[anwhile, Tony remained bound to the bed. Suddenly, his watch began to beep loudly. Tony imdiately perked up—this was the alert indicating Mark 42 had finished charging.]
[One of his guards heard the alarm, traced the sound, and picked up the childish digital watch.]
[Tony observed this and warned, "Careful with that—it's a limited edition!"]
[Then he taunted the other guard: "Hey, Ponytail Express... how far is Tennessee from Miami?"]
[The guard imdiately replied, "832 miles!"]
[Tony nodded with satisfaction. "Very good!" He ntally calculated how long it would take for the Mark 42 to arrive.]
[Ponytail smiled smugly at his companion. "I'm good with distances."]
[He then glanced at the beeping watch impatiently. "Can you shut that thing up?"]
[Tony issued a warning: "Break it, you bought it!"]
[The guard contemptuously threw the watch to the floor, crushed it beneath his boot, and ground it against the concrete. He looked at Tony with disdain. "I'll buy you another."]
["That's actually not mine. It belongs to my friend's sister. So I'm gonna kill you first," Tony glared while eyeing the destroyed watch.]
[The guard chuckled and gestured at Tony's restraints. "How are you planning to do that? You're tied to a bed!"]
["Just watch," Tony estimated Mark 42 was nearly there and dramatically waved his hand, initiating the summoning gesture for his armor. "Like this!"]
[To his confusion, nothing happened. The two guards looked at Tony as though he'd lost his mind. Tony waved again with more emphasis. "Like that!"]
[The guards watched Tony's peculiar performance with bewildernt. Tony closed his mouth helplessly, wondering if sothing had gone wrong.]
"Is he summoning the armor?" the first-generation Gwen asked, uncertain about Tony's strange gestures.
"Yeah! That's how he calls the suit. The sensors he implanted in his body allow the armor to locate him and respond to his movents," the first-generation Spider-Man confird with a nod.
He added concernedly, "I don't understand the delay. He must have calculated the arrival ti precisely, but sothing's wrong. I hope Harley's okay!"
"Oh! I hope Tony escapes safely and saves Pepper!" Gwen clasped her hands together in prayer.
Spider-Man reached out and embraced her reassuringly. "He will! And Rhodes too—I believe they'll both be fine."
Gwen gazed upward and pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Without his armor, Tony Stark is just an ordinary person, like . Without Venom, I can't help you either."
"Hey, you've always had what matters most," Spider-Man gently lifted her chin and tapped lightly on the Venom symbiote at her chest. Sensing his touch, Venom instinctively wrapped around his fingers in recognition.
[anwhile, Rhodes was sweating profusely inside the Iron Patriot armor, no longer able to withstand the intense heat.]
[Killian addressed him calmly. "Planning to co out anyti soon?"]
[Rhodes repeatedly muttered, "Don't open it, don't open it! Don't open it, don't open it! Don't..."]
[But as the armor's warning systems blared and his vision began to blur, Rhodes recognized the suit had reached its thermal limits and was losing functionality. He reluctantly conceded, "Fine, I'm coming out!"]
[The mont he spoke, the armor disengaged its locks. Rhodes leaped out and imdiately struck Eric Savin in the face, catching him off guard. He followed with a powerful kick that sent Savin crashing into a nearby table.]
[Witnessing this, Killian instantly raised his body temperature until his entire form glowed red-hot. He then exhaled a concentrated stream of fire.]
[Rhodes had started toward the stairs but found his path blocked by flas. He and Savin both stared at Killian in astonishnt.]
["You... you can breathe fire too? Okay!" Facing such a formidable opponent while unard, Rhodes wisely chose to surrender rather than risk a futile resistance.]
[Killian gradually lowered his temperature. Eric Savin seized Rhodes, slamd him against the wall, and knocked him unconscious. He then looked to Killian for further instructions.]
[Killian raised his hands triumphantly. "What a glorious day this is turning out to be! Seven!"]
[As he turned to don his suit jacket, he outlined his ambitions. "By this ti tomorrow, the most powerful leader in the free world and the most feared terrorist will both be under my control!"]
[Eric Savin remained silent, glancing at Rhodes' unconscious form as Killian approached.]
["I'll have complete dominion over the war on terror! Creating both supply and demand! For your brothers and sisters!" With that declaration, Killian departed.]
[Back to Tony, who continued his attempts to summon the armor: "Trust , you're only five, four, three seconds away from drowning in your own blood. Co on! Two..."]
[His guards exchanged exasperated looks. "How did we get stuck with this lunatic?"]
["I'm giving you one last chance to walk away! Drop your weapons! Tie yourselves to those chairs! I'll let you live! We're at five... four... bang!"]
[The guard who had destroyed the watch regarded Tony with a pitying sigh.]
[Ponytail held his gun casually, laughing. "Wow, that's really..."]
["You should be dead by now! You should be in the afterlife!" Tony couldn't understand the delay—Mark 42 should have arrived long ago.]
[Ponytail mockingly addressed his partner: "I'm absolutely terrified!"]
[Tony persisted undeterred: "Here it cos! Three! Four..."]
["Shut up!"]
[Tony quickly recited: "Five, four, three, two, one!"]
[Before he finished speaking, the window glass suddenly shattered as the right palm component of his armor crashed through, knocking Ponytail to the ground before attaching to Tony's hand.]
["I told you!" He imdiately fired a repulsor blast, sending one guard flying across the room. The recoil caused Tony to spin uncontrollably.]
[Tony quickly stabilized himself and used his armored hand to tear through the restraints binding him to the bed, finally breaking free.]
[As Ponytail struggled to his feet, Tony engaged him using Wing Chun techniques he'd learned from Happy. The two reached a temporary stalemate.]
[Just then, the left leg section crashed through another window and successfully attached to Tony. With his newly armored leg, Tony delivered a powerful kick and seized the guard's weapon.]
[Glancing out the shattered window, Tony asked in confusion: "Where's the rest?"]
[Back in Tennessee, Harley discovered the warehouse door had sohow been locked, trapping the remaining armor components inside. He quickly retrieved the simple explosives Tony had crafted earlier.]
[The door lock was blown apart, and the armor pieces instantly soared skyward, racing toward Tony's position in Miami.]
[Harley watched the Mark 42 components streaking through the sky, his eyes filled with wonder and envy.]
"So that's where the armor was," Bruce observed. "Locked in the barn in Tennessee."
"Smart kid," Tony remarked with genuine appreciation. "Quick thinking with those explosives."
"The armor is coming in pieces," Steve noted. "Can it still function effectively that way?"
Rhodes nodded. "Each component has independent flight capabilities and power. It's not ideal, but Tony can work with it."
"anwhile, Killian now has my suit," Rhodes added with visible frustration. "Whatever he's planning can't be good."
"The Iron Patriot is a powerful weapons platform," Natasha comnted. "In the wrong hands, it could cause significant damage."
"Seven," Captain Marvel repeated thoughtfully. "Killian ntioned 'seven.' What's happening tomorrow that involves the number seven?"
"Could be a ti," Bruce suggested. "Seven o'clock?"
"Or Air Force One," Tony suddenly realized. "The President's plane is designated as Air Force One. Killian said he'd control the most powerful leader in the free world."
"And the most feared terrorist," Wanda added. "He ans the Mandarin—or rather, his fake version of the Mandarin."
"He's planning sothing involving both the President and his fictional terrorist," Steve concluded grimly. "A false flag operation?"
"With Extremis soldiers, Iron Patriot armor, and a manufactured terrorist threat, he could reshape global politics," Natasha observed. "Create permanent demand for his enhanced soldiers by escalating conflicts."
"All while making billions selling Extremis to the military," Tony finished. "War profiteering on an unprecedented scale."
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