Chapter 24: Vanko's Breakthrough
The call came at 3:17 AM.
"Success."
Just that one word, but Justin was out of bed instantly. He knew that voice. Knew what it meant.
"I'm coming to the lab," Justin said. "Don't touch anything until I get there."
Twenty minutes later, he walked into Ivan Vanko's private laboratory to find the physicist staring at a miniaturized arc reactor with the intensity of a man seeing God.
"Is beautiful, no?" Vanko said softly.
Justin approached, his Scientific Intuition activating automatically. The reactor was different from Tony's design—bulkier, less elegant, but the energy signature was stable. Perfect. And the materials...
"You did it without exotic elements," Justin breathed. "You actually did it."
"Is not pretty like Stark's new reactor." Vanko picked it up, cradling it like a child. "Is 15% less efficient. But can be mass-produced using materials that exist in market. Costs 90% less to manufacture. And—" He pressed a button. The reactor's output doubled. "—can be produced in bulk."
Justin's mind raced through applications. Prometheus Armor with indefinite operation time. Energy weapons that didn't require massive power supplies. Facilities running on clean energy. Humanitarian operations in areas without infrastructure.
"Ivan," Justin said slowly. "You just changed the world."
"Father's work. I just finished it." Vanko set the reactor down carefully. "In other life—life where I attack Stark at Monaco—I die or go to prison. Father's name becomes synonymous with terrorism. Legacy destroyed."
"But not in this life."
"Not in this life. In this life, I build something that matters. Something that helps people." Vanko's voice roughened. "Father would be proud."
Justin put a hand on his shoulder. "Your father's name will be associated with the breakthrough that powers homes, hospitals, humanitarian operations worldwide. That's a legacy worth building."
Vanko pulled out a bottle of vodka and two glasses. "We drink. To fathers. To legacies. To revenge through excellence instead of violence."
They drank. The vodka burned. And Justin thought about how he'd saved Ivan Vanko from throwing his life away on thirty seconds of satisfaction.
This—this—was worth it.
The patent filing went through three days later.
The announcement hit the news a week after that: Hammer Industries unveiling revolutionary new arc reactor technology that would bring clean energy to mass market at unprecedented affordability.
The media went insane.
And Tony Stark gave an interview that made Justin laugh until his ribs hurt.
"It's impressive work," Tony said, his tone suggesting the opposite. "Derivative, but impressive. Like someone building a decent smartphone after the iPhone already exists. Shows Hammer Industries is finally catching up to where I was two years ago."
Justin watched the interview with AEGIS, Maya, and Vanko in his office.
"He's being condescending," Maya observed.
"He's being competitive," Justin corrected. "There's a difference."
Vanko's expression was thunderous. "He dismisses our work—"
"He's scared," Justin interrupted. "We just proved we can compete at his level. So he's trying to minimize the threat through public relations." Justin turned to AEGIS. "Send Tony's PR team a gift basket. Include a note: 'From the company that just made arc reactor technology affordable for everyone, not just billionaires. —Hammer Industries.'"
AEGIS's voice carried amusement. "Acknowledged, sir. Shall I include anything else in the basket?"
"Make it nice. Expensive scotch. Fancy chocolates. Show we can compete financially too."
"You are like children," Vanko muttered. "Fighting over toys."
Justin grinned. "Yes, but we're building really impressive toys."
The media ate up the rivalry. Articles positioned it as scrappy innovator versus established genius. Stock prices for both companies rose on the publicity. Wall Street analysts started calling it "the new technology war."
And Tony, predictably, responded by announcing six new R&D initiatives within a week.
"Sir," AEGIS observed. "Mr. Stark has significantly accelerated his innovation schedule since our reactor announcement. You appear to motivate him."
"Good," Justin said. "Competitive Tony is innovative Tony. And we need all the innovation we can get."
"For the invasion you keep referencing?"
"Among other things."
Maya looked up from her tablet. "You two are going to push each other into building increasingly insane technology until one of you accidentally creates a doomsday device."
"That's the plan," Justin said. "Except we'll both avoid the doomsday device part. Hopefully."
"Hopefully is not reassuring."
"Welcome to advanced technology development."
Late that night, Justin found Vanko in his lab, staring at the reactor prototype.
"Can't sleep?" Justin asked.
"Am thinking," Vanko said. "About other life. Timeline where I attack Stark. Where I waste father's legacy on violence." He took a drink—always vodka, always straight. "Sometimes I still want to hurt him. To make him suffer. But then I look at this—" He gestured to the reactor. "—and I know this is better revenge. To succeed. To prove father was right. To build something Stark cannot dismiss."
"He's already dismissing it."
"He is scared. I see it in interview. He knows we are real competition now." Vanko smiled, but there was no humor in it. "This is how we defeat him. Not with violence. With excellence. With work that speaks louder than his ego."
Justin pulled up a chair. "Ivan, I need to tell you something. There's a reason I recruited you. A reason I've been pushing you to build instead of destroy."
"I know. You saw future where I fail. Where I throw away everything for thirty seconds of satisfaction."
"How did you—"
"I am not stupid. You know things you should not know. See patterns that do not exist yet. Speak of threats years away like they are certain." Vanko met his eyes. "I do not understand how. Do not need to. But I trust that you saved me from worse timeline. And for that, I build. I create. I make father proud."
Justin felt something tight in his chest loosen. Vanko understood. Not how, but enough.
"Thank you," Justin said quietly.
"Is I who should thank you. You gave me purpose beyond rage. Legacy beyond revenge." Vanko raised his glass. "To future we are building. However strange the path."
They drank.
Outside, New York hummed with life. In labs across the city, Tony Stark was probably working obsessively on new projects, driven by competitive fire to prove his superiority. And here, in a converted warehouse, Ivan Vanko had built technology that would change the world.
All because Justin had chosen to prevent a tragedy before it happened.
The void marks pulsed beneath his sleeves. Twelve months until critical corruption. One year until the invasion.
But tonight, he'd celebrate a victory. Tomorrow, he'd keep building.
Because that's what you did when you knew the end was coming: you built something that would outlast you.
Something that mattered.
Something worth the cost.
Note:
Please give good reviews and power stones itrings more people and more people means more chapters?
My Patreon is all about exploring 'What If' timelines, and you can get instant access to chapters far ahead of the public release.
Choose your journey:
Timeline Viewer ($6): Get 10 chapters of early access + 5 new chapters weekly.
Timeline Explorer ($9): Jump 15-20 chapters ahead of everyone.
Timeline Keeper ($15): Get Instant Access to chapters the moment I finish writing them. No more waiting.
Read the raw, unfiltered story as it unfolds. Your support makes this possible!
👉 Find it all at patreon.com/Whatif0