With Levi's earlier intervention, Tony had solved the palladium poisoning far sooner than he otherwise would have.
With death no longer looming over him, something inside him loosened.
Too much.
He felt untouchable. His technology was fifty years ahead of the world. No one could threaten him anymore.
And when a man like Tony Stark loses a sense of urgency—
He fills the void with excess.
---
Malibu – Cliffside Mansion
For weeks, the mansion had not known silence.
Music thundered across the coastline. Champagne sprayed like water from a fire hose. The infinity pool was packed with laughing models in glittering bikinis.
At the center of it all—
Tony Stark.
He stood beside the DJ booth wearing the red-and-gold Mark IV armor, awkwardly swaying to the beat like a metallic mascot.
He raised his palm and precisely lit a blonde woman's cigar with a repulsor flicker.
Cheers erupted.
He skimmed a low-temperature beam across the pool, flash-freezing the surface just enough to trap floating beer bottles in ice.
Applause. Laughter.
The Iron Man armor—designed to protect the world—had become a party trick.
Then the music was drowned out by a military helicopter's roar.
A gray aircraft descended onto the nearby pad, wind whipping across the lawn.
Colonel James Rhodes stepped out in full Air Force dress uniform.
He surveyed the decadence, jaw tightening.
He walked through the crowd, stopping in front of Tony.
"Tony. What the hell are you doing?"
Tony's faceplate slid open.
"Rhodey! You made it! Grab a drink—"
"I'm not here for your circus."
Rhodey jabbed a finger against Tony's arc reactor.
"Congress is circling you. Hammer is moving. Terrorists want your tech. And you're out here playing clown."
The name Yinsen cut through the haze.
For a flicker of a second, guilt surfaced in Tony's eyes.
Then arrogance drowned it.
"I'm fine. I fixed everything. I'm invincible."
Rhodey stared at him.
"You're a disaster."
He turned and walked downstairs.
Moments later, Tony followed—
And froze.
Rhodey was suiting up inside the silver Mark II prototype.
"JARVIS?" Tony snapped.
"Colonel Rhodes possesses secondary override authorization, sir."
The faceplate of the Mark II sealed.
"You're not fit to wear it anymore," Rhodey said.
Tony fired first.
The blast grazed Rhodey's shoulder, blowing a crater into the wall.
And just like that—
They were fighting.
Not as heroes.
As angry men.
They tore through the workshop, smashing equipment, crushing vintage cars worth millions.
They burst into the living room in a shower of debris, sending partygoers screaming.
From marble floors to the lawn to the pool—
Two armored titans brawled under the Malibu night sky.
Finally, they rocketed upward, hovering midair, thrusters blazing.
"Don't make me get serious!" Tony shouted.
"Try me!"
And then—
A calm voice rose from below.
"Gentlemen. Are we finished?"
Both helmets tilted downward.
Levi stood on the ravaged lawn, casually holding a glass of red wine.
When had he arrived?
"Anthony?" Tony called. "Get back! It's dangerous!"
Levi's expression shifted.
From mild amusement—
To disappointment.
"This is embarrassing."
He lifted his right hand casually.
Energy Absorption.
A recently copied mutant ability.
In the sky above—
Every alarm inside both suits detonated at once.
Power levels plummeted.
Thrusters died.
Hydraulics locked.
Two multi-hundred-kilogram armored suits fell like dead weight.
BOOM.
BOOM.
They cratered into the lawn.
Inside the helmets—
"JARVIS! What happened?!"
"Sir, total energy depletion from unknown external drain. Restart attempt… failed."
Levi walked calmly to Rhodey's impact crater.
He crouched and placed a hand on the Mark II shoulder.
System interface activated silently.
Target: James Rhodes
Detected Ability: A-Grade Military Command & Tactical Mastery
Copy?
"Copy."
A lifetime of strategic modeling, battlefield instinct, command logic, aerial doctrine, asymmetric warfare knowledge—
Integrated in less than a second.
Levi stood.
He moved to Tony's crater.
"Tony Stark," he said evenly, "as second-largest shareholder of Stark Industries, I find your conduct unacceptable."
"You can't—!" Tony struggled uselessly.
"This armor belongs to Stark Industries," Levi corrected. "You are misusing corporate assets."
He turned toward Rhodey.
"Colonel Rhodes. You're correct. This weapon requires discipline."
Tony's eyes widened.
"What are you saying?"
"I am formally authorizing transfer of the Mark II prototype to the United States military," Levi stated calmly. "Under your operational command."
Silence.
"You can't do that!" Tony roared.
"It is a strategic partnership," Levi continued. "The military gains an asset. Stark Industries gains legitimacy—and future defense contracts. You gain support. Everyone benefits."
He snapped his fingers.
Power surged back into the Mark II.
Systems rebooted.
Rhodey hesitated—then nodded slowly.
"I understand."
The Mark II lifted off.
Thrusters roared.
Within seconds, he vanished into the night sky.
Tony lay trapped in the powerless Mark IV like a man buried alive.
"You bastard! Anthony! Let me out!"
Levi took a slow sip of wine.
He ignored the shouting.
Because this—
Was necessary.
Tony Stark needed pressure.
The board needed leverage.
And the world needed balance.
Above them, the night returned to quiet.
War Machine had just been born.
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