Karl gave Yinsen a small, knowing smile and said nothing further.
Tony, meanwhile, had fully embraced chaos.
He hovered midair inside his own mansion, blasting repulsor pulses at fruit thrown into the air, vaporizing apples and oranges like fireworks.
Karl's lips twitched.
This wasn't confidence.
It was recklessness — the kind that came after someone narrowly escaped death.
Across the room, Pepper saw it too.
So did Rhodey.
Rhodey stood near the entrance, jaw tight.
For weeks, he had been shielding Tony from the Pentagon — deflecting demands to seize the Iron Man armor, arguing that Tony was stable, responsible, in control.
And here he was.
Drunk.
In full combat armor.
Weapon systems active.
Inside a crowded mansion.
Rhodey muttered to Pepper beside him:
"I've been keeping tanks from rolling up this driveway… and he's doing this?"
Pepper inhaled sharply.
"I'll handle it."
She moved toward the stairs.
As she passed Rhodey, he noticed something subtle.
She looked… younger.
Tony too.
But the thought passed quickly under frustration.
Pepper climbed the steps and pulled the microphone from Tony's hand.
"Alright, everyone, that's enough. Party's over. Please leave calmly."
Disappointed murmurs spread through the crowd.
Tony snatched the mic back immediately.
"No, no, no. My house. My birthday. My rules! DJ, keep it going!"
Music resumed.
Pepper's expression hardened.
Rhodey's patience snapped.
He turned and headed downstairs.
Karl saw it instantly.
Showtime.
Moments later, the silver Mark II armor powered up in the lower workshop.
Unlike the newer Mark IV Tony wore, Mark II lacked advanced stabilization updates and heat-resistant outer plating — but it was fully functional.
Rhodey launched upward through the garage lift system and emerged onto the main floor.
"Tony," Rhodey said, faceplate retracting briefly, "take it off. Now."
The crowd froze.
Two Iron Men.
The tone was no longer celebratory.
Guests began backing away.
Tony lowered his mask.
"Relax, Rhodey. It's just a party."
"Take it off," Rhodey repeated.
Tony stepped forward casually.
"This is my house."
Rhodey didn't argue again.
He grabbed Tony's armored arm and used a military judo throw — flipping him hard onto the floor.
Pepper gasped.
Tony rolled, came up fast, and retaliated with a right hook that sent Rhodey crashing through the gym wall.
Metal collided.
Concrete cracked.
The fight escalated immediately.
Rhodey grabbed a weighted barbell and swung it. Tony blocked, then countered with a repulsor blast that sent Rhodey sliding across the driveway.
They launched into the air.
Exchanged midair strikes.
Armor plating dented under impact.
Despite Tony's improved physical baseline from the serum and the new element powering his suit, he deliberately avoided lethal force.
He did not deploy micro-missiles.
He did not activate full output repulsors.
This was controlled.
Emotional.
Not tactical.
Karl watched calmly.
To anyone paying attention, it was obvious:
If Tony truly wanted to end it, the Mark IV's updated systems and superior power output would overwhelm Mark II quickly.
Instead, he matched Rhodey blow for blow.
Then came the escalation.
Both hovered at mid-range.
Repulsors charged.
"Don't do it," Yinsen muttered.
Too late.
Blue beams collided.
Energy built between them, compressing into a volatile plasma sphere.
The explosion tore through the rear façade of the mansion.
Shockwave blasted outward.
Karl casually erected a telekinetic barrier around himself, Yinsen, Samuel, and the remaining staff.
The shockwave split around them harmlessly.
Glass shattered.
Cars flipped.
Flames licked the driveway.
When the smoke cleared, Tony lay on his back.
Rhodey was the first to rise.
He glanced briefly toward Karl's group — noticing they stood completely untouched amid destruction.
He didn't dwell on it.
He looked at Tony.
Then he made a decision.
Without another word, Rhodey launched upward and flew off — taking the Mark II armor with him.
"Tony!" Pepper ran forward.
Karl followed at a relaxed pace.
Tony wasn't unconscious.
He was still.
Pepper reached him first.
Before she could panic further, Karl tapped the side of Tony's helmet.
"Alright. The show's over."
Tony's faceplate lifted.
He looked mildly annoyed.
"How did you figure it out?"
Karl smirked.
"Super gene serum. New element. Mark IV. And you're telling me you lost to an outdated Mark II?"
Tony snorted.
"I needed him to take it. The military's breathing down his neck. If I didn't make it look real, he wouldn't."
Karl laughed lightly.
"Should've recorded it. 'Billionaire gets punched by best friend.' Would've gone viral."
Tony rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah."
Pepper stood nearby, arms crossed.
She had already realized.
The serum had made Tony physically stronger. She'd felt the same transformation herself. There was no way he was actually incapacitated.
Tony stood up fully.
"I should go fix that."
"You should," Karl agreed calmly. "She left."
Tony sighed.
"Great."
He took off after Pepper.
Karl remained still for a moment.
Natasha was absent tonight — likely on assignment.
If Tony trained properly, even Natasha would struggle against him now in pure physical metrics. But combat isn't just strength. It's experience.
Eventually, Karl and the others left.
Back at the manor, Karl stood alone for a moment.
Rhodey now had the armor.
The military would reverse-engineer it.
Which meant escalation was coming.
He looked up at the night sky.
Perhaps it was almost time.
Thor should be arriving soon.
…
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