*Chapter 127: The Temporary Act for Rating Superhumans*

Perhaps it was out of habit, but as soon as he spoke, Atreus felt that his words were a bit inappropriate. If such a line appeared in a novel, readers would definitely complain, saying, "This author is getting a bit too corny."

Interestingly, hearing Kratos say such a thing in his gruff voice actually brought warmth to both Tony and Pepper's hearts.

If this had been five minutes earlier, Tony, in his rage, would have gone after anyone who stole his kill. But after a brief yet intense encounter (where Tony was mostly on the receiving end of the beating), he realized that it would be hard for him to take down Aldrich on his own. The guy was resistant to fire and explosions — things that most of Iron Man's weapons relied on.

And in hand-to-hand combat, Aldrich had the upper hand.

Tony quickly understood that if he couldn’t take down Aldrich, Pepper might step in herself. Even though they both despised Aldrich, Tony couldn’t bear the thought of his "ordinary" girlfriend having to get her hands bloody.

With that thought, Tony’s possible resentment toward Atreus for stealing his kill quickly turned into gratitude.

While Pepper was still in shock, Tony leaned over and said, “Don’t worry, that’s just Atreus in his costume.”

“Atreus Wayne?” Pepper asked in surprise, her eyes widening. She wasn’t quiet, and Atreus couldn’t possibly miss her words.

So, the wild and fearsome Kratos in everyone’s eyes sheathed his blade behind his back, placed a finger to his lips, and said, “Shh!”

The contrast between Kratos' earlier violent intensity and his current calmness, with a playful touch, left Pepper stunned.

Even Tony, who had witnessed Atreus ’s entire rise, couldn’t help but feel a greater sense of mystery. “Is this guy really just an ordinary person? Was he hiding his strength all along? At this point, even if he told me he was one of those famous Greek gods, I wouldn’t be surprised. And if he’s this powerful, his father, Bruce Wayne, must be even scarier.”

Meanwhile, Atreus took a quick look around. After taking out most of the Extremis soldiers, the remaining AIM forces had mostly been wiped out by the remaining Iron Man suits.

He smirked, waved, and then jumped into the cold sea, disappearing from sight.

Atreus ’s sudden appearance and departure left Tony and Pepper both momentarily stunned.

Tony quickly snapped out of it and focused on Pepper. “Are you okay?”

“You mean, am I okay after falling 200 feet into a fire and surviving? Or after I punched a hole through your precious armor? Or maybe…”

“I’m asking about your body,” Tony said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t touch me. I might burn you… Wait, my skin’s fine?”

“It’s not hot! You’re back to normal.”

“No, Killian injected me with the Extremis virus, I…”

“It’s okay. It’s over. I’ll figure out how to help you. And I promise, I’ll never ignore you again to go tinker with my Iron Man suits.”

“Really?” Pepper was skeptical of the world’s top engineer.

“Of course it’s true,” Tony said, even though the thought of it pained him. He instructed Jarvis to activate the self-destruct system for all his Iron Man suits.

In a moment, the old Iron Man models flying in the sky began to explode, lighting up the sky with fireworks.

To soothe his girlfriend, Tony had gone this far. James could only sigh at the sight, marveling at how deep their love was.

Sigh!

Forget about authentic Iron Man suits. If a model enthusiast’s girlfriend smashed his Iron Man figurines, and word got out in a fan group, all 34 members would send 99 messages saying:

“Why haven’t you dumped her yet?”

Why 99 messages from 33 members? Because some things need to be said three times for emphasis!

No matter what, Tony ended up with an extraordinary girlfriend.

And Atreus ?

*[Congratulations to the Host for successfully killing Aldrich Killian, the Extremis King!]*

*[Your Fire Element Control has been upgraded to Level 25!]*

*[You’ve acquired a new fire skill: Lava Fist (Level 12)!]*

Atreus had set out to collect fire abilities, but he never expected to get this skill.

Thinking about it, Atreus wondered, “Did I accidentally kill Ace from One Piece too?”

He was relieved that this world didn’t mix with the likes of One Piece, Naruto, or Bleach. Otherwise, the power levels would be even more chaotic.

In truth, the explosion marked the end of this chapter, but the aftershocks were far from over.

The U.S. government was furious to discover that the "Mandarin" was just an actor. The real Mandarin was Aldrich Killian, who had already been killed by Atreus .

Fortunately, Atreus had left behind a head, with DNA so scrambled that only dental records could confirm its identity.

The Mandarin's terrorism case was finally closed.

To save face, the U.S. publicly arrested the actor playing the Mandarin and vowed to bring the real culprit to justice, giving the public some closure.

But the real shake-up happened at the White House.

After barely surviving, President Ellis immediately arrested the traitorous vice president and presented evidence of treason at a closed congressional session.

For the sake of the country’s image, it was officially announced that the vice president had resigned due to illness. Whatever shady deals happened behind the scenes, the public would never know.

The biggest historical shift, however, came when President Ellis presented a temporary act to the Senate and House of Representatives: the *Temporary Act for Rating Superhumans*.

If, as in the original timeline, James had saved the president, this might not have happened. But in this world, the person who saved him was Kratos, the hero of the Battle of New York, along with his female follower, making all the difference.

The act was relatively neutral, essentially assigning points to superhumans based on their actions. For example, saving a civilian earned a certain number of points, stopping a bank robbery earned another, and saving an entire city earned even more.

This positive score would be balanced with factors like the strength of the enemies they fought and the collateral damage caused during battles. As long as they saved more lives than they harmed, their score wouldn’t be negative.

On the flip side, anyone using their powers for evil would rack up negative points.

The act wasn’t just symbolic; it had real consequences. It required law enforcement and the military to follow certain protocols when dealing with superhumans, depending on their ratings. For instance, certain levels of officers couldn’t engage certain superhumans without following the proper chain of command.

This act effectively legitimized Captain America’s actions during the Battle of New York when he commanded the police.

As for those on the blacklist… well, they’d end up in the Suicide Squad.

(End of Chapter)