Marvel: Superman Strength in a World of Heroes

After lurking in the group chat for a while,

Seeing that no one @-mentioned him, Carl quietly exited the chat.

He headed straight to the bathroom to wash up.

As he passed through the living room, Carl noticed an invitation card lying on the table.

"Hmm... what's this?"

A brief moment of recollection later, and it clicked.

It was an invitation from Stark Industries.

Some kind of event, if he remembered correctly.

The date? Today.

The invitation had actually arrived over ten days ago.

Back then,

Carl had been somewhat excited about attending.

But now, having just eaten, and with it already being so late,

He didn't feel like going anymore.

He ignored the invitation and headed into the bathroom to wash up.

And then went to bed.

While Carl rested, Tony Stark was far from idle.

He was hard at work upgrading his Iron Man suit.

After nearly falling to his death from an armor freeze-up,

Tony decided it was time for some serious improvements.

First up: the sensors.

Then the booster systems.

He had also ordered a batch of aerospace-grade alloys.

And it was time to finalize the color scheme for the suit.

Of course,

Tony didn't need to do all that manually.

He simply gave the orders, and JARVIS would handle the rest.

『JARVIS』: "Tonight, the red carpet is laid out at the Disney Concert Hall."

『JARVIS』: "Here, Tony Stark will present, for the third time, "

『JARVIS』: "A donation to the Firehouse Foundation."

『JARVIS』: "It's already become the hotspot for L.A.'s elite."

Suddenly,

The images playing on the television caught Tony's attention.

And what struck him as odd,

Was that he had no recollection of this event at all.

It was... absurd, honestly.

He was the presenter of the award,

And yet he didn't even know he was attending?

To be sure, Tony asked aloud:

『Tony Stark』: "JARVIS, did we receive an invitation for this?"

After all, it was possible he'd simply forgotten to add it to his calendar.

『JARVIS』: "No such record exists, sir."

The broadcast continued in the background,

"Since his controversial statements at the press conference,"

"He hasn't appeared in any public setting."

"Some say he's been suffering from post-traumatic stress."

Tony picked up the faceplate of his Iron Man armor.

"And supposedly bedridden for weeks. Whatever the truth is, no one expected him to show up tonight."

Tony raised an eyebrow at that comment.

Just then, JARVIS spoke again.

『JARVIS』: "The concept design is now complete."

The rendered image displayed an armor in a brilliant golden hue.

Tony loved the color.

But glancing at his vintage roadster parked nearby, he got an idea.

He had JARVIS integrate the car's signature red into the design.

The red and gold combination,

Made the suit look even more stunning.

Staring at the final mock-up, Tony was very pleased.

It was a red-and-gold suit of Iron Man armor.

Perfectly aligned with his aesthetics.

『Tony Stark』: "Yeah. I like it. Build it."

『JARVIS』: "Estimated completion in five hours."

『Tony Stark』: "Don't wait up, baby."

With that, Tony got up,

He was heading to the event after all.

Disney Concert Hall

When Tony Stark arrived, the crowd erupted in cheers.

As he ordered a drink at the reception bar,

A kind-faced, middle-aged man approached him.

『Phil Coulson』: "Mr. Stark."

『Tony Stark』: "And you are?"

『Phil Coulson』: "Agent Coulson."

Tony feigned recognition.

『Tony Stark』: "Oh! You're that... uh, "

『Phil Coulson』: "Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

Tony exhaled dramatically.

『Tony Stark』: "God, you guys really need a new name."

Coulson just smiled and agreed politely.

『Phil Coulson』: "Yes, we hear that a lot."

『Phil Coulson』: "I know it's been a rough time for you lately, "

『Phil Coulson』: "But we'd really appreciate it if you could give us a debrief. We've still got a lot of questions, "

Tony, however, had already spotted Pepper Potts in a sleek, sultry gown,

And stopped listening entirely.

He gave a half-hearted response, then walked toward his secretary.

After a brief chat, the two shared a dance.

The atmosphere between them quickly turned intimate.

Tony made an excuse to go grab a drink and slipped away.

He found a bartender and ordered two cocktails.

Just then, a blonde woman approached him.

『Blonde Woman』: "Well, well, Tony Stark."

『Tony Stark』: "Oh, hello."

Her tone was sharp.

『Blonde Woman』: "Long time no see."

They locked eyes.

The air grew tense for a moment.

For someone like Tony Stark,

A notorious playboy,

Women like this? He'd met countless.

He never even bothered remembering their names.

So he casually made a guess:

『Tony Stark』: "Carly...?"

『Blonde Woman』: "It's Christine."

『Tony Stark』: "Ah, right. I remember now."

They exchanged a few jabs, both verbal fencing masters.

『Christine』: "This is your idea of accountability?"

She handed Tony a photograph.

『Christine』: "This village is called Gulmira. Heard of it?"

The photo depicted a group of terrorists,

Holding Stark Industries weapons.

Tony's expression darkened.

『Tony Stark』: "When was this taken?"

『Christine』: "Yesterday."

『Tony Stark』: "I never approved any shipments."

『Christine』: "But your company did."

Their exchange ended with Christine walking away,

And Tony, visibly furious.

He sought out the event manager,

A chubby man in his fifties.

Tony remembered he was close to Obadiah Stane.

Speaking of Obadiah,

Tony had felt deeply grieved when he heard the man had died.

He walked up and thrust the photo in the man's face.

『Tony Stark』: "Jack. What's going on with our weapons?"

『Jack』: "Mr. Stark, I... I don't know what you're talking about."

Jack, recently promoted by the board,

Was still a bit nervous around Tony.

He took the photo and looked at it.

Terrorists, with Stark Industries gear.

『Jack』: "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. I had no idea about this."

Tony stared at him.

But said nothing.

He couldn't tell whether the man was lying.

With no mood left for the party, Tony left and went home.

The Next Day

The new Iron Man armor was complete.

Tony began his test fitting.

Just then, on the TV,

A breaking news story was airing,

It showed none other than the village from the photo: Gulmira.

"Fifty miles outside Gulmira, the scene is nothing short of hell on Earth..."

Tony listened to the report and stared at the screen.

A fire ignited in his chest.

Boom!

As he installed the armor's gauntlets,

Tony blasted a nearby light fixture with a repulsor beam.

Then he suited up fully.

And flew straight for Gulmira.

Upon arrival,

He saw terrorists mercilessly slaughtering civilians.

Tony wasted no time.

He killed them all.

In truth,

These terrorists were part of the Ten Rings.

The same group who had once kidnapped Tony.

But,

When Carl had cleared out their cave hideout earlier,

These guys had been away.

Their weapons?

Supplied by Obadiah Stane, back before his death.