"Then if you aren't here to save me, why are you here?" Tony asked, narrowing his eyes.

  "To save your friend," Liam replied, his gaze shifting to Yinsen.

  "Me? Why? I'm nobody. I don't even know you," Yiammered, fused.

  "You're somebody when you're willing to risk your life to save another—someone you only met a month ago. That makes you a hero in my book. I hope that answers your question," Liam said firmly.

  "Wait, hold on," Tony interjected, his eyes narrowing. "That means you knew about us beforehand and didn't act sooner?!"

  "First of all, I didn't know your exact location—it took me time to find you. Sedly, do you think sneaking in here all the way from NY while avoiding satellite dete was easy? I'm not as rich as you, Stark. I have responsibilities. And stly, let's be real—despite being a little starved and dehydrated, you've e out of this fit and fine. More importantly, you've gotten to witness firsthand what your ons have doo this beautiful Earth of ours."

  Tony fell silent, the words striking a hough he felt justified in his irritation, Liam's blunt expnatio him introspective. Before anyone could speak further, a loud, thunderous sound echoed through the area.

  The three of them turned back to see a massive bipedal mae stepping into view. Its glowing circur "face" sed them with meical precision.

  "BT, were there any hostiles?" Liam asked.

  [Yes, Liam,] the mae replied, its voice deep aallic.

  Tony gawked, his curiosity piqued. "Okay, somebody tell me what's going on here? And who is this… thing?"

  [Hello, I am BT-7765, a Vanguard Titan. Liam is my pilot, and I am here on his orders,] the mae stated matter-of-factly.

  "Wait—you're fully autonomous? And funal? Iing…" Tony approached, his stifid kig into overdrive as he observed the Titan. By now, he had removed his own suit, the weight too cumbersome to carry further. "Let me guess—a neural link interface paired with top-tier AI? Pilot hops in, you do the heavy lifting, and you share a single brain cell? Cute. But you're… bulky. Have you sidered streamlining? Just saying, there's a lot of room for improvement."

  "You upgrade it if you think he needs it," Liam replied with a smirk. "But the AI stays as is. No ges."

  Tony opened his mouth to retort but stopped when Yinsen poioward BT. "Wait, who's the guy it's holding?"

  The Titan's massive haended forward, revealing a man crumpled in its grip.

  [This individual was leading the operations here. I intercepted him while ralizing the voy attempting to reinforce this location,]

  BT unceremoniously dropped the man at their feet. Liam, Tony, and Yinsen immediately reized him—it was Raza, the leader of the so-called Ten Rings.

  Raza's face twisted into a sneer when he saw Tony. "Tony Stark… hahaha. You truly are the greatest ior. But look at you now, crawling around like a rat."

  "Who is this guy?" Tony asked, his expression darkening.

  "He's their leader," Liam replied.

  Without hesitation, Tony lunged forward and punched Raza square in the face. "You damned low-life pest!" he roared, raining down blow after blow.

  Raza, stronger and bulkier, tried to resist, but Liam intervened, pinning one of Raza's arms down with his boot. Tony tinued his assault, his knuckles bloodied, while Yinsen—seizing the moment—delivered a fe kicks of his own.

  By the end, Raza's face was a bloody mess, his nose broken, and his body bruised and battered. He groaned weakly, barely scious.

  "Liam… please," Yinsen said, his voice trembling. " you kill him?"

  "Why don't you do it yourself?" Liam asked, his tone measured.

  "I 't—and I won't," Yinsen admitted, his voice heavy with emotion. "This man is responsible for the deaths of my family. If I kill him, I'll bee the same evil he represents. If I meet my family ierlife, they'd be ashamed of me."

  Tony, overhearing this, felt a pang of guilt. He had never known Yinsen's family was gone—Yinsen had lied to him before. Without saying a word, Tony delivered another kick to Raza's ribs, elig a pained groan.

  Liam watched quietly, noting the sound of crag bones. Raza was on the verge of death, and without immediate medical attention, he wouldn't survive.

  "Yinsen," Tony said, turning to him. "Let me kill him. I'm agnostic, so I'll happily carry that burden for you." He took Liam's gun, cocked the safety, and poi at Raza's head. "You have anything to say, Liam, before I send him to hell?"

  "No. I don't know him," Liam replied ftly.

  That was all Tony o hear. He emptied a few rounds into Raza, ending his life. Yiurned away, murmuring a quiet prayer under his breath. Justice had been served, but the weight of it lingered.

  Yinsen began to pray in silence, seeking soce. Meanwhile, Tony and Liam stepped aside, giving him the space he needed.

  "You said you're from NY," Tony said, breaking the silence. "I hope you'll e to my pce when we're back. I'd like to thank you properly, no matter the reason you came."

  "I just told you, I came for him. I had faith that you will e out just fine." Liam said. This just gave Tony an ego boost. He just smirked. Of course, Liam could see that. "And don't say a word about me to anyone. Until I reveal myself."

  "I will keep that in mind." Tony replied.

  [Liam, el Rhodes is half an hour out]

  "Rhodes is here. I guess some friendship do go deep. I miss the man in bck." Tony was very happy that his friend was on his way to rescue him.

  "That's our cue to leave." Liam said and he summoned back BT. Again Tony was amazed how Liam was able to make such a thing vanish. Before it was suit, and now a robot that was bigger than him. What was this?

  "You o teach me how you do this." Tony got over his ego and asked.

  "Someday, maybe." Liam said as he wasn't sure if he could ever get that kind of teology from any game. It was matter of lubsp;