CHAPTER 45: CHAPTER 045: TONY’S SHOCK! JETFIRE INSTANTLY DEFEATS THE LIZARD!

"Breaking news! Breaking news!"

"A humanoid mech has appeared on the roof of Oscorp Tower! A humanoid mech has appeared on the roof of Oscorp Tower!"

"It can transform! We’re seeing it live—it just turned from a car into a robot!"

"What is that?! What is that?!"

The TV reporter’s voice roared from the helicopter, his excitement blasting through the mic into every living room tuned in to the broadcast.

Viewers across the city were stunned.

The Lizard and Spider-Woman were already more than enough to blow people’s minds—so what was this massive mech?

Jetfire stood over nine meters tall, his flame-red frame making him impossible to miss atop the skyscraper. No matter who you were, you could only look up.

...

In the Northern Building, Lorien lounged with a bucket of popcorn, eyes on the live feed. But after a few handfuls, he paused.

"This is... maybe a little too high-profile..."

Still, once the arrow’s been loosed, there’s no taking it back.

If it’s flashy, it’s flashy. Hardly anyone knew who owned that car anyway—just a handful of people. And since it was already out in the open, he might as well keep playing the part.

...

On the opposite coast, in a seaside villa in Los Angeles, Tony Stark didn’t share that sentiment.

Right now, he was deep into the development of his new nano armor, at a stage too critical to allow distractions. He’d even instructed Friday to block all but the most urgent alerts.

And yet, Friday still cut in.

"Sir, a new technological entity has appeared in New York City. I believe you should see this."

"Gah!"

Tony nearly jumped out of his chair at the sudden voice. But hearing it was important, he sighed.

If only Jarvis were still around...

Jarvis would have softened the volume, delivered the news in that calm, deliberate tone—unlike Friday, whose delivery was as cold and abrupt as a no-nonsense secretary.

"Yeah... great..."

Tony stepped over to his workstation, swiping through the air to pull up Friday’s feed.

The moment the image appeared, his eyes widened. He leaned in, his focus snapping into place.

On-screen was the same footage airing on the news, paired with a second view—one coming from his own private satellite.

Yes, Tony Stark had his own satellites. Think Musk’s Starlink, but all his.

But right now, none of that mattered—because his eyes were locked on one thing: the Transformer known as Jetfire.

"Zoom in. Closer."

The satellite image tightened, frame by frame, until every detail of Jetfire’s body filled the display.

Tony studied each component carefully, his brow furrowing.

"This doesn’t make sense."

"In this configuration, it shouldn’t be possible to convert into a humanoid form."

"No machine should be able to just change from a car into a living construct like that."

"There has to be another technology at play here."

"Nanotech?"

He considered it, running scenario after scenario in his head. None matched what he was seeing.

Jetfire’s core technology was nothing like the systems in his Mark armor. Completely different. The two designs weren’t even on the same branch of the tech tree.

"Then... what is it?"

Tony’s gaze sharpened, and his hands moved instinctively—already beginning to dig for answers.

...

At the same time, under the eyes of everyone watching, Jetfire didn’t say a single word—didn’t even bother with a greeting.

Zing~

In one smooth motion, he drew the long red sword from his waist. Under the stunned gaze of the crowd, the blade leveled straight at Dr. Lizard.

"Wow~!" Gwen instantly understood. "You’re Lorien’s friend! Or did Lorien send you here?!"

Jetfire gave no reply.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Sword in hand, he strode toward Dr. Lizard.

"Two stinking bugs!" the Lizard snarled defiantly, swinging his massive fist as he charged.

A heartbeat later—

Bang!

Jetfire’s kick caught him full on. The Lizard was sent flying back exactly the way he came, only faster.

He crashed into the rooftop with a heavy thud, the impact echoing.

Jetfire didn’t slow. Step by step, he advanced, sword poised to end it.

"Fuck!!"

Cursing, Dr. Lizard staggered to his feet, then spun on his heel and bolted.

For all his arrogance, he wasn’t stupid. That single exchange had told him everything he needed to know—he was just flesh and blood. Trading blows with Gwen, who was still getting used to her powers, was one thing.

Going up against a nine-meter-tall combat mech? Not a chance.

Running was the only option.

Gwen blinked in surprise at how fast his attitude had flipped.

But what no one expected... was that Jetfire was faster.

Whooom!

Flames burst from the thrusters on his waist and legs, rippling with shimmering Mach rings.

In the blink of an eye, Jetfire was gone from where he’d stood—charging straight for his target.

Hearing the roar behind him, Dr. Lizard’s plan to scramble down the side of the building shifted instantly—he leapt for the edge, aiming to throw himself off entirely.

He didn’t make it.

Psshh! Psshh!

Jetfire was already at the ledge, sword flashing twice in a blur—once horizontal, once vertical.

Shing~

The blade slid back into place.

From above the rooftop, Dr. Lizard’s body came apart—split into four clean sections. Even his head was halved clean down the middle.

There would be no coming back from that.