Marvel : Endless Power

The assassin, seeing that bullets were ineffective, tossed the pistol aside and pulled out two rope-like strands from his arms. With a flick of his wrist, they solidified into iron rods.

Rody's eyes gleamed. Metal? Perfect.

With a click, his left arm's hook cable shot out, crackling with bright blue electricity.

This wasn't the same voltage as before. Rody had upgraded it. If this charge hit, even Killer Croc would be left twitching on the floor.

But then

Crack!

The assassin's iron rod struck the electrified hook… and nothing happened. No shock. No paralysis.

Rody's eyes narrowed. What the hell?

His mind raced. Isn't this metal? Why isn't it conducting electricity?

The assassin smirked, spinning the rods in his hands before lunging. Rody dodged, launching another burst of high-voltage current through his cable.

The assassin twisted mid-air, deflecting it effortlessly.

After a few exchanges, Rody caught on.

His ability isn't just metal manipulation it's selective metallization.

Rody's bullet-time reflexes allowed him to notice the subtle shifts. The assassin's power let him transform objects into metal at will but only in the places he wanted. Each time the hook made contact, he briefly de-metallized that section, creating an insulated layer.

Damn it. So that's how he's negating my electricity.

This guy wasn't just powerful he was trained. A true professional.

Even with Rody's enhanced vision and reflexes, he was losing the close-quarters fight. The assassin's iron rods weren't ordinary weapons; their texture shifted between hard and soft, sometimes turning into whip-like chains.

A blur of motion CRACK!

Pain flared across Rody's chest. Then another strike THWACK! his back burned as the whip tore through his jacket, drawing blood.

Meanwhile, his own Altaïr Sword v2.0 had barely scratched the assassin, only managing to slice through his clothes.

Rody gritted his teeth. Tch. So even with all my upgrades, I'm still getting my ass kicked?

The assassin, sensing victory, pressed forward. Then

Click.

Rody's wrist flipped, revealing a round object with an orange glow.

A miniature repulsor grenade.

A flicker of panic flashed in the assassin's eyes. He immediately metalized his chest in anticipation.

Too late.

BOOM!

A shockwave blasted the assassin ten meters away. His metal armor cracked open, revealing a gaping hole in his chest.

Rody smirked, tossing aside the single-use palm cannon, the edges still glowing hot.

"People say high-end tech is a luxury… What's luxury without a palm cannon?" he quipped.

The assassin lay dying. But his expression wasn't one of anger or regret.

It was pride. Satisfaction.

Like he'd already won.

Rody's stomach twisted.

Then

"Target: Tony Stark. One shot to the heart. One to the head."

A second assassin.

Rody's head snapped up, scanning the panicked crowd. But nothing.

His telepathic sense was overwhelmed by chaos. Screams. Terror. Confusion. No trace of a second power signature.

Which meant

The second killer is an ordinary person.

A chill ran down Rody's spine.

Ever since gaining his abilities, he'd subconsciously dismissed normal people as threats. He hadn't even considered the possibility.

But how did an ordinary man sneak a gun in?

His eyes darted to where the first assassin had thrown his pistol earlier.

Shit.

Rody spun around

BANG!

Blood.

Tony Stark's eyebrow exploded in a red mist.

Pepper's scream ripped through the room.

Tony staggered. His expression frozen in shock then he collapsed.

"No!"

Rody's mind snapped.

A psychic storm erupted.

The second assassin disguised as a waiter didn't even have time to lower his gun.

Rody's mental power didn't just invade his brain.

It crushed him.

His ribs shattered. His chest caved in. The force sent him flying ten meters, landing in a bloody heap.

A single, wet gasp. Then silence.

Pepper sobbed, clutching Tony's lifeless body. The world around Rody blurred.

This wasn't just an assassination.

It was a trap.

They knew Rody's psychic abilities. They planned everything.

The first assassin a meta-human distraction forced Rody to use his powers. To exhaust his mental energy.

Once that was done, the real killer a nobody finished the job with a simple gun.

No complex scheme. No elaborate plan.

Just brutal efficiency.

And it worked.

Tony Stark playboy, genius, billionaire, sarcastic bastard was dead.

Rody had known him for only a short time. But…

Tony was family.

His mind went blank.

Then

"Rody, I can save him. But you have to keep it a secret."

A whisper.

Claire's voice.

Rody turned.

"You You can bring him back?"

Claire nodded. "But you have to promise."

"Done. I don't care what it takes just do it."

Rody had almost forgotten Claire wasn't just a healer.

Her power was beyond that.

He watched as she picked up a silver fork and stabbed it into her own palm.

Blood trickled down but the wound healed instantly.

She twisted the fork, tearing her hand open again. More blood.

Claire let it drip into Tony's gunshot wound.

Rody watched in stunned silence.

At first nothing. Then

Jingle.

The bullet pushed itself out from Tony's forehead.

His pale skin flushed with color.

His arc reactor—humming faintly—flared brighter.

Rody ripped open Tony's shirt. His chest wound was closing—flesh regenerating, metal shards being expelled from his body.

The shrapnel, the very thing that had threatened his heart for years, was being forced out.

One minute passed.

Felt like a century.

Then—Tony's eyes snapped open.

He gasped.

"Damn… I just dreamed I got shot in the head."

Pepper broke down in tears, throwing herself into his arms.

Rody exhaled, running a hand through his hair.

Tony was alive.

But…

His arc reactor—its palladium core—was still poisoning him.

Rody clenched his fists.

This isn't over.

The second-generation Arc Reactor needs a cure.

And Rody would find it—no matter what it took.

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