[Third Person Pov]
When Tony and his group exited the school building and made their way toward the front gate, he walked casually with his arms draped over both Melissa and Momo's shoulders. Before they could go any farther, a powerful figure descended elegantly from the sky, landing a short distance ahead of them.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? A family reunion and I wasn't even invited. I'm a little hurt," the man said. He wore a white and black superhero suit, controlled waves of energy rolling subtly off his body. At the center of his chest was the icon of a head with rippling waves spreading outward.
Tony immediately noticed Kane, Maria, Howard, and even Eric grow tense. Maria's expression darkened as she muttered under her breath, "Justin…"
Justin stood there with a slightly cocky expression. His beard was lighter and less prominent than Kane's, and he spread his arms slightly, his full attention settling on Tony. "You must be Tony—"
Tony continued forward without slowing, walking right past him with his middle finger raised in his uncle's direction, his arms still resting comfortably over Melissa and Momo. "So I can't decide what restaurant we should go to. I'm thinking something nice and down to earth—"
Justin froze in place as his complexion seemed to turn green with humiliation and anger, his features twisting in disbelief.
"Pfft—" Howard and Kane both covered their mouths and turned away, barely restraining themselves from bursting into laughter.
Maria pinched the bridge of her nose and grumbled, "This is exactly why I didn't want to tell him anything."
Eric stared at Tony's back as if he were looking at a madman. 'Is he insane? Doesn't he know how dangerous it is to antagonize our uncle? Does he not know that Uncle Justin is ranked within the top ten S-Rank heroes of America, known as Brainwave?'
"You disrespectful brat—" Justin snarled as he stepped forward and placed a firm hand on Tony's shoulder. "Even though we might share the same blood, who do you think you are to treat me in such a manner?"
Tony paused and glanced down at the hand gripping his shoulder. He turned his head slightly toward Melissa and Momo. "I just want to make sure I'm seeing this correctly, but he's touching my shoulder. I'm not imagining things, right?"
Melissa sighed. "Indeed he is."
"Don't hurt him," Maria said anxiously, her face tightening with concern.
Justin scoffed. "Don't worry. I just want to teach this brat of yours a little discipline."
"I wasn't talking to you, you dunce. I was talking to my son. Tony, don't hurt him. Despite our estranged relationship, he's still your uncle and your elder," Maria said firmly. She was not overly worried about Tony, knowing what he was capable of, but she did not want him getting into trouble because of an impulsive reaction.
"You have five seconds, out of courtesy to my mother, to stop touching me before you make me disappoint her by being disobedient," Tony replied coldly, his eyes never leaving his uncle's hand.
'This brat is truly arrogant, but what else would you expect from someone raised by her?' Justin thought with a sneer, his fingers tightening slightly instead of loosening.
Before either of them could escalate the situation, a pink lasso suddenly wrapped around Justin's wrist and yanked his hand away from Tony's shoulder.
Everyone turned in surprise toward Maria, not expecting her to be the first to act. "Tony gave you a warning, Justin. Take your hands off him. You are not in any position to discipline anyone, much less my son."
Tony blinked, momentarily taken aback, and watched the scene unfold with growing curiosity.
They watched as Maria's suit rapidly formed over her body, sleek panels of advanced material sealing into place while she maintained her grip on the pink energy whip.
Justin was the most stunned by this turn of events. He knew his little sister well, and he certainly had not expected her to attack him, especially in broad daylight. The suit itself caught him off guard; it was clearly cutting-edge technology, far beyond standard hero gear. It fit her perfectly, contouring to her frame with precision. Even her baby bump was subtly accommodated, barely visible yet unmistakably present beneath the armored design.
Justin scoffed and activated his quirk, but his expression quickly twisted into a grimace as Maria's whip began to heat up. The pink energy glowed brighter, searing his wrist as faint steam rose from the contact point.
With a sharp blast of psychic force, he snapped the whip apart and started to rise into the air. Almost immediately, an invisible pressure descended on him, forcing him back down toward the pavement as though the atmosphere itself had grown heavier.
He resisted the suppression by releasing his psychic energy in pulsing waves around his body, forming a protective shield that pushed back against the unseen force.
Kane stepped forward as Justin straightened from his crouching position. The two Carbonell siblings stood facing one another, both with their quirks activated, which pulsed along their bodies, identical frowns etched across their faces.
"Just leave, Justin. You're making this worse for yourself," Kane said flatly, glaring at his older brother. "You're clearly not welcome here."
"I can see that," Justin replied with disdain. "But that brat was being far too disrespectful. I know for a fact that if you were in my position, you wouldn't have allowed that level of insolence either."
"I wouldn't," Kane admitted with a snort, his expression mirroring Justin's. "But I also wouldn't be stupid enough to come here in the first place. How else did you think you were going to be treated after going out of your way to torment Maria since we were children?"
Justin opened his mouth to respond, but Kane cut him off. "Were you seriously expecting her, much less her son, to welcome you with open arms and warm hospitality? I know you've been climbing the ranks by befriending the right people and leveraging connections. You were probably hoping to use your relationship with Tony as his uncle and ride his coattails to an even higher position."
Justin clenched his fists, anger flashing across his face, while Kane shook his head in visible disappointment. After a moment, Kane deactivated his quirk and said calmly, "Like I said, just leave. Look around. You're not welcome here."
Justin glanced around and found himself met with cold stares from nearly everyone present. The only exception was Eric, who kept his gaze fixed on the ground, unwilling to involve himself any further. He was, after all, the only one who seemed intent on preserving his sanity.
"This isn't over," Justin growled before lifting off and shooting into the sky.
Just as he was about to disappear from sight, a warp portal suddenly opened directly in his path. He had no time to react before it swallowed him whole. A split second later, he tumbled out onto scorching sand, scrambling to his feet in the middle of a vast desert, confusion written plainly across his face.
Back at the school, everyone slowly turned to stare at Tony, who still had his hands raised in the direction where Justin had vanished.
"Tony…" Maria sighed in exasperation.
"What?" Tony replied innocently, looking at her in confusion. "You told me not to hurt him, so I didn't. I just transported him very, very far away."
"Where?" Howard asked, barely containing a chuckle.
"Mars," Tony answered with a completely straight face.
"WHAT?!" most of them shouted at once. Sending Justin to Mars would have been no different from killing him outright.
Tony snorted. "Man, you guys are so gullible. I just stranded him in the middle of a desert. I mean, did you hear what he said before leaving?"
He lowered his voice, imitating Justin almost perfectly. "'This isn't over.' That's some third-rate villain energy right there."
Relief washed over the group as they realized Tony had not actually killed his uncle.
Meanwhile, Tony stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Unfortunately for him, it seems the old man had eyes but failed to see Mount Tai."
Eric let out a loud chortle at that, but the moment Tony turned to look at him, he instantly straightened his face and pretended he had not reacted at all.
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