[The two security guards were blissfully unaware that someone had invaded their sanctuary. Tony tossed a small blue spherical grenade in their direction to attract their attention.]
[One of them picked it up and examined it suspiciously. The next second, the device exploded in his hand, knocking him flat to the ground.]
[His partner immediately reached for the pistol at his waist, but Tony, who had come prepared, was faster. He fired several nails in rapid succession from his homemade weapon, causing the guard to retreat hastily before diving into the decorative pool.]
[Tony casually lobbed another red grenade into the water, then discarded the empty nail gun.]
[After entering the house, Tony surveyed his surroundings. He spotted a woman passed out on a table in the living room.]
[In another room, a woman lounging on a couch complained to a man: "Why is it so hot in here? I told you to set it to 68 degrees Fahrenheit!"]
["It's my fault again. I have to tell you, honey! I am not your person—" Before he could finish his sentence, Tony slapped a homemade electroshock glove against his head, immediately incapacitating him with a jolt of electricity.]
[Tony then grabbed the gun from the table and pointed it at the woman on the couch opposite.]
[She immediately pointed her finger at Tony like a gun. Tony could see she was under the influence of something, so he signaled for her to be quiet and moved on.]
George Stacy looked at the security guards who were so easily neutralized and shook his head. "These guys have terrible situational awareness. Tony Stark managed to break in with nothing but homemade equipment!"
"Yeah! They even pick up strange objects and examine them! That's insanely stupid!" the second-generation Spider-Man agreed, shaking his head repeatedly.
He couldn't believe someone would actually pick up a mysterious object dropped by an intruder. Was it because these guards had never encountered such a situation before and couldn't think critically?
Gwen looked at the intoxicated woman with undisguised disgust. She had arrested several drug users and dealers in her career as Spider-Woman, but she never understood why someone would willingly degrade themselves like this.
"Tony Stark seems surprisingly adept at combat. Even without his armor, his fighting ability is impressive. At the very least, he can infiltrate a guarded compound single-handedly."
As chief of police, George could tell that Tony must have received some tactical training. It seemed all his boxing sessions with Happy Hogan hadn't been for nothing.
Tony shot Rhodes a smug look, silently showing off his prowess.
Rhodes rolled his eyes and refused to acknowledge Tony's grandstanding. Wanda noticed this wordless exchange between the two friends and couldn't help but laugh.
[Tony approached another room, carefully opening the door and entering with his gun drawn. He discarded the now-depleted electroshock gloves.]
[Inside, he found an elaborate setup with various instruments and recording equipment. On a nearby screen, he noticed footage of previous Mandarin broadcasts. His eyes then fell on a bed with someone lying on it, though a quilt obscured his view of whoever was there.]
[The atmosphere grew tense. Tony believed he had finally found the Mandarin. Gun in hand, he approached the bed and yanked back the quilt. Two women lying underneath were startled by his sudden appearance.]
[Realizing they weren't his target, Tony exhaled softly, then immediately signaled for them to remain quiet.]
[Just then, the sound of a toilet flushing came from behind him. Tony reacted instantly, ducking behind the bed. The two women quickly pretended nothing had happened.]
[Trevor Slattery emerged from the bathroom, chuckling as he walked. "Well! You'd better not go in there for 20 minutes! Okay! Which one of you is Vanessa?"]
[Vanessa raised her hand slightly and responded: "That's me!"]
[Trevor ambled over to the table, grabbed a snack, and tossed it to her. "Ah! Nix, did you know that fortune cookies weren't even invented in China?"]
[Nix pointed toward the bed and warned: "There's a man over there..."]
[But Trevor didn't hear her. He continued rummaging through items on the table. "They were actually created by Americans! According to... according to Japanese recipes!"]
[Tony emerged from his hiding spot, pointing his gun at Trevor. "Hey!"]
[The moment Trevor spotted Tony, he raised his hands and looked toward the door as if expecting more intruders. "That's it, then. It's over!"]
["Don't move!" Tony warned coldly.]
[Trevor complied remarkably well. "I'm not moving. Take whatever you want! But these guns are all fake because those suspicions bitches don't trust me with the real ones!"]
[Tony was taken aback by Trevor's casual demeanor. "What?"]
[Trevor pointed at the two women on the bed and gave Tony a knowing look. "Hey! Which of these two girls do you fancy?"]
[Tony narrowed his eyes as realization dawned. "Enough! You're not him! Where is the Mandarin? Where is the real Mandarin? WHERE IS HE?!"]
[He chambered a round in his weapon and yelled at Trevor, who cowered back into a chair.]
[Trevor pointed to himself and began explaining nervously: "Whoa! He's here! Right here! But also not here! He's here, but he's not!"]
[Tony stared at him in confusion. "What the hell does that mean?"]
["It's complicated! It's complicated, alright? It's complicated!" Trevor gestured wildly, offering Tony an ingratiating smile.]
["Is it now?" Tony's patience was wearing thin. He knew he couldn't linger here much longer—reinforcements could arrive at any moment.]
["Explain it to me! Ladies, get out! Get off the bed and go to the bathroom!" Tony glanced at the two women, who wisely followed his instructions and retreated to the bathroom.]
[Tony walked over and locked the door. Trevor seized the opportunity to attempt an escape. Tony noticed and fired a warning shot into the floor directly in front of him, causing Trevor to scramble back to his seat.]
[The gunshot startled the women in the bathroom, who screamed in fright.]
[Trevor, hands shaking, explained to Tony: "My name is Trevor! Trevor Slattery!"]
["Who are you supposed to be? Bait? A stand-in?" Tony couldn't believe this pathetic figure was supposedly the terrifying Mandarin.]
["What? Like an understudy? NO! Absolutely not!" Trevor shook his head vehemently.]
[Tony pressed the gun against Trevor's temple menacingly, causing him to beg: "Please, not the face! I'm an actor!"]
["You've got one minute! Talk!" Tony glared at Trevor, giving him a final ultimatum.]
[Trevor rolled his eyes dramatically and explained: "It's just a role! The Mandarin! Do you understand? It's all fictional!"]
[Tony shifted tactics. "So how did you end up here, Trevor?"]
"Oh, I'm starting to see what's happening here," Natasha remarked, watching the broadcast with growing interest. "Killian created a fictional terrorist to take the blame while he operated from the shadows."
"Classic misdirection," Rhodes agreed. "While everyone's looking for this 'Mandarin' character, AIM continues their Extremis experiments without scrutiny."
"And they picked the perfect patsy," Tony added with a snort. "A washed-up actor desperate enough to play terrorist for drugs and women."
"It's actually quite brilliant," the second-generation Harry observed. "Create a threat that's just foreign and mysterious enough to be believable, but that doesn't actually exist—making it impossible to find."
"And with each attack, the public grows more frightened, and the government more desperate," Steve Rogers noted grimly. "Fear is a powerful tool."
"This Trevor guy doesn't even realize he's part of something so dangerous," Aunt May said, shaking her head. "He thinks it's all just a role he's playing."
Uncle Ben sighed. "Sometimes people don't want to see the consequences of their actions. They just want their next fix."
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