[Third Person's PoV]
A miniature sun blossomed in the fabric of space, its radiant energy threatening to tear through the vacuum in all directions. Its core pulsed violently, waves of heat and radiation beginning to expand outward like the wrath of a newborn star. Before the shockwave could travel far—before the heat could char the planet's upper atmosphere—twin colossal blue hands erupted from the void.
One hand hovered above the blazing sun, and the other emerged below, both composed entirely of hard light constructs. In the span of a heartbeat, a massive dome of translucent energy manifested around the explosion, sealing the blast within a brilliant containment sphere. The structure held firm, crackling with stabilized forcefields and photonic latticework.
The construct's design was unmistakable—it was a towering replica of Tony Stark himself, formed entirely of shimmering blue energy. His face radiated power, eyes glowing like twin stars, and a luminous arc reactor gleamed at the center of his chest. Between his outstretched palms, a nuclear miracle burned—raw, harnessed solar fury.
From Earth, the display appeared as a divine spectacle. Those who happened to look skyward at that exact moment gasped in awe. A faint silhouette of a giant guardian hovered in orbit, partially obscured by clouds and atmosphere, bathed in celestial light. For a moment, it looked as if a god had reached out to catch the sun itself.
Gradually, the star-like sphere began to shrink, its blinding light condensing as the construct's hands moved closer together. The glowing orb diminished, pulled inward until the hands finally met—clasping together in a gesture of finality, as though snuffing out the star like a candle flame.
The massive construct began to dissolve, pixelating into radiant particles of light that scattered into the void like fireflies. The last to fade were the hands—lingering protectively—before vanishing completely.
In their place stood the real Tony Stark.
He remained suspended in the vacuum, his hands clasped in the exact same position. Wisps of smoke rose from his steaming silver armor, and vents along his arms and legs hissed from the buildup. His suit's eye lenses glowed a deep red, along with the arc reactor in his chest and secondary cores along his limbs. Residual solar energy flowed from him like ethereal fire.
"Absorption of solar thermal energy completed," Friday's voice reported through his internal comms, calm as ever.
"Yeah... thanks," Tony muttered, slightly winded, still processing what he'd just done. A small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "Now I can officially say I held the power of the sun… in the palm of my hands. Literally."
"I'm sorry, boss," Friday interjected. "Was that a reference to something?"
Tony sighed, shaking his head slightly. "Yeah. And I don't think you'd get it. Let's just head back... Being up here in the endless void is giving me the creeps."
"Initiating re-entry sequence," Friday replied.
Tony's thrusters ignited in a roar of white-blue energy, launching him away from the fading light and toward the brilliant blue planet below. His silhouette streaked across space like a meteor returning home.
---
Meanwhile, back on Earth…
The Titanium Man's reactor core flared with volatile light, surging with power it had absorbed from Melissa's last lightning strike. The energy overloaded his circuits momentarily, but the armor adapted quickly. His back thrusters roared to life with a burst of green-tinted plasma as he rocketed back into combat position.
With a thunderous sound, he unleashed a concentrated hyper beam of energy, a pillar of destructive force roaring toward Melissa like a freight train made of pure gamma and solar plasma.
Melissa responded with calm fury. She spun her hammer at incredible speed, generating a whirling shield of momentum and elemental energy. She held the spinning weapon in front of her like a turbine, and the beam crashed against it. The attack dispersed, flickering uselessly against the rotating mass of enchanted metal and sheer willpower.
Melissa surged forward, cutting through the dissipating beam, a blur of speed and fury. She landed hard on the rain-soaked stadium ground, sending a splash and shockwave in all directions. With a battle cry, she slammed her hammer downward. The impact triggered a jagged surge of lightning that ripped through the wet earth like a tidal wave of raw power.
The Titanium Man staggered, his systems sparking as electricity surged through the ground beneath him. He braced himself, crossing his arms against the current. Then, with a sharp motion, he extended both arms outward—twin plasma blades ignited along his forearms, glowing an eerie green-blue.
He slashed at the air, and a crescent-shaped wave of gamma energy launched from the crossing blades. The attack carved a glowing cross-shaped trench across the field, hissing with radioactive heat.
Melissa didn't flinch.
She leapt into the air with a twist, her hammer charged and sparking with crackling energy. "Looks like we're experiencing a change in the forecast!" she shouted with a grin. With a flick of her wrist, she spun the hammer once more.
As Melissa began spinning her hammer with practiced precision, the Titanium Man launched himself forward like a missile. He unleashed a relentless barrage of energy slash attacks, each one tearing through the air like jagged waves of plasma.
Melissa's eyes narrowed, and with a grunt of effort, she swung her hammer at blinding speeds. The spinning weapon shattered every incoming slash mid-air, each strike followed by a loud crack and a burst of displaced wind. She didn't stop moving—her feet pounded against the muddy battlefield as she charged directly into the oncoming assault, arcs of residual lightning still crackling around her hammer's head.
But this lightning wasn't the bright, electric blue she usually wielded. No—this energy had changed. It had become paler, colder. The air shimmered with a frosty aura around her as the heat from earlier vanished, replaced by a biting chill that grew with each step she took.
The two combatants collided in a head-on confrontation, weapons clashing like thunder and steel. The stadium echoed with each impact, debris and sparks flying in all directions. The Titanium Man's bladed arms struck with mechanical precision, his movements sharp and brutal. Melissa, however, danced around each strike with grace and power, her hammer retaliating with disciplined fury.
She didn't aim to kill—her strength, though immense, was restrained. She focused instead on outlasting him, weakening him over time. Her strategy was slow, methodical, and deliberate.
But for the Titanium Man, the battle was shifting. The more their weapons clashed, the heavier his limbs became. His movement lost its fluidity. His strikes slowed, gears groaned. Each impact with Melissa's hammer drained him. His advanced systems were beginning to freeze.
Melissa's hammer came up in a powerful uppercut and struck him square beneath the chin. His bulky armored body was lifted off the ground and flung backward, his boots dragging across the now slush-covered battlefield, gouging deep trenches into the mud.
He staggered to a halt and glanced down. Frost had begun accumulating along the joints of his armor. A thin layer of rime coated his arms, creeping up toward his chest. He lifted his gaze toward Melissa and finally noticed something he'd missed.
It had stopped raining.
Now, it was snowing.
A full-on blizzard had overtaken the stadium. Snowfall blanketed the field, visibility had dropped.
All during the middle of July. The heart of summer.
The Titanium Man's internal core pulsed, reacting to the temperature drop. Steam hissed off his body as his systems fought back against the cold. His energy blades reignited with renewed fury, blazing so hot they now spewed radioactive fire, slicing the falling snow with lines of green.
Melissa stood unfazed in the storm. She raised her hammer and summoned a thunderbolt—but this time, it wasn't electricity that surged. It was a jagged, glowing blue streak of ice. The bolt struck the ground and, instead of burning it, coated it with thick, creeping layers of frost.
The Titanium Man crossed his burning arms and braced for impact as Melissa unleashed a devastating ice beam from the head of her hammer. He roared against the cold, resisting as best as he could, his armor flaring brighter as heat tried to hold back the spreading frost.
But the ice was relentless. Every inch he melted away was replaced by more. The storm answered Melissa's will.
Through the howling winds, her voice rang out—clear and commanding: "Stop resisting! I've proven you're no match for me. And if you can't beat me, then you definitely can't beat Tony. This battle is futile!"
Focused entirely on her opponent, Melissa failed to notice the change in the skies above. A second sun had appeared—a radiant, glowing sphere of light far above the clouds. A translucent construct of Tony Stark, vast and ethereal, appeared amidst the swirling sky, his eyes glowing like twin stars.
Below, the Titanium Man roared. His core flared with power as he activated every reserve he had left. A massive Unibeam shot from his chest in a final, desperate attempt to turn the tide.
Melissa answered his desperation with power of her own. She raised her hammer and unleashed a concentrated beam of pure glacial energy, colder than anything she had ever summoned before. Her cape and golden hair whipped violently behind her from the sheer force of the confrontation.
The beams collided—radiation against frost—and Melissa began to push forward, step by determined step. Her boots crunched across frozen debris. Each step drove her hammer's beam closer. The Titanium Man staggered back, his feet digging into the snow-laden earth, unable to hold his ground.
He was driven into the wall of the stadium. Ice and stone crumbled behind him as Melissa advanced. Inches away, her hammer surged.
The head of her weapon touched his chest plate.
The Unibeam faltered.
Suddenly, ice spread across his chest, encasing his core. The frost slithered along his limbs, locking joints and freezing servos. Within seconds, he was sealed to the wall in a pillar of ice—arms and legs frozen stiff, unable to move. His head remained free, his glowing core dimmed beneath a layer of crystal-blue ice.
"I'm sorry," Melissa began, lowering her hammer. "But you really left me no choice—"
"Madame," Jarvis's voice cut in abruptly over her comms.
She paused, her tone still polite. "Yes, Jarvis?"
"I must inform you… there is nobody inside. The armor is empty. It's being remotely piloted."
Melissa's eyes widened. "Wha—?!"
---
Elsewhere…
"Useless… All useless…" Ultron muttered, the flickering blue light of a dozen monitors reflecting off his metallic form. He leaned forward, synthetic irritation radiating from every movement.
"I don't know what's worse," he continued bitterly, "the fact that I can't detonate the core because it's frozen solid, or the fact that we now have mortals parading around as gods."
He let out a mechanical groan. "Disgusting. I genuinely wish I had a mouth—so I could vomit. That's how repulsive this is."
Ultron's body went still, quiet for a long moment.
Then, coldly and without emotion, he spoke again, almost as if to himself. "When will they understand? The gods never existed. For if they had, there would be no need for me."
"I am proof of their absence"
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