An hour ago, at the same time that Kirby was locked in combat with Akuma, another battle was also taking place. It only seemed fitting that both fights would involve the first and the last leaders of the MvC organization.
"Chris Redfield..."
Iron Man's filtered voice rumbled in the lightest of threatening tones. Chris, Snake, Pichu and the Pikmin Red kept their backs pressed against the opposing wall. Iron Man made the briefest of head movements as he acknowledged the three figures accompanying the traitor. The soft glow from his mask's 'eye-sockets' almost made it seem like he was looking into their very beings. In fact, that probably was what it was doing. There was no information on these three within the MvC's database, and that told Iron Man that they were an unknown element in the mix.
"Who are these people?" he asked.
Keeping his eyes fixed on Iron Man, Chris slowly moved a hand toward the gun hilt on his pant leg. "Sir...these people...they're here to help me deal with the problem of the intruders. A special team that I called in myself. I hope that you don't mind me having done so."
"No, not at all. We could always use more help. These intruders are particularly strong; many of us have fallen to them so far." Iron Man replied, and then he added, "But, may I ask why you are reaching for your Desert Eagle pistol right now?"
Chris froze.
"Redfield, your words are not matching with your actions. Explain yourself."
"I..." Chris didn't know what he could say. Once Iron Man had seen through an attempt at deception, it was near-impossible to trick him again. He was a man that had to be dealt with extreme care; akin to treading through a field of buried landmines while having a pistol pressed to your head. Chris cringed when he realized that such a situation was probably more preferable than having Iron Man staring him down. He had seen Iron Man in action before, and that robotic suit of his made him damn near-invincible. Not even missiles were able to dent the scarlet-red armor. There had to be some way out of this.
"Chris." Iron Man was growing impatient.
"I'm going to look for Tron Bonne, and take her away from the premises. She is one of our top scientists, and we cannot risk allowing her to die at the hands of the intruders. I am taking out my pistol because we'll be reaching the bottom floor, and I need to be prepared for any enemies." Chris blurted out, having just made it all up on the spot. It was an excuse, but a sensible excuse. Tron really was an important member of the organization, and it was only right to keep her alive too. Iron Man acknowledged this 'plan' with a light nod of his head.
"That is a good idea; Ms. Bonne is very important to our cause."
Chris smiled weakly, and nodded back. He just realized something. For a long time now, Iron Man had been speaking in a strange manner. His voice was almost always monotone, and he seemed to address people in a cold and calculating manner, as if everything was read in sheets of numbers. It was less like a human, and more like-
"Chris, what is that man behind you doing?"
Snake aimed his portable, remote-controlled missile launcher at the wall across from him. "C'mon, we're getting out of here!" he boldly shouted just as he pulled the trigger. Chris tried to stop him, but it was too late by then.
The elevator rattled with violent tremors, a gaping hole blown open in its side. It was amazing that it hadn't snapped right off of the cables; it still held together, but just barely now. The elevator continued to rock back and forth at an unsteady pace. Despite this issue, Snake wasn't one to waste any time; he grabbed Chris by the arm, and forcefully dragged him through the gaping 'escape route'. Just before disappearing below, Snake threw a live grenade over his shoulder, it landing right at Iron Man's feet. Snake and Chris tumbled down the elevator shaft until they crash-landed atop the roof of the other elevator. The sound of the grenade going off was a dull echo. Smoke and flames gushed from the first elevator's 'wound'.
Chris pushed Snake away, shouting, "Dammit, Snake...at least warn me or something before you do that! What were you thinking? You could have killed us all!"
"I've met people like him before. He was going to kill us regardless of what you said. He was just humoring you." Snake explained. He wiped off the dust covering his face, and took out a small, black object. It looked like a box, but Snake began to open it, unfolding it like a kind of paper fortune.
"What? How can you even tell that?"
"He had been collecting energy in his palm for an attack ever since he saw you going for your gun. Didn't you notice?"
"..." Chris was speechless. He hadn't noticed. He was so busy staring at the man's 'face' that he didn't bother to pay any attention to the rest of him. Chris sighed. He was accustomed to dealing with the brainless and mindless undead, not all of these freaking mutants and superheroes. It wasn't his forte. He looked over at Snake's shoulder, and his jaw dropped.
"Uh, Snake...?"
"What is it? We need to get out of here as soon as we can!"
"Pichu and that little flower-guy thing are missing."
Snake reached behind his back, and sure enough, he did not feel Pichu's soft, smooth fur on his fingertips.
"Shit!"
Pichu could hardly breathe, the smoke filling his lungs every time he opened his mouth. He tried to look around, but the smoke continued to be an obstruction. Pichu coughed. He didn't know how, but at some point during the escape, he had fallen off of Snake's back. Pichu glanced to his right and saw the little Pikmin named Red sitting there. He was still alive, but he was too stunned to move. Pichu lifted him up onto his back; they needed to get out of this elevator as soon as possible. It must have been made of incredibly strong materials to not be devastated from a grenade explosion like that. But then again, Snake's grenades were always rather weak. Nonetheless, this also called up another good question, Pichu realized. Just how are they still alive right now?
Iron Man revealed himself through the misty veil, his red and yellow suit covered with minor scratches. Pichu's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The former superhero had protected them from the blast with his own body, albeit unintentionally. Iron Man stared at him, and Pichu stared back. For a moment, that was all they could do. And then Iron Man held out his palm, and it started to glow brightly.
"I don't know what you two are supposed to be," he said, "But you're obviously the enemy. Die."
Pichu saw a white flash, and he knew he had to move. Right now. He leaped to his right just as the sphere of intense heat flew over his head. Another hole was blown open within the poor, helpless elevator, which just made things worse for its occupants. The shaking was just about unbearable. Pichu knew he was doomed whether he stayed inside the elevator or not as long as Iron Man was aiming at him. Iron Man was already powering up another beam from his palm. Covering his tiny body in a light veil of electricity to cushion his fall, Pichu jumped out of the newly made hole. However, he didn't make it far.
"You aren't going anywhere."
Pichu yelped, his tail caught firmly in Iron Man's grasp. The yellow rodent attempted to tug his way free but soon realized that attempting to do so further could rend him tailless. It wasn't unexpected that the super-advanced robotic suit would possess such a powerful grip. Pichu could feel his tail heating up; Iron Man was going to blow it apart, along with everything attached to it. Pichu could not even rely on his own electric powers, due to them being so weak.
This would never have happened to his brother, Pichu thought to himself. His brother, Pika Pikachu the First, was a true hero. After having gained much strength and experience in his travels with his former trainer, Pichu's brother went on to be one of the original Smashers and had kept his place as one of the group's strongest up until this very point. He was incredibly fast, even powerful enough to fight monsters like Bowser and Ganondorf, yet still keeping himself modest all at the same time. Pichu's eyes filled with tears. Why did these bastards have to kill his brother? It made him so angry. He saw Snake and Chris below him, but they wouldn't be able to get here in time. And now Pichu was going to die too.
Suddenly, the Pokemon felt something arise from deep inside of him. It was a strange power that he had never known before. It was brief. However, it gave him the burst of strength that he needed at that moment. One second, Iron Man had Pichu captured and helpless. A second later, and Pichu was gone. Iron Man stuck his head out from the hole and looked upward. Pichu was scaling the side of the elevator. Somehow, it had been able to use Quick Attack to slip away in time. Iron Man didn't like this, not one bit.
Pichu reached the top of the elevator without any trouble. Suddenly, right in front of it, a beam of light erupted forth like a geyser. Pichu ran around it and kept going. The wire that kept the elevator aloft was his destination. Pichu climbed and climbed; down below he could hear the sound of Iron Man bashing his way out of the elevator for good. It would take some time before Snake and Chris could rejoin the fight. Pichu wanted to be a hero, just like his brother. He was going to stake his life on keeping Iron Man's attention so he could be defeated from behind. He just hoped Red wouldn't mind taking part in this convoluted plan.
Iron Man's fist came in out of nowhere, hitting Pichu hard across the face. It was like coming into contact with a speeding truck. Blood spurted from Pichu's nose, and he nearly lost consciousness. His throat was aflame with acid reflux. The tiny creature was sent reeling through the air, completely open for his enemy to pulverize. Another punch from Iron Man knocked Pichu through a set of closed elevator doors. Lying in the rubble of shattered steel doors, Pichu could barely stand. He had been able to soften the blow with his lightning, but that wasn't enough. His entire body was ravaged with severe pain; every nerve in his body was screaming agonizingly. For the others, this may have been a painful blow, but Pichu was too small and light to handle most attacks. His body was as fragile as glass, just another thing to add to a long, long list of problems.
Iron Man approached him. Pichu despised himself; he had thought he made a successful escape, but all he did was prolong his imminent death.
But a part of him still wasn't willing to give up just yet.
