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The screen was on.
The video continued to play.
[Seeing Ivan Vanko descend from the sky, Rhodey confidently stepped forward.]
[Rhodey: "I've got a special gift for this guy. Time to hit him with the 'ex-wife'!"**]
[Tony: "What???"**]
[The next second.]
[A device popped up on the left shoulder of Rhodey's armor.]
[The missile was ready to launch at any moment.]
[Seeing this, Ivan Vanko instinctively took two steps back.]
[Then…]
(Whoosh!)
[The 'Ex-Wife' missile fired.]
[It hit Ivan's armor like a tiny pebble, causing no damage.]
[It even fell into a small puddle and stopped.]
Tony watched Rhodey silently.
[Tony: "Is that Hammer Industries' tech?"**]
Rhodey replied helplessly: yes.
Stark Tower.
Tony couldn't hold back any longer and vented all his long-suppressed frustrations.
"My God, Rhodey, what on earth are you thinking?!"
"First, let's talk about your modified Mark II—it looks amazing!!!"
"But basically, all the weapons are exposed, which makes you look clunky and reduces battlefield mobility."
"Now, let's talk about your 'ex-wife' missile."
"I've said it a hundred times: Hammer Industries is garbage!"
"I saw in the video that if I hadn't been palladium-poisoned and hadn't retired, Hammer Industries would never have gotten any orders from the military or the government—let alone shown those toy-like remote-controlled armors at my exhibition."
"Even Hammer Industries' armor wasn't made by Hammer himself—it was made by Ivan Vanko."
"For someone with that level of tech incompetence, you actually expect him to supply weapons in the future? And why do you call it 'ex-wife'?!"
"Rhodey, how little do you trust me to make me do this?"
Tony finished his rant.
He looked at Rhodey with disappointment.
It was like working at McDonald's during vacation, only to have a mischievous older brother deliberately annoy him at KFC every day.
It would be strange if Tony didn't feel upset.
Rhodey stubbornly argued:
"This is future you. You could've given me the Mark II earlier, but you chose to fight me at home."
"After the fight, how could I go around shamelessly asking you to make weapons?"
"When I was out of options, of course I went to Hammer Industries."
Tony nodded.
At the time, he thought Rhodey's words made sense.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Hawkeye stared at the dimming screen.
He knew Tony Stark's video had finished playing.
From watching previous videos, he had figured out the rule:
Whether it was the Battle of New York or personal videos of Iron Man, Thor, or Captain America, once their segment ended, the screen would dim.
The next person's video would play immediately.
Hawkeye couldn't help feeling excited.
"Next should be my video."
Black Widow rolled her eyes.
"Hey, Barton, how's that possible?"
"Didn't you notice? I appear way more frequently in Tony's video."
"No matter what, this is going to be my video later."
Hawkeye smiled faintly.
"Ha, I don't think so. Just like before, I appeared in Thor's video, but you're next."
"I suspect the rule is that whoever appears first stands at the front, then the others show up. Since you appeared in so many scenes in Tony's video, mine's next for sure!"
Black Widow smirked, looking at Barton.
He snorted coldly.
"Hmph, just wait and see."
At that moment, a new narration appeared on the screen.
[After the Battle of New York]
[The sudden appearance of the Chitauri shocked the Avengers and everyone else.]
[Except for Thor, most of the heroes were unable to remain calm.]
[Among them, the most affected was Tony Stark.]
[Ever since he fired a missile into the universe and it came crashing down…]
He always thought the same thing:
[In reality, I have no ability to protect myself!]
[Among all the Avengers…]
[Thor has a strong physique and a hammer that can summon lightning.]
[Captain America has the perfect body enhanced by the super-soldier serum.]
[Dr. Banner, exposed to gamma rays, has the Hulk's monstrous strength.]
[Black Widow and Hawkeye are S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agents, easily taking on twenty enemies each.]
[And then there's him: Tony.]
[Without the armor, he's nothing.]
[He has zero self-defense capabilities.]
[If he had fallen from the sky that day without wearing armor,]
[Even if the Hulk had saved him midair, his spine wouldn't withstand the impact and would snap.]
[He could even become paralyzed!]
[After the Battle of New York, fear, unease, tension, and anxiety constantly surrounded Tony.]
[So…]
In the following days, Tony constantly thought about upgrading his armor and making it easier to wear.
[Even…]
He would keep the summoning device with him while sleeping.
[At the slightest disturbance nearby, he could summon the armor to protect himself.]
[This also concealed a potential danger in Tony and Pepper's relationship.]
[Moreover, because of Tony's preparations, new enemies wouldn't retreat—they would come at him like moths to a flame.]
Would Tony's new armor be enough to protect him?
Stay tuned for:
"Famous Scene 1: The Rebel Son, Mark XLII, Appears!"
S.H.I.E.L.D.
At this moment, Hawkeye nearly burst into tears.
"Impossible… big brother!"
"I just want to see my personal video. Is that so hard?"
"Is Tony Stark your illegitimate son? Why do you always play his video?"
Hawkeye: (╥╯^╰╥)
Nick Fury rubbed his bald head.
Another thought crossed his mind:
"Barton makes a good point. Probably the next person shows up after the previous one finishes filming."
"Tony… this must be a coincidence."
He rubbed his eye patch.
"If my video plays, Barton and Natasha shouldn't know why I went blind…"