[Stark Expo. The Main Stage.]
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Justin Hammer stammered, sweating through his suit. "We have a... slight technical difficulty."
Behind him, the ranks of robotic drones—Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines—shifted. Their lights turned from a friendly blue to a menacing red. The massive War Machine armor, standing next to them, jerked its head up.
Inside the suit, Rhodey screamed. "Tony! Get out of here! I'm locked out! Target acquisition is active!"
CLICK-WHIR.
Every gun on the stage aimed at the sky.
"Kill," Ivan Vanko's voice echoed through the speakers.
BOOM.
A wall of missiles and gunfire erupted into the night sky.
Tony, hovering above the crowd in the Mark 6 (Triangle Chest Piece), banked hard. "J.A.R.V.I.S., track the signal!"
"Signal originating from Hammer Industries, Sir. But Colonel Rhodes is locking on. He has a kinetic kill solution."
"Fly!" Tony yelled, engaging his thrusters. He rocketed away from the civilians, leading the swarm of flying drones and the hijacked War Machine on a chase through the Queens skyline.
[The Expo Grounds. Ground Level.]
Chaos. Thousands of people screamed, stampeding toward the exits.
The Army and Marine drones—heavy, walking tanks—jumped off the stage. They landed with earth-shaking thuds. Their gatling guns spun up, scanning the crowd for high-value targets.
"Miss Potts! Move!" Happy Hogan shoved Pepper toward the exit.
A Marine Drone blocked their path. It stood eight feet tall, armored in thick steel plating. It raised a grenade launcher, aiming directly at Pepper.
"Oh god," Pepper gasped.
Happy reached for his gun, but he knew it was useless.
WHOOSH.
Something black and white blurred past them.
There was a sound like tearing metal—SCREEEECH.
The drone didn't fire. instead, its entire upper torso slid diagonally off its legs. The cut was clean, smooth, and impossible. The top half crashed to the ground, sparking wildly.
Standing on top of the ruined legs was Sebastian Michaelis. He held a silver serving tray in one hand. The edge of the tray was glowing faintly with heat.
"My apologies, Miss Potts," Sebastian said, dusting ash off his lapel. "I am afraid the exit is blocked. We shall have to take the scenic route."
"Did you..." Happy lowered his gun, staring at the tray. "Did you just cut a tank in half with a platter?"
"It is high-quality silver, Mr. Hogan," Sebastian replied.
Three more drones rounded the corner. Their sensors locked onto Sebastian.
"Threat Detected," the robotic voices droned.
Sebastian sighed. He handed the tray to Happy. "Hold this, please."
He stepped forward.
The drones opened fire. Heavy caliber bullets tore up the pavement.
Sebastian was gone.
He moved like smoke in a hurricane. He appeared on the shoulder of the first drone. He grabbed its sensory array (the head) with one bare hand.
CRUNCH.
He crushed the steel skull like a soda can.
He backflipped off the falling robot, landing on the second one. He drove his hand through the chest plating, ripped out the central processor, and threw it at the third drone with the force of a cannonball.
BANG.
The third drone's head exploded from the impact.
Pepper stared, her mouth open. "He's... he's doing that with his hands."
"He's wearing gloves," Happy pointed out, as if that explained it.
Sebastian landed gracefully in front of them. He adjusted his tie. "The path is clear. Mr. Hogan, please escort Miss Potts to the car. I believe the Young Master requires some pest control in the Japanese Garden."
[S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. Observation Deck.]
Director Fury watched the satellite feed. The screen showed thermal imaging of the Expo.
"Rewind that," Fury ordered. "Slow it down. 0.25 speed."
Maria Hill tapped the console. On the screen, Sebastian was still a blur.
"Sir," Hill said, her voice trembling slightly. "The computer can't track his movements. He's moving faster than the frame rate of the satellite."
"Look at the heat signature," Fury pointed to the screen.
When Sebastian crushed the drone, there was no heat from exertion. But the shadow behind him... the thermal image showed a massive, distorted shape looming over the robots.
"That's not a man," Fury whispered. "That's a monster on a leash."
[The Japanese Garden.]
Tony crashed into the pond. Steam rose from his suit.
"Rhodey! Snap out of it!"
Rhodey landed next to him. The War Machine guns were glowing hot. "I can't control it! The suit is—wait."
Suddenly, the red lights on Rhodey's suit flickered and died. The systems rebooted. Green light returned.
"Reboot complete," Natasha's voice came over the comms. "I'm at Hammer Industries. I've secured the control room. Vanko is locked out."
"Nice work, Triple Agent," Tony panted, standing up. "Rhodey, you good?"
"I'm good," Rhodey raised his cannons. "Let's blow these things."
"Too late," a new voice boomed.
The ground shook.
A new suit landed in the center of the garden. It was huge—even bigger than the Iron Monger. It held two massive, glowing plasma whips. The faceplate was a grinning skull.
Whiplash Mark II.
"Good," Ivan Vanko laughed inside the suit. "I kill you both together."
Tony and Rhodey lined up, shoulder to shoulder.
"You take the left," Tony said.
"I got the right," Rhodey agreed.
They fired. Repulsors and machine guns hammered Vanko's shields. Vanko didn't budge. He laughed, lashing out with the whips.
SNAP.
He caught Rhodey by the neck and threw him into a tree.
SNAP.
He caught Tony's leg, dragging him closer. "You lose, Stark!"
Tony charged his Unibeam, but Vanko wrapped the other whip around Tony's arms, pinning him. The plasma burned through the armor plating.
"Sir!"
Sebastian dropped from the sky. He didn't have a weapon. He landed on Vanko's back.
"Get off!" Vanko roared, activating the suit's electrified surface.
Sebastian ignored the voltage. He grabbed the huge, armored shoulder plates of the Whiplash suit. His gloves smoked. His eyes glowed fuchsia.
"You are making a mess of the garden!" Sebastian hissed.
He pulled.
SCREEEEEE—
The sound of tearing metal was deafening. Sebastian, using brute demonic strength, ripped the massive shoulder armor off the Whiplash suit, exposing the wiring beneath.
Vanko screamed in confusion. "What?!"
"Now, Sir!" Sebastian yelled, backflipping away.
"Rhodey! Cross the streams!" Tony yelled.
"You said never to do that!"
"Just do it!"
Tony fired his hand repulsors. Rhodey fired his. The beams met in the middle, creating a chaotic sphere of explosive energy directly on Vanko's exposed, unarmored shoulder.
KA-BOOM.
The explosion leveled the garden. Trees were uprooted. The pond evaporated.
When the smoke cleared, the Whiplash suit was a smoking crater. Vanko lay inside, motionless.
Tony and Rhodey stood up, their suits battered and scorching.
Sebastian stood on a rock nearby. He was brushing soot off his tailcoat. One of his gloves was burned away, revealing a hand with black fingernails and a strange, geometric seal on the back.
He quickly hid the hand behind his back.
"Are we finished?" Sebastian asked pleasantly. "Because I believe Miss Potts is waiting, and she looks ready to resign again."
Tony popped his faceplate. He looked at the destroyed robots, the destroyed villain, and his terrified friend.
"Yeah," Tony said, collapsing onto the grass. "We're finished. Nice ripping, by the way."
"I do my best to facilitate, Sir."
[End of Arc 2]
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