Tony slid off the twisted metal frame, his voice raw. "Give me a suit!"
He hit the end of his slide and leaped into the open air.
The suit that had been waiting, its back open and ready, was just below him.
But at that exact moment, the force of a secondary explosion sent a slab of metal spiraling through the air. It struck the armor with pinpoint accuracy.
The suit plummeted, and Tony began his long, uncontrolled freefall.
"Jarvis! JARVIS!"
Tony yelled into the wind, the shriek of broken steel cables whistling past his ears. He watched the ground rush up to meet him, but the scattered pieces of his armor were hopelessly out of reach.
Just as he was about to go from Tony Stark to a Stark-pancake on the pier, a familiar, calm voice sounded beside him.
"Calling on Jarvis is all well and good, but perhaps calling on the Wizard King for protection is a better bet."
Tony twisted his head and saw John, casually freefalling alongside him, arms crossed as if they were merely taking a stroll.
"Thank God! John, save me!"
John's presence was a wave of relief, a sudden anchor in the chaos.
He simply held out his wand. "Grab on."
Tony reached out with all his strength and clasped the wood. The world dissolved into a dizzying vortex, as if he'd been sucked into a violently spinning pipe.
When he landed again, he was on his hands and knees, vomiting uncontrollably.
John, with a look of perfect foresight, had already withdrawn his wand, staying well clear of the splash zone.
Tony spat, the sour taste of bile in his mouth. He glared up at John, his mind reeling. "Tell me you weren't here the whole time."
"Sorry to disappoint, but I was," John shrugged, utterly unconcerned. "Saved the President while I was at it, by the way."
"What are you looking at? You're the one who asked me to save the President."
John's self-righteous tone was met with a look of pure resentment from Tony. The thought of John casually watching him being chased all over the pier like a monkey in a circus made his stomach churn all over again.
The last explosion had thrown debris everywhere, including the helmet of the Mark 42.
Tony's face tightened as he looked at it.
John, with a complete lack of sympathy, voiced the horrible image forming in Tony's mind. "That wouldn't be Killian's head in there, would it?"
"Oh, God, John! Can't you just not say that?"
That single, beautiful image was enough to make Tony's anxiety flare up.
Fortunately, when the faceplate finally hissed open, it was empty inside. Otherwise, Tony would have been plagued by insomnia for weeks.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, a crisp, cracking sound echoed from the inferno.
Tony looked over and saw Killian, his body glowing like lava, walking out of the flames step by step.
"He's not dead?" Tony gasped. Is this guy really the Ultimate Creature? An explosion of that magnitude hadn't killed him, and his body was already showing signs of healing.
"The Mandarin you saw at first was actually me, Tony," Killian staggered out, his face a mask of fury. "From the very beginning, it was me. I am the Mandarin!"
"Oh," John said, his tone utterly unimpressed. "And then what?"
Killian finally noticed John. Seeing the man who had single-handedly ruined all his plans, he became manic. "It's you! You can't kill me. I have become the Ultimate Creature!"
"I will kill you!"
"I'll kill everyone you care about!"
"Just like your father! Your mother!"
"None of them can escape Death!"
He roared, his voice cracking with madness. "I will become the master of this world!"
Fire licked from his skin as his body began to regenerate.
Tony watched in horror, mentally screaming at Jarvis to send another suit. If Killian didn't die here, Tony knew he would never sleep again.
John listened quietly to the impassioned speech, then tilted his head. "Do you mind if I try something?"
"What?" Tony was taken aback.
He saw John slowly raise his wand.
"Let me see if you really won't die."
John smiled, and in a gentle, almost conversational voice, he softly uttered the spell.
"Avada Kedavra."
A flash of green light erupted in front of Tony's eyes. He had never felt such profound, absolute evil. It was a sin made manifest, a tangible force that existed only to take life.
The impossibly evil green light fell upon the so-called Ultimate Creature, Killian.
The orange-red glow of his power gradually dimmed. The ferocious expression on his face froze, then quickly lost all color.
Killian's body simply fell.
There were no injuries. It was strange, as if he had just died suddenly. Not from illness, not from a fatal wound.
Just... Death.
Tony had never seen anything like it. He stared blankly at John, the man who had just wielded such evil magic. At that moment, he felt an unfamiliar fear creep in, a chill that had nothing to do with the night air.
"Wh-what was that? Avada... something?"
Tony followed John out of the dock, still chattering, his mind struggling to process what he'd seen. John, clearly annoyed, finally answered. "It's Avada Kedavra. A killing curse. An evil, dark magic curse."
Tony was speechless. He wanted to point out that no one just casually admits their magic is 'evil' and 'dark.' Don't you think there's something wrong with you using evil dark magic?
In truth, John had many ways to kill Killian. But upon hearing the man threaten his family, a cold, primal malice had surged from the depths of his heart. He chose to use the most irredeemable magic to erase that man's life. He knew it was evil, and he did it anyway.
By now, Tony's remaining suits had dealt with the last of the Extremis Soldiers. Although they were strong, Dax had already thinned their numbers, and the rest were no match for the Iron Legion. Aside from a few million-dollar scratches, the outcome was perfect.
Outside the pier, a car drove up. Pepper got out. With the resources of Stark Industries, private jets were never an issue.
She rushed over and threw her arms around Tony. He winced as she brushed against a wound, but he smiled. All the small issues between them had vanished in the fires of the crisis.
Pepper said that before, she couldn't understand why Tony couldn't live without his suits. Now, she did. Tony also knew how much his obsession had made his girlfriend suffer.
To make up for it, he decided to let Pepper watch the most expensive fireworks show in the world.
"Jarvis, you know what to do."
"Initiate the Clean Slate Protocol?"
"Christmas clean-up," Tony said, holding Pepper close. "Yes."
One suit after another flew into the sky and began to self-destruct. The exploding armor bloomed in the night sky like a shower of metallic fireworks.
Beautiful, wasn't it? It was also a bonfire of money. A suit worth hundreds of millions, destroyed in an instant. Tony's capacity for grand gestures was truly world-class.
The young couple was there, being all lovey-dovey. John, the awkward third wheel, looked at the exploding suits and could only conclude that Tony had far too much money.
As he enjoyed the fireworks and the last suit was destroyed, he looked at the embracing couple and suddenly remembered what Tony had said.
"Wait. Christmas clean up?"
John remembered something. His eyes widened, and his breathing quickened.
"Stark. This is a very serious matter."
John's sudden, grave expression made Tony wonder what could possibly be wrong. Is there something more important than Killian?
Afterward, John told him with facts: yes, there was. And it was very, very important.
***
In Queens, New York, Tony and Pepper were collectively silent.
May brought over delicious pizza. Shang-Chi, Peter, and Ned were buzzing with excitement.
John opened a large box.
"Welcome to... Creation of Heaven and Earth: Fissured Land!"
Tony looked at the board game that was now spread across two tables, then looked at John, hesitating. "The 'serious matter' you mentioned... is playing board games?"
"Of course it is." John pointed at the board. "This is a masterpiece that combines thirteen online games, thirteen board games, and thirteen nightclub games!"
Hearing this, the only thing popping into Tony's mind was the number thirteen.
Peter jumped up. "Awesome, this is it!"
Ned rubbed his hands together. "I specifically told my grandma that I'm staying at Peter's house to play games today."
Shang-Chi looked at the game in confusion. Is there such a thing where I'm from?
Pepper smiled. "Maybe it's very interesting." As soon as she finished speaking, she saw John take out a twenty-sided die. Her smile instantly became a little stiff. "What is this?"
"Oh, dice. Besides that, there are identity cards, health cards, strategy cards, Uno cards, poker cards..."
Listening to the bizarre rules and the mountains of props, Pepper tightened her grip on Tony's arm, her eyes conveying a single, urgent message.
Run!
Tony understood. He stood up. "I still need to go back and deal with my house."
He walked to the door, and the moment his hand touched the knob, he was thrown onto the sofa as if he had been electrocuted.
John smiled. "The game begins." Are you kidding? I've already set up the game. You still want to run?
***
The morning air carried a hint of chill.
Tony and Pepper walked out, supporting each other. Their hands and feet were trembling, and their minds were filled with the nightmarish memories of convoluted rules and being fined and punished for taking the wrong path.
In the apartment, Ned and Peter had already collapsed. The resilient Shang-Chi was also eliminated in a round of mutual betrayal.
As for John...
He ascended the Creation Mountain, took out May, the in-game 'God', and became the master of this world.
"What a thoroughly enjoyable game."
John, who hadn't slept all night, was full of energy and didn't mention a word about spending his own money to buy extra lives. He logged onto the website where he'd bought the game and silently gave the seller a five-star review. It was the only one.
Far away, across the ocean, a young creator saw the notification and leaped up. He ran outside with his laptop, full of excitement, announcing the good news to anyone who would listen.
A certain radio host was dumbfounded. "What kind of weirdo would like that game?"
"Don't talk nonsense! This is clearly for people with taste."
The young creator felt a sense of camaraderie with John. It was truly like finding a kindred spirit. Well then, he thought, I must upgrade it!
***
It was the Christmas holiday.
John gave Ferdinand paid leave and cleaned his house with a simple spell. Magic was just too convenient.
The dust flew out as the door opened, covering the arriving Tony.
"So, you're here to tell me about the grudge between you and my Father?" John asked, inviting him in and preparing coffee.
Tony smiled awkwardly, his expression uncomfortable. "Uh... let's talk about that later. I'm here to ask you to find someone."
"Later?" John looked at Tony suspiciously. He suspected the other party just didn't want to talk. But he needed someone?
"I'm looking for Dr. Wu."
Tony had figured it out. He wanted to remove the arc reactor from his chest. Before, because of his anxiety, he felt he couldn't live without it and was afraid of surgery. After this battle, he no longer wanted to avoid it. He wanted to remove the arc reactor and start a new life.
And the only one who could do this was Dr. Wu. The doctor's appointments were booked solid, so he came to John to cut the line. It was definitely not because he had neglected Dr. Wu before and made inappropriate jokes in his presence.
John raised an eyebrow. "Considering you lost the game yesterday..."
Tony used to be indifferent to Dr. Wu, but now he was asking him for a favor. Facts proved that the shots fired in youthful arrogance would eventually hit one's future self.
Tony left with the business card. As he walked out, he saw a pair of women's shoes by the door.
"You're hiding a woman in your house?" Tony looked as if he had just discovered something amazing.
John rolled his eyes at him. "Those are your girlfriend's."
"Pepper's?"
"No," John pointed at Maya, who was coming out of the guest room. "Your ex-girlfriend's."
Tony fled. He leaped into his convertible and sped away with a heavy foot on the gas. He was transitioning into a good family man now and didn't want to get entangled with his ex-girlfriend.
Meanwhile, Maya Hansen, wearing a loose dress that revealed a pair of healthy and toned legs, walked down the stairs barefoot and asked, "How are you going to deal with me?"
"Send you to work."
Maya, who had gone through a night of ideological struggle and was prepared to sacrifice her looks, could only blink in confusion. "?"
(End of Chapter)
***
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