Two dazzling, blue-white pulse beams shrieked from Stark's palm repulsors.
With a sharp thwack, the beams instantly hit an invisible Refractor Field that shimmered into existence just before impact. The energy impact was abruptly shattered into countless tiny, harmless light spots that scattered in all directions and dissipated in the air.
Immediately afterwards, two scorching bursts of white and blue fire erupted from the jets under the feet of the steel armor. It quickly rose with its heavy metal body, trying to completely widen the fighting distance.
Thud, thud, thud!
At this moment, Nolan, who had already prepared for the attack, piloted the Terminator armor and launched a rapid, ground-shaking charge. The heavy steps covered the distance of several meters between the two sides in the blink of an eye.
He suddenly raised a metal palm, heavily wrapped in a thick shell, and quickly grabbed one of the metal feet of the steel armor with a screech of metal on metal.
Nolan exerted a little force. His clenched palm instantly crushed the jet port on the steel armor with a sickening crunch, preventing the opponent from continuing to rise.
Accompanied by the contraction and hydraulic whine of the electro-fiber bundles inside the Terminator armor, Stark, trying to maintain balance on one foot and counterattack with his other palm repulsor, was forcefully lifted up by Nolan's thick arm and slammed heavily to the ground.
A deafening CRASH echoed as a huge pit, accompanied by spider-webbing cracks and flying gravel, appeared clearly in Nolan's eyepiece field of view.
At this time, Stark, who had landed hard on his back, let out a short, pained grunt from inside his steel armor.
He subconsciously raised the metal foot that was not yet damaged. Its jet, constantly surging with hot white and blue fire, was aimed at Nolan's Terminator armor, increasing the output power. At the same time, the inverted triangular Ark Reactor on the chest of the steel armor also hummed and glowed brightly as it gradually charged up. He seemed to be looking for an opportunity to fire a powerful pulse cannon at Nolan.
Nolan let out a cold snort from inside the diamond-shaped helmet, a sharp huff over the external speaker.
He grasped the sole of the opponent's foot with his strong arm and lifted him up again.
The next moment, Stark, still wearing the steel armor, was tossed back and forth several times like a rag doll, slammed to the ground repeatedly. The ground shuddered with each impact.
Until the fire in the jet was completely extinguished and the light from the chest cannon gradually disappeared, only then did Nolan let go of the huge palm holding the opponent's metal sole. The armor clattered into the crater and lay still.
"The first lesson on the battlefield is to never point your gun at your 'teammates', even temporary 'teammates' with evil intentions."
A low voice slowly came out from Nolan's diamond-shaped helmet, echoing in the relative silence of the burning expo. He stood in front of the pit filled with rubble. He looked down through the eyepiece at Stark's steel armor, now covered with deep scratches and dents.
"Ahem, cough, cough... Strange 'friend'!" Stark's weak, strained voice floated out from the inside of the steel armor. "This is just a small misunderstanding. This is entirely 'Jarvis's' reaction. Everything is 'Jarvis's' fault..."
"Oh? Since you think I am a friend, then I won't be polite to you."
Nolan, whose face was hidden in the diamond-shaped helmet, smiled slightly.
A servo-arm located behind the power pack quickly extended with a low whirr. The three-clawed mechanical pliers were forcefully inserted into the chest of the steel armor with a shriek of tearing titanium, grabbing the inverted triangular Ark Reactor.
"Ouch! Friend! Wait!"
For a moment, Stark, who had barely maintained his composure, seemed to be in a real panic. His voice cracked. He explained to Nolan in a hurried, breathless tone:
"This Ark Reactor is the source of my life. Once I lose the energy gathering and traction of the Ark Reactor, countless tiny shrapnel will flow into my heart... Dear stranger, we are 'friends'!"
"Tsk, I almost forgot the fact that you are still a disabled person."
Nolan's diamond-shaped helmet shook slightly, a gesture of mock contemplation. His eyes locked on the chest of the steel armor through the eyepiece, exploring it repeatedly.
Subsequently, the servo manipulator embedded in the titanium alloy shell was quickly pulled out and changed its grip. The servo-arm grabbed the neck of the steel armor and slowly lifted Stark, who was lying in the pit, up in front of him, dangling him in the air.
At the same time, the other two servo-arms controlled the fire array, aiming their dark muzzles at the head of the steel armor.
"Let's make a simple and clear exchange of equal value. Is Ms. Pepper's life worth a new model of 'Ark Reactor'? Dear Mr. Stark?"
Nolan's deep voice clearly penetrated the inside of the steel armor.
"It's worth it! But..." Stark, who was sweating in his steel armor, glanced at the dark muzzles and said in an anxious and cautious tone.
"Well... It seems like it's not worth it in your subconscious mind."
Nolan forcibly interrupted Stark's quibble. He pretended to think deeply for a moment and suddenly said:
"As a friend, we can't take anything by force. I want you to give me the 'Ark Reactor' willingly. After all, I'm not a third-rate robber. I personally prefer to convince people with virtue."
"Haha... using morality to suppress others?" Hearing Nolan's words, Stark, inside the steel armor, let out a forced, cynical laugh. "This cold joke of yours is really funny."
However, the next second, his already forced and awkward smile froze on his face completely. In an instant, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
"Tony Stark, do you want to know the truth about your parents' murder?"
"Parents? The truth? Murdered?! What are you talking about? Obadiah told me that they just encountered an extremely tragic car accident! It was just a damn car accident!"
"Who the hell are you! What do you know!"
In an instant, Stark, whose emotions fluctuated violently from uncertainty to hesitation and anger, suddenly raised a palm. He grabbed the servo-arm at his neck and struggled hard to break free, the armor straining with a whine of hydraulics.
However, Nolan's cold words, without a trace of emotion, made Stark quiet down again. Only his metal palm, wrapped in its red shell, shook slightly.
"At 19:00 on the evening of December 16, 1996, your father was driving your mother on the tree-lined path back home... At the same time, a poor assassin who had been brainwashed by various complicated means was assigned an assassination mission: 'sanction, retrieve, and leave no one alive.' In fact, the real purpose of their organization was to retrieve a box of special items stored in your father's trunk... several bags of super soldier serum."
The voice had not finished.
Stark's steel mask suddenly retracted with a hiss. He stared at Nolan's diamond-shaped helmet with a pair of bloodshot, disbelieving eyes. The metal palm that was originally holding the servo-arm suddenly fell powerlessly and continued to shake violently.
"Just for those worthless and outdated things?" Stark's eyes widened, a grimace twisting the corners of his mouth. He moved his lips a few times and asked softly, his voice choked.
"Hundreds of people have died for these things, Tony. Let's finish the story."
"The assassin, on a motorcycle, blew out the vehicle's tire, and your father had no time to react. He could only drive the vehicle into a tree stump on the side of the road... Your father struggled to get out of the car to seek help, but the assassin broke the bones of his face... In the end, he disguised the murder scene as an accident caused by a vehicle collision."
Nolan, wearing the diamond-shaped helmet, slowly told the whole story. The specific information came from the incomplete images in his memory and the fragments of the story described by Bucky himself.
"What about... mom? Where's my mother?"
The next moment, Stark, whose breathing became increasingly heavy and whose eyes were faintly shining with crystal light, stared at Nolan's dark eyepiece with a pitiful look that was almost pleading.
"As for your mother... she was trapped in the seat, unable to move due to the serious injuries from the vehicle collision, and was eventually strangled to death in the car by the assassin himself."
Nolan hesitated slightly. He still decided to tell the other party the truth.
Instantly, Stark, his eyes bloodshot and his expression distorted, almost insane, let out a heart-wrenching, crazy roar.
He kept raising his metal palm and slapping his head repeatedly, the clang of metal on metal echoing loudly. He showed no sign of stopping even though the steel mask was completely destroyed by the force of his own blows.
Nolan's thoughts turned quickly. The servo-arm released the mechanical clamp holding the steel armor.
Then, Stark, who had regained his freedom, did not launch any attack on Nolan. He did not destroy anything around him to vent his anger.
Stark, his expression ferocious and his body trembling all over, knelt heavily on the ground with a thud. He could not suppress the painful, gasping roars. Drops of hot tears kept falling from the corners of his eyes, tracing paths through the grime on his face.
A few minutes later, Stark, who seemed to have vented his emotions, suddenly raised his pale face. He stared at the tall Terminator armor in front of him with a pair of blood-red eyes, and shouted word by word, his voice raw and hoarse:
"Who is the murderer?! As long as you tell me who the murderer is! I will personally build you a set of steel armor! I can even give you the complete technology of the Ark Reactor! Just tell me who the murderer is!"
"Tony, you must have heard of this name since you were a child, but more importantly, do you want to kill a brainwashed killing tool... or do you want to destroy the behind-the-scenes organization that issued the order to assassinate your parents?"
"Whether it is the murderer or the behind-the-scenes organization... I want them all..." Stark growled.
"Hehe, the only truth I can tell you at present is that the so-called behind-the-scenes organization is Hydra, which has never been destroyed. By the way, they can also be called 'S.H.I.E.L.D' to the outside world now!"
"Oh, Tony, don't look at me with that look. The 'Strategic Science Corps' that your father built with his own hands and put a lot of effort into has now been completely infiltrated by Hydra."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~