The city was a graveyard painted in fire and shadow.
Smoke curled upward like restless spirits, blurring the jagged skyline. Flames danced on cracked asphalt and skeletons of skyscrapers, casting eerie orange glows against a twilight sky bruised purple and black. The air tasted of burnt metal and desperation, thick and choking.
High above the chaos, on a fractured rooftop, Tony Stark stood alone. The once-mighty Iron Man armor lay broken at his feet — scorched plates cracked and twisted, wires like exposed veins sparking weakly. In his gauntleted hand, the arc reactor pulsed faintly, a fragile heartbeat against the silence.
Tony's eyes, sharp and weary, scanned the ruined cityscape. Each flicker of fire, every distant siren, echoed memories he never wanted to relive. The weight of loss pressed down on him — friends lost, battles lost, the world on the brink.
They said I was finished.That I was gone for good.
But the man beneath the armor was far from done.
A sudden tremor shook the rooftop, and before Tony could react, a deafening explosion ripped through the street below. Flames erupted, sending a fiery shockwave that tossed dust and debris into the air like a deadly storm.
His comm crackled, Pepper's voice urgent but steady: "Tony, they're faster than we thought. You need to move — now."
Tony slid the helmet over his head. The HUD flickered to life, casting his face in warm gold light. The familiar hum of the armor surged, feeding power into every fiber of his being.
"Let's remind them why Stark never quits," he muttered, voice low, edged with that trademark Stark defiance.
With a fiery blast, Iron Man launched into the smoke-choked sky. The wind tore at the sleek armor as he cut through ash and embers. Below, the city writhed in chaos — collapsing buildings, panicked crowds, and shadowy figures slipping through the wreckage.
Suddenly, a piercing warning flashed on his HUD: "Incoming missile — evade!"
With lightning reflexes, Tony twisted midair. A searing trail of flame streaked past, exploding against a shattered façade. The enemy was relentless — faster, smarter, deadlier than anything he'd faced before.
His heart thundered in his chest, the Arc Reactor's steady pulse a reminder of the fragile line between life and death.
How many more times can I do this? the doubt whispered.
But Tony Stark didn't have the luxury of doubt.
The city was burning. Lives depended on him.
And this time, the stakes were higher than ever.
As Iron Man surged forward into the inferno, a chilling thought froze him mid-flight:Someone close… someone I trusted… is behind this.
The shadows deepened around him, and the war was only just beginning.