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Ethan gave them a short nod as they walked away.
"Safe trip," he said.
Coulson and the others waved as they left.
"I forgot to ask about Ward," Ethan said. "I was wondering what he's doing now."
Sharon replied,
"He's doing fine. More than fine, actually. He's a Level 5 agent now."
She added,
"You could say his rise has been like a rocket. He completes all his missions very easily."
"Well, he was trained by Storm," Ethan said. "And he's very talented as well."
Sharon nodded as they walked out of the forest.
Soon, several cargo helicopters arrived. Arasaka personnel moved in quickly, beginning the extraction process. The transformed metal was carefully cut, secured, and loaded onto the cargo holds.
One by one, the helicopters lifted off, carrying the Transformium back to Arasaka headquarters, while the island slowly returned to silence.
As the last helicopter lifted off, Ethan watched it disappear into the sky.
"Everything is moving smoothly," Sharon said after checking the final status report.
Ethan nodded.
"Good. Then we're done here."
He turned to Aria.
"You'll stay behind and supervise the rest of the extraction," he said. "Make sure every last bit of Transformium is dug out and transferred."
Aria nodded without hesitation.
"Understood."
"There is also an security team"
Ethan added. "They'll escort the cargo and keep it secure until it reaches headquarters."
Aria gave a small smile."Nothing's getting through that."
Ethan nodded."Good. Not that anyone would dare to try."
Everyone knew the truth of it. Anyone foolish enough to attack Arasaka cargo rarely lived long enough to regret it.
With that settled, Ethan turned and walked toward the waiting helicopter with Sharon and Storm. The blades roared to life as they boarded.
Moments later, the helicopter lifted off, carrying them away from the island.
Below, Aria stood calmly among the metallic forest, overseeing the operation as extraction continued without interruption.
Ethan, Sharon, and Storm returned to the mansion later that day.
Another month passed.
The island operation was completed without issues, and all the Transformium was safely transferred.
Soon, the day came for Ethan to return the Iron Man armor.
This time, Rhodes himself arrived to retrieve it.
A convoy stopped in front of the cliffside mansion. Guards checked the perimeter before allowing Rhodes inside.
Ethan came out to greet him, dressed casually, his hair loose and unstyled. He looked relaxed as he leaned against the doorway.
"You're here," Ethan said lazily.
Rhodes looked at him and nodded.
"Yeah. Is the armor ready?"
Ethan nodded.
"It is. But before that, show me the arc reactor. I need to check whether it can handle the new armor's power requirements."
Rhodes nodded and opened the case he had brought with him. Inside was the arc reactor.
Ethan scanned it carefully.
"Hm," Ethan said after a moment. "It's enough. I didn't need to change it."
"change it?" Rhodes asked "Do you have better version of Arc Reactor?"
"I have but you no longer need it" Ethan nodded and said as he invited him in.
Ethan then gestured and few men stepped forward, carrying the armor.
The suit was revealed.
It was matte gray, with no visible weapons on the surface. Its design was bulkier—almost twice the size of the original Iron Man armor.
Rhodes frowned slightly.
"It's… bigger. And that's it? Where are the promised weapons?"
Ethan nodded.
"I hid a lot of things under the armor by increasing the size."
He added,
"Besides, instead of a human-sized suit, something bigger looks far more intimidating."
Rhodes crossed his arms, still skeptical.
"Now, let's bond you to it," Ethan said as he walked toward the armor and motioned for Rhodes to follow. "That way, only you can use it."
Rhodes approached the armor. Ethan tapped a control on the tablet, and a cavity opened in the chest piece.
"Put the arc reactor here," Ethan said.
Rhodes nodded and carefully placed the arc reactor into the slot.
The moment the arc reactor locked into place, the armor reacted.
A low hum filled the room as faint blue lines lit up across the suit's surface. The chest cavity sealed itself smoothly, leaving no visible seam behind.
"Bonding sequence initiated," a neutral system voice announced.
Ethan stepped back and tapped a few commands on the tablet.
"Stand still," he said. "This won't hurt."
Thin strands of light extended from the inside of the armor, scanning Rhodes from head to toe. The system mapped his biometrics—heart rate, neural patterns, muscle structure, and genetic markers.
"Biometric lock established," the voice continued. "Primary user: James Rhodes."
Rhodes raised an eyebrow.
"So even if someone steals it—"
"They won't be able to activate it," Ethan finished. "At best, it'll be a very expensive statue."
The armor then shifted slightly, plates separating and opening up.
"Step in," Ethan said.
Rhodes took a breath and moved forward. The armor closed around him piece by piece, locking into place with heavy, solid clicks. The suit adjusted automatically, fitting perfectly despite its size.
Rhodes flexed his fingers as the gauntlets sealed.
"…Okay," he said slowly. "I'll admit. This feels solid."
Ethan smiled faintly.
"Wait until you see what it can actually do."
"Now, a short video will play explaining the suit's functions and systems," Ethan said.
Rhodes nodded.
"Alright. Let's see it."
The lights in the room dimmed, and a holographic display activated in front of the armor. A three-dimensional model of the suit appeared, slowly rotating.
A calm AI voice began speaking.
"Iron Man - War Machine Variant," it said.
Sections of the hologram highlighted themselves one by one.
"Reinforced Carbene-Titanium-Gold composite armor. Adaptive density. High resistance to kinetic, thermal, and energy-based attacks."
The model zoomed in on the arms.
"Integrated weapon systems concealed beneath external plating. Dual-mode deployment: lethal and non-lethal."
The holographic display continued, showing demonstrations of the weapons.
From both arms, long katanas extended, their edges glowing with intense heat. In the demonstration, the blades sliced cleanly through a very thick steel block.
Next, forearm missile launchers opened, firing precision-guided micro-missiles. Energy blasts followed, similar to the original repulsor blasts, fired directly from the palms.