Iron Man shot into the sky, engines blazing as he tried to draw the threat away from the crowd. But his escape only marked the true beginning of the disaster.
Dozens of combat robots scattered across the stage as their systems fully activated. A formation of roughly a dozen aerial units immediately launched upward, accelerating into the sky to surround Stark. Meanwhile, the remaining army, navy, and marine models began executing a coordinated tactical maneuver.
They completely ignored the fleeing civilians and nearby buildings.
Instead, they charged straight toward their predetermined target zones, crushing vehicles, tearing through streets, and leaving destruction in their wake. The path of their advance caused heavy collateral damage as terrified crowds ran in every direction.
Inside the press conference building, Ethan Voss escorted Pepper Potts and Natasha backstage. The scene there was chaos.
Justin Hammer stood in front of a cluster of technicians, shouting frantically.
"Shut them down! Turn them all off right now!"
The operators in front of the control terminals were typing furiously, their fingers racing across the keyboards. Yet after several desperate attempts, they could only report back with pale faces.
"Boss… we can't shut them down."
Pepper's anger immediately erupted.
"What exactly is going on here?" she demanded. "How could you dare put something like this on public display?"
The moment Hammer saw the three of them approaching, his expression grew even more irritated. He stretched his arms out to block their path.
"Get out of here!" he shouted. "This area is restricted!"
Ethan let out a cold laugh.
"At a moment like this, you're still trying to hide things?" he said calmly. "What exactly is happening?"
"It's just a technical malfunction," Hammer insisted stubbornly. "It'll be fixed soon."
"You—"
Pepper started to speak, but Ethan raised a hand and cut her off.
"You still dare to lie?" he said sharply. "Do you realize people are being injured outside right now?"
Natasha stood beside them, her expression tight with frustration. At that moment she had the overwhelming urge to slam Justin Hammer to the floor and interrogate him personally.
But she was still operating undercover.
If she exposed herself now, the entire mission could collapse.
Hammer continued to defend himself stubbornly.
"This wouldn't have happened if Iron Man hadn't suddenly shown up and interfered!"
Ethan quietly studied Pepper and Natasha for a moment, noticing the anxiety written clearly on their faces.
Then he decided the performance had reached its final act.
It was time for the hero to appear.
He suddenly stepped forward, grabbed Justin Hammer's arm, and slammed him face-first onto the table.
"Tell me," Ethan said coldly. "Who's responsible for this?"
Hammer cried out in pain and tried to pull free, but Ethan tightened his grip mercilessly. The pressure quickly became unbearable.
"Ivan!" Hammer gasped. "Ivan Vanko!"
"Where is he?"
"At my factory!"
Natasha immediately turned, preparing to head for Hammer Industries herself.
But Ethan suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"You're a woman," he said firmly. "Why would you go to a dangerous place like that? I'll handle this."
He released her and turned toward Pepper.
"Call the police immediately," he said. "I'm going to stop Ivan Vanko."
Pepper looked at him with visible gratitude.
"Please be careful," she said.
Outside the conference venue, the surrounding police forces had already received emergency reports. Unfortunately, ordinary weapons were practically useless against the heavily armored machines.
Within minutes, the situation reached the White House, the New York City government, and every major media network.
Several news helicopters rushed to the scene.
Across the country, millions of viewers were now watching the chaos unfold live on television.
Nearby, the members of the Justice League gathered together.
Professor Charles Xavier calmly took command of the operation.
"According to our previous plan," he said through the communication channel, "Storm, Frank, and I will lead the enhanced soldiers to evacuate civilians."
"Abomination and Cyclops will form the first combat team."
"Colossus and Wolverine will form the second."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"Your primary objective is to protect civilians. Destroying the machines is secondary."
He glanced upward at the battle unfolding in the sky.
"Iron Man is drawing most of the enemy's attention right now. That gives us a golden window to rescue people."
"Move."
The moment the order was given, everyone split up and moved into action.
Meanwhile, Ethan quickly arrived at the underground parking structure beneath the conference center. A reinforced soldier was already waiting beside a vehicle.
Within seconds, the car roared out of the parking lot and sped toward Hammer Industries.
Ethan leaned back in his seat and stared quietly out the window.
He knew tonight would almost certainly bring casualties to New York.
But from his perspective, the entire event was merely a small rehearsal.
Compared to the coming Battle of New York in the future, tonight's chaos was nothing more than a warm-up exercise.
After tonight, he planned to push Mayor George to implement a comprehensive disaster response system across the city. Large-scale emergency drills would follow.
If everything went according to plan, future disasters could be handled with far fewer casualties.
In a sense, tonight's incident would serve as preparation.
At the same time, the fear spreading through New York would make his recruitment efforts for Noah Town far easier.
After all, when a city faced repeated catastrophes, people naturally began searching for somewhere safer to live.
Inside the White House Situation Room, the President, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Defense, and several other senior officials were watching the battle through live broadcast footage.
The President's face was grim.
"Didn't Stark claim that no one else could build armor like his for at least ten years?" he asked sharply. "So what exactly are those things?"
The Secretary of Defense rubbed his temples.
"They're not really armored suits," he replied cautiously. "They're closer to autonomous combat robots."
The President turned his gaze toward him.
"Then give me a solution."
The Defense Secretary hesitated before answering.
"We could deploy F-22 fighters—"
"To bomb New York?" the President snapped. "Have you lost your mind?"
The Defense Secretary immediately lowered his head.
"Then… should we put the military in charge of the New York operation?"
"Call the National Guard," the President ordered.
At that moment, the television broadcast suddenly switched to a dramatic live shot.
A combat robot was racing down a street at terrifying speed.
Directly in its path sat a damaged car whose door had been crushed inward by an earlier collision. Inside the vehicle, a family of three struggled desperately to escape.
Their faces were pale with terror.
The robot showed no sign of slowing down.
It continued charging straight toward the car.
Across the country, viewers watching the broadcast collectively held their breath.
The driver, Jack, had been returning home with his wife and child after shopping when chaos suddenly erupted around them. Panicked crowds flooded the street, and in the confusion their car collided with a truck.
The impact jammed the door shut.
Before they could escape, they saw the enormous machine rushing toward them.
Just as the tragedy seemed inevitable, the ground suddenly trembled.
A massive yellow figure dropped from the sky.
The creature descended like a meteor.
Flesh slammed against steel.
The robot was crushed into the pavement before it could even react. Immediately afterward, a gigantic yellow fist hammered down repeatedly like a raging storm.
Sparks exploded everywhere.
Within seconds, the once-terrifying machine had been reduced to twisted scrap metal.
The yellow monster threw its head back and roared before leaping several stories into the air and disappearing into the distance.
Elsewhere, Cyclops stood calmly in the middle of a ruined street facing three advancing robots.
He smiled faintly.
A blazing red beam suddenly erupted from his eyes.
When he turned away a moment later, the three machines behind him were already sliced cleanly in half.
Back inside the White House, the President crossed his arms with visible satisfaction.
"See?" he said proudly. "That's the Justice League I assembled."
The officials exchanged awkward glances.
After a brief pause, they all nodded in agreement.
"The President's foresight is remarkable."
Meanwhile, Ethan Voss had already arrived at Hammer Industries.
However, he had no intention of capturing Ivan Vanko.
By the time he arrived, every guard in the facility had already been killed.
With the sub-super-soldier serum flowing through his veins, Ivan had easily handled them.
Ethan opened a portal in the middle of the warehouse.
A group of enhanced soldiers stepped through immediately.
Ethan clapped his hands once.
"Take everything," he ordered. "Weapons, manufacturing equipment, research materials, classified files."
"Justin Hammer is an idiot."
Nearby, Ivan leaned casually against a railing while chewing on a toothpick.
"Boss," he said lazily. "How about we take the Crimson Armor out for a spin? It's not fully upgraded yet, but it's still strong enough to crush Stark."
Ethan patted him on the shoulder.
"Not tonight," he said.
"There will be better opportunities later."
Then he added calmly, "And stop focusing only on Iron Man. Aim higher."
"You did well today. We're going to need you many more times in the future… especially when it's time to save the world."
Ivan stared at him speechlessly.
"…Boss, do you really need to sell the dream this hard?"
After all, his father was still in Ethan's custody.
What choice did he really have?
Meanwhile, high above the city, Tony Stark was having a very bad night.
He had expected the robots to be dangerous.
But he hadn't expected them to be this good.
Their flight patterns, combat maneuvers, and turning angles were all extremely precise. According to Jarvis's analysis, their combat efficiency was nearly identical to his own database simulations.
With War Machine also under enemy control, the situation became even worse.
During a sharp turn, Stark was suddenly struck by heavy ground fire.
His flight trajectory collapsed instantly.
The armor slammed into the pavement and skidded across the street, leaving a long black scorch mark behind him.
"Sir," Jarvis reported calmly. "We've been hit."
"I noticed," Stark muttered through clenched teeth.
"I underestimated that Russian."
Then he added bitterly, "Justin Hammer made a very good choice this time."
When Iron Man finally stood again, he realized he had been completely surrounded.
Enemies hovered above him in the air.
More machines approached from the ground.
Then the rotary cannon mounted on War Machine's shoulder began spinning.
"Rhodes," Stark said quickly. "Don't shoot me—"
The next moment, the blast knocked him flat on his back.
With no other option, Stark activated his thrusters and skimmed across the ground in a desperate escape attempt.
But in the chaos he lost his bearings.
Seconds later he slammed straight into something enormous.
Dazed, he looked up.
Towering above him was one of Hammer Industries' massive ground assault armors.
"Oh… wow," Stark muttered weakly. "You're a lot bigger than I imagined…"
Before he could finish the sentence, the machine grabbed him and threw him over its shoulder.
Stark hit the ground hard.
"Sir," Jarvis said calmly, "multiple soft-tissue injuries detected."
"Guess what?" Stark groaned. "I detected that too."
Before he could stand up again, another robot leapt forward and pinned him to the pavement.
"No—"
He tried to joke even in the middle of disaster.
"The ones who used to overshadow me were all magazine cover girls…"
Bang.
Another robot arrived and slammed its mechanical legs into the ground, locking itself in place.
Stark's situation had become completely hopeless.
At the critical moment, a powerful figure suddenly dropped from the sky.
Wolverine burst forward like a hunting cheetah, his adamantium claws flashing through the air. The blades tore into the machines with terrifying efficiency, ripping them apart piece by piece.
At the same time, a massive silver figure crashed into War Machine and wrestled it to the ground.
It was Colossus.
Then a blazing red beam swept across the battlefield, slicing through the remaining robots like a blade of light.
Cyclops had arrived.
Tony Stark slowly climbed to his feet, staring at the group in confusion.
"Who exactly are you people?"
Wolverine pointed toward the emblem on his chest.
"Justice League," he said. "Department of Homeland Security."
Stark blinked in surprise.
"I had no idea Homeland Security even had a department like that."
"It was just established."
Stark nodded slowly, clearly impressed.
"A brand-new team?" he said. "You guys look pretty impressive."
Nearby, Colossus was still struggling to hold down War Machine.
"Hey," he called out. "Do you two want to help here?"
Only then did Stark remember.
"Rhodes," he said quickly. "I'm coming!"
Moments later, Storm summoned a violent bolt of lightning from the sky.
The final robot was struck and destroyed.
Just like that, the Battle of New York came to an end.
But the consequences of that night were only beginning.
.....
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