"Boom..."
As Pepper and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents blasted open the door, Obadiah, who was busy calibrating the Iron Monger in Section 16, imdiately heard the explosion.
He instantly realized that his enemies had arrived.
"Damn it, hurry, hurry, hurry..."
He frantically climbed up the ladder and inserted the Arc Reactor Mark II, which he had taken from Tony, into the chest of the three-ter-tall Iron Monger.
Earlier that day, he had visited Area 16 to inspect the Iron Monger and discovered that his scientists had been unable to miniaturize the Arc Reactor. So, he had gone to Tony's ho and taken the Arc Reactor from Tony's chest.
As for Tony, he was probably dead by now, having no Arc Reactor to keep the shrapnel from reaching his heart.
Knowing this, Obadiah was certain that his enemies would co at him with deadly intent.
With that in mind, he jumped down from the ladder, input so final commands into the computer, and then quickly climbed back up into the Iron Monger.
According to the original plan, he should have had plenty of ti to calibrate the Iron Monger.
However, after returning from Tony's house that afternoon, he had spent so ti using the T-2 virus, which left him a bit pressed for ti now.
Just as Obadiah climbed into the Iron Monger and activated the machine, Pepper and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents entered the room.
When Pepper saw the massive Iron Monger, she imdiately pointed at it, tense and anxious.
"That's it! Shut it down, quickly!"
Coulson, hearing this, raised his gun without hesitation.
"Mr. Obadiah..."
Before he could finish, Obadiah, now piloting the Iron Monger, lunged forward and swatted Coulson away with a massive hand.
The other four agents imdiately opened fire.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
But their 9mm Glock 26 rounds were utterly incapable of penetrating the Iron Monger's 30mm gold-titanium alloy armor. The bullets didn't even leave a mark before the agents were sent flying by Obadiah's Iron Monger.
Realizing the danger, Pepper imdiately turned and ran.
Due to its massive size, the Iron Monger got stuck in the doorway, allowing Pepper to escape.
anwhile...
In the skies above New York, a red-and-gold figure was flying rapidly.
It was Tony, who had installed the Arc Reactor Mark I in his chest and donned the battle-damaged Mark III armor, racing towards Stark's factory.
After Obadiah had taken the Arc Reactor from his chest earlier that day, Tony had indeed been on the brink of death.
However, with sheer willpower, he had managed to make his way to the underground lab, where he retrieved the first-generation Arc Reactor and installed it in his chest, preventing the shrapnel from reaching his heart.
Back in the Middle East, when he had been attacked by the Ten Rings, a Stark Industries-manufactured bomb had exploded near him.
Although the explosion didn't kill him imdiately, it left hundreds of tiny tal shards embedded in his body.
Since there had been no facilities for surgery at the ti, Dr. Yinsen had used an electromagnetic device to keep the shards from moving into Tony's heart. This was why Tony had installed a miniature Arc Reactor in his chest—to power the suit and keep the shrapnel at bay.
"JARVIS, how much longer can the first-generation Arc Reactor last?"
The first-generation Arc Reactor had been crudely built in a cave in the Middle East, with poor efficiency in utilizing palladium and slow energy recovery, which is why Tony had discarded it.
"Its energy is currently below forty-eight percent and not suitable for prolonged flight."
Tony frowned. He had flown less than a hundred kiloters, and yet so much energy had already been consud.
He knew that with the second-generation Arc Reactor, he could have flown all the way to the Middle East without stopping.
"I understand. Keep updated. Patch through to Pepper."
A mont later, he connected with Pepper via his internal communication system.
"Pepper!"
Pepper, who had made it to the factory gates, answered the phone, her heart lifting at the sound of Tony's voice.
"Tony! Tony, are you okay?"
"I'm fine..."
Before Tony could finish, Pepper, still anxious, interrupted, "Obadiah, he's gone mad!"
"I know."
"He's built a massive robot."
"You're in danger. Get out of there, now!"
At that mont, the ground behind Pepper began to crack and tremble.
"Crrrrrk..."
She turned around to see the three-ter-tall Iron Monger erging from the ground.
Pepper was stunned.
Inside the Iron Monger, Obadiah glared coldly at her. "Pepper, I was going to spare you, but you've disappointed too much!"
With those words, he raised his right hand, and the Gatling gun began to spin.
Just as the situation beca critical, Tony arrived, diving down from the sky toward Obadiah.
"Stop!"
Hearing Tony's voice, Obadiah instinctively turned his weapon towards him.
"Rat-a-tat-tat..."
A barrage of bullets struck Tony's Mark III suit but failed to inflict any serious damage.
Tony imdiately grappled with Obadiah's Iron Monger, pushing him out onto the street.
Thus began a fierce battle between the two.
However, neither of them noticed that six heavily ard figures wearing demon masks had appeared around them at so point.
These figures did not engage imdiately but instead began reporting to their superiors.
"Boss, this is Omicron Squad. We've got eyes on two robots fighting."
To these professionals, what Tony and Obadiah were doing wasn't so much a battle as a brawl.
After all, one was a corporate executive and the other a scientist; neither had any real combat training. They were relying solely on their armor to fight—or rather, brawl.
The Omicron Squad leader couldn't help but express his disdain.
......
anwhile...
In the Umbrella office.
Adam received Omicron Squad's report and instructed the Red Queen to project the battle footage.
After watching for a while, he shook his head and turned off the projection.
It was indeed a brawl, not a real fight.
Clearly, attacking the joints or the power source in the chest could have incapacitated or even killed the opponent. Yet they were both stubbornly aiming at the most heavily armored parts.
All Adam could think was that specialized tasks should be left to professionals.
Just then, another voice ca through his earpiece.
"Boss, this is Alpha Squad. We've arrived at Tony's villa, but we've encountered so people."
Hearing this, Adam quickly had the Red Queen display the scene.
At the entrance of Tony's villa, three figures—one black, two white—stood in confrontation.
So, it's them.
______________________
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