Tony froze as the real Saitama suddenly appeared, then couldn't hide his relief.
"You! Finally! You don't know how much has happened lately."
He punched Saitama lightly on the chest, letting out a sigh.
Pathetic—depending this much on one man. But with Saitama here, he felt absolute safety.
"What happened? Where are the other heroes?"
Saitama scratched his head.
"It's… complicated. But right now—"
Tony pointed toward Spider-Man, who was still fighting the fake Saitama.
"Uh, Stark, I think something's off! His body heat… it's rising…"
Peter leapt from wall to wall, striking when he could, but a growing heat made him uneasy.
"Damn it! Get clear!!"
Tony's face went pale. A horrible realization hit.
BOOM!
A mini mushroom cloud engulfed the street. Hundreds of meters flattened, flames and shockwaves ripping outward for kilometers.
Where Peter fought was now a 30-meter crater.
Tony's expression twisted.
Extremis Virus.
Not a regular Extremis soldier either—someone deliberately made to impersonate Saitama and wreak havoc.
But why?
"Sa… Saitama, Peter…" Tony turned—only to find Saitama gone.
"..."
A thousand meters from the blast zone—
The bald hero cradled Spider-Man under one arm, dead-fish eyes calm.
"That was close."
He set Peter down.
"Awesome! Mr. Saitama, you're the strongest hero ever! Your speed—it's faster than Stark's armor!"
Peter's eyes sparkled. If not for Saitama's rescue, the blast would've killed him.
"Fast? Felt normal."
Saitama muttered, then instant-moved back beside Tony.
"Damn it, don't vanish like that! I've got a weak heart, man!" Tony scolded, though it all made sense—this was just Saitama being Saitama.
"Cough… that guy's juiced with Extremis, body like Steve's level," Tony explained.
"Extremis? Those self-exploding guys from the news?" Peter asked.
"You know too much, kid. I'll need to analyze this later." Tony sighed.
Then—Jarvis's alert cut in.
"Sir, unidentified heat signatures inbound. Likely Mark armor units."
"What? I didn't send any callouts."
"Tony Stark. Peter Parker. Saitama. Targets confirmed. Under Federal Constitution Article 176, you are charged with sixteen terror incidents in the past thirty days. Surrender immediately."
Nearly a hundred Mark II armors descended, weapons primed, Jericho missiles armed.
"Damn it!" Tony cursed.
They were using his own tech—turned against him.
"Terrorist? Me?"
Saitama blinked, pointing at himself.
"Yes. This is your record."
A projection showed the fake Saitama massacring civilians—indistinguishable from him.
"…That guy looks a lot like me."
"Please surrender, Saitama."
"Bullshit! He'd never do this!" Tony shouted.
"Tony Stark, you're suspected too. Come with us." The armors displayed footage of the explosion.
The circle tightened, weapons glowing.
"…Fine. I'll come."
Saitama lazily raised his hands. He surrendered.
"Mr. Saitama! They're not your match—why surrender? We could escape!" Peter protested.
"I'll do it too," Tony sighed, giving up.
Better than risking Peter's life here.
"Good. Move."
The armors escorted them like prisoners.
Soon, they reached a familiar facility.
Tony's face froze.
Not just his. Inside the cells, pairs of familiar eyes stared back in shock.
"You guys too…?"
(End of Chapter)
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