"What are you waiting for? Stop wasting time—my seconds are worth hundreds of thousands!"
Leo frowned impatiently as the Iron Monger hesitated.
"Haha! Alright then!"
Obadiah Stane suddenly understood — this guy was a greedy bastard! Perfect. If he only cared about money, that made things easier.
"I'll bid one-point-five billion for Tony's life!"
Leo's eyes lit up. Rich dog! A filthy rich dog!
He turned to Tony with a grin, gesturing for him to raise the bid.
"F*ck you, you scam artist!" Tony cursed under his breath. Of all the people to run into, it had to be this lunatic.
He wasn't about to bet his life on Leo's sense of honor.
"Fine!" Tony shouted. "Two billion!"
Leo clapped his hands like an auctioneer. "Two billion! Going once! Going twice!"
He intentionally dragged out the pause. "Tweeenty—"
"Wait!"
Obadiah roared, panicking. "Two-point-five billion!"
Neither man wanted to risk it.
The crowd—hundreds of people watching from the overpass—was completely dumbfounded.
A rooftop death match had somehow turned into a f*cking auction.
"What the hell are we even watching?!"
"Wait—are those Tony Stark and Obadiah Stane?!"
"Holy sh*t! This is headline news!"
"Is Stark Industries collapsing live right now?"
"And that guy in the middle—who is he? He's auctioning off two billionaires like Pokémon cards!"
"Definitely a Mutant! No normal person does that!"
Phones were out. Cameras clicked like paparazzi at a scandal. The crowd was eating it up.
Leo grinned from ear to ear. "Alright then! Obadiah bids two-point-five billion. Tony, care to raise?"
He was practically buzzing. The money wasn't even the best part — it was the thrill.
This was fun.
And no, he was not a money-grubber.
(Well, maybe just a little.)
Having grown up dirt poor, Leo had developed a special kind of obsession with money. He never wanted to feel hunger or cold again.
Tony clenched his jaw. He was cornered and hated it.
"Three billion," he spat. "And that's my final offer!"
Leo threw up his hand theatrically. "Three billion! Going once! Going twice—"
That was it for Obadiah. His rage boiled over.
"This is bullsh*t! I'll kill you both!"
The Iron Monger roared as he lunged upward, his massive armor leaping high into the air like a steel beast preparing to crush them both.
"Yeah! Finally!"
"Fight! Fight! FIGHT!"
The onlookers were ecstatic, cheering like it was a live MMA match.
Leo sneered. "Can't hold it anymore, huh?"
He raised a single hand.
Under hundreds of shocked eyes, Leo casually clenched his fist.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
A deep frost bloomed midair. In an instant, the Iron Monger froze solid, encased in crystalline ice.
"Holy—he's freezing metal out of thin air!"
"That's impossible! He's breaking the laws of physics!"
"What kind of Mutant is this?!"
"Too strong! Too f*cking strong!"
Before anyone could blink, the frozen Iron Monger shattered like glass, collapsing into glittering fragments that scattered in the wind.
Gasps erupted across the overpass.
"How cold must that have been to break titanium alloy like that?"
"If that hit a person, they'd turn into dust!"
Tony swallowed hard. So did everyone else.
Their throats felt dry — probably from inhaling too much icy air.
Tony stared, speechless. "You…"
Leo shrugged casually. "What about me?"
He smiled as if he'd just swatted a mosquito. Inside, though, he was quietly thrilled. The awed stares of the crowd? Delicious.
Tony took a deep breath, forcing calm. "Your power is… beyond anything I've ever seen. Among Mutants, you must be the strongest, right?"
He sounded curious, even respectful — but behind the words, Leo could see calculation.
Tony Stark's mind was already working. This man was too dangerous. Too unpredictable.
If someone like Leo existed, Tony needed a contingency plan. A weapon. A defense.
Leo saw right through him and smirked. He's already thinking about building anti-Leo armor. Probably reinforced against absolute zero.
He didn't mind. Pressure built innovation — and Tony without a challenge was boring as hell.
"Heh," Leo said, deliberately cryptic. "You flatter me, Tony. But I'm not as strong as you think. In this universe, I'm barely dust."
Tony frowned. "What do you mean?"
Leo folded his arms, pretending to think. "Let's just say… there are at least ten Mutants stronger than me."
Tony's head snapped up. "Ten?!"
Leo gave him a sly grin. "All my wives are stronger than me."
Tony blinked. "Your… what?"
He wasn't sure if Leo was bragging or trolling him. Probably both.
"And there are others," Leo continued calmly, "but they haven't been born yet."
Tony stared, unsure if he should laugh or panic.
"But don't lose hope, Tony," Leo said lightly. "Humans have power too. Real power — the kind you can't even imagine yet."
Leo's tone turned teasing. "Wouldn't want you giving up now, right? It wouldn't be any fun if you lost your spark."
Tony's eyes narrowed slightly. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
Leo smiled, turning away. "Oh, absolutely."