Ivan was dead, Tony confessed his love

It looked like Ivan had come looking for them. Luke glanced sideways at Tony. "Should we fight our way straight out?"

Tony glanced at Pepper and had the police officers take her inside to hide. The ninjas Luke had assigned to Pepper stopped hiding as well, emerging from the shadows to protect them.

With Pepper taken care of, Tony seemed freed of his restraints. He glanced at Rhodey, who was still pinned to the ground, then looked at Luke.

"Send me a copy of those photos later. I want a keepsake."

Rhodey rolled his eyes, but he couldn't control his armor, and his faceplate wasn't open, so nobody could see it.

Leaving two Troll Soldiers to hold Rhodey down, Luke flew out after Tony.

"So, where is he?" Luke looked at the empty clearing. There wasn't even a reporter willing to risk their life.

Then where had that voice come from?

Luke looked around in confusion, but a sound came from the sky.

"What the hell?" Luke watched rows of thrusters and lights illuminate overhead. Just how many robots had Ivan built? Why had Hammer let him build so many?

Ivan looked at the two below and switched on his external speakers.

"I improved the rotational speed. Thanks for the advice, Stark. As for you, my new arm is very powerful too. It let me take care of a few babysitters in just two hits."

Tony glanced at Luke and closed his faceplate.

"So you came to thank us today? Are those behind you just innocent bystanders?"

Ivan glanced back.

"Indeed. These fellows could all be considered bystanders."

Ivan stayed still, but the Mechanical Soldiers received their orders and charged downward, firing as they went.

Tony maneuvered sideways to dodge, only to discover that the Mechanical Soldiers weren't attacking him at all.

"Luke?"

Seeing a layer of black energy block the hail of bullets and missiles aimed at Luke, Tony breathed a sigh of relief.

But the next second, an enormous suit of armor dropped from the sky and sent Tony flying with a vicious punch.

After tumbling all the way into a wall and smashing a huge hole through it, Tony finally stopped.

"Why are these guys' suits all so strong? Do they even know what intelligent armor is?"

Tony looked at the damage displayed across his suit on the panel and spoke helplessly.

"Looks like you're getting beaten pretty badly, but I might need a little time before I can help."

Luke spoke as he looked at the Mechanical Soldiers hovering overhead.

Then over a thousand Ninja Soldiers appeared, sending a dense rain of throwing stars into the sky.

Luke was puzzled to see his Ninja Soldiers' throwing stars strike the Mechanical Soldiers without doing much damage. But these throwing stars were the Shadow Legion's only antiaircraft weapons.

As for Luke attacking at range with dark energy himself? Those sniper-type Mechanical Soldiers wouldn't simply watch him drop his shield and fight back, and the Ninja Soldiers couldn't block those large-caliber autocannons.

Watching Ivan chase Tony around and beat him, Luke wanted to help and summoned Blade Soldiers to assist Tony. But Ivan had actually installed an electrical discharge device on himself.

Every Blade Soldier that approached was dispersed by bursts of high-voltage lightning. Ivan turned toward Luke and grinned smugly.

The two Electric Whips in his hands lashed toward Tony and successfully bound him. The retracting mechanisms on his shoulders dragged Tony straight over.

Grabbing Tony by the shoulder, Ivan restrained him and pinned him directly to the ground.

Tony struggled hard, but the disadvantage of a smaller suit became apparent. Although his armor used highly precise, efficient mechanisms to boost his strength, it still couldn't match the simple, brute-force power units in a larger suit.

A device extended from Ivan's hand, allowing him to restrain Tony easily with one hand and free up the other.

"You know what? Thanks to you two, I got a more dexterous arm. It lets me perform more delicate operations."

Ivan watched smugly as assorted tools extended from his other arm and, under the control of his mechanical arm, worked at the gaps in Tony's armor.

Looking at the display on his panel, Tony struggled desperately but couldn't break free.

"Luke, are you done yet? I could use some help here! Ivan's operating on me, but I don't think he's going to remove my shrapnel."

Luke looked at the numerous suits overhead, feeling troubled. "I think you'll have to hold on a little longer. These guys won't let me leave."

God knew how stupid Hammer was to let Ivan build so many mechanical suits. Had he poured all of Hammer Industries' resources into making them? There were far more suits here than the original story had shown.

"I found you some help."

Natasha's voice suddenly cut into the channel.

"Who? Coulson? I don't think he can help me." Tony was getting anxious too as he watched his armor come within a few millimeters of being breached.

Ivan looked at Tony as though he were a hermit crab huddled in its shell. He had analyzed combat footage of Tony and Luke and discovered some characteristics of their abilities.

For instance, most of Luke's abilities manifested as energy, and he could also summon monsters unlike ordinary people. Tony's armor, meanwhile, lacked offensive power but had strong defenses. Even a tank cannon fired right in his face wouldn't kill him.

So he had specially modified his arm and built this suit, allowing him to peel open that thick turtle shell as though performing surgery!

But the next second, a figure charged into him. Electrical arcs burst across the figure's body without doing any damage.

Without slowing at all, the figure knocked Ivan flying.

"Seriously, Tony, you need to give me some top-of-the-line weapons!" Rhodey spoke over the voice channel.

"You're free? Damn, your timing's perfect!" Tony laughed, but Rhodey sounded helpless.

"Luke's men destroyed all my weapons, so theoretically, all I've got for offense are these two fists."

Wearing his armor, Rhodey bounced a few times on the spot.

"You think your fists can flatten that thing?" Tony checked his armor and said helplessly, "Looks like even the two of us together can't beat him. But we can help Luke first."

Ivan stabilized his armor and roared, "You're not going anywhere!" Two missiles shot out of his suit.

"Damn it, I hope those aren't Ex-Wives!" Rhodey shouted, taking evasive action at the same time as Tony.

"What the hell is an Ex-Wife?" Tony watched the two missiles fly past them.

"Hammer Industries' greatest masterpiece. At least, that's what he said. It can take out a fortress in one shot. According to him, it's smart enough to write an incomprehensible poem by itself and read it to you."

Tony nodded, feeling that the thing wasn't actually very smart, but JARVIS proved him wrong the very next second.

"Missiles detected approaching from behind."

Tony looked back and found that the two Ex-Wives had circled back.

"Watch out!" Tony immediately flew up, dodging the Ex-Wife heading toward him. But without a warning from JARVIS, Rhodey took a direct hit.

Clunk.

The missile simply fell to the ground, sputtered a few sparks like a cheap firework, and went still.

"Seems I didn't get blown away?"

Rhodey, who had broken out in a cold sweat, spoke uncertainly.

"Maybe Hammer Industries' technology really isn't very good."

Tony breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the other Ex-Wife turn toward him again.

"I think Hammer Industries would have a brighter future making self-driving cars."

Tony released a decoy flare, luring the Ex-Wife away.

Boom!

The enormous explosion shattered panes of glass on the surrounding buildings. Looking at the fireball, Tony felt a little shaken. With that kind of power, it might really have hurt him through his armor.

Rhodey looked at the dud missile at his feet and hurriedly flew away.

"That thing really is like your ex-wife. You never know what she'll do, whether she'll blow up or not."

Ivan was rather speechless at the two missiles as well. These weren't the special products he had supplied Rhodey, but missiles Hammer Industries had manufactured in earnest.

"How did you end up partnering with someone like that?" Tony fired a repulsor blast at Ivan, but Ivan blocked it with a swing of his whip. Tony fired his remaining precision missiles, which struck Ivan but merely lodged in the armor plating.

"That turtle shell's seriously thick. Even armor-piercing rounds can't get through," Tony said helplessly.

"Luke, maybe you're the only one who can punch through this armor. Are you done over there?"

Luke looked at the few Mechanical Soldiers remaining overhead and breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't expected clearing these things out to take so long.

"Almost done. Hold on a little longer!"

Luke spoke helplessly, hoping his next troop unlock would be a flying unit. Otherwise, fighting things that flew put him at too much of a disadvantage.

At that moment, the Mechanical Soldiers overhead seemed to fire their last bullets. Luke breathed a sigh of relief, only to find them hurtling toward him like kamikazes.

"Serving yourselves up?" Luke positioned his ninjas to receive them, but then noticed red light beginning to flash on the incoming mechanical suits' chests, like a countdown.

Seeing the shattered suits shot down around him begin counting down as well, Luke hurriedly ducked into the Shadow World.

Dozens of reactors self-destructed, and the violent energy fluctuations destroyed everything around them.

"Damn it! Luke, are you all right?"

Tony noticed the commotion and spoke anxiously, only to discover that a violent explosion had also erupted in the main hall.

"Pepper!"

Tony remembered Pepper hiding in the main hall, but suddenly spotted several ninjas on the roof of a nearby building.

JARVIS enlarged the image, and Tony was delighted to discover that Pepper had been moved there at some point.

"Damn, you really do forget your friends when there's a woman involved!" Luke's voice came over the channel.

"I'll be right there. Damn it, I'm definitely going to punch Ivan in the face a few times!"

Luke had now forgotten his intention to leave Ivan's corpse intact and flew over angrily.

"Count me in!" Tony said through gritted teeth.

Ivan had given him two terrible scares today too!

"If you don't mind, count me in as well."

Rhodey clenched his fists a few times, looking eager.

"Then it's first come, first served!" Luke flew up beside Tony and Rhodey, looking at Ivan nearby.

"Now it's time for a righteous group beating, though this might be a little too cruel for you!"

Luke waved his hand, and the Shadow Legion surrounded Ivan and immediately attacked.

Countless Shadow Ninjas surged forward, one after another, and were dispersed by electrical arcs. But the reactor's output had limits too. Some ninjas reached Ivan, trying to break through his armor with assorted weapons.

Ivan tried to fly up, but Tony and Rhodey flew straight over his head and slammed him back down.

Still trying to escape? Luke couldn't be bothered to let Ivan keep fighting. Dark energy gathered and turned into beams that shot out, slamming into the Whiplash Armor.

The powerful dark energy pressed Ivan against the ground and ground him along it. But to get a few punches in on Ivan's face, Luke didn't erase him outright, only restrained him.

A Troll Soldier charged straight up and smashed a gigantic fist into the armor.

The powerful suit was knocked straight to the ground too. Several more Troll Soldiers rushed up, letting Ivan enjoy the full-body massage Abomination had once experienced.

Watching danger warnings continually appear on his panel and feeling the pain of his entire body being trapped by his deformed armor, Ivan roared in fury.

But he didn't have Abomination's abilities and couldn't unleash a sudden burst of power. He could only release all the energy in his reactor, annihilating the surrounding Shadow Ninjas.

Luke looked at the extinguished reactor on the Whiplash Armor. Hadn't Ivan just lost all ability to resist?

He ordered squads of Shadow Ninjas to pounce, but Ivan opened the armor himself, his upper body rising upright out of it while his legs remained stuck inside.

"What are you trying to do now?" Tony looked at Ivan's actions in confusion, unsure what he was doing.

"Rather than let you slowly crack me open, I'd rather do it myself. Make it quick!"

Ivan roared, glaring fiercely at Tony.

"You won't get to die that easily!" Seeing the man still talking tough before his death, Tony walked straight up to punch him a couple of times and teach him a lesson first.

But as Ivan watched Tony approach, he showed no fear and laughed loudly instead. "You're still so stupid! Stark, a hand wasn't the only thing I lost!"

Tony looked at Ivan's legs trapped inside the armor and had an ominous feeling.

A violent surge of energy emanated from Ivan's mechanical legs. Tony watched helplessly as Ivan's armor warped, Ivan was annihilated, and a wave of energy rushed toward him.

But it was too late to dodge!

He was just about to test his armor's defensive capabilities when a pair of hands suddenly appeared behind him. Then black energy covered Tony's vision...

"Tony!" Watching Tony disappear into the energy wave, Pepper screamed in anguish.

Tears spilled from her eyes, and Pepper fell backward.

"Looks like you're crying for me again."

Someone caught him, and a familiar voice sounded beside her ear.

"Tony?"

Pepper looked at Tony behind her in delighted surprise, and Tony gazed at her tenderly.

"Not calling me boss anymore?"

The two embraced tightly and kissed, their passion igniting.

"They look like seals fighting over grapes." A mood-killing voice came from beside them, along with the incessant clicking of a camera.

Rhodey looked helplessly at the person taking photos nonstop beside him. Remembering the embarrassing record of himself left behind earlier, his expression instantly darkened, though no one could tell in the dead of night.

"Heh." Luke chuckled. "Tony, maybe you could take this opportunity to..."

Luke drew a circle leading to his little house and pulled Rhodey away with him.

Watching the portal disappear, Tony felt rather helpless.

At that critical moment, Luke had pulled him into the Shadow World, but without dark energy enveloping him, his armor had instantly been annihilated. Fortunately, Luke had brought him back out quickly, or he probably would have lost an arm or a leg too.

Seeing Pepper's astonishment at her first sight of a portal, Tony turned her face toward him.

"So, after everything we've been through, are you still willing to stay by my side and help me?"

Uncontrollable tears spilled from Pepper's eyes again, and she smiled. "Yes."

Tony wiped away her tears. "Actually, I made a list. I wanted to make it more ceremonial. If you're willing, we could do it again."

Pepper shook her head. "Right now, Tony. I want to hear those words."

Looking into Pepper's expectant eyes, Tony solemnly took both her hands.

"I love you."

"I love you too!"