eyes glowing with an eerie blue light.

Time had been limited. Ivan and Hammer Industries had not had the chance to manufacture more.

Hundreds of Steel Soldiers smashed through the doors and soared into the sky, filling the air with the thunderous roar of engines.

Only then did Iron Man arrive. "Quite the party. What happened?"

War Machine looked at the two suits and asked, "Which one of you is Tony?"

Apocalypse said, "Forget that for now. We need to take down these machines first. Otherwise, who knows how many people will die tonight?"

Iron Man said, "Tang, you're fast. Focus on destroying the machines. Rhodey and I will provide mobile cover for the crowd. Wherever there's danger, we go there."

"Alright!"

The three suits split apart in an instant.

Apocalypse shot straight into the sky, flying toward the densest cluster of Steel Soldiers.

The Steel Soldiers were heading toward the city center, where the crowds were thickest. Once they spread out, even Apocalypse would not be able to stop them quickly enough. The casualties would be impossible to count.

Unfortunately for them, they were still in the air!

A sonic boom rang out!

Like a meteor, Apocalypse blocked the Steel Soldier swarm and smashed directly into the mass of machines.

Relying on his immense strength, he tore countless machines into pieces with every movement. Wreckage rained down from the sky.

On the ground, War Machine was helping evacuate the crowd. Seeing Apocalypse tear through the sky like a tiger among sheep, with Hammer Industries' machines looking like toys before him, he could not help swallowing.

"Tony, has your suit technology gotten this powerful already?"

Tony replied over the comms, "The suit isn't what's impressive. It's the man inside."

Although Iron Man's armor was more advanced than Hammer's, destroying one still took effort. He absolutely could not rip them apart like paper the way Apocalypse did.

"Who is he?"

Iron Man said, "You've met him."

Colonel Rhodes suddenly realized something. "Those two F-22 fighters last time—was he the one who shot them down?"

"Cough... cough... Let's deal with what's in front of us first. We can talk about everything else later."

With the aerial machine swarm destroyed, Iron Man and War Machine were more than capable of handling the remaining scattered Steel Soldiers.

Apocalypse turned and flew toward Hammer Industries' building.

Although Black Widow had fought her way through in the original story, Apocalypse did not dare let his guard down. He was afraid something might happen to her.

Even Iron Man himself would have died several times already if Apocalypse had not saved him. The Butterfly Effect alone was enough to kill him.

After landing at the entrance, Apocalypse retracted his armor.

He found Happy drenched in sweat, locked in an intense fight with a bodyguard.

Among ordinary bodyguards, Happy was fairly capable. But compared to superheroes like Black Widow, he was still far too weak.

Apocalypse appeared before the two men, flicked a finger, and lightly tapped the bodyguard's forehead as though flicking a child on the head.

The burly man's eyes rolled back, and he immediately fainted.

Apocalypse had held back. Otherwise, he would have flicked the man's brains out.

Happy panted heavily. "I could've handled him without your help. You should go check on Natasha..."

When he turned around, he saw burly men sprawled all over the corridor. Happy swallowed hard. Even someone as stubbornly mouthy as him had nothing left to say.

Apocalypse said, "I'll go help Natasha. You go outside and evacuate the crowd."

"Alright... then." Watching Apocalypse vanish in a flash, Happy muttered, "Why do I feel like I'm the one who needs help?"

Apocalypse quickly caught up with Black Widow.

Black Widow had changed into a tight combat suit, her curvaceous figure fully displayed. Her eyes were fixed ahead with killing intent, and her heroic bearing made Apocalypse drool.

But this was not the time for flirting.

Apocalypse suppressed his feelings. By the time the two rushed into the control room, several security guards were unconscious inside, while Ivan had already disappeared.

"Natasha, go catch Hammer. Don't let him escape. Tony and I will go after Ivan."

"OK." Black Widow spun around and left with crisp efficiency.

"Hey... wait a second." Apocalypse had not expected Black Widow to be so decisive while working.

He stepped forward, wrapped an arm around Black Widow's waist, and gave her a long kiss before laughing heartily and leaving.

Black Widow was left standing there, her face flushed red. It was impossible to tell whether she was embarrassed or simply oxygen-deprived from the long kiss.

Apocalypse put his armor back on and flew toward the botanical garden in the city.

Iron Man had just sent word that a specially enhanced Steel Soldier was hunting him and War Machine. It was probably Ivan.

By the time Apocalypse arrived, Ivan, War Machine, and Iron Man had already exchanged several rounds in the botanical garden.

The garden had been devastated by lasers, bullets, and all kinds of miniature missiles.

Sure enough, this part of the plot had not changed.

Ivan was fighting one against two, yet he had Iron Man and War Machine completely suppressed.

Fortunately, Iron Man and War Machine worked well together. They kept Ivan pinned down here, preventing further civilian casualties.

Ivan had inherited the temperament of a warrior people. Since his technology was lacking, he simply compensated with brute force and loaded up on equipment. With dozens of Unmanned Steel Soldiers assisting him, he beat Iron Man and War Machine until they could barely fight back.

In the original story, Iron Man first used an area-of-effect laser attack to slice all the unmanned machines into scrap metal.

Then he and War Machine fired their laser cannons at each other, creating an even more powerful shockwave that defeated Ivan.

Before dying, Ivan detonated all the Unmanned Steel Soldiers, causing countless casualties.

Naturally, Apocalypse could not allow things to unfold as they had before. First, he wanted to recruit Ivan. Second, he could not let Ivan detonate the Unmanned Steel Soldiers still outside.