Iron Man vs. Iron Monger-Wasn't That a Son Beating Up His Father?

"What kind of technology is this?!"

Obadiah stared uncertainly at the completely unmoving White and Red Magic Shield before him.

"Take a guess~"

Richard stood with one hand in his pocket, sneering mockingly.

"Bastard! Die!"

Obadiah flew into a rage and controlled Iron Monger to swing its massive fists, hammering the Floating Shield again and again.

Eighty, eighty, eighty, eighty...

Richard chanted silently to himself while his mouth kept spewing venom.

"Oh my, is that all?"

"Are you scratching an itch for me?"

"Put some more strength into it, Brother Stane~"

"Too old? Gone soft?"

"Tsk tsk, how pitiful!"

The taunts rang out one after another like demonic whispers, provoking Obadiah until his eyes turned crimson like an enraged bull's.

"Ahhh! Bastard, die!"

With an angry roar, every weapon in Iron Monger's arsenal activated at once.

Seeing gun barrels and cannon muzzles of all sizes, a bead of cold sweat rolled down Richard's forehead.

Holy shit! Why were you pulling out your ultimate move without a word?!

He did not dare guarantee that the Floating Shield could fully withstand this barrage.

Time to run~

Richard hurriedly opened a Portal beneath his feet and slipped inside.

Iron Monger's entire body glowed red, and just as its weapons were about to fire—

The Conical Magic Shield in front of it, along with that hateful brat, abruptly vanished from where they stood.

"Ah!!!"

It was like a wad of phlegm stuck in his throat. The fury in Obadiah's heart clogged his chest with nowhere to go!

"Come out! Get out here!"

He controlled Iron Monger to wave its iron arms, turning it into a house-wrecking machine as it frantically attacked everything in front of it.

"Tsk tsk~ Helpless rage~"

"A warrior going up against a mage? What were you going to win with, your head?~"

Richard kept taunting as he slowly descended before Pepper Potts and Phil Coulson.

"Doctor Richard!" Pepper Potts cautiously watched the descending man.

Richard waved a hand.

"Pepper, when will Tony get here?"

Pepper Potts hurriedly pressed her Headset. "Tony, Richard wants to know when you'll arrive."

"Now!"

Before the words had even faded, an orange-red trail streaked across the sky and landed before them.

A red-and-gold armored figure knelt on one knee, then slowly rose.

"Whoa, that's badass~"

Richard gave him lavish praise and raised a thumbs-up!

Tony cockily lifted his chin.

Then the armor around his head opened, revealing Tony's face.

The moment Pepper Potts saw the bruise at the corner of his mouth, she cried out, "Tony!"

She crossed the distance in two steps, raising a hand in distress to gently touch the corner of his mouth.

"It's fine, Pepper~" Tony looked tenderly at the woman before him, his heart faintly stirred.

"Hey, Tony, save the flirting for later!"

Richard suddenly shouted, ruining the mood.

"A big lump of trouble's coming up from below!"

As soon as he spoke, the ground suddenly shook violently before exploding with a thunderous blast!

Tony's helmet snapped shut as he stepped in front of everyone.

A giant steel hand emerged from the flying dust, followed by Iron Monger leaping out of the hole.

Obadiah snarled furiously, "Finally caught you bastards!"

Tony turned and requested, "Agent, help me get Pepper out of here."

Phil Coulson gripped his pistol tightly and nodded.

"Ms. Potts, please come with me."

"Tony, you have to be careful!" Before leaving, Pepper Potts reluctantly warned him.

After running some distance, she turned her head and saw Richard following right beside her without falling a step behind.

Pepper Potts froze. "Richard, y-you... why did you come with us?"

Richard looked utterly innocent. "I'm helping Tony protect you! Leave that big idiot to Tony."

Pepper Potts: ...

Phil Coulson, running in front: ...

Whoosh~

A figure flew over their heads and crashed heavily into the rooftop with a boom.

Immediately afterward, a steel behemoth dropped from the air.

"Tony! Where do you think you're running?!"

Iron Monger spread its arms and wrapped Tony in its embrace, like a father hugging his son.

"I'll send you to see Howard right now!"

Obadiah shouted manically as Iron Monger's arms gradually tightened.

Listening to the armor creak, Tony knew it would not hold out for long.

He struggled desperately, but Iron Monger's two steel arms were like iron clamps, locking him firmly against its chest.

"Jarvis, activate the weapons!"

Tony commanded loudly.

"Repulsor system damaged! Missile system damaged!"

There was a trace of anxiety in Jarvis's voice.

Watching red warning panels flash nonstop across his display, Tony shouted desperately.

"Fire the incendiaries! Fire the incendiaries!"

In an instant, hundreds of red incendiary rounds burst from the seams of the red-and-gold armor.

They crackled against both suits of armor, sending up thick clouds of smoke.

The screen full of red light nearly blinded Obadiah's old eyes.

"Argh!"

He screamed and shut his eyes, instinctively loosening his arms and raising them before his face.

After landing, Tony used the spreading smoke to quietly circle behind a wall and hide.

Elsewhere, on the headquarters rooftop, Richard emerged from a Portal carrying Pepper Potts and Phil Coulson.

After setting them down, he looked down below and condemned them in displeasure.

"These two are really going too far!"

"Wherever someone tries to hide, that's where they attack!"

"Taking your anger out specifically on innocent bystanders, huh?"

"No manners! No martial virtue!"

Phil Coulson was speechless. He had gained an entirely new understanding of Doctor Richard.

Pepper Potts grabbed Richard's arm and pleaded anxiously, "Richard, hurry and help Tony!"

Richard hurriedly reassured her, "Relax, relax. When Tony can't hold on anymore, I'll step in."

On the ground, as the smoke cleared, Obadiah looked around and said approvingly, "Very clever, Tony!"

Hidden in the shadows, Tony looked at the red damage indicators covering his display. Gritting his teeth, he contacted Pepper Potts.

"Pepper!"

Pepper Potts pressed her earpiece.

"Tony?"

Tony spoke seriously.

"We need to overload the reactor and blow it up!"

Pepper Potts was startled, but quickly steadied herself.

"What are you going to do?"

The structure of the large reactor appeared on Tony's helmet display.

"Go to the control console and activate every circuit..."

"That's way too troublesome, Tony~" Richard's voice suddenly came through.

"Richard?" Tony froze.

"Oh, God!" Pepper Potts suddenly cried out!

"What is that?!" Even the usually composed Coulson could not stop himself from shouting!

Tony asked repeatedly in alarm, "What happened, Pepper?"

"Li... Richard has a fireball the size of a basketball in his hand!" Pepper Potts answered in a trembling voice.

Tony was confused. "A fireball? What fireball?"

"Try to stay as far away as you can, Tony!" Richard reminded him with a light laugh.

Pepper Potts immediately shouted, "Listen to him, Tony! Get away!"

Though he had no idea what was happening, Tony chose to trust Pepper Potts.

Without another word, he activated his thrusters and fled at top speed.

The next second, a blue-white fireball trailing a dazzling tail of flame shot from the rooftop toward Iron Monger.