No matter what, Ronan still picked up Steve Rogers.
The two of them stepped out of the portal one after the other, their feet landing on the rooftop of Stark Tower.
Right next to them was Tony Stark's private helicopter landing pad.
"Every time... I use this..."
"I can't help but feel how truly magical it is."
Steve Rogers glanced around, confirming that he had crossed a third of the United States to arrive in New York.
And it had happened in the blink of an eye.
"Remember to reimburse me for the plane ticket when you leave."
Ronan smiled and casually closed the portal.
Steve Rogers shrugged, then turned and led Ronan into the elevator.
As the elevator descended, the two arrived at the floor where Tony Stark and Pepper Potts lived.
"Steve, Ronan."
Seeing the two step out of the elevator, Pepper Potts quickly approached them.
"Where's Tony?"
Steve Rogers already had a rough idea of what was going on and wanted to get straight to the point.
His approach was simple: he needed to convince Tony Stark to abandon whatever bad ideas he had.
And to figure out what had caused this change in Tony.
If Tony didn't cooperate, well, that was simple too.
A good beating would solve it.
After all, Steve Rogers had been wanting to give Tony a good thrashing for a while now.
"He's in the lab. I'll take you there."
Pepper Potts was about to lead the way, but Ronan raised his hand to stop her.
"No need. We'll go ourselves. You should leave for now."
"After all... things might not be very safe from here on out."
Ronan glanced around. He wasn't as optimistic as Steve Rogers.
He felt that a single beating might not be enough.
Well, not just one session—probably at least two.
After all, there were two "doctors" here today.
"Don't worry, Pepper. We won't let Tony come to any harm."
"But we might not be able to protect you if things get messy, so it's best if you leave for now."
Steve Rogers immediately understood Ronan's reasoning and chimed in to persuade her.
Pepper staying here was dangerous.
If Tony stayed calm, that would be one thing. But if he didn't, the outcome would be hard to predict.
A two-on-one beatdown was definitely on the table.
"Alright, thank you both."
After some thought, Pepper Potts finally stepped into the elevator.
As the elevator doors closed and the numbers began to descend, Steve Rogers and Ronan exchanged a glance.
Then, one after the other, they walked toward Tony Stark's lab.
"Steve, don't look surprised."
"This is a small spell that allows us to communicate telepathically."
As the two walked forward, Steve Rogers suddenly heard this voice in his ear.
He was slightly startled but kept walking.
What the hell is this?
"Wow, Steve, the great Captain America, cursing in his mind?"
"Just think what you want to say, and I'll receive your message."
"Don't give it away. We've been monitored by JARVIS since we entered."
"At the very least, Tony already knows we're here."
Ronan and Steve Rogers maintained their composure as they walked toward the lab.
Fortunately, the hallway was long enough for Steve to get used to this method.
"What do you think is wrong with Tony?"
"I feel like you know something."
This time, Steve Rogers had figured out how to use the telepathic link.
It felt a bit awkward, but it was surprisingly effective.
"I don't know much, but based on what Pepper said, Tony might be possessed by a demon or something."
"Of course, that's just my guess—and the worst-case scenario."
"In this day and age, getting possessed by a demon isn't that easy."
Ronan stepped forward and knocked on the lab door.
"Anyway, we need to prepare for the worst. First, we stop him from running."
"As long as he can't escape, I can deal with whatever's wrong with him."
Ronan sent another message through the telepathic link.
"Come in."
Tony Stark's voice rang out.
Ronan opened the door, and the first thing he saw was their target.
Tony Stark was sitting in the center of the lab, and the telepathic link between the two temporarily ceased.
"Ronan, what brings you here?"
"And Steve, what a rare guest."
Seeing the two at the door, Tony Stark looked surprised.
Ronan was one thing—the two of them met often, and they were both in New York.
But Steve Rogers was different.
The Avengers' base was up north, and the two of them rarely communicated. Steve usually avoided coming unless necessary.
"I'm in New York for some business and thought I'd drop by to see an old friend."
Steve Rogers stepped into the lab first, his eyes subtly scanning the room.
All around were Tony Stark's Iron Man suits.
Here, you could see all sorts of versions that had never been used in the field.
Ronan also walked into the lab and casually closed the door behind him.
Time to close the door and... ahem.
"And you?"
"Did you two just happen to run into each other?"
Tony Stark smiled and turned his gaze to Ronan.
"I'm here to collect a debt."
"A few days ago, didn't you promise my friend you'd make him an oral solution?"
Ronan walked up to Tony's desk and plopped down on a nearby chair.
His sharp eyes caught sight of an empty syringe on the table.
Oh no.
They were too late.
As Ronan sat down, his heart sank.
"Oral..."
Tony Stark was momentarily confused but quickly realized what Ronan was referring to.
Ronan was talking about the antidote for Dr. Connors.
"When you're busy, you tend to forget some important things."
"Here's what you asked for."
Tony pulled a syringe out of a drawer and tossed it to Ronan.
Ronan caught it and glanced at the liquid inside.
It was a liquid, but its color didn't match the residue left in the syringe on the table.
"Making you come all this way so late... you must really be in a hurry."
Tony Stark smiled and leaned back in his chair.
At first glance, Tony seemed perfectly normal, even cracking jokes.
However, when Ronan and Steve Rogers exchanged glances, they both saw a hint of unease in each other's eyes.
The reason was simple.
This kind of talk was completely unlike Tony Stark.
While Tony was usually flippant, he would never be this humble.
To determine if Tony was acting normal, there was one simple test:
See if he apologized.
And now, without anyone pressuring him, Tony had actually apologized.
Even if it was in a joking tone.
This was very abnormal!
"Tony, how have you been lately?"
Steve Rogers took over the conversation, starting what could only be described as awkward small talk.
Ronan couldn't help but facepalm.
If Tony didn't realize what was going on after this, then his brain really had been hijacked.
Tony Stark didn't respond, just silently watched the two.
The awkward silence lasted for about twenty seconds.
Finally, Tony's laughter broke the tension.
"So, you two just happened to show up today... probably for this, right?"
Tony picked up the empty syringe from the table and smiled at the two.
It was as if he was saying, "I'm done pretending. I'm laying my cards on the table."
Seeing his confident posture, Steve Rogers couldn't hold back anymore.
"Tony, what have you done?"
"Do you realize that what you're doing now is—"
Boom!
Before Steve could finish, a powerful force slammed into him from behind, sending him flying.
No doubt about it—it was one of Tony Stark's Iron Man suits.
Tony stood up, spreading his arms.
Lines of a pattern Ronan recognized all too well began to appear on his face.
Dormammu?
When Ronan saw the patterns on Tony's face, his eyes widened.
F***ing Dormammu!
He never expected that after breaking his "contract" with Tony, Dormammu's influence would still linger.
And now, it seemed the influence was significant!
As the Iron Man suit pieces attached themselves to Tony one by one, Iron Man officially replaced Tony Stark, standing before the two.
"You... won't stop me!"
Tony dropped a harsh line, and the faceplate of the Iron Man suit snapped into place.
The sheer audacity of his tone and actions made Ronan twitch his lips.
Was Tony still not fully under Dormammu's control?
Or even if he was, could he not suppress his innate urge to show off?
Hum!
The eyes of the Iron Man suit lit up.
Tony pointed his hands toward the ground, preparing to make a quick escape.
Even under Dormammu's influence, Tony's intelligence remained intact.
Fighting Ronan and Steve Rogers in this confined space was a guaranteed loss.
So, he had to leave first and then figure out how to deal with them.
However, the moment the suit's eyes lit up, the light suddenly went out!
Tony's takeoff pose froze in place, and the lab fell into an eerie silence.
If Tony lifted his faceplate now, his expression would probably read two words:
Awkward!
"Ouch..."
"Tony, you really don't hold back, do you?"
At that moment, Steve Rogers got up, clutching his lower back.
That hit had definitely landed on a pressure point.
It seemed even Captain America wasn't immune to back pain.
So, taking a sick day was perfectly normal!
"Uh..."
"Is your chest missing a piece?"
As Steve stood up, he also noticed Tony's predicament.
And he immediately saw the source of Tony's trouble.
The critical energy source on his chest was missing.
Tony pressed a hand to his chest, and even through the armor, he could feel the empty space.
His first thought was:
My Arc Reactor is gone!
Meanwhile, Ronan whistled innocently, staring at the ceiling as if nothing had happened.
The moon tonight was so... white.
"JARVIS, search for the signal!"
Tony Stark glared at them warily and gave the order to JARVIS.
Without the Arc Reactor, he went from being Iron Man to just a guy in a fancy suit.
"Mr. Stark, the Arc Reactor's signal cannot be detected."
"The signal has been blocked."
JARVIS responded immediately.
When Tony heard that the signal had been blocked, he turned to Ronan.
Of the three people present, only Ronan had the ability to do something like this.
As for Steve Rogers?
He'd be lucky to figure out how to use a smartphone.
"Was it you?"
Tony asked, though it was more of a statement.
Ronan shrugged.
If you already know, why ask? You're just making this more awkward.
"It wasn't me. Don't blame me. Don't spread rumors."
"I'll sue you for slander."
Ronan couldn't admit to doing it.
The Arc Reactor was Tony's baby, his muse.
Sacred and untouchable.
And what Ronan had done was basically the equivalent of stealing his girlfriend.
Tony's precious Arc Reactor was about to become Ronan's.
"F***!"
Tony rarely swore, but this time, he couldn't help it.
His right hand quickly reached for a device on his leg, which popped out.
Then, with lightning speed, he attached the device to his chest.
Soon, the empty space was filled with some unknown material, and the suit powered up again.
"It's still in the experimental phase, but against you two, I have no choice but to take the risk."
With that, Tony turned around, and the legs of the suit began to emit bright flames.
He was going to run!
Steve Rogers panicked and lunged forward, grabbing Tony's shoulders with all his strength.
Instantly, Tony's momentum was halted, and he was pinned in place.
Of course, Steve was using every ounce of his strength.
Even his face seemed to be straining to hold Tony back.
Tony clearly hadn't expected Steve to stop him like this.
"You can't stop me!"
Tony roared, and a faint purple energy began to emanate from his suit.
Huh?
Seeing this, Ronan, who had been watching from the sidelines, was surprised.
He clearly saw patterns appearing on the surface of the Iron Man suit.
These patterns resembled the magical runes Ronan had been studying!
Could it be... Tony's anti-magic armor...
Was it completed?