Iron Monger's Exit

The crystal chandeliers in the banquet hall poured down dazzling light, illuminating the guests as they toasted one another. Obadiah Stane stood at the podium, his gleaming forehead reflecting the harsh light. When he raised his champagne glass, his face wore a carefully calculated smile.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Obadiah said with great poise, "thank you all for attending Stark Industries' annual charity gala. Though our... unconventional Tony is absent tonight..."

Below the stage, Chen Tian leaned against the champagne tower, gently swirling the wine in his glass. Natasha Romanoff had somehow appeared at his side, a perfectly timed smile curling her red lips.

"This Bugatti is certainly... distinctive," she said elegantly, swirling her glass as her gaze lingered on Chen Tian's tie. "Tony's new favorite?"

Chen Tian's lips curved slightly as he deliberately lowered his voice. "What, does Miss Romanoff know a thing or two about sports cars as well?"

"A little," Natasha said, her fingertips lightly tracing the rim of her glass. "Especially... certain specially customized models." Her meaningful gaze swept toward 2B in the distance. "Your assistant looks rather special."

"2B?" Chen Tian shrugged as though unconcerned. "She's just an ordinary personal assistant."

Natasha chuckled, her wine-red hair glowing softly beneath the lights. "For Tony to lend you his beloved car, you two must be close."

"Likewise." Chen Tian raised his glass with a grin. "For Stark Industries' legal counsel to pay me so much attention, I'm truly flattered."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sudden rise in volume from the stage. Obadiah's speech had reached its conclusion. "...Let us raise our glasses together, to a brighter tomorrow!"

Amid the enthusiastic applause, Chen Tian's gaze casually followed Obadiah as he left the room. Natasha sharply noticed the change in his focus.

"What? Interested in Mr. Stane?" she asked casually.

Chen Tian suddenly leaned close to Natasha's ear, his hot breath brushing across her sensitive earlobe. To others, they looked like nothing more than a flirtatious couple, but his words made Natasha's entire body stiffen.

"Miss Black Widow, Obadiah has deep ties to the Ten Rings who kidnapped Tony... Does your S.H.I.E.L.D. know about that?"

Natasha's pupils contracted sharply, but her professionalism allowed her to instantly compose her expression.

She pretended to be stirred by sweet words, a suitable flush appearing on her cheeks as she even cooperatively bit her lower lip.

Only Chen Tian could feel the fingers resting on his shoulder suddenly tighten, her nails nearly piercing through his suit.

"You're so bad..." She playfully slapped Chen Tian, her voice sweet enough to drip honey, though dangerous coldness had already surfaced in the depths of her emerald eyes. "You shouldn't joke about something like that~"

Chen Tian raised his glass, an irreverent smile on his lips. "Whether I'm joking or not... Agent Romanoff should know very well, shouldn't she?"

Natasha's red lips curled upward slightly. Her slender fingers seemed to casually brush over Chen Tian's tie, her fingertips grazing his Adam's apple.

She tilted her head back slightly, thick lashes casting shadows beneath the lights, while a dangerous yet alluring gleam flickered in her emerald eyes.

"Mr. Chen," she whispered in a low voice with a husky hint of seduction, "I suddenly feel that it's too noisy here... How about we find somewhere quiet and have a proper 'exchange'?" She deliberately stressed the word "exchange," her red lips nearly brushing Chen Tian's earlobe.

Chen Tian could clearly feel her warm breath, as well as the faintly pressing hard object against his waist—without a doubt, Black Widow's signature shock baton. The smile on his lips deepened as his right hand quietly slipped into his inner suit pocket.

"My pleasure." He nodded slightly, gracefully taking Natasha's wineglass with his left hand and setting it aside. "But before that..."

His right hand swiftly pulled out his phone, his thumb sliding rapidly across the screen.

A message reading [Obadiah has left] had already been sent. Almost at once, Tony's reply popped up: [Got it, the party's starting ^_^]

"You!" Natasha frowned, but quickly returned to her coquettish demeanor. She pressed close to Chen Tian's chest, looking to outsiders as though she were acting cute. "What a disobedient boy~"

Chen Tian waved the phone before her eyes. Another message appeared on the screen: [2B has locked onto the target's location].

He lowered his head and whispered into Natasha's ear, "Now, we can continue our 'deep exchange,' Agent Romanoff."

Natasha's red lips formed a dangerous curve as her finger quietly pressed the alarm hidden in her handbag.

She linked arms with Chen Tian. To outsiders, they appeared to be an intimate couple heading toward the lounge, but in truth, both were secretly testing each other.

"You know," she said sweetly, "I especially enjoy... educating disobedient boys."

Chen Tian felt the pressure from her fingertips, yet his smile became even brighter. "What a coincidence. I especially enjoy... taming dangerous little wildcats."

Their figures disappeared around the corner of the corridor, while the crystal chandeliers in the banquet hall continued to shine brilliantly, as though nothing had happened.

Only 2B silently watched their retreating backs, her mechanical eyes beneath silver hair flashing with cold light as she recorded everything.

The moment the two stepped onto the rooftop, the night wind howled past them. Natasha's figure flashed abruptly, her red hair drawing a sharp arc through the air. In an instant, she had retreated five meters away. Her long legs spread slightly as both hands steadily raised two Glock 19s, their dark muzzles aimed directly at Chen Tian's forehead.

"Wow~" Perhaps Chen Tian had spent too long around Tony. Facing two guns, he showed no trace of nerves and instead looked thoroughly amused.

He slowly raised both hands above his head in a textbook surrender pose. "What a warm welcome."

Natasha's red hair whipped wildly in the wind. There was none of her previous charm left in her emerald eyes, only an agent's cold sharpness. "Now, let's get acquainted again—who exactly are you?"

"I thought we were already quite familiar, Nat." Chen Tian addressed her intimately, his hands still held in surrender. "At least three minutes ago, you said you wanted to 'educate' me."

"Cut the nonsense!" Natasha's index finger rested lightly on the trigger. "There's no record of you in our database. Talk. Who exactly are you?"

A smile instead rose on Chen Tian's lips. "Nat, before we continue this entertaining interrogation—"

He turned his head slightly, looking toward a dark rooftop in the distance. "Could you have Agent Coulson put away that sniper rifle first? I'm... a little afraid his gun might go off."

Natasha's finger stiffened almost imperceptibly on the trigger. Coulson's distinctly flustered voice came through her earpiece. "How did he know my position?!"

The night wind carried silence as it circled among the three of them. Natasha's red hair danced like flames under the moonlight, her emerald eyes fixed tightly on Chen Tian as she tried to find a flaw in his frivolous expression.

Chen Tian suddenly dropped his unserious smile, his expression turning somewhat grave. "Nat, this isn't the time to play spy games." He slowly lowered his raised hands, showing no fear of the guns still aimed at him. "Obadiah should be on his way to Malibu right now. His target is Tony."

Natasha's guns did not move, though her brows had already furrowed. "Proof?"

Chen Tian called softly into the night wind, "2B."

Before his words had faded, Natasha's pupils contracted sharply—the silver-haired girl had somehow appeared at the edge of the rooftop, and 2B's right hand was projecting a holographic image.

"I stole this from Obadiah's computer." 2B's voice was calm without the slightest ripple.

In the footage, Tony Stark was tightly bound to a metal chair, blood staining both his face and clothes. More than a dozen armed masked men surrounded him, their leader roaring at the camera. Though he spoke Urdu, the content was clearly audible through 2B's live translation.

"Stane! You tricked us!" The terrorist leader waved an AK-47. "There was only Stark there, no Jericho missile at all!"

Natasha's emerald pupils contracted violently, her red lips pressing into a taut line. She quickly held down her earpiece. "Coulson, verify this intelligence."

Coulson's hurried breathing came through the earpiece. "Received, Romanoff. We did find that Obadiah has been frequently meeting with board members recently, but this footage..." His voice abruptly turned grave. "Wait, the technical department just confirmed it. The footage is real."

Natasha's gun barrels lowered slightly, but she remained on guard. "When did you get this?"

Chen Tian shrugged. "After Tony returned to the United States and announced the closure of Stark Industries' weapons division, I told him Obadiah was acting suspiciously."

Chen Tian took a step forward, and Natasha's guns immediately rose again.

He spread his hands helplessly. "Come on, Nat. If I really wanted to hurt you, 2B would have already taken your little toys apart."

As if to confirm his words, blue light suddenly flashed in 2B's mechanical eyes. Coulson immediately cried out through Natasha's earpiece, "Damn it! My scope's been laser-locked!"

Natasha took a deep breath and finally lowered both guns slowly, though her fingers still gripped the trigger guards tightly. "Continue."

Chen Tian stretched lazily. "Tony didn't believe his dear uncle would betray him, and there wasn't much I could do for the time being. Until I got 2B."

Chen Tian pointed at 2B. "I had 2B help me steal this footage and show it to Tony."

Chen Tian seemed to recall Tony's what the hell expression and chuckled. "So, we planned to find a time to teach Obadiah a lesson."

Natasha tilted her head slightly and drew a deep breath. "So you came to the gala instead of Tony Stark?"

Chen Tian shook his head. "This gala was just an accident, but isn't this a good opportunity? An opportunity to get rid of Obadiah openly." As he spoke, he looked toward the distant city lights. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have driven that car here."

Natasha's red lips parted slightly, revealing an incredulous expression. "You plan to... get rid of Obadiah?" Her fingers unconsciously rubbed the grip of her gun. "Tony's going to use that demon-like armor?"

Chen Tian raised a brow, moonlight casting mottled shadows across his face. "Wow, S.H.I.E.L.D. even knows about that?" He whistled. "But why am I not surprised?"

2B's mechanical eyes suddenly flickered. "Master, Mr. Tony has just activated the Mark-2 system."

Coulson's urgent voice came through Natasha's earpiece. "Satellite imagery shows a high-energy reaction at Malibu Villa! Wait... what is that?" His voice abruptly turned shocked. "New armor! Completely different from that Devil Armor in the Middle East."

Chen Tian revealed a sly smile and pulled out his phone, quickly tapping on it. "Nat, how about seeing it with your own S.H.I.E.L.D. satellite?" He turned the phone screen toward Natasha. It showed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s real-time satellite surveillance footage.

On the screen, red-and-gold Iron Man armor shot up from the ruins of Malibu Villa, the Arc Reactor in its chest carving a dazzling blue trail through the night sky. Behind it, Iron Monger piloted by Obadiah fired wildly, bullets drawing countless streaks of fire across the night.

Above Malibu Villa, the red-and-gold Mark-2 armor cut through the night sky. Tony's voice echoed through the wind via the external speakers. "Obie, your knockoff's paint job really needs work—" Before he could finish, an Iron Monger rocket screamed past his faceplate and exploded into a sea of fire behind him.

"Shut up!" Obadiah's roar came from within Iron Monger's heavy armor. He controlled its massive mechanical arm and smashed it viciously toward Mark-2. "You think you're the only one who can make toys?" The Arc Reactor on Iron Monger's chest flickered with unstable blue light, clearly an early copied model.

Tony nimbly twisted aside, his repulsor blast striking Iron Monger's joint with precision. "Wow, the power output is so awful it actually hurts me." He deliberately dragged out his words. "Want me to teach you a few tricks?"

Iron Monger suddenly deployed a set of miniature missile launchers from its back, twelve Jericho micro-missiles locking onto Mark-2 at once. "Go learn them in hell!" Obadiah sneered as he pressed the launch button.

"Sir, multiple lock-on warning." JARVIS's voice sounded beside Tony's ear. Tony abruptly pulled upward, the leg thrusters of his armor blasting out brilliant flames. "JARVIS, increase thrust to 110%!"

The missile swarm drew deadly arcs through the sky, pursuing him relentlessly. Tony suddenly made a sharp turn and dove toward the ocean. Just as the missiles were about to strike, he opened the cluster cannon on his chest. Blinding energy beams detonated half the missiles in midair. The shockwave sent Mark-2 tumbling several times.

"Cough, cough... That was more thrilling than drinking too much." Tony shook his head inside the cockpit, only to look up and see Iron Monger raising Tony's sports car to hurl at him. He hurriedly activated emergency evasion, but the car door still scraped his left arm, and the armor emitted a piercing shriek of twisting metal.

Obadiah laughed smugly. "How was that, Tony? Is my 'power output' good enough?" The Gatling gun on Iron Monger's shoulder began spinning up.

Tony checked the damage report and suddenly noticed that Iron Monger's chest reactor was flickering more violently. His eyes lit up. "Hey, Obie, is that knockoff of yours about to run out of juice? Want me to lend you a power bank?"

Obadiah's roar exploded across the communications channel. "Shut up! You arrogant little bastard!"

Iron Monger's mechanical arm slammed down onto the ground, sending concrete fragments flying. "You think you're the only one worthy of having this technology?"

Tony sharply noticed that Iron Monger's chest reactor was flickering faster and faster, its blue light growing erratic. A cold smile touched his lips. "JARVIS, analyze the enemy reactor's condition."

"Analysis complete, Sir." JARVIS's voice was calm and precise. "The enemy reactor is a modified first-generation Arc Reactor. Its energy output is fluctuating violently. Estimated remaining operation time: no more than three minutes."

Tony gracefully spun through the air, deliberately slowing down to lure Iron Monger into pursuit. "Obie, you know something? I deliberately had Pepper show you that Arc Reactor." He paused for emphasis. "I phased that design out a long time ago."

Iron Monger's thrusters spewed overloaded flames, and the bulky frame groaned with strained metal scraping. Obadiah's voice was already noticeably breathless. "You... you're lying!"

Tony's voice abruptly turned bone-chillingly cold. Mark-2 hovered in the air, its repulsors glowing dangerously. "Obie, you know something? I always thought what happened to me in Afghanistan was an accident, until Chen Tian investigated your computer!"

Iron Monger's movements visibly slowed for a beat, and Obadiah's voice grew somewhat panicked. "You... what are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about?" Tony sneered. His helmet suddenly opened, revealing his furious face. "Chen Tian and I found the records of your deals with the Ten Rings long ago!" He pointed sharply at Iron Monger. "You gave terrorists my itinerary just to get rid of me so you could take control of Stark Industries!"

Iron Monger's chest reactor suddenly flickered violently, and Obadiah's voice turned hysterical. "No! Those were forged!"

"Forged?" Tony's voice was filled with pain and fury. "JARVIS, play the recording."

A clear recording echoed through the night sky. "...Make sure Stark never comes back... I'll handle the board..." Obadiah's voice in the recording sounded especially sinister.

Iron Monger suddenly shook violently as Obadiah roared madly at the control panel. "Damn it! That's impossible!"

"There's more." Tony's voice grew colder and colder. "Do you know why you got that Arc Reactor so easily? I deliberately had Pepper leave it in her office!"

He slowly raised both arms, every weapon system on Mark-2 locking onto the target simultaneously. "That's right. Just like you deceived me, I deceived you! Surrender, Obie! I'll send you to prison! And get you a luxurious suite!"

Iron Monger staggered back several steps, the reactor's glow already turning dangerous red. Obadiah's voice was filled with fear. "Tony... wait... we can talk..."

"Talk?" Tony's voice suddenly rose. "When you watched those terrorists torture me in that cave in Afghanistan, why didn't you think of talking then?!" Mark-2's thrusters erupted with brilliant flames. "When I nearly died in the desert, why didn't you think of talking then?!"

Iron Monger suddenly made an unexpected move—it spun around and charged at full speed toward Malibu Villa.

"Sir, the enemy target has changed direction!" JARVIS immediately warned.

Tony's pupils abruptly contracted, his expression beneath the helmet instantly freezing. "JARVIS, scan Iron Monger!"

"Scan complete, Sir." JARVIS's voice carried a rare note of urgency. "Anomaly detected in the enemy armor core. The Arc Reactor is overloading."

"Damn it!" Tony's voice sharply rose as Mark-2's thrusters instantly overloaded, carving a red-and-gold afterimage through the air. "Obie, what the hell are you doing?!"

Iron Monger laughed madly through the night sky, dangerous sparks spraying from gaps in its armor. "What am I doing?" Obadiah's voice twisted grotesquely. "Since you've uncovered everything, even if I live, I'll spend the rest of my life in prison. Rather than that, I might as well die in your villa, and the story of my death will be..."

"The world-famous genius Tony Stark personally murdered the uncle who raised him in order to gain complete control of Stark Industries!"

On Tony's retinal display, JARVIS had already pulled up real-time energy readings. The Arc Reactor in Iron Monger's chest was increasing its output geometrically, its core temperature already past the critical threshold.

"Thirty seconds until critical mass." Obadiah's crazed voice echoed through the communication channel. "Enough time for all of Malibu Beach to witness this spectacular finale! When that happens, footage of my death will spread across the entire world!"

Tony's breathing became hurried. "JARVIS, calculate the blast yield!"

"Estimated blast radius: eight hundred meters, Sir." JARVIS's tone was exceptionally grave. "Equivalent to the explosion of a Jericho missile."

Just as Tony found himself caught in a dilemma, the villa doors suddenly opened. A woman wearing a red leather jacket and sporting short chestnut hair slowly walked out, her figure especially conspicuous under the moonlight.

"Hey~ Tony." Leah (Diablo) tilted her head, an amused smile on her lips. "Did you forget the golden rule that villains die from talking too much?" Her lazy teasing tone made Iron Monger suddenly halt in midair.

Leah's red pupils suddenly erupted with crimson light, blooming in the night like two blood moons. A dangerous curve rose on her lips as she extended her hand and lightly twisted her wrist toward Iron Monger.

"Mr. Obadiah~" Her voice was so sweet it sent chills down the spine. "You know, Tony has made that mistake before, and you villains have made it too."

In an instant, the space around Iron Monger began to twist and warp. Obadiah's terrified roar came from within the armor. "What... what the hell is this?!"

Leah lightly twisted her right hand, as if opening an invisible valve. Countless crimson cracks suddenly split open across the night sky, boiling magma surging out like living creatures and weaving together in the air into a deadly net of fire.

"No! Stop!" Obadiah's screams came with the piercing sound of melting metal. "Tony! Save me!"

Tony's face beneath his helmet showed shock. "Leah, wait—"

But it was already too late.

Scorching magma coiled around Iron Monger like giant serpents, its heavy armor melting as quickly as butter under the extreme heat. Obadiah's screams abruptly stopped, replaced by the shrill warning of the reactor overloading.

Leah tilted her head as she admired her handiwork, her crimson pupils reflecting the blazing firelight. "What a pity~" she murmured softly. "Not even a whole body was left behind."

With an earth-shaking explosion, Iron Monger's wreckage became a dazzling fireball within the lava. The shockwave snapped nearby palm trees in half, and the heat wave swept across the entire beach.