Tony stood in front of Whiplash and spoke calmly.
With his armor completely disabled and unable to move, Whiplash opened his visor.
"I don't need a lecture from you, Stark. Spare me your hypocrisy. If it wasn't for your friend showing up, you'd already be in hell, apologizing to my father."
"Actually, I was the one who pointed out how to defeat you. I noticed the flaw in your armor. So, in a way, it's my knowledge that beat you, just like my father beat yours," Tony replied.
"You're not worthy to mention my father!" Ivan Vanko spat on the ground in disdain, showing his utter contempt for Tony Stark.
Blake, twirling his Tang Dao, was ready to finish Whiplash off with one strike, uninterested in their pointless bickering. But just as he prepared to strike, Rhodey's voice of desperation interrupted him once again.
"Hey… now that this is all over, can someone get me out of here?!"
Poor Rhodey—his armor, based on the Mark II model, didn't have an automatic release mechanism. With his chest reactor and wiring severed by Blake, he couldn't even move a finger, let alone take off the armor himself.
"It's over. What are you planning to do with him? I think you should hand him over to me," Black Widow and Pepper Potts appeared at just the right moment. Rhodey, still trapped in his armor, rolled his eyes.
Black Widow spoke from the perspective of S.H.I.E.L.D., but Blake and Tony had no intention of letting S.H.I.E.L.D. get their hands on the Arc Reactor technology—especially since Blake knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. was essentially HYDRA at this point.
"Natasha, do you really think—" Blake started, but Whiplash's sudden laughter cut him off.
"Hahaha! None of you will decide my fate! You'll all join me in hell!"
As he laughed maniacally, the Arc Reactors on all the suits of armor, including the three on Whiplash's suit, began to blink dangerously. Every reactor that hadn't been destroyed flashed with an ominous warning.
"Damn it!"
"Shit!"
Blake and Tony cursed simultaneously as they dashed toward the two women. Tony grabbed Pepper and soared into the sky, while Blake scooped up Black Widow and leaped toward the distant forest.
On the battlefield, Whiplash's cursing mixed with the blaring explosion alarms. And somewhere, a faint voice emerged from one of the armor suits on the ground.
"What's happening? Is it going to blow? Can someone help me out? Blake? Tony?"
"Boom!!!!"
A series of explosions erupted, just like the climactic end of a cheesy action movie. The two heroes held their respective love interests, standing at a safe distance, watching the victory-marking explosions.
"Thud!"
A piece of armor, blown away by the blast, rolled to a stop in front of the group. From inside came a groan, full of life—Rhodey.
Tony, still holding Pepper close, looked deep into her eyes and said, "I really regret missing that chance last time. I think today's the day to make up for it."
The two slowly leaned in for a kiss.
Meanwhile, Blake, still holding Black Widow, hadn't moved.
Black Widow gently pinched Blake's waist and asked, "What was it you were about to say to me, before the explosion?"
Blake glanced at the beauty in his arms, then over at Tony and Pepper, locked in a passionate kiss. He grinned and said, "It's not important anymore."
With that, he leaned down and kissed Black Widow.
"Hey! Why is there no sound? The explosion seems to be over. I'm about to be crushed here. Let me out first, Blake, Tony? I know you're nearby. What are you doing? Hey! Hey..."
"Shut up!" Blake kicked a stone toward Rhodey's head, making a loud clunk and causing Rhodey's head to buzz inside the armor.
...
After Rhodey became War Machine, the system recognized him as a superhero—or rather, an Avenger—and awarded Blake 500 points as a mission reward. Defeating Whiplash earned him another 1,000 points, leaving Blake with a total of 2,000 points.
With 2,000 points, aside from the Asgardian God Physique he had already redeemed, Blake could only buy two things. After much consideration, he decided to upgrade his Tang Dao Sword. After all, if his sword had been sharper during the fight, Whiplash would have been an easy target.
Originally, Blake thought the system would simply provide him with a new sword, but instead, an upgrade interface appeared. He placed the E-class Tang Dao into it, and it was upgraded to D-class.
The upgraded Tang Dao didn't look much different, but when Blake swung it a few times, he noticed that the material was much more flexible than before. However, the annoying part was that the folding feature had been removed, likely due to the new material. This presented a significant inconvenience for Blake—he couldn't just carry a sword around all the time like Deadpool.
With no other option, he spent 1,000 points on a spatial item. Instead of turning it into a conventional piece of jewelry, Blake consulted the system and transformed it into a buckle on his waistband. Of course, since his combat suit could change form, the buckle wasn't always present. If Blake transformed his suit into casual wear, the buckle could become a small accessory on the elastic waistband or a logo—depending on his preference.
Blake figured that such an item was best hidden in an unexpected place, so no one would suspect he had a spatial storage device. People would likely assume it was some sort of magic, like Doctor Strange or Loki. Besides, pulling a Tang Sword out from just above his waist during a fight would definitely make him look more intimidating.
After exchanging his points for these two items, he was left with a mere 300 points. After stocking his spatial item with some daily essentials, Blake boarded a plane to New Mexico.
He initially wanted Thor to follow him to New York, but Thor, unwilling to leave his hammer behind, insisted on staying nearby, so Blake let him be. Over this period, whether due to losing his powers or being influenced by Jane, Thor had truly let go of his stubbornness. He even made some concrete plans for his life.
Thor rented a house in the small town and found a job as a cook at a local restaurant. Blake had given him $100,000, but apart from a small amount spent at the beginning and buying a few small gifts for Jane, Thor hadn't touched the money at all. He had been living off the wages from his job. This genuinely surprised Blake.
Watching the big guy busy at work in the restaurant's open kitchen, Blake noticed that Thor no longer seemed as rash or impulsive. And when he glanced at Jane, who was watching Thor intently without blinking, Blake couldn't help but feel a bit like Odin—a parent whose child had grown up and was no longer dependent on them.
Only, poor Odin—his children are quite a handful.
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