The reason Tony's armor had gone up in flames was, of course, the small metallic particles Marcus had been slipping into its seams throughout their fight. Each tiny bead was coated in a thin layer of ordinary bio-metal — but beneath that shell lay highly flammable bio-alloy cores.
When Tony triggered the fire-suppression system, the pressurized foam blast sent the particles ricocheting violently inside the armor. The thin outer layers wore away under repeated impact, exposing the volatile cores. Friction did the rest — igniting them one after another inside the suit.
And why hadn't the fire-suppression system extinguished the flames? The answer was painfully simple.
Marcus had swapped the propellant and the foam.
If the armor's fuel had secretly been replaced with fire-suppressant, then what had replaced the actual fire-suppressant? The answer: high-grade propellant.
Switching the fuel had only been step one — to rob Tony of his aerial advantage. The real killing move was this reversal: a "fire-suppression" system that ignited instead of extinguishing.
[Virus Touch Activated. Target: Tony Stark. Zombie Virus Injection Successful.]
[Target Infected — Superhero (Human Type). Infection progressing rapidly due to subject's death. Transformation into Sentient Variant Zombie estimated within 1 hour. Recommend immediate subjugation or consciousness erasure.]
Killing the target accelerated the mutation from four hours to one. Marcus smiled faintly at the notification. "So killing them's faster. That'll make things simpler next time."
He tore open the smoking armor and reached into Tony's jacket pocket, pulling out a sleek, translucent phone — one of Stark's personal prototypes. Dialing through the contact list, he selected a name: Pepper Potts.
After a few seconds, a woman's voice answered, slightly irritated but affectionate.
"Tony? I'm busy right now — can this wait?"
Marcus altered the structure of his vocal cords using his bio-metal ability, instantly mimicking Tony's tone and cadence.
"Pepper, I need you to come home. It's urgent."
Without waiting for a reply, he hung up.
"Earthshaker," Marcus said through his mental link, "bring me a vial of pure zombie virus. Now."
While waiting for Pepper's arrival, another transformation quietly completed — that of the Winter Soldier. For someone who had spent most of his life under Hydra's control, bending his will proved almost effortless.
Marcus began calmly reciting the familiar Russian trigger sequence:
"Желание. (Longing.) Ржавый. (Rusted.) Семнадцать. (Seventeen.) Рассвет.(Daybreak.) Печь. (Furnace.) Девять. (Nine.) Добросердечный. (Benign.) Возвращение на родину.(Homecoming.) Один.(One)."
The Winter Soldier's response was immediate and emotionless:
"Я жду приказание. (I await your command.)"
[You have successfully subdued: Zombie Hero — Winter Soldier.]
[Subject is permanently bound by mental link. Disobedience impossible unless consciousness fully destroyed.]
It was a near-perfect reenactment of the opening sequence from Captain America: Civil War. For Marcus, a lifelong Marvel fan before he crossed worlds, reciting the code was second nature.
---
An hour and a half later
Tony Stark stirred awake on the couch of his Malibu mansion. His head pounded — his mind was foggy, his memories fragmented. He groaned, pressing a hand to his forehead, and blinked blearily around the room.
That was when he saw her — Pepper Potts, lying unconscious on the sofa across from him.
"You're awake," said a voice behind him, calm and amused. "Faster than I expected."
Tony's breath caught. He turned sharply — and there was Marcus, sitting in one of his lounge chairs, swirling red wine in a crystal glass.
"You…!" Tony started, but pain flared in his skull, cutting his words short. He clutched his head and grimaced as disjointed flashes of memory hit him like static.
Marcus took a slow sip of wine and smiled faintly. "You understand now, don't you?"
Tony's eyes went wide — first in confusion, then dawning horror. Finally, his expression hardened into something close to despair. "You turned me into a zombie," he said hoarsely. "And Pepper… you infected her?"
"Exactly right." Marcus set the wineglass down and stood, walking toward him. His tone was casual — almost conversational — but his eyes gleamed with malice. "So, Tony Stark, the choice is yours. Serve me, and help me destroy the world… or do nothing, and watch me do it myself."
Tony's hands trembled. "No."
His voice, weak at first, grew stronger with each word. "No, I won't. Stark Industries once built weapons that nearly tore this world apart. But we changed. I changed. I know the pain that destruction brings. I won't repeat that mistake. Not again."
Marcus gave a small, humorless laugh and turned toward a table by the window. On it sat a decorative glass cube — a piece of Tony's past.
Encased within was the first Arc Reactor he ever built — the one that had kept shrapnel from reaching his heart and had transformed him from a careless playboy into a hero.
Engraved beneath it were the words:
"Proof That Tony Stark Has a Heart."
Marcus traced the glass with a finger, smiling faintly. Then he opened a drawer, pulled out a pistol, and tossed it onto the table in front of Tony.
"Then here's your other option," he said softly. "Kill Pepper first… then yourself. End it on your own terms, hero."
Tony froze, staring at the gun as if it were a serpent.
"I'm giving you mercy," Marcus continued, almost kindly. "You know what will happen if I lose — humanity won't spare anyone carrying the virus. At least this way, you can make it quick. Spare her from what's coming."
Tony's hand trembled as he picked up the weapon. The metal was cold, heavy. The barrel wavered in his grasp, shifting aimlessly between Marcus, the floor, and the unconscious woman he loved.
Marcus's voice turned quiet — almost soothing. "If you're about to tell me you can't do it," he said, "then let me spoil the ending for you. Pepper's a good woman. At least for now. But that won't last long. I suggest you hurry."
Tony's breath hitched.
The gun in his shaking hand slowly lifted — its black muzzle inching toward Pepper's chest.
__
T/N:
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