The battle raged around them — sparks flying, the Leviathan's roar shaking the very air. Tony soared through the chaos, every repulsor blast aimed to protect, to survive.
But his mind was elsewhere — fixated on the face he'd seen beneath the enemy's armor.
Then, with a sudden burst of speed, the impostor landed before him.
The mask slid back — revealing a face Tony never expected to see.
Pepper Potts.
Her eyes were cold, hard — but behind them flickered something darker, something broken.
"Pepper?" Tony's voice cracked, disbelief and heartbreak colliding. "Why?"
She smiled, but it was no longer the warmth he remembered. "You left me behind, Tony. Always chasing your legacy, your armor… But I found my own path. And now, I'm in control."
Steve and Natasha exchanged stunned glances — the betrayal cut deeper than any blow.
"Doom didn't just capture you," Pepper continued. "He transformed me. I'm his weapon now. And you? You're nothing but a relic."
Tony's chest tightened — the weight of the suit, the battles, the sacrifices — all crashing down in a storm of pain.
But beneath it all, a fire still burned.
"You're wrong," he said, voice steady despite the ache. "I'm not just a suit. I'm the man who built it. And I'll fight to the last breath to save you — to save all of us."
Pepper's expression hardened. "Then come and try, Tony."
With that, she lunged forward, energy crackling from her gauntlets.
The war for the soul of Iron Man was no longer just a battle against Doom — it was a war against the past, the present, and everything Tony had fought to protect.