Tony transformed into Iron Man and rushed towards the headquarters of the special forces without any hesitation.
The headquarters, located in a corner of Washington D.C., was already on high alert.
As soon as the military confirmed Tony malicious intent, the special forces received a warning from the military and immediately went into defensive mode, preparing for the incoming attack from Tony Stark as Iron Man.
Meanwhile, inside the special forces headquarters building, in a conference room.
Captain America, Steve Rogers, and the former Winter Soldier, now known as the White Wolf, Bucky Barnes, sat at opposite ends of a long table in the conference room.
The atmosphere was tense, with both men looking at each other in an eerie and tacit silence.
Finally, Captain America broke the silence.
He looked at his old friend with a helpless expression, "Bucky, at this point, is there anything you want to say?"
At this moment, Bucky, who had cut his long hair and removed the mask that had covered most of his face, revealing only his eyes, had his mask set aside next to him.
His stern face carried a hint of inexplicable sorrow, and his metallic arm was covered with a skin-like material, making it look indistinguishable from a real hand.
Bucky had shed all characteristics of his past as the Winter Soldier, so since joining the special forces, no one had questioned his identity.
If the truth hadn't been exposed, he would have continued to serve in the special forces as the White Wolf until retirement.
But, plans often change faster than one can anticipate.
Anton, the mastermind behind the scenes, had delivered crucial information to both Tony and the military, exposing Bucky, whose past was far from clean, leaving him with no place to hide.
"I have nothing to say."
Bucky broke his silence and replied, "Although there are reasons to justify myself, as you suspect, I did kill Howard Stark and his wife…"
There was no excuse that could justify his actions.
As Captain America had expressed, at this point, there was nothing either of them could do to change the situation.
As they spoke, they heard reports from the special forces.
"Enemy!"
"Iron Man has reached Washington, he will arrive at the headquarters building in one minute."
"All weapons are ready and can be deployed to attack at any moment."
A series of announcements snapped Rogers and Bucky back to reality.
They looked at each other, quickly stood up, left the headquarters building, and went to an open area in front of the building, watching as a brilliant meteor streaked across the sky toward them.
"Tony…"
Captain America, Rogers, clenched his fists.
At this moment, he was already dressed in his battle gear, holding his shield, and his emotions were complex.
He didn't want his old friend Bucky to die at Tony hands, nor did he want to confront Tony directly.
However, it seemed there was no other way to resolve this matter.
Rogers understood Tony well, knowing he was as proud as his father, Howard.
Howard was also Rogers old war buddy, and Rogers perhaps understood Tony thoughts better than anyone else.
After all, he saw that Tony emotions could sometimes be even more extreme than Howard.
And there was a reason for that.
—Tony had achieved a higher status and greater accomplishments than Howard.
Such a Tony was not likely to heed advice.
Tony would not accept Bucky innocence.
Moreover, Bucky indeed was the murderer of Howard, and even if he was just a tool at the time, at the end of the day, he wasn't entirely innocent.
Boom! Boom!
The glowing figure in the sky drew closer and closer.
Inside the special forces headquarters, all members watched the approaching figure with tense expressions.
Despite not understanding why Tony Stark, once a friendly Iron Man, had become an enemy, as soldiers, their duty was to obey orders.
General Hawk, the commander, issued the command.
"Prepare to attack!"
"Understood."
Duke and others, armed with guns, aimed at Tony as he slowly descended from the sky.
However, Tony armor scanned their aggressive postures and completely ignored them.
Inside the iron suit, Jarvis and Ultron instantly identified the weapons aimed at Tony and informed him.
"Sir, there are one hundred eighteen firearms, twelve tracking missiles, and one incendiary grenade locked onto you…
Additionally, armored vehicles, warships, and tanks from the underground base are ready. Please be cautious."
"Got it."
Tony replied nonchalantly, undisturbed by the threat, his gaze fixed on Captain America and Bucky, who were both dressed in battle gear ahead of him.
"Captain, it seems you've made your choice."
Tony expressed regret, then fixed his gaze on Bucky standing next to Rogers, his tone growing heavier, "Bucky, any last words?"
"I don't want to die."
Bucky stated bluntly, "I did kill your parents, but at that time, I was not conscious, just a puppet of Hydra... I didn't want things to escalate to this point."
"Does that matter?"
Tony retorted, continuing, "I'll continue to seek vengeance against Hydra, but you are a murderer, and that fact will never change."
With that, both sides understood each other stance, and no more words were needed.
The next moment, Tony raised his palm, targeting Bucky, and the palm cannon began to charge.
"Tony!"
Captain America, Rogers, clenched his fists. Hesitating momentarily and seeing Tony ready to act, he still tried to persuade, "Don't be impulsive."
However, Tony subsequent attack rendered his pleas meaningless.
Before arriving at the building, Tony had already considered the consequences and the situation he would face.
This battle was inevitable.
Even if it meant being brought before a military tribunal, it was a risk he was willing to take.
With his power and status, even if he were brought to a military court, at most he would be imprisoned.
And with the influence and status of Stark Industries, as long as he didn't die, there would be a day he could be released.
Thus, Tony was resolute, showing no mercy.
"Damn it!"
Rogers gritted his teeth, rushed in front of Bucky, and blocked the palm cannon with his shield.
"Attack."
Seeing this, the special forces commander, General Hawk, no longer hesitated and gave the order.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets flew, spewing flames, large-caliber bullets shot through the air, hitting Tony.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
Bullets fell like raindrops on Tony iron suit but couldn't penetrate his armor.
However, Hawk and the others had anticipated this.
The barrage of bullets was meant to slow Tony down and block his movements.
One after another, tracking missiles were launched from various angles of the building, trailing long tails of fire, aiming to blast Tony into oblivion.
This time, Tony couldn't ignore them.
He took to the air, deploying decoy flares to block the incoming missiles.
At the same time, his shoulders transformed, and small Sidewinder missiles added an element of surprise.
Sidewinder missiles rained down from the sky.
Captain America and Bucky on the ground changed expressions at this critical moment.
From another part of the sky, a figure streaking with vibrant colors charged in.
This figure, draped in a flag, was immediately recognized by everyone as the highly esteemed military hero, War Machine, Colonel Rhodes.
Just as the Sidewinder missiles were about to explode in front of Captain America and Bucky, Rhodes, controlling the War Machine, released flares identical in principle to Tony, preemptively detonating the approaching Sidewinder missiles.
Boom!!
A thunderous explosion resounded, sending a massive blaze into the sky, with thick black smoke enveloping the area.
Due to the Sidewinder missiles being detonated prematurely, their force was insufficient to affect the two super-soldiers, Captain America and Bucky, who had enhanced physical abilities.
So, under the tense gaze of everyone at the scene, they emerged from the thick smoke, ready to confront Tony, who was descending from the sky.
However, Tony attention was not solely on them at that moment.
"Rhodes, you've come too."
Tony gaze settled on the newly arrived War Machine, his tone revealing no surprise.
Clearly, he had anticipated Rhodes arrival.
"Tony, stop this," Rhodes said.
"There are many ways you could punish Bucky, but what you're doing now is the most extreme and the worst choice."
"No."
Tony opinion was starkly different from Rhodes.
He coldly replied, "The military is Bucky backup, you know this better than I do. So, this is my only choice."
Rhodes knew he couldn't persuade Tony.
Just as Tony had hung up the phone without waiting for him to speak during their call, Tony had already considered everything he would face at this moment.
"Tony, you're alone, and we have an army you can't defeat us," said Hawk, standing in the broadcast room of the building, trying to persuade Tony through the speakers covering the entire area.
"Surrender now, and you won't be judged."
"I fully understand your pain and hatred, but you must realize, your choice is too extreme, there are more reasonable ways to vent your anger."
Hawk words made Tony actions seem almost ludicrous.
Tony snickered.
"Jarvis."
"Understood, sir."
Jarvis, along with Ultron, hacked into the special forces network. In just a few seconds, they took over the network devices, shutting down the broadcast and cutting off internal communications.
"Damn it!"
Hawk clenched his teeth, his expression grim as he stood by the window, looking down at Tony and the others on the ground in front of the building.
At this moment, he too felt the weight of Tony resolve.
Despite his frustration, he felt a trace of understanding for Tony.
How could one not avenge their parents?
However, due to his position, Hawk, while somewhat sympathetic, did not think Tony actions were justified.
Regardless, now that Tony had infiltrated the special forces headquarters, like Bucky with his past actions, he should pay the price.
In New York.
Anton sat at home, turning on the TV, which was broadcasting live surveillance footage from the special forces headquarters.
On the screen, Tony confronted a group of special forces members.
Hawk stood on the helipad atop the building, looking down at the scene below. With the broadcast room compromised by Tony AIs, he could only use a megaphone made in China to shout loudly.
"Tony, if you remain stubborn and refuse to surrender, don't blame us for not being polite."
This scene made Anton double over with laughter.
Hawk performance was too much like those self-important negotiators in movies.
Thinking they could change the course of events, they only ended up making the situation more chaotic.
The reality was similar.
Tony couldn't care less about him destroying the broadcast room was just a way to make Hawk shut up.
As it turned out, Hawk tenacity, a major reason for his position as the commander of the special forces, meant he had to grab a loud megaphone that Tony could not ignore.
So, Tony simply chose to ignore him.
"It seems we have no choice but to resolve this by force."
Hawk, feeling helpless, commanded all the special forces personnel present: "Give it your all and take down Iron Man."
Everyone at the scene had been waiting for this command.
In their view, although Iron Man was formidable, they had the advantage in numbers, and it often said that two fists can't contend with four hands.
Here, they had more than just four hands, not to mention they also had Bucky and Captain America, who both possessed superhuman abilities, and Rhodes, who was also suited up as War Machine.
With everyone working together, taking down Tony Stark, Iron Man, didn't seem like a difficult task.
"This should have happened earlier."
Yet, on the screen, Tony showed no fear or worry.
His head tilted slightly, and through the illuminated eyes of his helmet, he looked towards Bucky and Captain America Rogers standing not far away.
Both felt a jolt of surprise.
The next moment.
A tremendous roar came from above.
At the same time.
Hawk received a report from the intelligence department.
"Report, General Hawk, there are fifty unidentified flying objects invading Washington airspace..."
"That not right, we've got visuals on them, they're Iron Man suits..."
"It Iron Man!"
"They are all Iron Men!"
"There are fifty Iron Men, no, including the one before, fifty-one Iron Men have invaded Washington airspace, targeting the special forces!"
"Repeat, their target is the special forces, be alert for an attack from Iron Man!"
As these words fell.
Hawk face drastically changed, the thunderous noise above made him instantly realize what had happened.
A warning now?
The enemy is already brandishing weapons in your face, and you're only reporting now?
What is the intelligence department doing?
Holding back from cursing out loud, Hawk quickly lifted the megaphone and shouted.
"Everyone be careful!"
"Iron Man has reinforcements!"
"Reinforcements?"
Hawk voice echoed after the explosions in the sky.
However, this realization dawned on everyone.
They saw above them, the dark night clouds being sliced open by streams of air like sharp knives, gradually dispersing.
In the moonlight.
Fifty armored figures, looking almost identical to Tony in his suit, hovered mid-air, their glowing eyes coldly indifferent, watching the people on the ground.
A chill ran down everyone spine.
They instantly realized why Tony had come alone to Washington and caused a scene at the special forces headquarters.
Tony intelligence had allowed him to build a real army of armor, no, more precisely, an Iron legion.
This legion, under Tony command, equipped with the world most advanced technologies and weaponry, was nearly unstoppable.
This was the real reason Tony had confidently stormed the special forces building.
The ones who truly had the confidence to resolve the issue by force were not the special forces.
It was Tony.