Under the watchful eyes of Kyle and the others, Tony and Stane, clad in their Iron Man Armor, streaked into the night sky, chasing each other relentlessly.
They continued until they became two faint specks, disappearing entirely into the heavens.
"This scene is quite familiar," Kyle muttered to himself as he looked up at the sky.
With unwavering determination and the hope of victory, facing certain death in order to survive - this was the lesson he wanted Tony to comprehend tonight.
In the grand scheme of the universe, humans were like ants, insignificant and minuscule. Even if they managed to ascend the steps of evolution and reach the heavens, without the hearts of true warriors, how could they ever hope to stand on par with gods?
"After this battle, you will be the one and only hero on Earth— Iron Man."
As Kyle spoke in hushed tones, Pepper suddenly exclaimed in surprise. Above them, something was descending from the night sky, and upon closer inspection, it was Stane wearing the Iron Monger Armor.
At this moment, the Iron Monger Armor Stane wore was covered in a layer of white frost. Various parts had dimmed and it felt as if it was a colossal piece of scrap metal that was plummeting down the ground.
Ordinary Iron Man Armor materials would freeze when reaching an altitude of ten kilometers.
Tony himself had fallen victim to this apparent gap in common knowledge. If not for Kyle secretly intervening, he might have crashed into a pile of scrap metal.
Tony's newly created Mark suit, constructed using aerospace spaceship materials, was no longer simply referred to as 'Iron Man' since it could withstand the freezing temperatures at high altitudes.
With a deafening crash, the Iron Monger Armor plummeted from an altitude of ten kilometers and landed directly behind Kyle and the others, on the rooftop of the factory's third floor. The impact created a massive hole, and debris and dust flew in all directions.
Although there was no immediate threat, Raina, as if not wanting any dust to soil Kyle's coat, calmly looked up. Her clear eyes emitted a silvery glow, and her thoughts created invisible ripples, dispersing all the falling dust.
"Where's Tony?" Pepper covered her ears, looking up anxiously. Finally, she saw Colossus descending from the sky.
Tony, with very little energy remaining in the old core, intermittently activated the thrusters at the soles of his feet, slowing down his descent. Finally, with a loud crash, he landed in front of everyone. He removed the Iron Man mask himself, revealing a tired and pale face.
"Tony!" Pepper rushed out impatiently and hugged Thor's Iron Man suit. Tony, still catching his breath, embraced her back, clearly shaken by the experience.
When Tony saw Kyle, he weakly blinked and said, "Godfather. How did I do?"
"Passable," Kyle replied with a smile, giving a fair assessment.
"What, just passable?" Tony's mouth twitched. With Pepper's assistance, he was about to say something more when an untimely and eerie noise interrupted them.
Kyle and the others turned around to see that the massive hole from which the Iron Man suit had emerged was now occupied by a metallic Iron Man claw. Subsequently, the Iron Man's head and body slowly climbed out, its eyes gleaming with piercing light as it fixated on them.
"The enhanced shock absorption measures... let me..." The expression on Tony's face changed when he saw this scene, and he quickly pushed Pepper's hands away. However, as he took a step forward, he staggered and fell to one knee.
"Tony, that's enough," Kyle said calmly.
Tony looked at his own chest, where the old core's light was dimming, nearly extinguished.
Realizing he was no longer fit for combat, he sighed, "You need to leave. Godfather, don't worry about me. Get Pepper out of here."
"I'm not leaving!" Pepper said anxiously, her eyes reddening as she clung to Tony.
Seeing the two of them, Kyle was somewhat speechless.
Fine, he hadn't shown his strength on Earth after returning, and now they all seemed to consider him the mascot of the Symbol of Peace.
"Raina, protect the two of them," Kyle said with a shrug. After Raina released her grip, he took a few steps forward, facing the Iron Man machine alone.
"Godfather, what are you going to do? You can't fight that high-tech suit with just the physique of a Super Soldier!" Tony urgently exclaimed.
Under his father Howard's guidance, Tony was aware of the existence of Super Soldiers. Furthermore, at the current Stark Industries, he had developed a super-powered formula similar to the Super Soldier Serum.
However, as conventional weapons grew more powerful, with bullets and missiles increasing in destructive force, the Super Soldiers found it increasingly difficult to defend against such attacks.
In the 21st century, the era of invincible Super Soldiers on Earth was long gone.
"Perfect timing! I've been looking for you, Symbol of Peace!" Stane laughed heartily, raising Iron Man's right hand. The Gatling gun system activated, and the barrels all aimed at Kyle, who was approaching.
Kyle paid no attention to the danger of the firearms before him and continued to step forward. He answered Tony's question while doing so, "Tony, your father must not have told you that over sixty years ago, I walked through a nuclear explosion. Besides, this isn't the first time."
"Take this opportunity to see what mutations can achieve in terms of physical abilities."
Before Kyle could finish speaking, Stane had already opened fire. Blue flames erupted from the Gatling gun on his right arm, and bullets rained down on him. There was no escape.
Seeing this horrifying scene, Raina maintained her cool demeanor, while Pepper covered her eyes, unable to watch. Tony stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
As the densely packed bullets struck Kyle's body, a dark keratin membrane quickly appeared on his skin. Black liquid visibly flowed and covered him from his chest to his limbs and head, forming a fierce and wild lifeform exoskeleton.
"A long-lost feeling..."
As the bullets continued to rain down, a triumphant voice echoed in Kyle's mind. It was as if he were not facing a lethal barrage of ammunition but rather indulging in a bullet bath at a grand banquet.
Indeed, those bullets were like mere tickles to him as they fell on Kyle's Venom-covered body and bounced off harmlessly, scattering all around.
"How is this possible?"
Seeing the humanoid monster that ignored bullets and continued advancing, Stane's maniacal laughter came to an abrupt halt, replaced by shock and incomprehension.
"Is that really Godfather?" Tony gasped, finally beginning to understand why his father had always regarded his Godfather's combat capabilities as an unbeatable legend.
Until the bullets were exhausted, Stane, in a panic, withdrew his right hand and raised Iron Monger's left hand, from which the last small missile was launched.
"I don't believe it! I'll kill you no matter what!" Stane roared as he launched the small missile directly at Kyle's demonic and grotesque face, which was less than five meters away.
Kyle had no intention of dodging. He raised his right hand and made a gesture that many would remember for the rest of their lives.
His crimson, slender eyes emitted a glow as he faced the approaching small missile. With swift and powerful force, he simply slapped it away.
"Boom!!!"
The small missile was deflected off course, and as it exploded violently beside Kyle, it created a devastating explosion. The shockwave sent dust and debris flying outward, and the flames illuminated his monstrous, dark-muscled physique.
As if he had just swatted a fly, Kyle maintained his speed and finally came to a stop in front of the Iron Monger suit.
Stane remained motionless as if he had lost the courage to launch any more attacks. He could only look at Kyle with a trembling voice and ask, "Are you a man or a monster?"
"Me?" Kyle grinned, his mouth wide. He didn't say much. He clenched his right hand into a fist and delivered a brief but powerful strike to the spherical core of the Iron Monger suit.
"Crack!"
The Iron Monger shell and the new power corevshattered under the impact of the extraordinary force, cracking and breaking apart inch by inch.
(End of this chapter)