Tony groaned as he rolled on the ground, finally coming to a stop after crashing into a car. He looked up at the bar in front of him, only to find it had completely collapsed in the explosion.
Seeing the scene before him, Tony muttered, "So there wasn't a bomb after all, it was a self-destruction."
At that moment, Tony heard the sound of metal breaking. He turned his head in that direction.
He saw a man with bright orange light flashing on his body, his hand placed on the iron support under a massive water tower. The support structure of the water tower was turning red-hot and starting to melt.
Realizing what the man intended, Tony quickly tried to get up and move, but just as he rose, the support structure melted, and the massive water tower, filled with a huge amount of water, began to collapse towards him.
The falling water tower smashed through a building, and the hundreds of tons of water it held surged out like a waterfall, sweeping debris from the shattered building towards Tony.
Faced with such an overwhelming attack, Tony had no time to dodge. He could only cross his arms to protect his vital organs as the water hit him, sending him flying and disintegrating the corrugated steel shed behind him.
Fortunately, the water's impact was not as deadly as it could have been. Although it caused him significant injury, his enhanced physique allowed him to withstand it.
The water from the tower quickly spread out in all directions, losing its force.
Buried under the rubble, Tony saw the man who attacked him, Savin, approaching. Savin was the assistant who accompanied Killian during his visit to Stark Industries.
Unfortunately, Happy hadn't sent Tony a photo of him, so Tony didn't recognize his attacker.
Savin stood before Tony and demanded, "Where's the damn file?"
Tony pushed aside the debris covering him, revealing his upper body. His leg was trapped, so to prevent another sudden attack, he said, "Do you think any file could survive that explosion?"
Savin, enraged, cursed, "Bastard!"
Tony nodded, "You really are a bastard."
The next second, Tony raised his right hand and fired a laser blast at Savin's head, sending him flying and leaving a hole in his head.
Seeing he had neutralized the threat, Tony immediately discarded the overloaded palm repulsor. It was a single-use weapon he had designed, which would be scrapped after one shot.
With the threat eliminated, Tony freed his leg from the rubble and got up to approach Savin.
Seeing Savin was beyond saving, Tony took the car keys from his pocket, then turned and found his car. He unzipped his jacket to reveal the now slightly wet file.
As Tony opened the car door, Harley ran up to him.
"You were so cool just now!"
Tony smiled, "Thanks, I know."
Tony got into the car and closed the door. After rolling down the window, he told Harley, "I need you to go home and find your mom."
"Keep your mouth shut and watch over the armor. Don't let the phone line be busy."
"Because I need to make some calls."
"Make sure you answer when I call, okay?"
"Do you understand? Everything here is sorted out."
"Don't get in the way, or I'll run you over."
"Goodbye."
Harley stood in front of the car and asked, "I'm your ally now. Is there anything else you need me to do?"
Tony smiled, "Just take care of those things, and that'll be enough."
Harley nodded, "Alright, Mechanic."
Tony rolled up the window and sped off.
Meanwhile, the man Tony had supposedly killed, Savin, had a flash of red light at the hole in his head, and it slowly began to heal. He stood up, glanced around the scene, and then left to return to the base.
…
Elsewhere-
Mandarin had finished recording his video. Killian's team once again hijacked the television signals across the United States, not just in New York but also on the East Coast and Los Angeles.
In the White House, the Vice President was working when an official beside him said, "We have an unauthorized broadcast cutting in..."
"Mr. Vice President, I think you should see this."
On the screen in the conference room, the logo of the Ten Rings appeared.
Seeing this, the Vice President shook his head, "Oh no, not again."
"Has the President seen this?"
The President, working on Air Force One, saw the broadcast as well.
On TV, Mandarin began to speak, "Mr. President, I have two lessons for you."
"And I plan to deliver them one morning during this Christmas holiday."
"Meet Thomas Richards."
The screen showed a white man lying down, with Mandarin holding a gun to his head.
"He has a good reputation and a secure job."
"This Thomas is an accountant for Roxxon Oil Company."
"But I'm sure he's a good person. I'm going to blow his brains out, live in thirty seconds."
Thomas lay on the ground, wailing, "No!"
Mandarin pointed to a nearby landline phone, "You have this number on your phone. Exciting, right?"
"Wondering how this number got on your phone?"
"Listen up, American people, if the President calls me within half a minute, Thomas lives."
"Start!"
The President picked up his phone, saw the number displayed, and asked his aide, "How did he hack my phone?"
The aide responded, "We cannot be controlled by terrorists"
The President took off his glasses, "I have to make this call."
The aide advised, "I strongly suggest you don't do this."
The President stood up, "This is the right thing to do."
He then dialed the number, and the phone on the broadcast began to ring.
Just when everyone thought Thomas would be spared, Mandarin shot him in the head.
After that, Mandarin continued, "One lesson left, President Ellis."
"Run away, hide, kiss your children goodbye."
"Because no one can save you, not your army, not that red, white, and blue dog."
"We'll meet again soon."
With that, Mandarin's image disappeared from the television, leaving only the Ten Rings emblem.
The President, visibly angry, said, "Notify Rhodey, tell him to find this madman immediately."
A staff member spoke up, "Sir, we've tracked the broadcast signal. We have a potential target location in Pakistan."
"The Iron Patriot is ready to deploy."
The President nodded, "Do it!"
"Yes, sir."
###
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