DC Heroes in Marvel

The War Machine piloted by Rhodey went out of control, and its Ex-Wife missile shifted its aim toward the audience.

The situation changed in an instant.

The smoke of war seemed to quietly spread through the massive exhibition hall.

Click, click!

At the same time, the rows of Iron Soldiers behind Rhodey readied their barrels, all aiming at the audience with intimidating precision.

The atmosphere grew tense.

Judging by Justin Hammer's stunned expression and Rhodey's anxious warnings, this was no accident.

"What's happening?"

"How did this happen?"

"Assault! Assault! Get out of here! Move!"

Someone finally pieced together the danger, and the audience descended into chaos.

The Iron Soldiers and Ex-Wife missiles that Justin Hammer had proudly flaunted were now threatening the crowd. Who wouldn't be terrified?

"Over here!"

Phil, having found a megaphone from who-knows-where, started directing the scene. "Quick! Get away from this booth! The Iron Soldiers are out of control!"

"Out of control?" Justin Hammer muttered, completely lost.

His confusion quickly turned to fury as he turned to Rhodey. Gritting his teeth, he barked, "Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes, deactivate the missiles! You're ruining my presentation!"

"I can't!" Rhodey retorted, his voice laced with frustration. "Hammer, what the hell did you do? I can't control this armor!"

"What?!"

Justin Hammer was dumbfounded.

In that moment, the truth dawned on him: something must have gone wrong backstage. Ivan Vanko must be pulling the strings!

All his thoughts evaporated. He nearly collapsed on the ground in despair.

Ruined! He was completely ruined!

The Ex-Wife missile?

Anton sat calmly in his chair, as steady as a mountain. Watching the chaos unfold on stage, he showed no trace of fear. Instead, his expression turned peculiar.

"Anton!"

Beside him, Eddie was visibly panicked. In a deep voice, he said, "We need to get out of here. The missile is about to launch!"

"Not so fast," Anton said, crossing his legs. "Let it launch. I'm curious to see the Ex-Wife missile's power."

"What?"

Eddie's eyes widened in disbelief. Was Anton out of his mind?

That was a missile!

Even if Anton was Batman, he wasn't wearing his suit or any protective gear. Standing in the open and watching a missile head straight for them—where did he get the confidence?

"Damn it!"

On the other side of the hall, Tony Stark frowned as he noticed every single barrel on stage pointing directly at him. Alarmed, he instructed Jarvis to bring the R8 parked nearby while he quickly backed away.

Vroom!

The car roared to life and sped toward him.

But by then, the Ex-Wife missile mounted on Rhodey's shoulder had already been launched.

"Help!!"

"Damn it, Hammer! I don't want to die yet!"

The panicked crowd screamed and scattered.

The faces of a dozen people near Tony turned pale. Their hearts pounded wildly, legs trembling so much they could barely stand. Some were on the verge of wetting their pants.

Boom!

The missile launched from Rhodey's shoulder, streaking through the air directly toward Tony.

Just then, not far away, Harry Osborn—having just donned his bio-armor and declared himself a superhero—leapt into action on his flying skateboard.

He hadn't expected his first act as a superhero to come so soon.

Was this fate?

As the thought crossed his mind, Harry locked his gaze on the missile hurtling through the air toward Tony.

Even in his bio-armor, he had no intention of taking the missile head-on.

But there was another way to save Tony's life.

"Tony! Get away!"

Not far away, Pepper's eyes were filled with panic.

Blinded by worry, she not only failed to retreat but also ignored her fear and rushed straight toward Tony.

Boom!

At the same time, the R8 car mech that many had eagerly anticipated transformed and took off with a deafening roar.

Unfortunately, no one paid it any attention at such a critical moment.

Everyone was busy running for their lives.

In less than half a minute, the central and largest exhibition hall had devolved into complete chaos.

At the critical moment—

The mech, flying like lightning, finally positioned itself in front of Tony.

The fierce wind it generated whipped through the hall, cutting into the faces of those nearby like blades.

Pepper also reached Tony's side.

His face stern, Tony grabbed Pepper with one sweeping motion, pulling her behind a nearby chair to shield her.

Clang!

The Ex-Wife missile streaked toward the R8 mech.

Harry arrived at the scene as well. His biological armor morphed into a shield. Seeing the mech in action, he simply stationed himself beside Tony and Pepper, further shielding them with his armor.

Thunk!

Tink, tink, tink!

Under the horrified eyes of the audience, the Ex-Wife missile fizzled out, firing a dud and then falling harmlessly to the ground.

For a moment, the crowd fell silent.

The stillness lasted at least ten seconds.

"Ha ha."

From the corner, Anton's laughter broke the tension.

"This is the Ex-Wife missile? Truly cheap and versatile, with excellent range and accuracy... It's just the power that seems to be lacking."

Though his voice wasn't loud, in the stunned silence, it reached everyone's ears.

"Ugh..."

Justin Hammer was speechless. Finally, he couldn't hold himself together, collapsing to the ground in despair. He sat there, doubting his very existence, wishing he could vanish into thin air.

Even the Iron Soldiers and Rhodey's War Machine going haywire didn't feel as embarrassing as this misfire.

The missile was a project Hammer had spent years perfecting. He'd signed billion-dollar contracts with the U.S. military for it.

A failure like this—whether intentional or not—could cost him his largest customer.

How could this happen?

"Ugh."

Tony stood, holding Pepper in his arms. His eyes flicked from Justin Hammer, defeated on stage, to Rhodey in his War Machine armor.

"That's it?"

He spread his hands in mock disbelief.

After saying this, he glanced at Harry, standing beside him. His eyes lingered on the biological armor for a moment, confirming that it wasn't nanotech.

"Tony, I can't control the armor!"

Rhodey's desperate shout drew his attention back to the stage.

"Evacuate the crowd!" Rhodey yelled through his armor. "Someone's controlling it!"

"Who's controlling the armor?"

Tony scanned the room, his sharp eyes briefly landing on Anton and his group in the corner.

Relief flickered through Tony's face.

With Anton here, no matter how chaotic things got, Tony knew the situation wouldn't spiral completely out of control.

His gaze moved on, analyzing the dud missile and the coordinated movements of the Iron Soldiers behind Rhodey.

The enemy was clearly targeting him.

Even though he was relieved to see Anton, the weight in his chest hadn't fully lifted.

Boom!

Suddenly, a violent sonic boom resounded overhead.

A streak of light shot through the sky.

Like Rhodey's earlier entrance, a mysterious figure in armor descended from above, crashing into the stage with a resounding thud and leaving a deep depression in the floor.

This new armor was also silver, but bulkier than standard models.

While it couldn't compare to Tony's car mech, it was visibly more imposing than Rhodey's War Machine.

"Damn it!"

Rhodey glared at the newcomer.

"You're the one controlling my armor! Who are you?"

…

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