"Where is he?"
After failing to get an answer from Rhodey, Iron Man turned to Justin Hammer again, demanding information about Ivan Vanko.
"What are you talking about?" Justin Hammer was momentarily confused.
"Ivan Vanko!"
"Who?"
"Tell me where he is!"
"Man, what are you even doing here?"
While Justin Hammer was trying to dodge the issue, something unexpected happened.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa~"
Rhodey suddenly exclaimed as a stream of rapidly changing code flashed before his eyes. "What the hell is this?!"
At the same time, the screen camera cut to another scene.
There stood a burly man with long hair and a toothpick in his mouth, furiously typing on a keyboard.
Though it was only a brief glimpse, everyone in front of the screen immediately understood.
"They're trying to take control of the Iron Armors!"
Iron Man declared with certainty.
And just as Iron Man predicted, the Gatling gun on Rhodey's armor suddenly aimed at him.
That burly man had to be none other than Ivan Vanko!
"Is that you?" Iron Man asked Rhodey, slightly confused.
"It's not me! I've been locked out! My suit's locked up! I can't move! Get out of here, the system's under his control!"
Rhodey shouted anxiously.
"Let's take this fight outside!"
Iron Man made a snap decision, immediately flying his suit out of the Expo.
Under Ivan Vanko's control, all the Iron Armors on display also took off, launching into the sky in pursuit of Iron Man.
Including Rhodey.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
One Iron Armor after another ignited its thrusters and took to the sky, like a brilliant fireworks display—visually stunning and full of impact.
They smashed through the glass dome of the Expo, chasing after Iron Man.
A breathtaking aerial battle unfolded before everyone's eyes.
A whole swarm of Iron Armors was tailing Iron Man, unleashing firepower without restraint. Iron Man weaved through the city's skyline, performing evasive maneuvers like a stunt pilot.
Explosions and blasts lit up the night sky with dazzling brilliance.
Captain America was sweating bullets as he watched.
"So this is Iron Man? This is insane!"
"If we had suits like this back in the day, the Red Skull would've died a dozen times over. No army on Earth could stand against this kind of firepower."
The battle on the screen raged on.
Iron Man lived up to his name—after some slick moves, he destroyed all the Iron Armors except one: War Machine, Rhodey.
And then Rhodey tackled Iron Man to the ground.
The two metal clunkers started brawling—clang! bang! boom!
Then the screen cut to an indoor scene.
A stunning blonde female agent was at a computer, fingers flying across the keyboard.
"Black Widow? Still as gorgeous as ever." Iron Man couldn't resist a flirty quip, that classic playboy smirk on his face.
Looked like S.H.I.E.L.D. had gotten involved too.
Considering S.H.I.E.L.D.'s jurisdiction and the fact that he would join the Avengers in the future, it wasn't really a surprise.
"What are you doing?"
Behind Black Widow, Happy asked curiously.
"Rebooting Rhodey's armor." Black Widow replied casually, giving the keyboard one final smack.
Just like that, Rhodey—mid-fight with Iron Man—suddenly stopped.
The two old buddies ceased fire, saluted, shook hands, and declared their bromance intact.
Soon after, another swarm of Iron Armors swooped down from the sky, surrounding Iron Man and War Machine.
Another epic group brawl began. Iron Man and War Machine teamed up against Hammer Industries' army.
In the end, Iron Man unleashed a spectacular laser slash, slicing all the Iron Soldiers clean in half.
Captain America's expression from start to finish: д
"What the hell!?"
"You can fight like this now? It's only been seventy years and the world's changed this much?!"
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a deep rumbling echoed from above, and two fiery lights streaked down from the sky.
Clang!
A massive mech suit slammed down in front of Iron Man and Rhodey.
It was an Iron Armor even larger than both of them. The helmet opened automatically, revealing the pilot inside—
It was none other than Ivan Vanko, the man who had been remotely controlling the Iron Armors to assassinate Iron Man.
Ivan Vanko twitched both his hands, and two long, electrified whips snapped into view.
"This doesn't look good," Rhodey muttered, stepping forward bravely. "Let me try something special."
A missile popped out from War Machine's shoulder and whooshed toward Ivan Vanko.
However...
Clang!
The missile turned out to be a dud—it bounced harmlessly off Vanko's armor and dropped to the ground.
The mood froze for a beat.
Awkward. Very awkward.
"Hammer Industries weapons?"
Both the Iron Man on screen and off it said the same thing.
"Yep," Rhodey replied helplessly.
"I'm never using Hammer Industries weapons again—not even if I'm dying!"
Nick Fury made a mental note. That junk was practically a death wish.
Good thing S.H.I.E.L.D. had stopped using Hammer's gear.
"Let me handle this!" Iron Man opened fire on Ivan Vanko, but couldn't break through his armor.
Smack!
Instead, Vanko casually lashed Iron Man with an electric whip, sending him flying. One swing cut the Gatling gun off Rhodey's armor.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Ivan Vanko spun his twin whips around, effortlessly beating down both Iron Man and War Machine like they were unruly toddlers—totally helpless.
"Melee weapons for the Iron Armor need to be prioritized ASAP!"
Iron Man silently vowed. His fight with the Winter Soldier already exposed this weakness. Now, Ivan Vanko was rubbing it in.
If he had that lightsaber he'd been working on, would he be getting thrashed like this?
Probably would've poked a nice clean hole through Vanko already.
Smack!
Smack!
In the heat of battle, Ivan Vanko used both whips to choke Iron Man and War Machine, pinning them down.
But what Ivan Vanko didn't expect was—
That very move would lead to his electrifying downfall.
(End of Chapter)