Chapter 339: Dungeon Fight

"So it was locked in the barn! No wonder there was no movement after Tony Stark summoned it for so long. Those two parts must have broken through the glass and escaped, right?"

The second-generation Spider-Man suddenly understood the situation. He had been wondering why Mark 42 hadn't responded immediately, since someone like Tony would never miscalculate the timing.

It turned out the warehouse door had been locked. Perhaps Harley's mother had secured it without realizing what was inside.

Gwen couldn't contain her laughter. "Hahaha! Tony Stark never anticipated this, did he? He completely forgot the warehouse door might be locked!"

Tony himself looked slightly embarrassed at having endangered himself over such an oversight.

Banner couldn't help but feel relieved. "Luckily Harley noticed in time, otherwise you would have been fighting with just one hand and one foot!"

Tony responded sullenly, "When I get back to the lab, I'm adding a function that automatically identifies alternative exit routes!"

[In the dungeon, several of Killian's men heard the commotion and rushed in with weapons drawn. Tony immediately fired a repulsor blast at the wall above their heads.]

[The guards ducked in panic, giving Tony the opportunity to activate his boot thruster. However, with only one armored hand and foot, he struggled to maintain balance and accidentally triggered his repulsor mid-flight.]

[After stabilizing himself, Tony quickly engaged the enemies before him, flying toward them while laying down suppressive fire.]

[A fierce gunfight erupted. Tony took cover in a blind spot and returned fire, but soon exhausted his ammunition and discarded the weapon.]

[At that moment, someone opened fire from his flank. Tony dodged and immediately dropped prone. He fired a repulsor blast at the assailant above him, the powerful force shattering a section of concrete wall.]

[Simultaneously, he used the recoil to propel himself backward, changed direction, and landed gracefully on the upper level, where he engaged two more guards in hand-to-hand combat.]

[Spotting movement in his peripheral vision, Tony dodged sideways as one guard fired at him. The unfortunate guard behind Tony took several shots and collapsed.]

[Tony seized the advantage, hitting him with a repulsor blast before naturally dropping his arm to fire another quick blast backward. In the same fluid motion, he grabbed the arm of the man in front of him.]

[He turned the guard's weapon against another opponent. The guard struggled desperately to resist, but Tony pinned him down with his armored foot, causing the man to immediately weaken from the pain.]

[Tony first shot the approaching guard, then activated his boot thruster, pushing his captive violently against the wall and knocking him unconscious instantly.]

[Without pause, Tony aimed the gun downward at another guard below. Seeing this, the man immediately raised his weapon in surrender.]

["Honestly, I hate working here! They're all freaks!" He tossed his pistol aside and raised his hands high.]

[Tony gestured with his finger for the man to leave, and the guard immediately fled.]

[After neutralizing the dungeon guards, Tony stepped into the corridor just as the remaining Mark 42 components arrived and attached to his body.]

[He couldn't help but complain, "Better late than never!"]

[Running from the dungeon while the armor assembled around him, Tony saw the faceplate flying toward him and quickly reached out to catch it.]

["Not this time! Don't hit me in the face!" Tony sighed with relief as he secured the faceplate and completed the armor.]

["It's great to be back! Hello, by the way," he greeted JARVIS as the HUD activated.]

["Hello, sir!" JARVIS responded warmly.]

[Tony observed an air transport plane departing in the distance, with a familiar figure aboard. After a quick scan, he confirmed it was the Iron Patriot armor.]

"Tony Stark is pretty impressive!" Wanda remarked, admiring his ability to handle multiple adversaries under such challenging circumstances.

"He does train regularly," Natasha acknowledged with a slight smile toward Wanda. "But don't let him hear you say that. If he knows you're praising him, his ego will become unbearable."

"Looks like he's also afraid of the mask hitting him in the face again," Scott noted with amusement. "He got a pretty nasty injury last time."

As expected, Tony took the opportunity to boast to Rhodes and the others about how easily he'd dispatched three armed guards despite his limited armor.

Rhodes simply rolled his eyes, refusing to engage with Tony's grandstanding. In a real fight between them, Rhodes knew he could hold his own against Tony any day.

[Meanwhile, Rhodes had regained consciousness. As he got to his feet, he heard an alarm blaring: "Attention all personnel, Stark has escaped! He's somewhere in the compound! I repeat, Stark has escaped and is somewhere in the compound!"]

[Rhodes quickly stood and raced up the nearest stairwell.]

["Let's go!" Tony prepared for takeoff, but the armor lacked sufficient power for sustained flight. Only a few sparks emerged from the boot thrusters before they sputtered out.]

["Damn it!" he cursed under his breath.]

[At the same time, Rhodes made his escape, taking down a guard and throwing him from the building's edge. Rhodes leaped down after him, knocking the still-resisting guard unconscious with a well-placed punch.]

[He immediately searched the man's body, retrieving a cell phone. Watching the Iron Patriot flying increasingly distant, he made a call: "Tony..."]

[Tony answered immediately. "Rhodes, please tell me that's you in the armor."]

["No. Did you get yours back?" Rhodes replied as he located a pistol on the unconscious guard.]

["Uh... more or less. Get to the main house as quickly as possible. There's someone I want you to meet." Hearing this, Rhodes immediately rushed toward the indicated location.]

[Inside the mansion, Trevor Slattery remained oblivious to the chaos, sleeping soundly with an empty beer bottle clutched to his chest.]

[Two women in underwear were playing ping-pong in the room when two security guards burst in with weapons drawn. "Everybody out! Now! Move it!"]

[The startled women fled immediately.]

[The guards scanned the area and reported, "Room secure. Maintaining visual on the Mandarin."]

[Meanwhile, Tony had found a car battery and was connecting it to the Mark 42 armor to recharge it.]

[Suddenly, an armored hand appeared holding a ping-pong paddle. "What's this? I win!"]

[The guards spun around at the sound and opened fire, but the bullets ricocheted harmlessly off the armor.]

[Rhodes seized the opportunity to crash through the window behind them. He slid across the floor and fired several precise shots at both guards. The gunfire finally roused Trevor, who merely took another swig of beer in response.]

[After Rhodes neutralized the threats, Tony approached Trevor and asked instinctively, "What are you still doing here?"]

"I can't believe Trevor just slept through all that chaos," Aunt May commented, shaking her head in disbelief.

"The man's probably been drunk or high for days," Uncle Ben replied. "He's completely detached from reality."

Captain Marvel crossed her arms. "Meanwhile, the Iron Patriot armor is getting further away by the second. Whatever Killian has planned with it, the timeline is accelerating."

"Tony's armor needs more power," Bruce observed. "The car battery is clever, but it won't give him full functionality."

"Rhodes did well without any armor at all," Steve noted with appreciation. "His military training shows in how he handles himself in combat."

"They make a good team," Natasha acknowledged. "Now they just need to figure out what Killian's planning with the Iron Patriot and how to stop it."

"And save Pepper," Tony added, his expression serious as he watched the broadcast. "She's still infected with Extremis and running out of time."

The second-generation Harry frowned thoughtfully. "Killian mentioned something about controlling the most powerful leader in the West. Is he planning to use the Iron Patriot to kidnap the President?"

"That would explain why he needs a suit with military clearance," Rhodes realized. "The Iron Patriot would be allowed near Air Force One without raising alarms."

"And with the Mandarin supposedly behind it all, he maintains plausible deniability," Natasha finished. "A perfect false flag operation."

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