With a single punch, the helicopter lost its balance and began swaying in the air.
"He's on top of us!" one of the pilots said grimly.
"Damn it!" cursed another soldier, trying to relieve his tension.
After the recent attack, everyone on board understood the kind of monster they were facing: a being impervious to bullets and even the most powerful weaponry of an Apache helicopter. It could leap hundreds of meters and destabilize a helicopter with a single strike—a true demon.
At this moment, having such a creature on top of them made it impossible to stay calm.
"Shake him off, quick!" the co-pilot shouted.
With the monster clinging to the helicopter, their weapons were useless. Their only hope was to use maneuvers like sudden climbs, dives, and spins to throw him off.
The helicopter stabilized and suddenly began accelerating, performing sharp turns and rapid maneuvers in the air.
Meanwhile, Iron Man was sent staggering by powerful recoil from Lynch. Following that came a barrage of machine gun bullets and three rockets aimed straight at him.
Lynch dodged, but Iron Man took the brunt of the attack. The Mark III suit's alarms blared, flashing red lights all over.
Tony Stark was in bad shape.
His suit was severely damaged, though it could still fly and most of the weapons were intact.
However...
The real issue was the power source. The Mark III was still using the energy core from the Mark I, which was incompatible with this suit and had already depleted to less than 10% power.
"Jarvis, do I have enough power left to keep fighting?" Tony asked, flying a bit farther away and eyeing the helicopter playing aerial games with Lynch.
"Sir, I advise against it. You may not have enough energy to make it back."
Tony's expression grew serious as he weighed his options.
The military had cut communication, clearly determined to capture or kill Lynch—dead or alive.
As for Tony...
He wasn't their target; once separated from Lynch, he was no longer under attack.
The smartest move would be to leave now, pressure the military to call off the operation later.
But...
Tony pondered. They had already fired at him—would they really give up on this mission? And if he left, would Lynch...
Would he really make it out alive?
In his mind, the scene flashed of Lynch charging headfirst into that missile.
According to Jarvis' footage, Lynch had deliberately chosen to take the hit instead of dodging, likely to protect innocent bystanders.
At that moment, Tony was moved.
He realized he wasn't fighting alone!
Despite his cautious nature, which kept him wary of this incredibly powerful and mysterious guy, he couldn't just stand by and let someone who had been fighting alongside him, protecting others, and battling evil be killed by the military.
No!
"Okay, I might not make it back today, but if I leave, there's no way Lynch will."
He raised his arms, transforming his elbows.
"Lynch! We're getting back to New York together today!"
Two small missiles shot out from his arm launchers.
The steel-plated face of the Mark III seemed to crack a smile.
"Whoo-hoo!" Lynch shouted, letting out a burst of emotion in midair.
Strong gusts of wind whipped past him, but the sudden changes in direction couldn't shake him off the helicopter. He held on tight, savoring the thrill of flying.
"Faster! Come on, this is too slow!" he yelled, slamming his fist into the helicopter as if complaining like a passenger about a slow taxi.
"Damn it, we can't shake him!" the co-pilot shouted in despair after the helicopter shook under another of Lynch's punches.
"Fire the missiles at the target immediately! We'll assist! Don't worry about us! Repeat: fire the missiles and take out this bastard!"
The pilot's face was set in grim determination. Firing the missiles meant targeting the helicopter too. If a direct hit occurred, they would likely be destroyed with only a slim chance of survival.
"Roger! Missiles launching!"
"Roger! Missiles... wait, what the hell? Where did that come from?"
The pilot was puzzled as a micro-missile hit the tail of their helicopter, engulfing half of it in flames.
He glanced quickly at the other helicopter, which narrowly dodged the blast.
"It's Tony Stark! He fired at us... we're going down..."
"Fire back!"
"Blow him up!"
Lynch was still enjoying his ride and hadn't yet smashed the helicopter because it was tough—after a dozen iron fists, it was only dented. He was planning to switch tactics and break into the cockpit once the helicopter steadied.
But suddenly, one helicopter exploded and crashed into the sea.
Looking up, he saw Iron Man speeding toward him, flames trailing.
He originally thought Tony would be low on power, so he didn't want to drag him into the fight. If it came down to it, he could dive into the ocean where the military couldn't follow.
But after realizing he couldn't easily destroy the three helicopters alone, Lynch had to admit that Tony looked pretty cool just now.
Though still a bit short of his own level.
"Hey! Tony! Over here!"
He waved at Iron Man.
"Lost your way home?" Tony's voice came from the suit as he flew up beside Lynch.
"Come on, I know New York like the back of my hand. I was just worried you'd get lost!"
"Thanks! I'll buy you a burger when we get back, but you're paying."
"Alright, let's head back to New York together!"
Iron Man extended his hand, and Lynch grabbed it.
Just then, a large missile roared toward them!
"Tony, move!" Lynch yelled as the missile approached, making his eyelid twitch.
This was too big to take head-on, even for him.
"Relax! We got this!" Tony quipped while urging Jarvis.
"Maximum power! Hurry!"
"Power level at 9%! Power level at 8%!…"
With a sudden burst of speed, Iron Man smoothly accelerated away. He raised his hand, and a blast from his palm hit the incoming missile.
Boom!
A wave of heat and a shockwave swept through, consuming the remaining helicopter and sending Iron Man tumbling through the air.
The second helicopter crashed.
Lynch covered one ear, muttering curses as he spat out unheard words.
That kind of blast? If he'd taken that hit, the story might have turned into "The Death of Superman."
But thankfully, he dodged it, leaving only one helicopter left.
"Tony, are you alright?" Lynch knocked on Iron Man's helmet and shouted close to his ear.
"I'm fine..."
Tony quickly scanned the data on his faceplate.
"Just two pieces of bad news."
"Spit it out!"
"The Mark III is out of power, and there's a fleet approaching three kilometers away…"
"Okay, relax, Tony!"
Lynch smiled.
"Can your Mark III dive underwater?"
"What?"
"I mean, how long can you stay submerged?"
"An hour or two... wait, what are you planning? Oh, out of power..."
The flames from Iron Man's suit sputtered out, and they both plunged toward the ocean.
"I get it! Well, game over then!"
Lynch's gaze shifted to the last helicopter.
Two beams of heat vision shot out, piercing it instantly.
The last helicopter crashed.
The two fell into the sea as Lynch cast a glance at the approaching fleet.
Yep, definitely out of their league.
"Tony, can you point me in the right direction? Let's head back to New York."
[AN - This is like a fever dream]