The portal opened with a sharp, electric snap, depositing Ethan onto the rain-slicked roof of the Stark Industries sector. The air was thick with the stench of ozone, jet fuel, and the hot, grinding friction of metal on metal.
A few yards away, the scene was a total wreck. The Mark IIIāTony's sleek, gold-and-red masterpieceālooked like it had been through a car crusher. Its plating was torn, one boot thruster was sputtering uselessly, and the iconic faceplate was missing, revealing Tony's battered, grimy face.
Standing over him was the Iron Monger. Obadiah Stane's suit was a monstrous, unfinished hunk of industrial nightmare, three times the size of Tony's and radiating a low, menacing hum. Stane had Tony pinned against the edge of the roof, his massive hydraulic claw wrapped around Tony's neck.
"How ironic, Tony!" Stane's voice boomed through the external speakers, distorted and chilling. "In trying to rid the world of weapons, you gave it its greatest one... and now, it's going to kill you."
Ethan leaned against a ventilation housing a few feet away, crossing his arms.
"You having fun, Tony? Or is getting strangled by a giant galvanized trash can part of the new exercise routine?" Ethan asked, his voice cutting through the rain.
Both Tony and Obadiah froze, turning their heads toward him. Tony's eyes widened, a mix of relief and pure exhaustion hitting his face.
"Ethan... what are you doing here?" Tony wheezed, the claw tightening. "Actually, forget that. Can you give me a hand? My 'science' is currently being out-massed."
Obadiah let out a mechanical, booming laugh. "You want this guy to help you? A kid in a leather jacket?" He turned the massive torso of the Monger toward Ethan. "I don't know who you are, but I'll send you to the same grave as Stark."
Stane didn't wait. He raised his left arm, and a Gatling gun spun up with a terrifying whine. A hail of high-caliber rounds tore through the air, aimed directly at Ethan's chest.
Ethan didn't move his feet. He just flicked his wrist, and a glowing orange Tao Mandala shield flared into existence. The bullets hit the magical geometry and flattened instantly, falling to the roof like harmless lead pebbles.
He glanced at Tony over his shoulder while holding the shield steady. "I can help, but I'm going to need a favor in return later. A big one. Since I saved your life in that desert, I think we're well past the 'freebie' stage."
"Fine! Whatever!" Tony shouted as Stane swung a massive fist at him. "Unless it's my anal virginity or Pepper, you can have anything! Just stop the robot!"
"Eww," Ethan grimaced. "Nobody wants your ass, Stark. I don't swing that way."
Obadiah, seeing his bullets do nothing and feeling completely ignored, roared in frustration. "ENOUGH!"
The Iron Monger charged, the roof shaking under its multi-ton weight. It lunged at Ethan with a crushing overhead strike. Ethan didn't teleport; he tapped into his physical stats, shifting his weight and catching the massive metal fist with his bare hand.
The concrete beneath Ethan's feet cracked, but his arm didn't even tremble.
"You're loud, Obadiah," Ethan muttered. He shoved the fist back, sending the three-ton suit staggering five steps.
He followed up with a sharp, two-fingered thrust. "Confringo!"
A bolt of orange-gold energy slammed into the Monger's chest. The explosion was loud, but as the smoke cleared, Ethan noticed the damage was minimalājust a blackened dent in the heavy plating.
Right. Magic hits the armor, not the pilot, Ethan realized. Without a direct line of sight to the man inside, internal curses weren't taking hold through the thick alloy. He had to treat this like a mechanical demolition.
Obadiah recovered, firing a shoulder-mounted missile. Ethan swiped his hand, opening a small portal in front of him. The missile entered the sparks and reappeared directly behind the Monger, slamming into its back thrusters.
BOOM!
The Monger collapsed to one knee, sparks flying from its cooling vents.
"Well, it's not like I only know curses," Ethan said, his hands glowing with a much more intense, solid orange light.
He didn't use a wand. He manifested two long, glowing Eldritch Whips, the energy crackling like high-voltage wires. With a snap of his wrists, the whips lashed out, wrapping tightly around the Iron Monger's thick neck and torso.
Ethan planted his feet and yanked.
The three-ton suit was violently ripped off the ground, flying through the air as if it were made of cardboard. It slammed into a massive cooling tower, shattering the steel structure and drenching the roof in water.
Tony Stark, struggling to stand, watched the scene with his jaw hanging open. He had built the most advanced exoskeleton in human history, but he was currently watching a man in a t-shirt manhandle a tank with nothing but glowing ropes and raw physical strength.
"Is this... what the hell kind of 'consulting' do you do?" Tony breathed, his logical brain struggling to compute the sheer lack of physics on display.
Ethan didn't answer. He walked toward the wreckage of the Monger, the glowing whips still firmly in his grip.
"Stay down, Obadiah," Ethan said, his voice cold. "Or I start peeling this suit open like a tuna can."
[ Mission Complete: The Steel Giant's Fall ]
Reward: 4,000 System Points, 3% Albus Dumbledore Synchronization.
Current Balance: 14,010 System Points.
Synchronization: 93%
Author's Note:
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