Officially, the Mark II suit had been "handed over to the military."
In reality, Tony had hard-coded so many security layers into it that only one person could operate it—Colonel Rhodes. The whole "for the military" thing was just for show.
Rhodey raised his arm in salute, and all the automated suits behind him did the same in perfect unison.
The audience went wild.
They had assumed Hammer's showcase would be nothing more than immobile display models—but these could move!
And the real surprise was yet to come.
Inside a control room filled with blinking equipment, Vanko sat hunched over a console, a toothpick between his lips, muttering in Russian as his fingers danced furiously across the keyboard.
"Stark… your end has come."
He hit Enter.
A sinister smile stretched across his face.
Back at the Expo, every single suit suddenly came alive. Even Rhodey's armor lurched forward against his will, weapons systems activating without command.
"Something's wrong," Natasha's instincts screamed. "They're being remotely controlled!"
Her words barely left her mouth when all the suits locked onto the audience.
Ratatatatatatata—!
Gunfire tore through the hall.
Screams filled the air as chaos erupted.
"Protect Pepper! We need to move, now!"
Natasha barked orders, drawing her pistol and firing at the rogue armors—but the bullets merely pinged off harmlessly.
Onstage, Justin Hammer was frozen in terror, staring at his creations as they mowed people down.
"How… how is this happening?!"
A shadow flashed—then a sharp blow knocked him flat. Natasha loomed over him, her pistol pressed hard against his throat.
"Where is Vanko?" she demanded, eyes cold and murderous.
She didn't even need confirmation; only Vanko had the skill to override that many armored suits. Hammer could barely turn on a coffee machine without help.
"I—I don't know!" Hammer stammered, trembling violently.
Natasha frowned, then slapped him—once, twice, hard enough to leave red marks.
"Where is he? Don't test my patience."
When he still hesitated, she jammed the barrel into his mouth.
"I… I swear, I don't know!" Hammer blubbered, shaking his head like mad. "We—We had a fight! He left! I haven't seen him!"
"Useless trash."
Natasha snarled and fired a round into his leg, ensuring he wouldn't crawl away in the confusion. Hammer's scream filled the air before he slumped into unconsciousness.
Tapping her comms, Natasha reported, "Director, we have a situation at the Expo. I need backup."
At S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, Fury watched the chaos unfold via satellite feed.
"Reinforcements are en route," he replied. "Keep civilian casualties to a minimum."
With Coulson and Barton still deployed in the Arctic, Fury dispatched Agent Melinda May—codename Cavalry—and Agent 13, a newly graduated recruit from the Academy.
Agent 13, real name Sharon Carter, was Peggy Carter's niece and had joined S.H.I.E.L.D. inspired by her aunt's legacy.
---
Meanwhile, in New York—Tony had been watching everything unfold on TV.
When the first explosions hit, he was already on his feet. "Pepper…"
He sprinted to his workshop, yanked open a large silver case—almost the size of a fuel drum—and began unlocking it. Fingerprint, retinal scan, passcode—click, click, click.
Inside gleamed a brand-new Iron Man suit.
"You'd better keep up," he tossed to Lucas before snapping the armor shut and blasting through the ceiling.
Lucas grinned. "We'll see who gets there first."
With a gesture, Onion materialized at his side, and together they soared into the night sky.
---
At the Expo, Skye and Wanda shielded Pepper as they fled through the chaos.
Dozens of rogue armors filled the air, raining bullets and missiles indiscriminately.
Ratatatatata—!
Gunfire erupted behind them. Pepper turned and saw a suit leveling its machine gun right at them.
She ducked, covering her head—only for a surge of crimson energy to flash before her eyes.
A translucent red barrier flared to life, intercepting every bullet mid-air.
When she looked up, Wanda was standing in front of her, arms raised, eyes glowing scarlet.
The bullets clattered harmlessly to the floor. Then Wanda clenched her hand.
The same crimson energy shot forward, wrapping the attacking armor like a giant phantom hand—
—and crushed it to shrapnel.
Pepper stared, speechless. She'd known Skye's powers were impressive—but Wanda's control over raw destruction was on another level entirely.
"You okay, Pepper?" Wanda asked, helping her up gently.
Pepper nodded shakily. "Y-yeah… just scared."
"Stay close."
A second red shield expanded around them, covering not only their group but also several panicked civilians nearby. The more people gathered, the larger Wanda's barrier grew.
Outside the dome, Skye was dismantling armors with her bare hands—each punch detonating a machine into flying parts.
Where Wanda was elegant precision, Skye was pure force.
---
Suddenly, heavy metal music thundered from above.
A streak of fire cut through the smoke and smashed into an attacking drone.
"I knew that idiot Hammer couldn't be trusted!" Tony's voice boomed from his speakers. "He's turned a world expo into a war zone!"
The red-and-gold figure stepped from the dust, triumphant.
The trapped civilians erupted into cheers—Iron Man had arrived.
Tony struck a flashy pose, completely unaware that behind him, Rhodey's War Machine had just locked onto him.
The turret on his back unfolded with a mechanical roar.
"Tony! Get out of the way!" Rhodey screamed—but the comms were jammed. His voice never reached outside the armor.
BRRRRRRRRRT—!
The Gatling gun spat a storm of bullets toward Iron Man.
A blur sliced through the air—Lucas descended from above, a sharp gust forming into a blade of wind that severed the gun barrels in an instant.
"I told you, you're too flashy," Lucas called out, landing beside Tony. "If I hadn't shown up, you'd be scrap metal right now."
"Please!" Tony shot back, puffing out his chest. "That pea-shooter couldn't even scratch my armor."
He said it with confidence, but both of them knew—without Lucas's timely cut, Tony would've been picking bullets out of his suit for weeks.
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