The woman in the car let out a panicked scream at the chaos unfolding in front of her.
Tony dropped to one knee, having just caught and set down the falling car, but he hadn't moved away yet.
Terrified out of her mind, the female driver floored the gas pedal the moment her car touched the ground—and slammed right into Tony, dragging him forward.
Tony shouted, "Wait—!"
A second later, he was swept under the vehicle.
Smith Doyle's voice rang out at that moment: "You're not in the car. You're under it."
"Tony, what a surprise you've given me!"
As he teased Tony, Smith casually lifted the entire car off him and pulled him free.
"How's it feel rolling around under a car, buddy?"
"Thanks, man," Tony groaned, "but don't forget—I won that speed match! It's one-one now!"
Smith shrugged, not bothering to argue. He hadn't been trying to outpace Tony—just didn't see the need. After all, he was using Qi, while Tony's suit ran on mass-producible energy.
Sure, the Mark series would eventually reach Mach 8 speeds—a serious achievement.
But compared to instantaneous interplanetary travel? Even Mach 8 was a joke.
"Alright, you win this round," Smith admitted.
"But… we might have a bigger problem on the way."
A thunderous WHOOSH of fire shot from a jetpack—Obadiah Stane had arrived in the Iron Monger suit, landing with a heavy thud.
Seeing an unfamiliar figure next to Tony, Obadiah immediately recognized him.
"I know you—Smith Doyle."
"You're the one who pulled Tony out of that cave."
At that moment, a motorcyclist sped past. Obadiah reached out, grabbed the rear wheel, and yanked the entire bike into his hands, swinging it toward Tony like a club.
BOOM!
The bike exploded on impact with Tony's armor, sending him flying.
"You'd better stay out of this, Doyle," Obadiah warned, ignoring Smith completely. "Or Tony won't be the only one who dies today."
Clearly, Obadiah had no idea what Smith was truly capable of—he thought his armored suit made him invincible.
He didn't even glance at Smith again, launching himself toward the fallen Tony to continue the assault.
Smith blinked. "Did he just ignore me?"
Meanwhile, chaos erupted on the street as panicked civilians fled the scene. Some jumped out of stalled cars to escape. Others—braver or dumber—whipped out their phones to record the confrontation between the two armored titans…and Smith, the man who had lifted a car barehanded and could fly.
Obadiah reached Tony, who was still struggling to get up, and delivered a brutal kick, sending him crashing into a nearby bus. Then he grabbed Tony and slammed him into the pavement.
"I supported you for forty years!"
He stomped on Tony repeatedly with the Iron Monger's massive feet.
"I built this company from the ground up. I won't let anyone get in my way—especially not you."
With that, he hurled Tony into a bus, ripping it in two—and fired a missile for good measure.
BOOM!
The explosion sent Tony hurtling through the air. As he tried to stabilize his flight, rage flared in his eyes.
Built it from the ground up? Please. His father had founded the company. Obadiah was just a partner—and not even a major shareholder.
Tony shouted, "Smith! You just gonna watch?"
"Give me a hand, will you? His armor's too thick and too heavy!"
"…Also—what's with the popcorn and soda? Seriously?"
Hearing Tony call for help, Obadiah laughed.
"Tony, are you delusional? What's he gonna do—he's just flesh and blood!"
"Or do you think he's gonna pull off another cave rescue?"
"If he interferes again, I'll wipe out his precious little Assassin League too."
He raised his left arm, twelve missiles locked onto Tony in midair.
Tony blinked. Did he seriously just threaten the League?
"Smith," he said, "you really okay with this?"
Smith handed his popcorn and soda to a random bystander and calmly said: "Obadiah, messing with me… will be the biggest mistake of your life."
Then—like a bolt of lightning—Smith vanished.
In the next instant, he reappeared right in front of the Iron Monger and drove a charged punch straight into the armor's abdomen.
"HAA!"
BOOM!
The entire suit flew backward, chestplate caved in with a massive dent the size of a cannonball.
SWOOSH!
A blur of motion followed—Smith's afterimage hadn't even fully faded before he appeared behind the flying Obadiah. With both hands clenched like a baseball bat, he smashed him midair.
"You've got a big mouth. Let me give you the VIP treatment."
BOOM!
Obadiah was launched again, bouncing across the street and smashing through several parked cars.
The Iron Monger weighed 20 tons—and everything it touched was totaled on impact.
Smith shook his head. "Tony, I'm putting the bill for those cars on your tab."
The regular folks of the Marvel Universe already had it hard enough. No need to add destroyed vehicles to their list of woes just because of a superhero brawl.
Tony nodded solemnly. "Fair enough. I'll cover it."
The crowd erupted in cheers.
One man pointed to a nearby Chevrolet Camaro. "Hey! Big guy—smash that one! Smash it!"
"I've still got 30 months of payments left. I've been wanting a new one anyway…"
That remark seemed to open a whole new world for the crowd. Dozens of people ran for their cars, trying to park them closer to the fight for a chance at insurance or an upgrade.
Others—whose cars weren't nearby—wore expressions of deep regret.
Author's Note:
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