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Chapter 60 – Ashes and Echoes
The air shimmered with heat.
Tony's HUD glitched for a split second as the temperature spiked beyond his armor's tolerance. Ahead of him, Killian—half human, half molten core—was reforming his leg again which he blasted off third time, the metal knitting over glowing bone.
Tony muttered under his breath, "That's the third time. Starting to feel like a bad sequel."
He boosted backward, switching to long-range mode. Micro-missiles armed with explosive agents launched in rapid bursts,he wants him to explode Killian into pieces but The molten man just smiled, his body steaming as he stepped through the firing range moving towards tony.
"Running away again, Tony?"
Tony fired another volley. "Not running. Strategically repositioning."
Kilian laughed, the sound echoing through the ruined dockyard. His hand reached for a twisted steel beam nearby—metal warped and bent toward him, liquefying on contact. The stream of molten metal climbed up his arm like liquid armor.
Then he lifted his other hand.
The air hissed.
Jets of molten metal shot outward like bullets from a cannon.
Tony dodged, banking hard. The blasts splattered across containers, melting through steel like butter.
"Okay," Tony said, weaving through the inferno, "so now you're a walking foundry. Great. Love that for you."
Another jet screamed past him, grazing his shoulder. Alarms flared red. He winced but kept talking, because that's what he did when things got bad.
"You know what I miss? Enemies that just used guns!"
Kilian stopped firing. His molten eyes fixed on the structure behind Tony—the old containment tower where Pepper was still trapped. His smirk returned.
Tony saw it too late.
The next blast wasn't aimed at him.
"Pepper—!"
He shot forward at full thrust, but before the molten stream could hit, a green dome enveloped the building. The liquid metal splashed harmlessly off the surface and sizzled into vapor.
Tony turned midair, spotting the source—Steve, shield glowing emerald with the turtle miraculous.
Kilian snarled. "You insects never learn."
The metal around him began to flow again—cables, rebar, entire shipping containers bending and twisting toward him. His body swelled, armor expanding into a giant of molten steel. Eyes like furnaces. Hands the size of cars.
Steve muttered, "He's pulling in everything."
A flash of lightning tore across the smoke. Natasha materialized beside Tony, her armor flickering with electricity.
Tony eyed her suit. "Nice upgrade, Nat."
She smirked. "Thanks. Try not to melt it." As she saw tonys armor glowing red in some places.
Then she turned into water and drenched him.
Tony blinked. "Was that… necessary?"
"Keeping you cool," she said with a wink.
"Everyone focus" Steve barked over comms, right before calling out, "Guardian, we could use a miracle!"
A rift of blue lighting crashed behind them. Guardian steps where glowing chi humming in waves, his cloak worn from the earlier fight.
He took one look at the molten titan in front of them and exhaled. "So… this monstrosity is Killian?"
"Yeah," Steve said, voice strained. "Any chance you can just disintegrate him?"
Guardian shook his head. "No. My long-range cataclysmic output isn't strong enough yet." He frowned, thinking. "I really need to practice that."
He lifted his arm. The air rippled.
"Roar—Divide. Plagg—Unify. Stomp—Divide. Oriko—Unify."
Blue, black, and gold light spiraled together, flooding through his veins until the ground itself cracked beneath him.
He closed his eyes for a moment. "Power of pretension—thermal nullification."
When he stepped forward, the heat around him dimmed, the fire bending away like it feared him.
Tony's voice echoed through comms. "All right, Mr. magician —your lead."
Guardian nodded once. "Then let's end this."
---
Kilian swung first. His molten fist tore through the air, the pressure alone shaking the dock apart. Guardian blocked with his staff, the impact splitting the ground into molten cracks.
Natasha turned into water and lightning, darting across the monster's back,cooling his molten body then cutting through armor joints. Steve charged from below, shield glowing, striking at the knees to slow its movement.
Tony unleashed a concentrated repulsor beam from above, melting through one of Killian's shoulders. The wound regenerated almost instantly, but slower than before.
Guardian focused his chi into the staff. "Take this"
He slammed it into Killian's chest. The energy exploded in bluish light, punching a hole through the armor. Lava poured out like blood.
Kilian screamed, his voice half-human, half-static.
"You can't stop me!"
Guardian met his gaze. "Then watch us."
He leapt, hands blazing. "Cataclysm!"
The world went black .
There was no explosion of energy tore through the molten armor it just turn the molten metal black and fracturing it into dust statue that broke midair. When the statue faded, Killian was on his knees, burned and shaking, his human body barely holding shape.
Tony landed nearby, raising a weapon. "Stay down."
But Killian only smiled. His chest glowed. "If I'm going out, I'm taking you with me—"
The ground beneath him twisted open in a perfect black circle.
A voice echoed, smooth and almost amused.
"No need to go that far, buddy. There'll be plenty of chances to kill them later."
A figure stepped out of the portal—white suit, dark eyes, spots flickering across his skin. The Spot.
Guardian's expression hardened. "Not again."
Spot reached for Killian. "Let's go."
"Guys!" Guardian shouted. "Stop them!"
Natasha transformed into lightning and lunged, but Spot turned, opening another portal midair. She passed through—only to reappear behind Tony, colliding with him in a burst of sparks.
Steve tried to trap them in a domebarrier. Spot just opened another ring of darkness, and they both vanished.
The portal snapped shut.
Silence fell, broken only by the hiss of cooling metal and distant waves.
---
Aftermath
Tony's armor cracked open as Pepper ran toward him from the building, eyes wet. She threw her arms around him, ignoring the burns and soot.
"Thank God,You're okay," she whispered.
"I don't think you should thank thor" he muttered, but hugged her back.
Guardian watched from a distance, silent. Steve and Natasha approached, both visibly drained. He reached his hand , silently asking them to return the Miraculous .
"So Time to return these."
Natasha frowned. "Do we have to?"
Steve gave her a tired look. "Yes, We do."
She sighed, unclipping hers and handing it over. "I was getting used to it.By the way is there any chance I can borrow these miraculous. "
"If the world is in danger I will gladly give them to you. "
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AIM Facility – Later
Deep underground, flickering lights illuminated broken tech and half-melted walls.
Spot dragged Killian's unconscious body through a portal, dropping him beside Tinkerer.
"You almost got him killed," Tinkerer muttered, pushing up his goggles. "Next time, extract before the explosion."
Spot shrugged. "He wasn't done failing yet."
Kilian groaned, still steaming. "I didn't fail. I just need another shot."
From the shadows, Mandarin stepped forward — armor cracked, rings faintly glowing, eyes wild but focused.
"Our deal stands," he said. "Give me the serum. Then I'll reclaim what's mine."
Tinkerer hesitated, then tossed the vial across the room. Mandarin caught it and stared at it for a long moment — the liquid swirling like molten gold.
Spot smirked. "You sure that'll fix you?"
Mandarin said nothing. He turned, the rings pulsing, and vanished in a swirl of orange light.
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Unknown Location – The Mandarin's Base
The chamber was quiet, carved stone and flickering holograms mixing ancient and modern.
Mandarin placed the serum on a table and sat heavily, his reflection fractured across the polished rings.
His armor hissed as it retracted; cracks traced across his skin, glowing faintly like molten glass.
He glanced at the rings then at the corner of the room, a young man stepped from the shadows — calm, deliberate, eyes sharp.
Mandarin looked up. "why are you here?"
The young man bowed slightly. "You said one must be worthy of legacy. I intend to prove it."
The rings on Mandarin's fingers flickered — a brief, unstable pulse.
Fade out.
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