Harley chuckled dryly. "Look around. Everyone here—you, me, all of us—has blood on our hands. Innocent is a word that doesn’t exist anymore. Besides, what makes you so sure we’re the ones who’ll lose?"

Thor gripped Mjolnir, stepping forward with a heavy thud. "Because I can fight toe-to-toe with Jason and remain unbeaten. You? You cannot."

Harley’s eyes filled with disdain. "If you want to brag about yourself, just say so. Don’t use my man as your benchmark."

"Enough! I’ve heard enough!" Tony interjected, cutting the tension. "Since you refuse to surrender, then let’s have it. War it is!"

The moment the words left his mouth, a sea of glowing lights flickered in the darkening sky. David raised his binoculars, a mocking grin spreading across his face. "And what do we have here? A collection of action figures from the local war merchant?"

Franklin raised his own hand, echoing the sentiment. "Iron Man suits? Please... we have those too!"

THUD! THUD! THUD!

The mountain beneath their feet began to rumble with deep, rhythmic impacts. A violent tremor shook the earth as the soil started to cave in, mimicking the start of a massive landslide.

Thor and Tony immediately took to the air. "Jarvis?"

Jarvis: "Sir, I am detecting massive human thermal signatures originating from the mountainside."

Tony gasped. "What!"

The dirt and forest of the mountainside were literally peeled back, revealing a honeycomb of densely packed tunnels and bunkers. Out of these holes poured fully armed soldiers, the Joker’s Armored Legion, and that elite hundred-man special force.

At the foot of the mountain, Natasha’s expression turned grim. "So that’s it. The three hundred missing buses... they were hidden right here in the woods."

The Armored Legion ignited their thrusters, screaming toward the summit to join them. The elite troops raised their rifles, roaring in a frenzied defiance at Stark and Thor, completely devoid of fear.

"These people are insane," Tony muttered, looking down at the ecstatic, bloodthirsty crowd. He immediately contacted the Helicarrier. "They played us. The base we bombed was a decoy; they hid the entire army in the mountain."

In the Helicarrier bridge, Fury wasn’t surprised. Cunning and troublesome—that’s the Joker organization for you. "Stark," Fury said calmly, "Transmit the coordinates and clear the area immediately!"

"On it!"

Seconds later, the data was sent. Fury relayed the coordinates to the U.S. 1st Armored Division deployed south of the ranch. "General, target acquired. Full fire suppression! Sweep the mountain!"

As he gave the order, Fury gripped the bridge railing, his heart pounding. The war... has begun.

*

Fifteen kilometers south of the ranch, a vast plain stretched to the horizon. The 1st Armored Division, a legendary unit forged in the fires of WWII, sat in perfect formation.

This was a juggernaut of 17,000 personnel. It boasted over 400 tanks, 1,000 armored vehicles, 100 helicopters, 150 missile launchers, and over 200 artillery pieces. Upon receiving Fury’s order, the division transformed into a storm.

Over 200 mortars, rocket launchers, and self-propelled howitzers adjusted their barrels toward the coordinates.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The relentless roar of artillery tore through the sky. The Joker’s elite troops had barely emerged from their tunnels when the dense rain of fire began to fall.

RUMBLE!

The shells erupted in a continuous, deafening chain. Within seconds, a two-kilometer stretch of the mountainside was turned into a literal lake of fire. There was nowhere to hide. Every shell carved out a crater ten meters wide. It was a systematic renovation of the earth.

*

At the summit, the associates looked down at the carnage, their faces darkening with a terrible fury.

"How!" David muttered. "This level of saturation requires at least ten artillery battalions. The U.S. military moved this much hardware and we didn’t get a single ping?"

He raised his binoculars, looking south. "The battery is close—no more than twenty kilometers."

Harley furrowed her brow. "S.H.I.E.L.D. must have found a communication channel that bypasses Chloe’s surveillance."

A-Train roared in frustration, "FUCK!!!"

"We can’t let them sit there and rain hell on us," Franklin said, signaling a suit of armor to fly over and encase him. He hovered into the air, pointing south toward the 1st Armored. "Go! Follow me! Wipe them off!"

Thousands of Joker combat suits ignited their engines simultaneously, a terrifyingly synchronized display of power.

"The Joker organization is certainly flush with cash," Tony said, watching the sky fill with over a thousand suits. "But when it comes to sheer financial muscle, the Government is still Daddy. Jarvis, it’s our turn."

Jarvis: "Sir, you’ve been waiting for this day for a long time."

"Thor, Nat, leave the air to me."

Tony took the lead, followed by over a hundred of his own specialized suits.

"Copy that!" Natasha replied, contacting Fury. "Director, engage the secondary phase."

*

The Joker Armored Legion hadn’t flown three kilometers before the horizon turned black with incoming flight signatures.

"My god... is that an Iron Legion?" Franklin gasped as the swarm began to encircle them.

Tony’s voice crackled through the comms, dripping with sarcasm. "The Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, S.H.I.E.L.D... every Iron Man suit in the United States is right here. Total count: 5,300."

Franklin’s eyes widened in horror. "Five thousand suits?!"

"Yep," Tony said with absolute confidence. "I hope a funeral of this magnitude is grand enough for you."

"I bet you made a killing on the contracts for this, you capitalist fucker," Franklin spat.

Tony’s tone turned serious. "No. For the Joker organization, I only charged for labor. It’s personal."

"A capitalist with a revenge story? Boss really left a mark on you, didn’t he? But don’t think for a second this is enough to kill me!!!"

Franklin roared, leading his legion into a head-on collision. Instantly, lasers, missiles, and energy pulses painted the sky in a chaotic kaleidoscope. Every second, dozens of suits were pulverized, lighting up the stars like morbid fireworks.

*

On the peak, David’s expression was grim. "Franklin is tied up. He can’t reach the artillery."

Harley asked anxiously, "Then what about the batteries to the south?"

"Only one choice left," John said, his voice cold and resolute. "Abandon the positions. Full ground assault to the south! We will take the fight to them!"

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You can read advance Chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.

pat reon.com/GreenBlue17

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