— Above the Outskirts of the Machine City, Sahara Desert —
'Beep beep… zzzt zzzt—'
Inside the Iron Man suit, subsystems previously under Ultron's complete control began to malfunction and display unusual interference.
Tony Stark's eyes narrowed. "JARVIS, what's going on?"
'Zzzzt…'
JARVIS's voice came through, slightly lagging—likely due to a sudden surge in data processing.
"Sir, I've detected an external data link. We're currently regaining operational access to all Iron Man suit systems."
"What? Who the hell pulled that off?"
Tony blinked. "Wait… don't tell me—it's Hitomi?!"
"To be precise,"JARVIS corrected, "Miss Cortana is currently overseeing the reconstruction of the Iron Man system."
"However… yes, we are receiving assistance from Miss Kagura. We should regain full operational control in approximately 10 seconds."
"Beep beep—this is Kagura speaking. With VEDA's help, I'm taking back control of your Iron Man suit right now!"
A cute chibi avatar of Kagura popped up in the suit's holographic UI.
The Rhodes Island Industries logo briefly flickered on-screen, followed by a surge of incoming data.
[Life Support System: Reinitialized…]
[Communications System: Reinitialized…]
[Electronic Surveillance System: Reinitialized…]
[Defense System: Reinitialized…]
[Weapons System: Reinitialized…]
[Propulsion System: Reinitialized…]
[All Systems Nominal. Iron Man Suit Reboot Successful.]
For a moment, the UI in Tony's helmet went dark for about a second.
Then, the system rebooted and this time powered by a brand-new operating system courtesy of Rhodes Island Industries.
The interface lit up once more in front of Tony's eyes.
"Well, well… that Hitomi…" Tony let out a wry smile. "She actually rewrote my whole OS in seconds… and somehow, it feels smoother than my original one."
Almost immediately, her voice echoed through the comms.
"Hehe! I heard that, Mr. Stark! Thanks for the compliment! All systems are now back under your control—time to check your surroundings!"
She wasn't saying that without reason.
Ultron wasn't just going to sit back and watch as Kagura snatched Iron Man out from under his nose.
The elite drone soldiers that had been flanking Tony turned instantly, launching a coordinated attack.
Ultron's intent was crystal clear:
'If I can't have it, I'll make sure no one can. I'll destroy it instead.'
How human of him, don't you think?
But sorry, Ultron—Iron Man is no lamb to the slaughter. And neither am I!
"Finally free to be Iron Man again! You cheap tin cans—bring it on!"
With full control of the suit restored, Tony Stark roared back into action.
His voice seethed with the rage and frustration he'd bottled up, now unleashed upon the surrounding mechanical soldiers.
'Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!'
His repulsor blasts danced like spotlights across the endless golden dunes, turning the desert sky into a gleaming battlefield.
The enemy drones might've been modeled after the Iron Man suit, but as the original, Tony was faster, stronger, and far more experienced.
In a flash, several enemy drones were blasted to pieces, their smoking wreckage crashing into the sands below, kicking up blinding storms of dust.
Thanks to Kagura's expertly revamped OS, Tony now had even better combat efficiency—responding to every movement of the enemy with maximum effectiveness.
Gold and crimson flashed across the sky as Iron Man unleashed repulsor blasts midair.
Slashed through enemies in close quarters with vibranium blades on his wrists, and targeted distant foes with heat-seeking missiles, vaporizing the ones firing energy pulses from afar.
The sky turned into a spectacular light show—beams flying, explosions echoing, Iron Man soaring like a one-man army.
Ultron, are you watching?
This is Iron Man's true battle mode!
———————————————————————
As Tony was unleashing his pent-up fury, a new threat loomed in the distance.
About fifty reinforcements approached from Ultron's Machine City.
"Sir, I've detected another wave of enemies approaching," JARVIS reported. "Recommend disengaging immediately and leaving the combat zone."
From the radar data, these weren't the same old drones—they looked upgraded, possibly integrated with Wakanda tech and vibranium.
They were faster, tougher, and more heavily armed.
Ultron was done playing games. He was sending his best, hoping to finish Iron Man once and for all.
"Retreat? No way," Tony replied coldly. "Analyze their combat performance, update my strategy—I'm not done yet."
"Ultron's had me in chains long enough. It's payback time. Time to show him the full force of human rage."
———————————————————————
"Tony Stark," Ultron's voice came in through the enemy reinforcements. "Escaping my control has filled you with delusions, has it? You think you can flee from my grasp?"
"You can't run. You can't win. Today, Iron Man dies."
The new drones shifted into formation, beginning their all-out assault on Iron Man.
But…
Don't worry, Mr. Stark.
As long as I'm here, that's all we need.
A silver streak tore through the sky.
A radiant figure descended from above, glowing wings of light spreading wide.
A sleek vibranium blade materialized from the "White Moon" battle suit, automatically forged through its quantum matter-energy conversion system.
It landed in the slender, porcelain-white hand of the girl who had just arrived.
In the blink of an eye, she swung her blade.
An enormous, fully-armed advanced drone was cleaved cleanly in two.
"Come, Ultron," Kagura declared, both hands gripping her sword as she stood defiantly beside Iron Man. "Throw everything you've got at me."
"We stand together now. And as I promised—I'll reduce all your schemes, your accomplishments, and you yourself… to ashes."
[Side Mission Complete: Assist Wakanda in Reclaiming Capital / Rescue Tony Stark]
[+20 QP Earned]
[Current QP: 60]