Chapter 136: The Fight Breaks Out

"Captain, stop talking. It's useless. Unless we beat this guy into submission, nothing else matters." Tony fired his repulsors again, only for Michael to wave them away.

"We need a battle plan, Tony."

Tony retorted, "My plan is to battle."

Seeing Tony having another episode, Captain America felt helpless. Hulk jumped out of the shattered jet and charged toward Michael. Tony said triumphantly, "Look, someone else who agrees with my plan." Captain America shook his head in resignation. Upon seeing Michael, Hulk became immediately excited; this time, he wasn't holding his hammer. Eagerly, he charged forward and swung a punch at Michael with a roar.

Michael didn't hesitate and returned the punch. Their fists collided, erupting in a deafening roar. Hulk was surprised; this guy could actually match his strength. But the next moment, Hulk's anger surged, and his power grew with it. He raised his hands, clasped them together like a pendulum, and smashed down hard. Michael parried, but was still sent flying.

Hulk offered a wicked grin and prepared to finish him off, but Tony blocked his path. "Hey, Hulk, we should give him a chance to explain himself." But Hulk punched Tony away, thinking Tony was attacking him. Suddenly, an energy beam shot from the distance and blasted Hulk away. Tony looked over and saw Michael firing a death beam from the Mind Scepter.

"I think you've really gone insane." If Hulk hadn't pushed him out of the way, he would have been the one sent flying.

A weapon pod flew in from the sky—an idea of Michael's he had called a support module, which he hadn't had time to build. Tony, however, thought it was a good idea and had built it himself. Two jet-like cannons descended and assembled onto Tony's forearms.

"A bit heavy." Tony's eyes sparkled with excitement. He took a deep breath, raised his arms, and fired two scorching lasers at Michael. Michael manipulated the Mind Scepter, transforming it into a staff and spinning it wildly to block the lasers. A larger component flew down from the platform and attached to Tony's back, unfolding to reveal a dozen missile launchers.

"Ex-Wife missiles, fire." Hammer’s "Ex-Wife" was originally modeled after Tony's, though Hammer's version was clearly a failure. These missiles were small but could easily shatter a tank; this particular batch was specially reinforced by Tony—more bang for the buck. As the missiles launched, Michael erected a magical shield to withstand them. Watching the smoke from the explosions, Tony laughed excitedly and said, "I've definitely won this time." He wasn't worried about Michael failing to hold up; the precious element that cost a hundred million per gram had to be tougher than Vibranium.

Black Widow and Hawkeye approached Captain America, asking, "What do we do?" The Captain glanced at Black Widow and muttered, "I don't know. I just hope they don't lose their tempers for real."

Before Tony could finish his excitement, Michael appeared right in front of him and punched his chest with a metallic clang. Tony didn't budge. Michael was surprised. "Vibranium?"

"Yes, don't be surprised. Just a little bit of it." Tony had learned from Michael that force overcomes everything, and sometimes, having superior materials makes all the difference. In a sense, materials were a matter of technology, and the competitive Tony never wanted to fall behind. Michael glanced at Captain America, hoping they wouldn't get beaten to a pulp during the Civil War.

"Your missile platform is impressive, but unfortunately, it has a fatal flaw."

"I know." The platform provided massive firepower and extra ammunition, but it severely compromised Tony's mobility.

Michael transformed the Mind Scepter into a greatsword and swung at Tony. Tony blocked with his arm. His armor wasn't pure Vibranium; like the Captain's shield, it was made of True Adamantium. However, the proportion of Vibranium wasn't enough, making it less durable than the shield. Under Michael's relentless strikes, cracks began to appear on his arm. Tony quickly fired his repulsors with his other hand, but it was useless. He fired a chest beam at Michael, but Michael shrugged it off effortlessly.

"You seem to have a misunderstanding about the defensive capabilities of this armor." Tony realized things were going south; this was a level of defense that science couldn't explain. Michael grabbed the greatsword and hacked at Tony frantically.

Spider-Man was the first to notice the danger. "Hey, stop chatting! Mr. Stark can't hold on much longer!" The others finally realized Tony couldn't handle this alone.

Hulk took the initiative, punching Michael in the head, roaring, and lifting him up to slam him down. Michael opened a portal, successfully appearing above Hulk and slamming into him, causing Hulk to effectively slap himself. Michael stood up and thrust his sword into Hulk's chest. With a squelch, the blade sank in two centimeters. The group was stunned, and even Michael was shocked. Was this all Hulk's skin was worth? In reality, the Mind Scepter, enhanced by Michael, had long transcended the category of ordinary artifacts, so piercing Hulk's skin wasn't impossible.

Hulk was startled; only Abomination had ever come close to killing him before. But would Hulk back down? Clearly not. Spider-Man arrived, firing webs to restrain Michael, then used a web line to pull on one of Michael's arms. Captain America grabbed the other, while Hawkeye aimed for Michael's eyes, guessing the visor was the weakest point. Seeing the group helping, Tony abandoned the missile platform and retreated.

Black Widow said, "Don't move. We can solve whatever the problem is together."

Michael remained unmoved, grabbing Captain America and slamming him into Hulk, then kicking him. If not for the Captain blocking with his shield, he might have been killed. Michael then pulled Spider-Man over and knocked him unconscious with a backhand. Hawkeye fired an arrow, but Michael caught it mid-air. Tony attacked from the air again, but Michael took the hit with his armor.

Hawkeye, watching Michael catch his arrow, immediately told Black Widow, "The eyes might be the weak spot." Black Widow fired at Michael's visor, but the bullets had no effect. The visor was indeed thinner than the rest of the armor, but it was infused with dark elements; even if it was a weak point, it was limited and not something they could break.