I Am Iron Man (MHA) Chapter 231: Armored Fight (2)

[Third Person's PoV] 


The Titanium Man shifted midair with surprising agility, narrowly dodging the barrage of lightning crashing down from Melissa’s hammer. The streaks of electric energy sizzled through the sky, illuminating the air as they arced past him. The battle had spilled out of the mall and into the open air, and now they hovered over the cityl.


Without wasting a second, Melissa darted after him, a trail of glowing energy flaring behind her. The two combatants collided midair, their weapons swinging with devastating force and no hesitation. 


Melissa’s hammer pulsed with raw, vibrating electricity, while Titanium Man’s jagged blade oozed a disturbing, toxic green light—radiation practically steaming off the metal.


Their weapons met in a thunderous clash, the collision birthing a violent shockwave of blue lightning and green radiation that rippled outward in a burst of energy. 


The Titanium Man, despite his armored bulk, was hurled backward by the force. His body spasmed midair as electricity coursed through his suit, the circuits inside momentarily shorting out.


He crashed hard onto the busy streets below. Asphalt cracked under the impact, debris flying in all directions. Raising his sword, he slammed it down into the pavement, carving a deep trench as he tried to halt his momentum. The blade gouged a toxic scar into the ground, leaving behind a radioactive trail that shimmered unnaturally. 


Several nearby cars were blown aside like toys, their alarms blaring wildly as bystanders screamed and scrambled for safety.


“Oi!” Melissa shouted, her voice echoing over the chaos as she rocketed downward like a living thunderbolt. “The streets are a no-fighting zone! Let’s take this elsewhere!”


She skidded across the pavement in a burst of sparks, swinging her hammer with a powerful arc. It connected squarely with Titanium Man’s crossed blades, the force of impact launching him upward like a green comet. He flew through the sky, spinning uncontrollably.


Not missing a beat, Melissa twirled her hammer in a rapid blur, transforming it into a spinning wheel of crackling lightning. With a grunt of effort, she hurled it after him. The weapon tore through the air, trailing streaks of electricity behind it. A violent shockwave burst outward from the throw—windows shattered along nearby buildings, lightning licking across concrete and steel like living serpents.


Turning to the huddled civilians below, Melissa gave them a strained, but hopeful smile.


“Worry not, citizens! You're in capable hands!” she said with exaggerated cheer, striking a proud pose.


As the crowd blinked at her in stunned silence, Melissa crouched low and blasted off into the air. 


“God, that was so cringe
 I really need to work on my delivery.”


High above the city skyline, the hammer collided with Titanium Man again mid-flight, slamming into his side and sending him careening between buildings. He grunted in frustration, twisting his body in the air, trying to break away. But the hammer didn’t relent. It wasn’t just chasing—it was hunting him.


He growled, green thrusters igniting from his back as he zigzagged through the skyscrapers in a desperate bid to escape. He shot through alleyways, skimmed rooftops, and even tried ducking behind a billboard, but the hammer twisted and curved with eerie precision, closing the distance with each turn.


When it struck again, the hit was clean and brutal. His body flipped end over end, the world spinning around him in a dizzying blur. He righted himself mid-air, barely keeping altitude, but the hammer was still there—closing in fast.


Then, above it all, Melissa appeared.


She soared high above him, her arm extended, fingers outstretched—not pulling the hammer toward her, but rather pulling herself toward it. The weapon had become the anchor of her movement, and she magnetized to it like a guided missile.


With a flash, she seized the hammer mid-air and twisted into a spinning arc. Another massive wave of lightning erupted outward as she brought it crashing down on Titanium Man again, this time sending him smashing straight through the side of a skyscraper. Glass exploded in every direction. A deep crater formed where he crashed through.


“That’s for making me look foolish!” she shouted, flying after him.


Titanium Man groaned from within the wreckage. “What are you even talking about?! I haven’t done anything yet!” he shouted, trying to orient himself as bits of glass and steel fell around him.


In a surge of desperation, his arms lit up and he began firing a rapid barrage of green repulsor beams. The air filled with searing heat as he launched blast after blast toward Melissa, trying to keep her at bay.


Melissa weaved between the beams effortlessly, her eyes locked onto him with deadly focus. She swatted the incoming attacks away with her hammer like she was playing baseball. Each deflected beam ricocheted into the city below—one igniting a parked car, another blowing apart a neon billboard, a third setting fire to an office complex, the city below was wrecked with explosions and flames. 


Melissa clicked her tongue sharply. “Tsk.”


Her expression hardened. She didn’t like collateral damage.


Melissa raised her hammer high into the sky. A stray bolt of lightning leapt from its head, cracking through the air with a deafening CRACK. As the bolt vanished into the heavens, she began to spin the hammer in wide, sweeping arcs around her, building momentum with each rotation. The raw energy around her humming and growing louder with every pass.


The Titanium Man saw his opportunity.


With a mechanical hiss, compartments on either side of his armor slid open. From them emerged twin, glowing Gatling guns—hulking weapons pulsing with radioactive energy. He grabbed them both, and the moment his fingers wrapped around the triggers, the barrels began to spin with a high-pitched whir.


A moment later, the air was shredded by a torrent of bullets glowing with a sickly green hue. The radiation-infused rounds tore through the sky like angry hornets, aimed directly at Melissa.


But she didn’t flinch.


With one arm, she swatted aside any bullet that came close to her face. The rest ricocheted off her armor harmlessly, pinging away in all directions like firecrackers. Her shielded suit absorbed what little energy they carried.


Then—everything changed.


The sky above the Titanium Man darkened. Not the natural descent of night, but a swift, unnatural dimming. The clouds above him thickened, swirling and stretching, converging into a churning mass of inky black. The ambient light around him snuffed out like candles.


Confused, the Titanium Man looked up—and saw the heavens shifting.


Melissa’s voice cut through the darkness.


“Oi! Armored pickle!” she called out, smirking mid-flight. “Didn’t check the weather forecast today, did you?”


He barely had time to react before the sky responded to her words.


“If not—let me clue you in. We’re expecting a heavy downpour—”


As if obeying her command, the clouds above burst open, and heavy rain came crashing down in torrents. It poured across the battlefield, a cleansing deluge that hissed against the fires left in the Titanium Man’s wake. Smoke rose from the impact points as radioactive embers sizzled out, leaving only glowing patches of eerie green residue.


Melissa’s voice came again—this time louder, fiercer, and laced with thunder.


“—With a high chance of THUNDER AND LIGHTNING!”


She hurled her hammer down like a divine judgment.


A blinding bolt of lightning came forking out of the heavens, jagged and immense. It struck the Titanium Man dead-center, engulfing him in searing white light. The shockwave from the impact blew out nearby windows. The Titanium Man’s body was launched like a missile—hurtling through the air before smashing into an abandoned stadium below.


The explosion of his impact sent chunks of dirt and grass flying skyward. A crater was carved into the field, grass incinerated, stadium seating shattered in all directions. Smoke rose thick and heavy as the air buzzed with static.


When the dust settled, the Titanium Man lay at the center of a glowing red crater. Steam curled from his armor, which bore the distinct blackened imprint of the lightning strike. Forked scars were etched across his chestplate like a branding.


And yet—his core glowed brighter than ever, absorbing the energy and amplifying his power.


He stirred and looked up toward the storm.


Melissa floated high in the sky, framed by rolling thunderclouds. Rain lashed her armor, yet she hovered unaffected, her red cape flapping wildly in the storm winds. Strands of her golden hair escaped her helm, caught in the gusts. Behind her, bolts of lightning danced through the clouds, illuminating her form like a goddess of storms.


Her eyes glowed an intense electric blue, and when she spoke again, her voice echoed—amplified by the roar of the thunder and the tech inside her suit. Every word rumbled across the stadium, reaching the Titanium Man with clarity.


“I don't know what animosity you have with Tony, that you decided to do something as foolish as to seek him out.” she said, her voice cold and unwavering. “ But coming here was a mistake.”


The clouds behind her sparked once more.


“So maybe this will teach you—”


Lightning flared around her again as she raised her hammer for another strike.


“—to pick your battles wisely.”