The Changing Plot of "Iron Man 2"

On the Monaco circuit, two F1 cars sponsored by Stark sped through the narrow bends, their roaring engines shaking the entire street.

Tony and Chen Tian completely ignored who was winning, simply enjoying the thrill of extreme speed and the competitive spirit between friends.

"Hey, Chen Tian, dare you take the next turn without slowing down?" Tony's voice came through the headset, clearly provocative.

Chen Tian curled his lips into a smile and lightly tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. "JARVIS, calculate the optimal racing line."

"I have adjusted the traction control system for you, Mr. Chen," JARVIS promptly replied. "I recommend maintaining your current speed and inducing slight oversteer upon entering the turn."

"Did you hear that, Tony?" Chen Tian laughed. "Even your AI butler says I can do it."

"Ha! Then let's see!" Tony laughed loudly and slammed down on the accelerator. The race car instantly sped up, its tires screeching sharply against the asphalt.

The two cars charged into the bend nearly side by side, their bodies only inches from the barriers. Gasps erupted from the stands.

Chen Tian's car fishtailed slightly, smoke rising from the rear tires, but he precisely controlled the wheel. The car sliced through the apex like a blade and howled past Tony's vehicle at point-blank range.

"Nice!" Tony whistled. "Looks like you can drive my Mark-2 now."

Chen Tian grinned. "Don't praise me. I'm afraid you won't be able to take it when you lose later."

Inside the hotel restaurant

Pepper stared fixedly at the giant screen, her fingers unconsciously tightening around her champagne glass.

That dangerous turn had nearly made her cry out. Only after confirming that both men were safe did she let out a heavy breath and shake her head with a bitter smile.

"These two oversized children..." she said helplessly, looking at 2B beside her. "They're absolutely terrifying to watch."

2B covered her mouth and giggled. "Master and Stark are like children playing without considering the consequences, but... Miss Pepper, isn't Tony's uniqueness exactly why you favor him?"

Pepper chuckled. "Unique? Yes, uniquely troublesome."

2B was about to reply when her pupils suddenly contracted. A strange stream of data flashed through her mechanical eyes. Her expression instantly turned grave as she lightly pressed the pendant hanging from her earlobe.

"JARVIS, contact Master immediately." 2B seemed to return to the cold demeanor of a battle android. "Ivan Vanko has appeared in the spectator area approximately one kilometer ahead of Master and Stark. He is currently moving toward the track."

JARVIS's urgent warning suddenly sounded through Chen Tian's headset:

"Mr. Chen, Miss 2B has sent an emergency transmission—Ivan Vanko has infiltrated the track's spectator area and is approaching the circuit. Stark may be his target."

Chen Tian's smile instantly vanished, and his eyes sharpened. He immediately pressed the communication button. "Tony, did you get that? Ivan Vanko, the man I told you to find, is on the track!"

There was a second of silence in the headset before Tony's voice came through, no longer playful. "Got it. Stop the race first and evacuate the crowd."

The two race cars slowed down almost simultaneously, their engines gradually quieting. Tony's voice came again. "JARVIS, notify the race committee and initiate emergency evacuation procedures."

"Executed, Sir," JARVIS replied. "However, Ivan Vanko appears to be carrying some kind of interference device. Portions of the track surveillance system have failed."

Chen Tian narrowed his eyes and swept his gaze across the stands on both sides of the circuit. The crowd had already begun to stir. Security personnel were guiding spectators away, but the scene remained chaotic.

Chen Tian jumped out of his car, tucked his helmet under his arm, and looked at Tony, who had also stepped out of his race car.

"See? I told you this Monaco trip definitely wouldn't be a relaxing vacation."

Tony chuckled. "Of course I knew that. But Ivan disappeared when I went looking for him, so I might as well lure him out. As you people from the great Eastern nation say..."

Tony rubbed his chin, then clapped his hands. "Use yourself as bait. I got that right, didn't I?"

Chen Tian hooked an arm around Tony's neck. "You got it right, but things are this chaotic now. Can you handle it?"

Tony shook off Chen Tian's arm and raised his chin. "Are you kidding me? I'm Tony Stark! Iron Man!"

As he spoke, he slapped his chest. The Eternity Core there suddenly lit up, blue energy flowing out like liquid.

The metal seemed alive as it rapidly spread along his arms and torso, gleaming with a cold luster beneath the sunlight.

"JARVIS, activate the Mark-Eclipse combat protocol." Tony's voice carried a trace of excitement.

"Protocol activated, Sir."

The liquid metal rapidly assembled, covering Tony's entire body in the blink of an eye—the red-and-gold armor had sharp, sleek lines, while the glow from the chest reactor seeped through the gaps in the plating, pulsing like breath.

The back armor lifted slightly, and mechanical wings instantly unfolded behind him, erupting with blue photon energy.

Tony floated into the air, his uncovered face wearing an arrogant expression.

"I'm terrifyingly strong now. I could tear apart that junky magic Iron Man suit from New York with my bare hands!"

"Wow." Chen Tian stared at the armor and gave a mischievous grin. "Then you'd better be careful. According to the information 2B just sent me, Ivan has two long whips."

Tony's expression twitched when he heard "two long whips."

"Wait, what did you say?" Tony looked as though he could barely hold it together. "Two?" He suddenly burst into exaggerated laughter. "Ha! No wonder JARVIS could never find this guy—" His mechanical fingers drew a lewd wavy gesture in the air. "Could he have been hiding in some special alphabet club for training?"

"My dear little Chen Tian," Tony said as his faceplate lowered, blowing Chen Tian a kiss, "just stand here and watch..." Blue flames burst from his Photon Wings. "...how Uncle Tony, the superhero, takes down the bad guy!"

Chen Tian watched Tony turn into a streak of red-and-gold light and shoot toward the other end of the circuit, then helplessly shrugged.

"Always showing off. One day, he's going to wipe out," he muttered, putting his racing helmet back on and driving toward the area where Tony and Ivan were about to fight.

Ivan Vanko stood in the center of the track, his bare upper body covered in knotted muscles, the Arc Reactor on his chest flashing blue.

He threw back his head and roared, his voice echoing across the empty circuit through a loudspeaker hidden in his collar. "Tony Stark! Come out and face me!"

The red-and-gold armor tore through the sky. Tony slammed down onto the track in a perfect superhero landing, kicking up a ring of air.

The instant he landed, dozens of tiny fireworks suddenly shot from the armor's back, exploding into brilliant sparks beneath Monaco's azure sky.

"Wow!"

"It's Iron Man!"

The crowd, which had been fleeing in panic, instantly erupted into deafening cheers. Many people even stopped and raised their phones to record. Tony stood up and raised both hands high, a smug curve forming beneath his faceplate—he loved being the center of attention far too much.

Tony was still immersed in the crowd's cheers. Just as he was about to look around and properly show off his flashy armor, the suit automatically activated its emergency evasion protocol. The thrusters suddenly fired, carrying him several meters backward.

"Sir, high-energy attack detected!" JARVIS's warning exploded in Tony's ears.

Almost at the same instant, a blue-violet electric whip cracked against the spot where Tony had just stood. The asphalt was ripped open by a charred scar, and gravel flew everywhere.

"Wow." Tony stabilized himself in midair and looked down at the smoking mark. "Not a bad attack."

Tony looked at Ivan. "At least it's flashy!"

Tony's Photon Wings suddenly erupted with dazzling blue light, and a sharp sonic boom tore through the air. Ivan Vanko only saw a blur before Tony vanished from sight.

"What—"

The question had barely reached his throat when Tony flashed to his side at a speed beyond the limits of human reaction.

A mechanical hand covered in armor precisely clamped down on Ivan's shoulder, its nanomaterial fingers tightening like hydraulic pliers.

"Good night, Russian Bear."

With Tony's teasing whisper, Ivan was swung up and violently smashed headfirst into the ground. With a deafening boom, the asphalt cracked outward in a radial pattern. Ivan's body twitched in the center of the crater, the reactor on his chest flickering unstably.

The stands erupted into even louder cheers, and some people even began whistling. Tony hovered elegantly above the crater, his Photon Wings slowly folding behind him to form a gorgeous halo of energy. He gave the surrounding crowd an exaggerated bow.

"Ladies and gentlemen, applaud as much as you like. The great Tony has once again—"

Before Tony could finish his smug speech, JARVIS's urgent alarm suddenly cut him off inside his helmet:

"Sir! Twelve missiles are approaching from the southeast! Trajectory analysis indicates—" A holographic display unfolded before Tony's eyes, red trajectory lines pointing directly at the densest area of the stands. "—their targets cover the entire main grandstand!"

Tony's smile instantly froze. He sharply turned around, and the armor's scanning system locked onto several trails of white smoke rising in the distance—the missiles were approaching at an astonishing speed.

Tony had just been about to have JARVIS calculate interception data when Chen Tian's voice suddenly came through his headset. "Tony! Ignore the missiles and keep an eye on Ivan! Madara will handle them!"

"What?" Tony froze and turned toward the direction from which the missiles were coming.

At that instant, the entire sky over Monaco seemed to distort beneath some unseen force. Ripples spread through the air, and a figure in a suit appeared out of thin air in midair. Madara Uchiha stood with his arms crossed, the patterns in his Mangekyō Sharingan slowly turning.

"Mere toys..."

Madara's voice was not loud, yet it strangely pierced through the noise of the entire arena. He slowly raised his right hand, chakra erupting around him—

"Susanoo!"

With that low shout, a blue giant a hundred meters tall rose from the ground. The complete Susanoo spread its wings, blotting out the sky. The people in the stands looked up in terror at this mythical giant.

The missiles were already close, yet Madara did not even blink. Susanoo's giant sword swung lightly, and wherever its blade passed, space itself seemed to be sliced apart.

All twelve missiles exploded simultaneously in midair, but not even the slightest shockwave spread outward—all the explosions were confined within a spherical space by some invisible force.

Tony watched the scene, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Every time I see this guy fight, it's shocking."

The flames of the explosions churned inside the purple barrier, reflecting off Madara's cold profile.

Tony hovered in the air, the expression beneath his faceplate gradually shifting from shock to annoyance. He pursed his lips and muttered into the communicator, "JARVIS, make a note—at the next press conference, I need to add a cooler entrance effect to the armor."

"Sir, based on data analysis, your current popularity index still exceeds Mr. Madara's by thirty-seven points," JARVIS comforted him at the appropriate moment. "However, Mr. Madara's 'blue giant' has indeed sparked extensive discussion on social media."

Tony rolled his eyes. Just as he was about to snap at this AI that was siding with someone else, Ivan, lying on the ground, suddenly began laughing.

"Stark, you think this is over? Hahaha."

Tony looked at Ivan's ugly face, blood flowing from his nose and mouth and staining his teeth. He mocked, "You should quiet down first. Don't worry, I'll prepare a luxurious prison suite for you, complete with no fewer than three gay cellmates."

Ivan continued laughing wildly, his eyes filled with Man's killing intent as he stared at Tony. "Stark, you will die! You'll be blown to pieces in front of the entire world!"

Tony frowned because he heard a tremendous roar. A pitch-black Harley motorcycle charged onto the track, its engine shaking even the billboards lining the circuit. The rider was completely wrapped in black leather, his helmet visor reflecting a cold gleam, and he dragged a broken streetlamp pole behind him.

Tony raised his repulsor cannon. Just as he was about to warn the motorcyclist who had barged onto the track, the rider violently swung the streetlamp pole, launching it at Tony like a massive crossbow bolt.

Tony's repulsor cannon hurriedly reacted, but Chen Tian had already flashed in front of him like a ghost.

"Get back!" Chen Tian shouted, gripping his sword with both hands and taking an iaijutsu stance. The streetlamp pole screamed through the air, and when it was less than three meters from them—

Kitetsu carved a perfect arc through the air, purple-black sword energy blooming like a crescent moon. The struck streetlamp pole strangely froze for an instant before splitting neatly into two halves along the cut.

Tony clapped his hands. "Wow... that's way cooler than my laser cutter."

Chen Tian sheathed his sword, the guard striking the mouth of the scabbard with a crisp ding. "Don't get distracted. That guy isn't right."

The rider drifted to a stop ten meters in front of Tony and Chen Tian. He tilted his head slightly at Chen Tian as his helmet began to decay, eventually turning into countless ashes and revealing his face.

He was a white man, but his skin was ash-gray, bluish-purple veins faintly visible beneath it. His eyes were black as ink, with only pale pinpricks of light flickering within them.

He smiled at Chen Tian, but the corners of his mouth split upward in a way that defied human anatomy, exposing sharp, white teeth.

"Mephisto sends his regards, Chen Tian."

Chen Tian's pupils suddenly contracted. His fingers tightened around Kitetsu, and his expression became increasingly grave.

Tony quietly asked from behind Chen Tian, "Mephisto? Isn't that a demon's name? You pissed off a demon?"

Chen Tian nodded slightly. "Yeah. What happened in New Mexico was caused by Mephisto and Loki."

Tony had just opened his mouth when the rider crouched down and pressed both hands against the ground. He grinned viciously at Tony and Chen Tian.

"Enjoy the pain of decay."

Starting from the rider's palms, the ground rapidly began to rot and collapse, spreading toward Chen Tian and Tony.

"Holy shit! What the hell is that?!" When Tony saw this, he immediately wanted to grab Chen Tian by the shoulder and fly him into the air.

However, just as he moved, a heavy punch slammed into his waist and sent him flying.

Tony tumbled through the air. Only the armor's stabilization system working frantically allowed him to barely regain his balance. He slammed heavily into a billboard beside the track and looked up at the man who had struck him away.

"Damn it, what's going on, JARVIS?" Tony cursed under his breath. "Since when did Ivan have armor?"

"Sir! While you were confronting the motorcyclist, Ivan Vanko appeared through a portal similar to those used by Master Mordo!"

"How are those Kamar-Taj sorcerers involved in this too?!" Tony angrily cursed. His Photon Wings unfolded behind him, aiming at Ivan as several lasers shot toward him.

Facing the lasers, Ivan extended one arm. A crimson circular energy shield appeared before him. The lasers struck the shield and exploded violently, flames and yellow smoke reeking of sulfur concealing Ivan's body.

"Sir, Ivan's energy shield is similar to the infernal energy of your Mark-2-Devil."

"What?" Tony found it unbelievable. Infernal energy?

Ivan walked out of the smoke with a vicious grin. His body was covered in some kind of dark-red metal, while the Arc Reactor on his chest now spewed hellish flames.

"Thanks to your massacre in the Middle East, Tony," Ivan said as his faceplate opened, revealing that half his face had become demonic. "Otherwise, I never would have realized demons existed in this world!"

Scarlet flames erupted from beneath Ivan's feet as he lunged toward Tony.

On the other side, the decaying ground spread toward Chen Tian. He had intended to have Tony carry him into the sky, but instead watched Tony get punched away by Ivan.

Chen Tian gritted his teeth and assumed an iaijutsu stance, blackness spreading over his wrist.

"Armament Haki: Death Lion Song!"

Kitetsu was drawn from its sheath like a bolt of black lightning. Sword energy flew out like a black crescent, directly slicing apart the ground and stopping the decay from spreading.

Seeing his decay halted, the rider slowly stood. Veins squirmed beneath his ash-gray skin, his pitch-black eyes locking onto Chen Tian. His mouth split all the way to his ears, revealing jagged fangs.

"Chen Tian..." His voice sounded like the whispers of countless dead souls. "No wonder Mephisto wants me to bring your soul before him."

"My soul?" Chen Tian sneered. "Then you'll have to ask my sword first."

Before his words had even faded, the ground beneath Chen Tian's feet exploded. He shot toward the rider like a cannonball, Kitetsu aimed directly at the rider's throat!

The rider neither dodged nor evaded. He simply raised his palm, and a mass of pitch-black corruption energy surged from it. The sword energy struck it like a stone sinking into the sea and was instantly swallowed without a trace!

"Useless." The rider grinned. "Everything will eventually decay, including your sword."

Chen Tian's pupils contracted, but his movements did not pause in the slightest. His figure flashed, instantly circling behind the rider as Kitetsu swept horizontally!

"Slash!"

Kitetsu cut across the rider's neck, but the blade seemed to strike a pool of rotten mud. The rider's head twisted grotesquely. No blood flowed from the wound; instead, black corruptive matter surged out and rapidly healed it!

"I told you..." The rider's voice came from every direction. "Your attacks are meaningless."

Chen Tian suddenly sensed something wrong. Looking down, he saw that the soles of his boots had begun to rot, turning into ashes that drifted away!

"Corrosion?!" He immediately retreated, but the rider had already closed in, his decayed hands reaching for Chen Tian's chest!

"Your flesh will be eaten away bit by bit, just like your sword!"

At the critical moment, Chen Tian suddenly shouted:

"Soru!"

"Bang!"

His figure instantly vanished, leaving only an afterimage behind. The rider's claws struck empty air, but the ground instantly corroded into a deep pit several meters wide!

Chen Tian appeared ten meters away, cold sweat forming on his forehead.

"This guy's ability... is more troublesome than I expected."

The rider slowly turned around, his pitch-black eyes locking onto him as his mouth split even wider.

"You're pretty fast, but how long can you run?"

He suddenly spread his arms. The ground rapidly decayed outward from him, the asphalt track collapsing inch by inch as though drenched in powerful acid, turning into a black swamp!

The corrupted area expanded madly. The metal railings and plastic seats in the stands—even the air itself—began to twist and rot!

Chen Tian looked at the scene and cursed loudly. "Fuck! This is Marvel, not Jujutsu Kaisen! Why the hell is there a domain here too?!"

After shouting that, Chen Tian suddenly paused, his expression turning playful.

"Right. A Domain Expansion. Then I'll fight a domain with a domain."

A wild curve suddenly formed on Chen Tian's lips. His once ordinary eyes underwent an astonishing change—the irises seemed infused with liquid sky, gradually turning into a brilliant azure blue, while stars appeared to flow deep within his pupils.