The Iron Man suits lined up in the air and began attacking the Extremis soldiers. I was genuinely moved to witness that iconic scene from Iron Man 3 with my own eyes.
"Guys, I think I peed myself."
Beside me, Deadpool had actually wet himself. Captain looked at him with pity and spoke. It was like watching a severe dementia patient.
"Deadpool, if it's tough, you should take a break."
"No, no, I can't miss out on a moment like this! Let's go!"
Deadpool fought harder than ever. From a distance, it looked cool, but up close, seeing him battle while urine sprayed from his lower body was pretty grotesque, and I definitely didn't want to get near. Deadpool was invincible right now. I doubted even I could beat him.
Anyway, we turned the tide and started capturing the Extremis soldiers. Looking up, Tony had already suited up in an Iron Man armor and began fighting Killian, who was watching everything from above.
Was that suit the 'Mk. 17 Heartbreaker'?
What was funny was Rhodey—whether Killian had injected him with Extremis or not, his body glowed red as he fought the soldiers with enhanced strength. Once Vulture returned and joined in, the Extremis soldiers were being cleared out noticeably faster.
I took the [Levitation Cloak] I'd gotten from Cassandra Nova out of my inventory, draped it over myself, and rose into the air to help clean up by firing energy bomb cards alongside Vulture.
I had enough leeway to assist Tony, but I left him alone. It was for him to overcome his trauma. Captain also started fighting Savin again.
"Boss, it looks like we're almost done cleaning up?"
"Huh... Yeah. After this, I should get Vulture's daughter a gift too."
"Hahaha, thanks. She'll love it."
Killian's henchmen were all taken care of, leaving only Savin and Killian. Savin's side seemed like it would be captured quickly with Deadpool joining in, while Killian and Tony were still battling on the crane tower.
I used that gap to start collecting the Extremis. It was to prevent HYDRA from misusing the Extremis technology, which is why I'd deleted all related data when leaving Killian's mansion hideout. HYDRA was really annoying in various ways.
After gathering all the Extremis materials and drugs and coming outside, the fight with Savin seemed to have ended. Captain and Deadpool were heading up the crane tower to help Tony fight Killian, while Natasha called her Tahlia vehicle to restock supplies.
Vulture was checking the surroundings to clean up any escaping foes, then moved to assist Tony. As we all gathered toward Tony, Killian, perhaps realizing he couldn't turn the tables, screamed in fury.
"I won't end like this!!! I am the Mandarin!!!"
Deadpool heard that and chuckled, then spoke to Killian in his signature mocking tone.
"Sure, you be the Mandarin. If that's not enough, I'll stick a sign on your back that says 'This person is the Mandarin. Please hit me.'"
Everyone chuckled at that. Killian, feeling insulted, roared and charged at us.
"Uraaaaaah!!!"
Then Tony, just like in the original, gestured and forced the parts of the Iron Man suit Mk. 42 onto the charging Killian, lifted him high into the air, and ordered Jarvis.
"Jarvis! Self-destruct the Mk. 42."
"No!!!"
But since he wouldn't die from just that in the original, I also fired a metal orb charged with energy to add firepower.
KABOOM!!!
Deadpool marveled at it.
"Whoa~ I don't know about the rest, but the explosion looks cool. Just like fireworks."
Hearing that, Tony pondered for a moment, then gave another order to Jarvis.
"Jarvis, you know what to do for a fresh start, right?"
As Tony gave the order, several Iron Man suits circled in the air and began self-destructing one by one. The sight looked exactly like setting off multiple fireworks, as Deadpool said.
"Like it, folks? Let's enjoy Christmas."
"Whoa~"
We admired the exploding Iron Man suits. There were multiple meanings to this, but the biggest was that Tony had finally let go of his obsession with the suits and overcome his trauma. Anyway, it was a relief that things didn't get as tangled up as with Thor.
We rested a bit, saw a large number of soldiers arriving, entrusted them with cleanup, and returned home on the Odyssey.
The next day, news reported that the actor Trevor who cooperated with Killian, the Vice President who tried to replace the President, and his remaining forces were all arrested. Dr. Hansen wasn't arrested due to our persuasion, but she had to undergo investigation and trial, so I provided her with bodyguards and competent lawyers for protection. Among the lawyers I hired was Daredevil, 'Matthew Michael Murdock', who seemed capable enough of protecting her from Ten Rings, so I was less worried.
I gained something too.
[(SSS) Extremis] Grants superhuman strength, agility, and stamina regeneration. (Each stat +200.)
Getting the Extremis ability didn't make my body glow red or anything. Probably, as my rank increased, it became the completed Extremis rather than the imperfect version.
Then, I received a call from the President about awarding medals as a token of gratitude for stopping the terrorist group. The list included Tony, Captain, me, Natasha, Deadpool, and Vulture. Rhodey was missing from it, likely because he was under investigation for losing War Machine and receiving treatment for the forcibly injected Extremis.
Anyway, when the day came, we received medals with thanks from the President. Vulture came out wearing a mask to hide his identity, but due to his nationwide activities and cool suit, he gained immense popularity. After the medal ceremony, he was swamped signing autographs for the crowds. I teased him.
"Hey~ Popular, aren't you? Mr. Vulture!"
"This is a bit embarrassing. Haha."
Vulture said that but seemed to enjoy it in his own way. Seeing him made me feel good too. The funny thing was reporters asked me when the next Gundam would come out, but I didn't answer. They're still going on about Gundam.
That day, we rented a bar for a celebration with the members. The next day, I went to Toomes' house and gave various gifts to his daughter, Liz. But since she couldn't spend Christmas with her dad, she still seemed dissatisfied, her expression not great.
"Liz, this big brother will get you a gift for anywhere you want to go or anything you need. Cheer up."
"Then, I want to go to Disneyland one more time."
"Really? But since you went once before, how about the Disneyland in that country this time?"
At that, Liz answered with a very bright face. She was still a kid after all.
"Great! Thank you, big brother!"
I contacted my secretary to book Tokyo Disneyland and a luxury hotel, arranged a private jet, and told them to rest well with their family, also giving a hefty bonus. I also gave Tinkerer a bonus and sent him on vacation for his hard work.
Next, I visited Happy in the hospital. Happy had regained consciousness and was lying in bed watching TV dramas he hadn't seen in a while.
"Ah~ Chairman, you came."
"Happy, how's your health?"
"It's fine. Thank you. You must be busy, yet you came all the way here."
Happy seemed touched that I visited. I told him about what had happened, and hearing that things worked out well, he seemed to feel better.
A few days later, Tony had surgery to remove the shrapnel from his heart to take off the arc reactor, so I visited again. This time, I went with Pepper and Natasha, but since Tony and Pepper were getting cozy, Natasha and I chatted a bit and left them alone.
After external matters ended and I returned home, there was good news there too. I heard that Banner and Jessica had started dating. Strangely, Banner was popular with women; American women seemed to like smart men, i.e., brainy types.
Well... Dr. Stein was popular with women too.
I had set up a separate lab for Maya at home and was supporting her. But since she had somewhat participated in the terrorist group, she had to face trial and couldn't start research yet.
I couldn't just stay home like this, so I finally started construction on the Avengers base on the land I bought. I planned to build it thick with special concrete to withstand powerful explosions, including a massive hangar for the Odyssey and other vehicles, training facilities, living quarters, various amenities, warehouses, etc.
This cost an enormous amount of money, but the funny thing was the coin market was now moving actively, yielding huge profits, so I had money left even after building the Avengers base. I reinvested the leftover money, waiting for coins to drop again, and mined some appropriately. I was aiming for it, thinking that when a certain country entered the coin market, it would skyrocket again.
Did it surge twice because of that country? An Avengers base built by that country, really... ironic.
Anyway, while building the Avengers base, I helped with training diligently. As a result, my [Master] ability ranked up to S.
[(S) Master] Makes the learning of those taught faster, and can impart a watered-down version of one ability. (Cooldown 100 years.)
"Oh~ Ability impartation."
Even though it was a watered-down version, it transformed into a quite attractive ability. But the 100-year cooldown was a concern. Surely, as the rank increases, the cooldown will decrease, so from that day on, I taught diligently while helping with training.
As I taught hard, Jessica and Banner, and Pietro quickly learned martial arts, and Wanda's ability control started improving tremendously.
Two months passed, and Jessica, Pietro, and Wanda came to me with faces full of dissatisfaction and spoke.
"Let us start activities now."
Wanda spoke as the representative. Well, being cooped up here training for months must have gotten boring. Plus, seeing Vulture and Natasha in action probably stimulated them. After some thought, since they seemed sufficiently trained, I decided to allow their activities.
"Alright! Wait a moment."
I handed them the suits I had prepared in advance.
"What's this?"
"Suits I made for this day. I hope you like the design."
Pietro's was overall sky blue, with special materials added to reduce friction. Jessica's was black, using special metal to make the gloves and impact areas sturdier. And Wanda's was light red; since she flies in the air, she could get focused fire if careless, so I made a suit focused on defense without compromising mobility. All these suits had bulletproofing, ventilation, and temperature control as basic features.
With this, Pietro won't die absurdly from bullets.
They all seemed satisfied wearing the suits, but Jessica frowned and protested to me.
"I said I hate spandex! Make mine like Wanda's."
Wanda's suit definitely wasn't spandex.
"Don't be like that. You've trained and should know by now that spandex is better for lots of movement. Plus, Wanda's a telekinetic, so her situation is different from yours."
"That's true, but... it's embarrassing."
"If you hate it that much, wear something over it."
Banner, who was watching Jessica's figure appreciatively from the side, said that.
"I think it's sexy and nice?"
"Ah, really! Men are hopeless. Wanda, say something!"
Jessica asked Wanda, another woman, for support, but contrary to expectations, Wanda spoke with an apologetic expression.
"I'm satisfied with mine... Sorry..."
"Damn it! I'm going crazy. You too?"
Hahaha.
We all laughed at that. In the end, Jessica wore a leather jacket over her spandex suit.
Anyway, Jessica, Pietro, and Wanda started hero activities following Natasha and Vulture. I supported them with the Odyssey and Tahlia vehicles. Since hiding the Odyssey seemed pointless now, I decided to just use it.
And from this point, I started expanding the hero business, selling dolls, figures, toys, as well as clothing and accessories for each hero. Not just heroes affiliated with our company, but with permission from Captain, Iron Man, and Thor, we sold their merchandise too and shared a portion of the profits.
The rest was all saved as insurance money for any unforeseen events. The unfortunate one was Hawkeye; since he did a lot of covert work, he didn't want his identity known, and SHIELD blocked it, so we couldn't sell his merchandise. Clint was quite disappointed too. No wonder, since the side income from that was huge.
The funny thing was Vulture and Iron Man were the most popular, so their income was good; mecha enthusiasts' support was undeniable. Next were the female heroes, then Captain and the rest. Captain didn't care much, but Deadpool and Pietro had some complaints. I had income too, but I put all mine into the insurance fund.
The reason I did this business was because I wanted them to be treated well. In the original, Captain lived in a small apartment provided by SHIELD, and Natasha was the same. Plus, Wanda had no home and stayed at the Avengers base or wandered. I wanted to prevent that kind of treatment.
While running the business, inquiries came in to put ads on the suits, but I refused all such requests. Instead, I accepted a few TV ads. When there was no work, the extra income made the members happy.