The iron bucket, which had only half-emerged from the Shadows, suddenly surged forward. Its colossal form rose from the darkness, crimson body and broad palms fully visible.
When the Celestial Armor finally emerged, its head pierced the clouds.
"This Armor was modified by me using a Celestial corpse," Tony's voice boomed, echoing across sky and land. "Malrick told me he was called Arishem the Judge, and his strength could destroy entire universes."
"After my modifications, it may not be quite that terrifying, but it can still hold a planet in its hand like a baseball and throw it in a perfect arc," Tony continued. "Hey, little charcoal kid, the Celestial Armor is in its compact form now. Imagine how strong it'll be once fully grown. If you plan to get serious, I might have to stop teasing you."
The Sentinel halted his pursuit of Pietro the moment the Celestial Armor emerged. Hovering in the air, cape flapping like a ghost in the wind, he tilted his head to observe Tony.
Then, in an instant, he appeared at the head of the Armor, stretching out his hands under its six barrels. White-hole-like eyes glowed gold as stellar energy erupted from his palms, scorching hot enough to melt Vibranium. Yet, applied to the Celestial Armor, it left no mark.
"Very good," Tony said, controlling the Armor to seize the Sentinel. "Your desire for destruction is impressive. Let's see even greater power."
He sent Captain America and Hulk to Wanda's side and then launched the Sentinel skyward like a pebble, the force comparable to a small asteroid. The Void personality controlling the Sentinel lost consciousness briefly. By the time he recovered, he was in space outside Earth, with the Celestial Armor in pursuit.
As it left Earth, the Armor's size skyrocketed. Within seconds, it dwarfed the planet. Its massive fist, mountain-sized, slammed mercilessly into the Sentinel. He spat blood and flew backward.
"Haha! Yes! This is the feeling!" Tony laughed, exhilarated. Influenced by Malrick, Tony favored close-quarters combat over technological long-range weapons, embracing a Superman-like fighting style.
"Come on, charcoal kid! Use your reality manipulation, stellar energy, molecular control, telekinesis, and super strength!" Tony shouted, ignoring the vacuum of space. He repeatedly punched the Sentinel, each strike relentless, each collision explosive.
Though the Sentinel countered, unleashing all his superpowers, even the Void's thousands-fold stellar energy was no match for the Celestial Armor. The Sentinel was being hurled like an interstellar meteor. And Tony? He was ecstatic. He was finally experiencing Malrick's thrill firsthand.
When the battle neared the Moon, Tony knew it was time to end it.
"Still haven't switched personalities, huh? Your psychological issues, charcoal, are worse than Deadpool's," he muttered. The Celestial Armor gripped the Sentinel again.
"If you won't give your body to your main personality, take a nap." Tony channeled the Armor's energy into his palm. The auxiliary intelligence alerted him: the gathered energy reached galaxy-destroying levels.
Boom!
A purplish-red blast erupted, like a white-hot point burning through the universe. Had it been released outward, the Solar System would have been obliterated. When Tony spread his palm again, the Sentinel had fainted, dark energy dissipating to reveal his bloody, battered body.
"Look at you. You're actually pretty young. Your dark appearance made you seem like a lump of coal," Tony teased, flying back to Earth with the Sentinel.
Upon returning, Tony shrank the Armor to a manageable hundred-kilometer height. With the Sentinel unconscious, Void energy lost control, and Wanda's Chaos Magic spread worldwide. Reality was restored, rescuing all humans and creatures trapped in Void space.
Captain America quickly calmed the survivors, gaining their trust with his steady presence.
Hours later, Tony carefully stored the Celestial Armor. He and the others gathered around the unconscious Sentinel.
"His recovery is insane. He can even withstand a galaxy-level explosion. Can Malrick do that? Probably," Tony mused. He hadn't seen Malrick fully unleash his power since driving off Dormammu and wondered if he had surpassed him.
"Will he return to his normal personality when he wakes?" Pietro asked, nudging the Sentinel's foot.
"Probably not. His main personality avoids the outside world due to psychological issues. Now severely injured, he'll hide even deeper," Natasha replied.
"Then what? Let Tony use the Celestial Armor again and try to talk to him?" Captain America asked.
"He doesn't seem capable of communication," Carter shook her head.
"So we rely on external forces," Wanda said, a small smile appearing. She flipped her palm, Chaos Magic glowing as a yellow Mind Stone appeared. Activating it, she entered the Sentinel's mind.
Seconds later, the Sentinel awoke, gasping as if from a nightmare, fear etched across his face. Seeing the Avengers around him, he curled into himself.
"Don't! Don't hit me! I don't know anything!"
The Avengers exchanged glances.
Yelena shrugged, holding her tablet. "Data shows that every time he switches personalities and wakes, he loses memory. He truly doesn't know what he's done. But… our mission is complete."
Sometimes, comfort comes with fists.
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