Stark Tower, Upper Lab — 3:22 AM
The Mark III armor stood like a sentinel, its cherry-red and gold finish gleaming under the soft hum of lab lights. Sleeker than the clunky Mark II, more angular and dense, it was Toni's masterpiece.
Toni Stark paced in front of it, sweat clinging to her collarbone. Her eyes were tired—sleepless—but alive.
This is it. No more bodyguards. No more cages.
The trauma of Afghanistan still laced her bones. The cave. The Ten Rings. The shaking of metal in the night. The way her own inventions were used to kill others.
"This time, it's mine," she whispered.
She stepped into the suit. Plates hissed closed around her, sealing her in like a second skin. F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s voice chimed in her ear.
"Diagnostics nominal. Pulse reactor humming at 94%. You're ready, Miss Stark."
"Let's see how ready."
The floor panels separated and the flight platform engaged. She launched like a bullet into the sky.
Mid-Air Test, Skies Over Manhattan
The wind hit her like a rush of memory. She weaved between skyscrapers with razor-sharp control, soaring above the lights of the city that never slept.
"Thrusters? Check. Flap maneuvering? Easy."
She dipped low, just over the Hudson, the wake of her flight rippling the water below.
"Now let's see how you handle a fight."
Small automated drones zipped up from a StarkTech blimp—simulated hostiles.
She blasted one with a repulsor, flipped midair, slammed another with her heel, then spun, dodging a missile by inches.
Toni laughed—wild, free, almost manic.
This suit... this is who I am now.
Elsewhere: Obadiah Stane's Private Hangar – 4:00 AM
The glow of computer screens lit the chiseled face of Obadiah Stane, bald, thick-bearded, and cold. He stood before the towering bulk of a dark, brutish suit of armor: The Jericho Titan.
Coated in layered vibranium stolen through covert Wakandan channels, powered by a stolen arc-reactor, and double the height of the Mark III.
"She thinks she's won," he muttered to himself. "She forgets I built this company while her father drank himself to death."
His assistant approached, nervous. "The President is still in orbit. NASA reports he's repairing satellite grids—may be up there for another 24 hours."
Obadiah's lips twitched into a smile. Cold. Sharp.
"Then this is our window."
He stepped into the cockpit. The suit closed around him like a steel sarcophagus.
Back in the Sky
As Toni flew back toward the Tower, F.R.I.D.A.Y. spoke sharply:
"Warning. Incoming heat signature—massive. Source is unknown but approaching fast from Queens."
Toni barely reacted before a vibranium fist collided with her midair, sending her tumbling through a billboard.
She crashed onto the rooftop of a neighboring building, metal groaning.
She pushed herself up, groaning. "What the hell—?!"
Then he landed.
Obadiah.
Enormous. A walking tank of gleaming black vibranium with a burning blue core in the center.
"Hello, Toni."
"Obie?"
"It's a shame really. You could've just handed the company to me. But no. You had to grow a conscience."
She narrowed her eyes, chest heaving.
"You're insane."
"No," he hissed, stepping forward. "I'm just opportunistic. With the golden boy off-world, there's no one to save you."
He lunged.
The Battle Begins
Toni blasted upward, dodging his swing, and fired both repulsors—one at his knee joint, the other at his chest. But the vibranium dispersed the energy like mist.
"That all you've got?" he growled.
She launched a mini-missile. It hit—point blank—but he surged through the smoke, slamming her into a ventilation unit.
Pain radiated through her spine.
She rolled, dodged, launched a sonic pulse—his helmet cracked slightly.
He roared and slammed her with a car he'd ripped from the street.
"You were never supposed to survive that cave!" Obadiah shouted. "Now you want to shut down weapons? Hand everything to the freaks and mutants?!"
"That's what this is about?" Toni coughed blood. "The old world... dying in your hands?"
"No. This is about survival. Mine."
He raised his arm. A rocket unfolded from his shoulder.
She was cornered.
F.R.I.D.A.Y., emergency systems? Anything?
"Reactor down to 12%. You won't survive another direct hit."
Lance... please...
Orbit: Lance Carter's POV
Floating above the Earth's curve, Lance stared into the quiet. The suit hummed around him. The system flashed:
[Template: 72% Complete]
[WARNING: Energy signature match detected – Manhattan]
He clenched his fists.
Toni.
He turned and burst forward—through the atmosphere like a meteor.
Back on Earth: The Sky Opens
As Obadiah raised the final shot, the heavens exploded with golden light.
A white-and-gold blur slammed into Obadiah's armor, sending him flying across three buildings.
Toni gasped, breath fogging her cracked faceplate.
He landed. Cloaked in white. Cape billowing. Eyes burning gold.
Lance.
The golden eagle on his chest glowed like the sun. Athena's voice rang across comms.
"Combat override enabled. Target: Hostile exosuit. Engaging containment."
Lance extended a hand.
"Step away from her."
Obadiah struggled to rise.
"You're too late."
"No," Lance said, his voice calm, thunderous. "You've already lost."
He moved so fast he blurred. In a second, he tore through Obadiah's left arm joint. Then the leg.
Then—he lifted him into the air.
"This ends now."
He surged the suit with raw solar energy—short-circuiting the reactor.
Obadiah screamed as his suit shut down, collapsing like a behemoth struck by lightning.
Lance dropped him to the ground.
Toni and Lance, Rooftop
Toni collapsed to her knees. Lance caught her, lowering her gently.
Her voice cracked. "You came back."
"I'll always come back."
She looked up at him, tears cutting through soot on her cheeks.
"You should've seen me... I fought him. I really fought him."
"You did more than that." He smiled. "You survived."
They held each other as sirens wailed in the distance and dawn crept over the ruined cityscape.