The Unibeam on Tony's chest, much like his palm-mounted repulsors, possessed three distinct power outputs and three firing modes.
When Batman finally made contact with Tony Stark, Tony was still attempting to talk the Hulk down. But facing a Green Goliath who had long since lost his mind to rage, Tony was forced into a continuous-fire mode at an anti-materiel power setting. He bombarded the Hulk relentlessly, doing everything in his power to prevent him from reaching the Empire State Building.
"I never knew a single minute could feel this long, Jarvis," Tony Stark remarked. He watched as the Hulk used his massive palms to shield himself against the Unibeam, charging toward Tony with frantic, heavy strides.
Tony didn't dare lower his guard. Before the Hulk could close the distance, he fired his thrusters to fly backward and maintain the gap.
He didn't even dare fly too high. He was afraid the Hulk would leap from the ground, using the walls of the street-side buildings as springboards to intercept him in the sky—or worse, dig his hands into the pavement and hurl four or five square meters of asphalt into the air.
It wasn't that Tony feared he couldn't dodge; he was worried that such a move would further escalate the already immense destruction the Hulk was causing. He had gone to great lengths, spending a fortune, just to ensure the NYPD's armed helicopters followed his lead and acted only as observers in the sky.
If the Hulk's rampage became too severe, the Police Commissioner might be forced by political pressure or other factors to order the officers to re-engage. Tony knew that would achieve nothing but adding more trouble to his plate.
"Sir, the Mark IV can only sustain you for another three hours. The leg thrusters have been operational for too long, and the metal components are suffering from fatigue."
"In three hours, the reactor's energy conversion efficiency will drop to sixty percent of its current level."
"If you maintain the current power output, the internal temperature of the Mark IV's cabin will continue to rise..."
Jarvis's AI voice continued to chime in, but facing the Hulk's head-on charge, Tony Stark had no time to worry about conversion rates or technical specs.
"Jarvis, process all that information in a minute."
After a few seconds of silence, Jarvis spoke again:
"Sir, I must remind you that your physical condition is being sustained almost entirely by the Mark IV's internal medical system and that single shot of adrenaline."
If Jarvis hadn't mentioned the adrenaline, Tony might not have noticed, but now the realization hit him. His entire body was wracked with an agonizing ache; every inch of his skin felt as though it were being pricked by needles where it touched the suit's lining.
Yet, external pain was the least of his concerns. The issues with Tony's heart were far more severe.
His heart rate had long since exceeded normal levels, pounding wildly with a dangerous arrhythmia. His vision blurred periodically. Though his body was encased securely within the Mark IV armor, his brain gave him the sickening sensation that his soul was constantly drifting out of his body—a floating, "out-of-body" experience.
Jarvis was right. From the moment Tony had rushed to the Baxter Building until now, the effects of the adrenaline had long since worn off. The only reason he was still fighting was that he hadn't fully acknowledged his body's collapse, coupled with the suit's medical systems fighting a desperate holding action.
"Jarvis, that's enough," Tony muttered, his lips twitching into a wry smile. Sweat rolled down his face, making his skin sting. "One minute. I just need to hold on for one more minute."
As the words left his mouth, a massive shadow loomed over him.
The Hulk had forced his way through the Unibeam's barrage and was now standing directly in front of him. He raised a massive green hand high into the air and brought it crashing down.
BOOM!
Tony's body was instantly sent hurtling backward.
He didn't cough up blood, and while he felt wretched, the blow wasn't fatal. Even as he flew through the air, a massive, jet-black spiderweb had somehow already unfurled at his projected landing spot.
Batman had appeared at the most critical moment. First, a strand of spider silk latched onto Tony to pull him clear; then, another strand snagged a sedan, swinging it into Tony's original position to take the full force of the Hulk's devastating palm strike.
Thwip-thwip-thwip...
The rotors of the armed helicopter spun rapidly, creating a cacophony of noise and a localized gale that sent George Stacy's necktie whipping wildly around his face.
"This is George Stacy! Commissioner of the NYPD!"
George Stacy wasn't wearing noise-canceling headphones. He leaned half his body out of the cabin, shouting desperately into a handheld radio:
"Whether you are reinforcements from the Pentagon or the Air Force—whatever you are—I need to speak with you immediately!"
The wind from the rotors kept slapping his tie against his face. In a fit of frustration, Stacy ripped the tie off and tossed it into the wind, waiting anxiously for a response.
Through the static, a voice finally crackled back:
"Commissioner George Stacy, please switch to the following satellite frequency: [Redacted]. The Pentagon will communicate with you directly."
The Pentagon?
Stacy didn't overthink it. He quickly dialed the radio to the provided satellite channel.
"This is George Stacy, NYPD Commissioner."
A response came from the Pentagon almost instantly:
"Commissioner, I hope you contacted the Pentagon because you have vital information to report, and not to waste our communication resources."
"I need every combat aircraft you've sent as reinforcements to cease operations immediately," Stacy said, cutting straight to the point.
"I beg your pardon?" A few chuckles echoed through the satellite channel. "Do you realize what you're saying, Commissioner Stacy?"
"I know exactly what I'm saying," George Stacy replied. "I need you to stop all operations now."
"Why?"
Stacy looked down at the ground not far below his helicopter and said, "Because... Reed Richards, the man you are trying to protect, is currently being hung upside down from the top of the Baxter Building. The other party has promised not to harm him, but only on the condition that you terminate this operation."
Clatter!
Stacy knew his words had just sent the officials at the Pentagon into a collective panic.
Amidst the background noise of shuffling papers and shouting, a voice soon returned to the comms. This time, there was no laughter—only a roar:
"Who is it?! Who is this person?! Is he declaring war on the United States government?!"
"He calls himself Wilson Fisk. He wants to make a deal with the U.S. government," George Stacy said, before offering a grim reminder: "He's the man known as the Kingpin, who was defeated by Batman at Oscorp two months ago."
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