Tony barely had time to breathe before his sensors picked up another threat.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the wreckage. A tall figure emerged from the smoke, walking toward him. From her armor, he could tell that the newcomer was a lady. She was wearing a silver armor, that covered her entire body and a red hoodie-like thing. Her helmet had a dark visor, hiding her face. But Tony knew exactly who she was.
Melina Vostokovna.
Also known as Iron Maiden, one of the Red Room's most dangerous enforcers.
"Well," Tony muttered, rolling his shoulders. "This just keeps getting better."
Melina didn't respond. She simply raised her arm. A wrist-mounted cannon snapped into place.
Then she fired.
A plasma blast tore through the air. Tony barely dodged, the heat searing past his helmet. He shot back, but Melina was fast. She twisted, avoiding the repulsor beam with ease.
"Wow! Easy now," Tony landed, his boots slamming into the steel floor. "You don't have to do this," he said, keeping his palms raised. "I've already won. The Red Room is finished. Just stop, and we can end this nightmare."
Melina didn't lower her weapon. "You don't understand," she said. Her voice was calm, but there was something else. A hint of... hesitation?
"I understand perfectly," Tony said. "You think you owe Dreykov something. You think this place, this nightmare, is all you have. But it's not. You don't have to fight for a ghost."
Melina took a step forward. "And what do you fight for?"
Tony sighed. "Right now? The chance to finally end this and free the Widows."
Melina's fingers twitched.
For a moment, Tony thought she might actually listen.
Then she attacked.
Her gauntlet opened, releasing a cluster of micro-drones. They swarmed toward him, tiny machines with razor-sharp wings. Tony raised a shield, but they cut through it like paper. One of them tore into his shoulder, sparks flying.
"Alright," Tony muttered. "Talking's over."
He fired an EMP blast, stopping the drones. Then he rocketed forward, slamming into Melina with full force. They crashed through a wall, tumbling into the next room.
She was strong. Fast. Trained for this.
Tony barely blocked a strike before her fist smashed into his chest, sending him skidding across the floor. His HUD flickered. His armor took the hit, but he felt it.
'This isn't a lab test,' he realized. 'This is real.'
Melina didn't let up. She was already moving, her blade flashing toward him. Tony caught it with his gauntlet, twisting it to the side. He countered with a knee to her ribs, then fired a blast at point-blank range.
Melina flew backward, but landed smoothly, her boots digging into the floor.
'Tsk. That fucking armor,' Tony clicked his tongue.
"You're good," she admitted.
"Yeah, well," Tony said, rolling his neck. "I do my best."
Melina charged again.
They clashed, metal against metal. Sparks flew with every strike. Tony's systems kept up, but he was feeling the strain. Fighting a real battle wasn't the same as running simulations. His suit had weaknesses. He just hadn't noticed them until now.
His repulsors needed a second longer to recharge. His shoulder joints were stiff after heavy impacts. His left boot propulsion wasn't balanced due to overheating.
Tiny flaws. But in a fight like this, tiny flaws could get him killed.
'Well, there's always more room for upgrades,' He thought.
Melina noticed.
She adjusted her attacks, targeting his weak points. Her strikes were precise and efficient. A punch to his side, where his armor was slightly thinner. A blade strike aimed at his shoulder, where his suit's reaction time-lagged by half a second.
Tony gritted his teeth. "You're annoying, you know that?"
Melina didn't smile.
She pressed forward, forcing him on the defensive. A kick to his knee sent him stumbling. Another strike to his ribs. His armor held, but the impact rattled him.
'She's going to wear me down,' Tony realized. 'If not for the promise to Nat. And she doesn't look mind-controlled like the others. Haaa... Women are so annoying to deal with. She could gain her freedom, yet here we are fighting without any reason.'
He had to end this.
Melina lunged, aiming for his neck. Tony twisted at the last second, grabbing her wrist.
"Enough!" he shouted.
He slammed his other fist into her chest, releasing a shockwave blast. The force sent her flying, smashing through the floor into the lower level.
Tony dropped down after her.
Melina groaned, pushing herself up. Her armor was cracked, her visor shattered. Blood dripped from her lip.
She looked at him.
For the first time, Tony saw something in her eyes.
Doubt.
He exhaled. "This doesn't have to go on."
Just then...
Tony's eyes flicked to the small earpiece tucked into Melina's helmet. A faint red glow pulsed from it.
"Shit," he muttered under his breath.
Dreykov was still pulling the strings.
Melina's expression changed in an instant. The hesitation vanished, replaced by a cold, robotic intensity. Her posture stiffened, her movements eerily mechanical—like a puppet on a string.
Then she attacked.
Faster. Harder. More reckless.
Tony barely had time to react before her fists came crashing down. Her strikes were no longer calculated... they were brutal, relentless, and without any concern for defense. Her blade slashed wildly, her armored boots aimed for crippling blows. It was as if Dreykov had activated some kind of override, forcing her into a berserker state.
"Goddammit, Melina!" Tony grunted, blocking a savage strike that sent him skidding backward. "You were holding back before, weren't you? Now you're just trying to break me in half!"
She didn't respond. Didn't hesitate.
Her knee smashed into his stomach, denting his armor. Tony gasped as the air left his lungs. He managed to twist away just as a blade nearly took his head off.
His HUD flickered with warnings.
[ARMOR INTEGRITY: 32%]
[WARNING: HIGH-SPEED COMBAT STRAIN DETECTED]
[LEFT SHOULDER ACTUATOR DAMAGED]
This wasn't just a fight anymore. It was a race against time. If he didn't disable her fast, she was either going to kill him, or she was going to break herself in the process.
Because that was the problem.
Dreykov didn't care if she survived this battle. She was disposable. Just another weapon in his arsenal.
Right now, she was tearing herself apart just to kill him.
And that pissed Tony off.
"Alright, enough of this bullshit," he muttered.
He shifted tactics. Instead of fighting back, he focused on analyzing her movements. The cracks in her armor. The tremors in her arms from overexertion. The microseconds where her body hesitated—little moments where her real self was struggling against the control.
He saw his opening.
When she lunged again, he sidestepped at the last second, grabbing her wrist and twisting. Using her own momentum, he flipped her over and slammed her into the ground, hard enough to rattle the steel floor.
Then, before she could recover, he tore the earpiece straight out of her helmet.
Sparks flew as the device shattered in his grip. A small burst of red static crackled in the air before flickering out.
Melina's body twitched violently.
She gasped, her muscles convulsing as if an electric shock had just ripped through her nervous system. Her fingers twitched, her breathing ragged. Tony quickly poured his nanites into her body.
"Do it!" He ordered his AI.
It took a few seconds to undo the brainwash and remove the serum's effect from her body.
Tony knelt beside her, scanning her vitals. "Melina?" he asked cautiously.
She groaned, her head rolling to the side. Her voice was hoarse. "Wha… what happened?"
Tony let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "You got brain-jacked by Dreykov," he explained. "I just hit the off switch."
Her eyes flickered with recognition. Then with something else. Rage.
"That bastard," she whispered, pushing herself up, despite the pain. She looked at the shattered earpiece in his palm. "He was controlling me."
"Yeah. And I'm guessing that wasn't a gentle override," Tony pointed at the burns on her temple. "He nearly fried your brain."
Melina clenched her fists. Her whole body trembled, not from weakness, but from anger.
Tony exhaled and stood up. "Look, we can keep punching each other, or you can help me finish this. Your call. Don't waste this chance."
Melina was silent for a moment.
Then she nodded.
'Phew! Finally,' Tony grinned. "Good choice."
She stood, shaky but steady, and turned toward the upper level leading to Dreykov's office. "He's still up there."
Tony nodded. "Yeah. And I think it's time we paid him a visit."
Melina's fingers twitched. "I want to kill him."
Tony smirked. "Get in line."
Together, they strode toward the final battlefield.
Dreykov's reign was about to end.
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