"Sir, someone's here to see you. An old acquaintance," JARVIS suddenly reminded, his tone laced with irony.
At the villa entrance stood scientist Maya Hansen, the blonde who had proposed the Extremis virus thirteen years ago. She wanted Stark Industries' backing, but aside from a one-night stand with Tony, she had nothing.
This time, she tracked him down after seeing his public address on the news.
After a series of scans, Maya entered with a smile.
The two exchanged brief pleasantries, though Tony barely remembered who she was. Meanwhile, Pepper was fuming.
Ever since Tony publicly revealed his address, Pepper, now the CEO of Stark Industries, had demanded they relocate for safety. But Tony refused—this place was his shell, his fortress. He insisted he could protect Pepper only here.
Without his armor, he was nothing. And he knew it.
"Should we… be worried about that?" Maya suddenly pointed at the television screen on the wall.
From a drone hovering above the villa, the feed showed a missile streaking through the sky, its blazing tail aimed directly at them.
The argument between Pepper and Tony froze.
"Shit!" Tony cursed, eyes widening as the missile filled the massive window.
BOOM!
The explosion tore the villa apart. Shards of glass and debris filled the air, the shockwave hurling all three across the room.
"JARVIS!"
In desperation, Tony summoned the Mark VII. Sensors embedded in his skin triggered the armor's arrival.
But instead of himself, Tony sent it onto Pepper.
She was safe.
Tony, however, smashed into the wall, lungs burning, vision spinning. The villa began to tilt, collapsing.
"Get her out of here! Pepper!" Tony roared.
Pepper hesitated but obeyed, dragging Maya with her.
RATATATATA!
Heavy gunfire rained down as helicopters hovered outside.
Inside one, a cold-faced man chewed gum and sneered, his finger on the trigger.
Armor-piercing rounds shredded through the remains of the house.
Tony's breath caught. For the first time, he regretted ever exposing his address. The retaliation was beyond anything he had imagined.
"Sir, Ms. Potts and Maya Hansen have reached safety," JARVIS reported.
"Good!"
Tony summoned another suit. Armor plates shot toward him, but the prototype was incomplete—its propulsion system wasn't even finished.
The villa crumbled under relentless fire, collapsing into the sea.
Tony sank with it.
…
On the helicopter, the cold-eyed man sneered. "This is Iron Man? Pathetic trash."
It was the same Extremis-enhanced soldier who had nearly killed Happy—code-named Coldblood.
…
In the rubble beneath the waves, JARVIS desperately tried to save Tony, but as an auxiliary system to the armor, he could do little.
Meanwhile, his computations locked onto something else—
"Dimensional coordinate tracking complete. Emergency signal sent… awaiting response."
…
In the One Punch World—
"Master, there's an incoming encrypted message. It asks if you're a friend of someone named JARVIS?"
Saturday Sale's voice interrupted Saitama's morning routine as he brushed his teeth.
"JARVIS? Never heard of… wait, Stark's JARVIS?" Saitama blinked.
"Yes. It mentions Stark. He's in trouble, requesting your help. But this transmission isn't from our world," Saturday Sale explained.
She was stronger than JARVIS, enhanced by the system itself, and had already analyzed the anomaly.
"…Figures. That guy Stark always gets into crap," Saitama sighed. "Guess I should go."
He finished brushing, slipped into his hero suit, and reluctantly accepted a farewell kiss from Mosquito Girl Christina before jogging off to the lab.
"Wait, Master."
Saturday Sale stopped him, holding out a plain black ring.
"What's this?"
"My backup intelligence core. About 80% of my processing capacity. Biological beings can't pass through dimensional tunnels… but I can. Take it. If something happens, I'll still be with you."
Her gaze softened, almost human.
"…Fine."
Saitama shrugged, pocketed the ring, and entered the lab where Child Emperor was working.
The kid nearly jumped for joy; Saitama hadn't shown up for a mission in ages.
With the portal ready, Saitama stepped through.
DING!
[Welcome, Saitama. Dimensional Gateway activated. Destination: Marvel World – Iron Man 3.]
DING!
[Because you carry an external intelligence, history in this world will diverge slightly.]
DING!
[Mission Assigned: Survive. Reward: None. Penalty: None.]
"…What the hell kind of mission is that?" Saitama muttered, already annoyed.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For 20+ Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!]
[[email protected]/Draumel]
[Thank You For Your Support!]