"No one knows where those terrorists came from. All we know is that shortly after they arrived in the town, they recruited a large number of local thugs…"
On the way to the town center, Harry recounted the information he had compiled about the terrorists: "The thugs who were injected with the serum not only possessed immense strength but also the ability to breathe fire. They then helped the terrorists rob banks or large shopping malls."
"The town residents have long been angry but dared not speak out…"
The peaceful life of the town was shattered, and the residents were naturally unhappy.
Moreover, that group of terrorists was clearly premeditated and organized; the town's security forces were simply unable to cope.
"Shh!"
Tony suddenly pulled Harry, who was engrossed in his story, to a street corner to hide.
The two had arrived in the more central part of the town at some point.
On the main road not far away, three individuals with travel bags slung over their shoulders were currently walking, their bags overflowing with green banknotes.
Behind them, a group of armed police officers were in pursuit.
It was clear that Tony and Harry had stumbled upon a bank robbery in progress.
The three robbers, who had been injected with the Extremis, seemed to have undergone some kind of mutation; the police officers' small handguns fired at them, only producing small, lava-like sparks with no further effect.
Conversely, the three robbers possessed the strength to casually toss a small car, which not only caused a great disturbance on the main road but also kept the police officers behind them from raising their heads.
"Are you sure they were all just ordinary thugs before?" Tony asked after observing the situation outside for a while.
Possessing "immortality" and immense strength, these abilities surpassed those of the street heroes in Hell's Kitchen.
In fact, they were even comparable to the superheroes in the Avengers.
"The three of them should all be members of the local Viper Gang. The tall, skinny one, nicknamed 'Bug Tang,' is an addict. I saw him not long ago. I didn't expect him to be recruited too," Harry nodded in confirmation.
As an orphan who had to fend for himself, Harry clearly had a wide circle of acquaintances.
"Good," Tony's eyes flickered, and he said, "You stay here and protect yourself. I'll go meet them."
Even if it wasn't his business, Tony wouldn't stand by idly when something like this happened.
Furthermore, he had a premonition that the robbers outside were connected to his own attack.
So, as the three robbers arrogantly prepared to leave with large amounts of cash.
Tony quietly crept over, picked up a small stone, and threw it at the head of the tall, skinny man who had fallen behind due to carrying too much cash.
"Hey, Junkie Tang—come and get me!"
After tossing out that cheeky taunt, Tony quickly ducked back behind the vehicle for cover.
It was a taunt executed to perfection.
"Tang, what are you doing? Hurry up and catch up!"
Having caused such a commotion, even if the robbers weren't afraid of small handguns, they still wanted to evacuate quickly.
The two robbers in front saw their accomplice, who had fallen behind, suddenly staring blankly for some unknown reason, and impatiently urged him on.
In this situation, even if Tang was unwilling, he could only pick up the three large satchels and prepare to follow.
It was then that another small stone flew out, hitting the back of the tall, skinny man's head precisely.
That annoying voice also rang out again: "I don't think you should be called Tang, you should be called Wimp—"
When Tang turned around, he just happened to see Tony's face, sporting a hateful smirk, taunting him before ducking behind the vehicle again.
Once, twice…
The addict, whose mind was already not very sharp, could no longer tolerate it.
After dropping his satchels, he charged at the car with fire blazing from his hands.
"I'm sorry, you shouldn't be called Big Wimp, you should be called Fire Dragon…"
Tony rolled to another car, continuing his taunts.
That seemingly cursed voice, little by little, completely robbed Bug Tang of his wits.
"Tang, don't waste time, get over here…"
"Forget about that useless guy, we already have the money, it's a good idea to leave him to cover our escape…"
"'That's true!'"
In front, the two impatient robbers, after a brief discussion, decided to abandon Tang.
"You're Tang, right? What a pathetic worm. Haven't you noticed your partners have abandoned you? Do you want to go home to your mommy now…?" Tony, who had been chased and forced to hide several times in a row, seized the opportunity to remind the furious "Fire Dragon" in front of him.
On one side was an annoying pest, and on the other was the prospect of messing up the mission and being punished by the leader upon returning.
At the crucial moment, the addict's mind finally cleared.
After glaring at Tony with hatred, the tall, skinny man once again picked up his satchels, preparing to retreat.
"What's wrong, Big Wimp? Aren't you going to get revenge? Come and hit me!"
Seeing the other party in a hurry, Tony directly ran out from behind the cover, striking a pose and taunting again.
And the moniker "Big Wimp" seemed to have a special attack effect on the low-level addict.
It seemed as if Tang's mind had been burned out by Tony's series of taunts; his expression uncontrollably began to contort into a ferocious grin, and his body mysteriously began to glow with a lava-like red light.
As if on the verge of exploding at any moment.
"Oh fu—!"
Realizing something was wrong, Tony quickly dove behind the nearest vehicle.
Immediately following, a huge explosion accompanied by a wave of heat struck, flipping cars for half a block.
Tony was lucky; because he was lying low enough, the car in front of him only grazed his head as it rolled over.
But even so, Tony's vision went black from the shockwave, and his hearing seemed to be temporarily lost.
"Mr. Stark… Mr. Stark… Are you alright? Can you hear me?"
It wasn't until he had been shaken for a long time that Tony's eyes gradually refocused.
"I'm fine, why did you come over?" After a good while, Tony finally recognized the little guy, Harry, in front of him.
As for where the tall, skinny robber had been standing, there was now a large crater.
Dirt, rubble, and even green banknotes were scattered all over the ground.
Further in the distance, a terrified and chaotic crowd was visible.
"I was worried something happened to you, so I came to check…" Finding that Tony was unharmed, Harry explained while casually scooping up the banknotes floating by and stuffing them into his pockets.
It must be said that as a "scavenger," Harry's professional skills were very smooth.
Tony didn't notice Harry's small actions. Seeing police officers approaching not far away, he quickly told the little guy, "I seem to have a small injury, quickly help me leave."
Having largely confirmed his suspicions, Tony decided to carry out his revenge personally.
Therefore, he did not want to interact with official personnel for the time being.
More than half an hour later, supported by Harry, Tony returned to the container house.
After an examination, he found that he mostly had scrapes, and the problems were not serious.
"Terrorists… Extremis… I wonder how Pepper is doing…"
With clues and time to think, Tony finally recalled that the woman who had come to Malibu's private villa to find him had seemingly mentioned her research—the Extremis.
It was supposedly a serum that could evolve the genes of all humanity, and she hoped to gain Tony's support.
However, Tony at the time was only thinking about how to get rid of the troublesome woman in front of him and didn't listen carefully to what she said.
Later, Pepper did have a detailed conversation with that woman for a while.
But after hearing about the effects of the Extremis, Pepper explicitly rejected the collaboration, citing the serum as too dangerous.
This meant that the woman named Maya was very likely the mastermind behind all of this. And Pepper, who was currently with her, was now also very likely in danger.
Go back and save Pepper, or destroy the terrorist stronghold here in Tennessee on the spot.
This was a huge dilemma for Tony at the moment.
However, recalling the tragic scene on the street earlier, and the arrogant demeanor of the robbers, Tony was more inclined to first resolve the trouble here in Tennessee, and then immediately return to reunite with Pepper.
In short, he wanted to do both.
Then Tony discovered that after a whole night and half a day, his Iron Man suit hadn't even charged to thirty percent energy.
If he wore the underpowered suit to deal with the terrorists in Tennessee, the suit's energy might not be enough for him to fly back to New York afterwards.
In addition, for some time recently, many media outlets and the public had been questioning Tony, saying he only became Iron Man because of his suit.
While this annoyed Tony, he also vaguely realized that he had indeed become too reliant on his suit during this period.
Therefore, to clear his name, and for his subsequent plans to proceed smoothly.
Tony decided that this time, he would not use the power of the Iron Man suit, but rely solely on his own strength to deal with the terrorists in Tennessee.
"Harry, listen. I'm ready to go deal with that group of terrorists." Having made his decision, Tony looked at the little guy seriously and said, "So, I need your help. Do you have any weapons suitable for dealing with terrorists here?"
"That's great! I knew you'd help me and everyone in town. I'll go find you some weapons right away…" Driven by a mysterious admiration for superheroes, Harry excitedly scurried around the room.
Then, several toy guns, some toy grenades, and toy helmets were placed in front of Tony.
"These are the weapons you mentioned?" Looking at the "junk" in front of him, Tony somewhat doubted his eyes.
However, considering the little guy was not yet ten years old, Tony was relieved, "Never mind, put away your Christmas presents. Dealing with terrorists, just leave it to the great Tony."
It was early December; Christmas was indeed just over half a month away.
"If you really decide to go after that group of terrorists, maybe these can help you." Harry said, carefully pulling out a crumpled pile of green banknotes from his pocket.
That's right, it was the robbers' money he had picked up on the street earlier.
Although Harry was young, he knew his toys couldn't deal with terrorists.
"Well done!" A turn of events, Tony excitedly grabbed the banknotes.
With this money, his brilliant mind could utilize certain household items from the department store to create enough weapons to deal with the terrorists.
This was the confidence of a genius.
Subsequently, Tony once again took Harry to the town center, where they bought several high-power chargers, two plungers, two electronic sensor sticks…
And some fresh ingredients.
After all, ensuring ample physical strength was also an indispensable part of preparing for battle.
Then, back at the container house, Harry was sent to the kitchen, while Tony began modifying the weapons.
The chargers became electronic bombs, the sensor sticks were converted into stun guns, and the plungers became suction cups for climbing walls.
With everything ready, Tony ate his medium-rare steak while looking at Harry, who was frowning, and said, "Don't worry, I won't use your money for nothing. I'll send you a gift for Christmas."
"Really? Can I have a snow globe with little people moving inside? And an armor suit, an armor suit as cool as the one over there…" Harry, who had never received a Christmas gift, immediately became happy.
He began to fantasize about his Christmas presents.
"Of course, besides being a superhero, I also moonlight as Santa Claus. All your wishes will come true…" Tony said after coaxing the child with a smile, "Now, can you eat? The steak won't taste good when it's cold."
"Will my wishes really come true?" Happiness came too suddenly, Harry uncertainly extended his small hand and said, "Pinky promise, whoever lies has to swallow a thousand needles—"
"Alright, pinky promise. If I lie, I'll swallow a thousand needles."
"…."
After some playful bickering, Harry finally contentedly began eating his steak.
Across from him, Tony watched the little guy's happy expression, his own lips unconsciously curving upwards slightly.
On the other side, Mike, who had been away for nearly two months, returned to his villa through a spatial portal after re-forging his equipment on Nidavellir.
This time, he planned to meet up with Hit-Girl, Scarlet Witch, and others, then return to the main world.
Due to the difference in time flow, this trip would be at least another half a year.
Therefore, he needed to give Hit-Girl and the others a heads-up in advance.
However, before he could even return to his own villa, he saw a large group of people bustling out of Stark Tower not far away.
Daredevil, Spider-Man, Deadpool, The Punisher, etc. Mike even saw Quicksilver in the crowd.
He didn't know who had provoked this group of street heroes, but their expressions all looked rather grim at the moment.
"Mr. Mike, you're finally back—"
Upon spotting Mike, Spider-Man excitedly ran over.
The other street heroes also came over to greet Mike.
"What are you all planning to do?" Mike asked curiously.
Such a group of formidable individuals would be enough to attack a government building.
"Mr. Stark is missing, and Miss Pepper has also been kidnapped by bad guys. We are preparing to rescue Miss Pepper…" Because he was too excited, Spider-Man spoke a little incoherently.
"Let me do it," Daredevil, seeing this, patted Spider-Man's shoulder, indicating that he would explain.
Then, Mike learned from Daredevil that Tony had declared war on terrorists not long ago, and was subsequently attacked in Malibu.
And the entire process of Pepper being kidnapped.
"Regarding Mr. Stark, I've already contacted the authorities, and they've promised to send the 'Patriot' armor to Tennessee to rescue him…" Daredevil concluded, "As for us, we've found clues about Miss Pepper's abduction, and we're preparing to rescue her now."
"That's how it is." Spider-Man nodded vigorously from the side, then added, "Mr. Guardian, Tony has been missing for over a day, could you please make a trip to Tennessee? I'm worried the official people might not be that efficient."
Tony was a sponsor of the street Heroes Mutual Aid Association, and Spider-Man and others, who had benefited from him, clearly didn't want to see anything happen to him.
However, the street heroes currently had the mission of rescuing Pepper.
Therefore, they needed a reliable person to go to Tennessee as a backup.
Clearly, Mike, who had just returned, was that trustworthy person.
Not only Spider-Man, but the other street heroes also looked at Mike with hope.
"OK, I generally understand the situation. I'll take care of Tony's safety." Mike said, "Also, if you run into any trouble, you can always contact me."
Having been neighbors with Tony and Pepper for several months, and having received many favors from Tony during that time, Mike didn't mind helping them out.
The street heroes, having received the promise, visibly relaxed.
Although Mike didn't often take action, his track record of repelling aliens was reassuring.
Next, after greeting Mike again, the street heroes rushed towards New York downtown.
The clue they had received was that Miss Pepper seemed to have been hidden by the terrorists near the Statue of Liberty.
As for Mike, after watching the street heroes leave, he also prepared to go to Tennessee as Daredevil had instructed.
Just then, Scarlet Witch in her casual home attire and Hit-Girl in a loli outfit emerged from the villa, staring at Mike from a distance.
One big, one small…
Both with a hint of "resentment" in their eyes.