Chapter 109 Nightmare Attack (4K+)
California – 10880 Black Shores Marbury, San Diego

Night slowly fell, and the sky turned a deep, velvety black.

The owner of this luxurious villa, Tony Stark, was lying quietly on the soft Hästens bed. In the quiet master bedroom, there seemed to be only the sound of his gradually rising and falling breathing.
The Battle of New York brought him more mental fatigue.

After finishing the soul-searching of Nick Fury, the old Biden,
The Avengers got a seemingly plausible answer. After those in power introduced a "scapegoat" as an explanation to everyone,
The matter seemed to have died down, no one wanted to discuss it, and no one wanted to bring it up again.

Maybe "good guys should be pointed at guns", after all, these "superheroes" can't do anything more radical.

Everyone knew the truth and tacitly chose to remain silent.

But there is no doubt that this is wearing out the patience and kindness of some people.
After the Battle of New York, most of the Avengers had their own goals.
The Hulk, Dr. Bruce Banner, left here temporarily, saying that he was going to find inner peace and ways to control himself.
Thor naturally brought Loki back to Asgard, and also took the Cosmic Cube with him.
Hawkeye Barton and Black Widow Natasha, who have regained their sanity, return to S.H.I.E.L.D. and begin to carry out missions together with Captain America Steve Rogers.

As for the [Mind Scepter], which was a crucial item in this war, it seemed to have been "accidentally lost" in the chaos of the war.
SHIELD said it has begun searching and is working with the Disaster Control Agency to jointly recover various high-risk items that are scattered among the public.

But as a local "local snake", in a sense, he is indeed a snake.
SHIELD firmly occupies America as its base.
The UEP did not cooperate well with the visit, which slowed down the containment of the anomaly. Moreover, New York was not the only place they needed to focus on.

More of their attention was dispersed outside the ocean and space at this moment, and those seemingly unexpected accidents quickly attracted their high attention.

In addition, the remnants of the Decepticons who were on the run appeared from time to time in some corner of the world to cause destruction and harassment. They seemed to be looking for something.
But what are you looking for?
No one knows yet.

Link, who saved New York and the entire world, and acted like a god,

He disappeared without a trace, and no one knew where he went.
One can't help but wonder whether he is still alive, or seriously injured, living in a corner, recovering in secret.

Turning our attention back to this luxurious bay villa,

Tony Stark's sleep did not seem as peaceful and beautiful as expected.

His brows were furrowed, his face looked thin and gloomy, veins popped out on his forehead, and his breathing became more rapid.
It was as if I was having a nightmare.

-

"Tony, what's wrong with you?"

He reached out a hand and gently patted the back of Tony Stark, who was feeling a little dizzy.
He turned his head subconsciously, but saw a familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar face.

"You are……"

For a moment, even though Tony Stark repeatedly reviewed his memories, he could not remember the name of the person in front of him. It seemed that he had no impression of this person.
"Don't be ridiculous, Tony. Today is your big day. Everyone has been waiting for you for a long time."

The man smiled and pushed Tony Stark's shoulder.

Just as Tony was about to continue asking questions, he caught a glimpse of an acquaintance walking over with a similar smile on his face—James Rhodes, his good brother.

"Tony, what are you still doing here?"

"Hey, Rod, what's going on now? Aren't we..."

Rhode looked strange, but he still spoke tentatively.

"You really don't remember? Today is your wedding day with Pepper,"

"We also invited the most famous priest in New York, Mr. Joseph Moriarty, to preside over the wedding!"

"Let's go, the guests are waiting!"

So, under the shove of the two, Tony Stark left this seemingly makeshift locker room in a daze.

At the last moment before leaving here, Tony Stark turned his head and saw a huge floor-to-ceiling mirror.
The expression in the mirror was as blank as my current mood, except that I was wearing a clean white suit, which made me look dignified and elegant.

"I am married?"

I always feel like I have forgotten something, but I can't put my finger on it.

Confused, Tony Stark climbed onto the platform at the conference hall.

Next to her was Pepper Potts, who looked shy but had a hint of anticipation, wearing a gorgeous wedding dress.

Looking around, the people sitting in the guest seats below the stage were all my good friends and celebrities from various business circles.

They all came here to congratulate and witness this grand wedding.

Then a figure wearing a priest's robe walked out holding a black Bible.
On his chest hung a miniature version of a god pendant.
His face was solemn and his expression was compassionate.

But Tony Stark saw that the image of the god depicted in the statue pendant was not the traditional image of Jesus.

When he was trying to find out more carefully, he was interrupted by the priest's timely voice.

"Let us cheer for the newlyweds together..."

Suddenly, Pepper Potts' beautiful face appeared before Tony Stark's eyes.
Squinting her eyes and pouting her lips, she seemed to be expecting something.

Tony Stark's mind was in a mess, and he didn't have time to think too much.
After all, up to now, everything is beautiful, and it is also a longed scene that only exists in dreams, so I just go with the flow.

But I didn't get the warmth and softness I expected.

Instead, there was a strong smell of rust and severe stinging pain.

Almost immediately, Tony Stark pushed Pepper Potts away, somewhat doubtful, and reached out his hand to wipe it off. Blood gradually appeared on his lips.
In just a moment, the pretty lady in front of him suddenly changed her appearance.

She half-knelt on the ground, twisting her body stiffly like a puppet.

Slowly raise your head,
The plump, rosy lips opened with a creepy tearing sound, and the upper and lower jaws expanded to far beyond the limits of human ability.

The skin was torn, revealing a row of neatly arranged silver alloy sharp teeth and cheekbones supported by mechanical structures.

Then, the skin began to melt away like a candle, revealing the cold and solid metal skeleton inside.

He raised a pair of slender, white hands, which had now transformed into sharp, bony steel knuckles.

An equally slender metal tailbone twisted in the air like a rattlesnake, its sharp conical tail blade swaying, waiting for an opportunity to move.

"Pepper Potts" seemed to have turned into a cruel and brutal mechanical monster. It roared and rushed towards Tony Stark, leaping high.
"Jarvis!"

Tony Stark shouted loudly,
But he didn't get any response, and he rolled sideways narrowly to avoid the monster that was rushing at him.

"Pfft-"

The wooden platform was destroyed by the monster that suddenly fell and attacked, creating a hole and breaking the wooden planks.

But Tony Stark was not given much breathing time.
The pair of sharp mechanical claws quickly raised up, grabbed the edge of the broken pit, splashed wood chips, and leaped upward suddenly.

They walked like cats and began to surround Tony Stark, who looked a little pale.

The sharp blade at the end of the tail kept swinging left and right, like a cold and poisonous snake, waiting for its prey to let down its guard.

As for the guests in the audience, they disappeared without a trace.
Only one figure, whose face could not be seen clearly, was left, also in a suit and leather shoes, looking at Tony Stark on the stage with interest.

Tony Stark quickly recovered after a moment of panic, and kept looking for things around him that he could use to resist and defend himself.

But it was obviously of no avail. Faced with this monster that seemed to be born purely for killing, it seemed that only his own iron armor could fight it.

But what surprised him was that no matter how much he called, Jarvis, who was supposed to be always by his side, did not respond.

He reached out his hand and touched his chest in disbelief.

Unexpectedly, the familiar Ark reactor was no longer on his chest.

"what happened?!"

"Pfft-"

But what Tony Stark responded to was a monster that attacked him head on.

And the sharp tail blade cut through the fabric of clothes, pierced into the flesh and penetrated the chest, causing intense pain.

"Am I...going to die?"

Tony Stark collapsed to the ground with blood flowing from the corner of his mouth and his face turned pale.

But in a trance, everything around me changed, I was wearing a white suit again, back to the beginning of the wedding.

The noisy cheers and excited shouts came to my ears, but they seemed to be separated by a soundproof board, and seemed a little hollow. There were bursts of tinnitus in my ears.
Tony Stark felt that everything was becoming a little confusing. He kept thinking about it, searching for clues, and stood there in a daze.
No matter how the people around him pushed and shouted, he remained unmoved...

"Click——"

Suddenly, Tony Stark's consciousness sank into darkness, and the things before his eyes gradually distorted and collapsed.

Like floating clouds, it dissipated beside me and became fragmented.
And from the dark shadows, a familiar figure appeared. It was the figure that he couldn't remember who it was.
But at this moment, he shed his seemingly harmless appearance, and his body kept twisting, as creepy as a snake shedding its skin, and as invisible as a flame.

Eventually, it takes shape into a humanoid image of rising and rolling blue flames.

"Tony Stark, you don't seem to be satisfied with a quiet and leisurely life."

"Perhaps, you should have realized it a long time ago,"

"It's not you who are chasing knowledge, it's knowledge that is chasing you, hahahaha..."

Tony Stark had a painful expression on his face. The sound coming from that twisted and strange figure kept echoing in his mind, as if it was wrapping around his body and haunting him endlessly.

In reality, Tony Stark's unusual movements also woke up Pepper Potts, who was sleeping on the same bed.

But when she just put her palm on Tony Stark to comfort him,
Tony Stark, who had his eyes closed, suddenly turned around, opened his eyes with a ferocious look on his face.

Subconsciously, he reached out and grabbed Pepper Potts' neck.
There are some mechanical parts with a metallic sheen protruding from the exposed skin surface.
In his pupils, a deep blue light flickered, full of coldness and without any emotion.

Even in the villa's underground laboratory, in the display cabinet where the steel armor is stored,

Several Iron Man suits also raised their heads and arms at the same time, smashed the glass directly, and began to move upstairs.

When Tony Stark saw the person in front of him clearly, he let go of his hand in panic.

"Uh...ahem"

Pepper Potts collapsed to the ground, holding her neck which had been pinched to leave purple marks, her eyes full of fear and disbelief, huge tears flowing continuously.
She simply couldn't believe that the person she once loved so deeply would become like this.

"I am sorry……"

Tony Stark, who was already unable to distinguish between illusion and reality, looked at his hands helplessly with a look of pain on his face.

He also couldn't believe that he almost killed the person he loved the most.
Pepper Potts staggered to her feet, and for her lover,

She always showed the greatest tolerance, otherwise she would not have stayed by Tony Stark's side.

She wholeheartedly provided him with all the help she could, and his company, Stark Industries, was almost entirely handed over to Pepper Potts.

While Tony Stark was wandering around and indulging himself in promiscuity, Pepper Potts didn't say much.
She knew very well that after that war, Tony Stark seemed to have become a different person.

Suspicious, nervous, anxious,

Originally, Pepper Potts thought that Tony Stark was just like those soldiers who were mentally stimulated after entering the battlefield and encountering unprecedented battles.
All it needs is proper psychological guidance and treatment.

Tony Stark is stubborn and immersed in his own world. He spends every day in the villa's underground laboratory conducting various scientific research.

Naturally, he almost sneered at the psychological counseling and treatment program that Pepper Potts had booked for him, and evaded it perfunctorily.

But what happened today gave Pepper Potts a great shock and pain.

Without any explanation, she quickly left the bedroom.
But suddenly, he saw those scattered soldiers standing in the corridor, ready for battle, raising their palm cannons.
Under multiple stimulations, Pepper Potts rolled his eyes and fainted on the ground.
Tony Stark also hurried out of the bedroom.

Tonight everything seems to be just a nightmare...

(End of this chapter)