Chapter 556

"This isn’t going to work, Tony. I don’t think I can stall them much longer."

Evenson had confidently promised he would hold out until Tony arrived and had his grand entrance.

Unfortunately, reality had other plans.

If the Extremis-enhanced soldiers had been equipped with heavy weapons, the battle might have lasted considerably longer. Evenson still couldn’t understand why Killian had sent them in with little more than crude melee weapons.

Why give superhuman soldiers nothing but fists and knives? If you were already enhancing them, why not enhance them properly?

Then again, there was probably a reason.

Extremis users generated tremendous amounts of heat when they activated their enhanced physiology. Handing them firearms might have resulted in them blowing themselves up before they ever got the chance to kill anyone.

So here they came, charging in with improvised weapons or nothing at all.

And against the fel fire, that was a spectacularly bad idea.

Some attacked the Hellfire, only to discover too late that they had failed to retreat after making contact. Fel flames crawled over their bodies, burning them alive from the inside out.

Others simply charged too hard.

They hit the Hellfire’s massive form, disappeared into its burning embrace, and were reduced to ash.

Evenson couldn’t even deliberately keep the demon from killing them. If he ordered the Hellfire to stand still and let them attack, they would simply kill themselves against it anyway.

Worse, more and more of them were beginning to flee.

That was inevitable.

Their attacks couldn’t even scratch the monster, while every attempt to hurt it ended with the attacker dying horribly. Once the first five soldiers had broken and run, the others began following them.

Naturally, Evenson dealt with the deserters personally.

None of them dropped an SSR.

A terrible shame.

By now, however, the battlefield had been reduced to single digits.

"Fine. Forget waiting."

Evenson watched as the Hellfire grabbed the last two surviving enemies in its enormous hands.

Clap.

The two bodies were crushed into fragments.

Evenson sighed, waved one hand, and dismissed the Hellfire back to where it belonged. Then he turned toward the demon portal, ready to leave.

Just before stepping through, however, he noticed countless points of light streaking across the distant sky.

Tony’s armored army had arrived.

Dozens of suits descended toward the shipyard.

They came in different shapes and colors, each designed for a different purpose. Some were clearly built for raw strength. Others emphasized speed and agility. Several specialized in ranged attacks.

As their weapons unfolded, the suits spread outward and rapidly formed a perimeter around the shipyard.

Then one of the suits, modeled after Tony’s familiar armor, slowly descended in front of Evenson.

"Where are the enemies?"

Tony’s voice came through the armor.

Evenson gave him an awkward smile.

"Uh... everywhere."

"Everywhere?"

Tony clearly didn’t understand.

The helmet turned from side to side as the suit scanned the area, searching for the enemies that were supposedly everywhere.

There was only one living person in sight.

Evenson lowered his head.

"They’ve all been reduced to ash."

He muttered under his breath.

"So technically, they’re probably everywhere."

"We had a deal."

The suit flew directly in front of him.

Tony’s voice rose sharply.

"We agreed you’d wait until I got there!"

Then, halfway through the sentence, he forced his voice back down.

"You’re supposed to keep your word, you know! How am I supposed to make an entrance now?!"

Evenson tilted his head.

Then he reached out and tapped the helmet.

"You aren’t actually in there, are you?"

"Of course not!"

The faceplate suddenly opened.

There was nobody inside.

"I was in a hurry, so I didn’t wait for anyone to pick me up. I’m still controlling the suit remotely. Most of the other suits are being handled by JARVIS."

Evenson nodded.

"Then Peggy isn’t here either?"

"She is."

Far away, aboard the small boat racing toward the shipyard, Tony sat behind a field of blue holographic displays, remotely controlling his armor.

Peggy Carter sat at the front of the boat, occasionally glancing back to watch her nephew’s performance.

After waiting for what felt like forever, she finally called out.

"Your armor still hasn’t arrived? What is taking so long?"

"It’ll be there any second. Less than thirty seconds."

Tony immediately flashed her a confident smile.

Then he switched back to the armor communications.

"So what now? We’re going to be there any second."

A pause.

"Oh, God. I’m going to die."

"Any second doesn’t mean right now."

Evenson grinned.

"Didn’t I just tell you? The enemies are everywhere."

He paused deliberately.

"And they’re extremely good at exploding."

With that, Evenson stepped through the demon portal without looking back.

He had practically spelled it out for Tony.

If the man still couldn’t figure it out, there was nothing Evenson could do for him.

Back on the boat, Tony stood frozen beneath everyone’s gaze.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then his eyes suddenly lit up.

"I’ve arrived!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Hey, you! You little bastard! I see you! Don’t even think about running!"

He thrust one hand dramatically toward the battlefield.

"Ladies and gentlemen, behold my latest invention!"

Tony’s voice became even louder.

"ROCKET BARRAGE!"

Peggy stared at him.

Then she quietly leaned toward the man beside her.

"Steve..."

Captain America glanced over.

"Do you think I’ve been putting too much pressure on him?"

Meanwhile, Tony’s army went completely berserk.

Several suits soared high into the sky and unleashed a relentless barrage of missiles and energy blasts upon the shipyard.

The heavy armor charged across the ground like battering rams, apparently determined to demolish the entire place.

And then there were the others.

They darted through the air, occasionally locking onto one another in pairs.

They were supposed to be allies.

You wouldn’t have known it from the way they fought.

They tore into each other with the enthusiasm of men settling a blood feud, ripping armor plates away and smashing limbs until neither side looked remotely intact.

The shipyard erupted into fire and explosions.

Compared to the Hellfire’s earlier rampage, the place had somehow become even louder.

More than twenty minutes later, the boat finally reached shore.

Tony immediately leaped onto land.

"It’s dangerous up ahead! I’ll scout the area!"

An armor suit flew over and enveloped him.

Tony rocketed toward the battlefield.

He made two leisurely passes through the sky.

Apparently deciding that the spectacle had reached a satisfactory level, he finally ordered every suit to stop firing.

Then he flew back toward Peggy.

The faceplate opened.

Tony wore the expression of a victorious general returning from war.

"The enemy has been completely wiped out beneath my Iron Legion! The danger has been eliminated!"

Peggy looked across the battlefield.

Smoke drifted through the air.

Fires burned across the wreckage.

Above them hovered dozens of battered suits, many missing limbs and covered in scars from their little civil war.

Peggy smiled.

"Well done, Tony."

Tony finally relaxed.

Whatever else could be said about the battle, he had achieved a decisive victory.

And when you broke down his strategy, there were really only three essential steps:

One: Outsmart his aunt.

Two: Open fire on absolutely nothing.

Three: Have his own armor reenact a death match at the top of the world.

Peggy looked around.

Something was missing.

"Where’s Pepper?"

"Evenson got them out. They should be nearby."

Tony’s expression immediately became serious.

"Aunt Peggy, let me tell you, that guy has absolutely no sense of loyalty."

Peggy raised an eyebrow.

"I spent ages telling him to fight alongside me. He refused. The moment he had the chance, he took Pepper and ran!"

"That’s probably for the best."

Peggy shrugged, amused.

"If he hadn’t left, you wouldn’t have been able to turn the entire shipyard into a fireworks display."

She glanced at the battlefield.

"He was thinking of the bigger picture."

"Hmm."

Tony raised an eyebrow.

His eyes shifted.

"I’m going to find him. And check on Pepper."

Before Peggy could respond, his armor shot into the sky.

Evenson wasn’t far away.

Tony’s thermal sensors found him quickly.

But what appeared on the suit’s display nearly made Tony’s eyes pop out of his head.

A pod stood open.

Inside, Pepper was lying unconscious, wearing nothing but athletic underwear.

And Evenson was standing beside her with a suspicious smile, reaching both hands toward her.

Tony’s jaw dropped.

"What the hell?! What are you doing?!"