The Stark Storm

by ISS1988

Tony was fighting, desperate to save the world, desperate seeing all the odds turn against him and his allies, but then an interaction with the Infinity Stones takes his mind back in time, in the young body with the memories of the next years of his life, he discovers that he is in a different universe and with that everything changes.

4. The Past That Bites

Merry Christmas

Chapter 4

The Past That Bites

AC/DC started playing, Tony's favorite while he was wearing his Mark IV armor inside a plane, the cargo door opened and he jumped, activating the thrusters and descending with fireworks exploding around him; drones created by him circled and captured the image, transmitting it to the exhibition's screens, to the internet and to the TV; he entered the building and landed on the white dot in the three-pointed pose and stood up raising his arms with the audience present screaming, the pyrotechnics exploding behind him with the dancers putting on the show with his music playing loudly, but not loud enough to drown out the people's screams; the lights of cell phones and cameras recording everything; Tony was in Flushing; in the state of New York, near the city with his own name; a large piece of land that his father had bought many years ago for Stark Industries to hold festivals and exhibitions like he was doing; the Stark Expo for technology and this year would be the first exhibition where the company would not focus only on weapons, all branches would have space and here he hoped to present his new projects for the armed forces.

The base that Tony was on began to rotate while the music played and the dancers performed; then the robots began to take off their armor, Tony's face was the first followed by the other pieces and Tony showed that he was wearing a well-cut and aligned suit, he bowed to the audience; he pointed his finger to the audience and clapped his hands as the music ended and the dancers positioned themselves in front of him and he pointed his finger to the floor and the music ended leaving only the delirium of the audience; Tony clapped his hands and turned to the audience stretching his arms:

- It's so good to be back! – said Tony – Did you miss me?

- Blow something up! – shouted someone from the audience:

- "Blow something up"? I already did that! – Tony said smiling and then the smile died, putting both hands together he began – I'm not saying; that the world is enjoying this long and uninterrupted period of peace thanks to me and Colonel Rhodes and also Mrs. Stark and the essential help of the various agencies of the American government and Interpol!

People were applauding:

- I'm not saying that from the ashes of my own captivity, there has never been a better comparison for the myth of the phoenix! - Tony said, extending his arms and the audience is applauding more - I'm not saying that Uncle Sam can relax in a comfortable rocking chair drinking iced tea, because even now he still protects America and its people who call this land home!

The audience applauded even louder with shouts of support for Tony:

- What matters now is the legacy! What matters is what we decide to leave for future generations and that is why in the coming days the best and brightest men and women from all countries and companies in the world will pool their resources and share their vision to build a better future! - said Tony - This is not for us! What I am saying, if what I am saying is anything, is that you are welcome to the Stark Expo!

More applause from the audience waving the lanterns they brought, shouts of celebration and support:

- And now, we're going to welcome a special guest who will explain better what we're going to do in this exhibition! – said Tony – I want you to welcome my father, Howard!

Tony walks off the stage as the screen starts to play amidst the applause of the people as he watches his father perform; Tony drinks some water as he is lost in thought:

- "Everything is possible with technology; better life, good health and for the first time in the history of the world the possibility of world peace. On behalf of all of us at Stark Industries I want to introduce you to the city of the future. Technology brings endless possibilities and will one day rid us of all the ills that affect us. One day soon, technology will affect the way you live your life every day. There will be no more tedious work; leaving more time for leisure activities and enjoying life. The Stark Expo. Welcome!"

Howard Stark's presentation ends in applause; when his father's presentation ends, Tony has other thoughts than about his family; at the top were his wife and children, they would always be his priorities, next to them was James and his family, he would do anything for them; below that are his uncle Edward and his cousin Morgan; Tony has little contact with them, especially after his uncle Edward tried to take control of the company only to be stopped by Stane; it didn't end with just "stopping" him; Stane went far in cutting off any kind of power that his uncle and cousin Morgan had in the company and only giving them very limited access to the family fortune. Tony became a family man with a super competent wife and two children to inherit the Stark Legacy while his uncle became a recluse and his cousin became addicted to parties, games and many orgies, on top of all this, Morgan participates in several schemes that mostly have no results and it is up to Tony to solve any problem before the shit hits the fan; Coming out of his thoughts, he comes out from backstage and hands the jacket to Happy:

- It's really crazy out there! – said Happy:

- Let's see this! - said Tony. Happy opened the doors and the screams of women filled his ears, but not only women, fans taking pictures, wanting greetings and wanting autographs; Tony paid as much attention as he could to everyone, including signing autographs for the children, he paid attention to a child with the Iron Man helmet that Tony met his uncle saying that his nephew had built with his supervision; Tony signed the helmet; they finally left entering the car area where he found a woman leaning against her car, surely waiting for him:

- Easy! – said Tony:

- No riots! – said Happy, agreeing:

- It went well! – said Tony and they both approached the car with the woman:

- Hi! – said Tony:

- Hi! – greeted the woman:

- And you are? – asked Tony:

- Bailiff! – the woman replied:

- Unusual! – said Tony – What can I do for you?

- Looking for you! – replied the officer and Tony got into the car:

- For what? – asked Tony:

- Deliver subpoenas! – the officer replied. Tony sighed:

- I receive this on behalf of Tony Stark! – said Happy, grabbing the subpoena – He doesn't like to take anything that is given to him!

- You are hereby summoned to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee tomorrow at nine in the morning! - said the officer. Tony put his fingers to his eyes, rubbing them tiredly:

- Badge! – said Tony – Please!

The officer smiled and showed him his badge; Tony started the car:

- Are we far away? – asked Tony:

- Very close! – replied Happy – Four hundred kilometers!

- Call Jennifer! - Tony said, accelerating. Initially, Tony wanted to drive as fast as he could to the capital, but he decided to use the company jet since Jennifer would come with him and he soon called Pepper to accompany him; the use of the jet was due to the paperwork that Jennifer would bring with her about the activities and regulations of Iron Man that she took care of; they arrived at the capital and had time to rest and prepare, because he knew that it was already close to two in the afternoon when he saw the committee asking the same question, the same demand with different words and tones while he answered the same thing, but with variations, hoping that they would understand, but it seemed that they decided to play deaf; the gavel was heard by Tony inside the congress:

- Mr. Stark, can we pick up where we left off? – asked the senator; Tony turned around after discussing a few silent words with Pepper:

- Speak, love! – said Tony, making those present laugh:

- I ask for your attention! – said Senator Stern:

- It's all yours! – said Tony:

- Do you own a specialized weapon? – asked Senator Stern:

- Not me! – Tony replied:

- Don't you have one? – asked Senator Stern:

- It depends on your definition of weapon! – Tony replied:

- Gun Iron Man! – said Senator Stern:

- My device fits the description of armor providing support and protection to the user, it can fit with a transport vehicle since it has the propulsion capability and in fact it carries weapons! – said Tony:

- It's a weapon! A weapon! Mr. Stark! – Senator Stern said insistently:

- Please, if your priority was the well-being of the citizen….! – said Tony:

- My priority is to deliver the Iron Man weapon to the people of the United States! – said Stern:

- Forget it, it's not going to happen! – said Tony – I'm Iron Man, that's not going to change, we're one! Handing over the armor would be handing me over; which is equivalent to slave labor, prostitution, depending on the law and the state you're in!

People in the audience laughed, leaving Stern dismayed:

- Look; I'm not an expert….! – Stern began:

- In prostitution? – Tony asked genuinely surprised – Of course not, you're a senator!

People laughed once more:

- I am not a weapons expert! - said Senator Stern - We have someone who is a real weapons expert, I want to call now; Justin Hammer; currently our main weapons supplier to the United States government!

- I want to state for the record that I watched Mr. Hammer enter the room and I would like to know when a real expert will be present at the hearing! – Tony said, there were gasps in the audience; Justin laughed and approached the microphone:

- Of course! – said Justin – Yes; I'm not an expert, I agree with you Anthony; you are the child prodigy; Senator, can I?

Senator Stern nodded and Justin stood up and grabbed the microphone:

- I can't be the expert, but do you know who the real expert was? - Justin asked - Your father! Howard Stark; truly a father to all of us and to the military industrial age, but let's be clear, he wasn't a hippie, he was a lion, we know why we're here; in recent times Anthony Stark created a sword that still insists on treating him as a shield; he asks us to trust him and we cower behind it!

Tony was annoyed and looked back seeing Pepper getting more strength to continue:

- I wish I was safe, I really did; I would love to leave the door unlocked when I leave the house, but we are not in Canada! – said Justin – You know; we live in a world of great threats; threats that Mr. Stark will not always be able to foresee; thank you very much! God bless Iron Man and America!

Polite applause came from the audience:

- Very well said, Mr. Hammer! – said Senator Stern – The Committee would now like to invite Colonel James Rhodes to speak!

- What? – Tony asked in surprise, causing a stir in the audience and reporters; the doors opened and Rhodes entered in his military uniform; Tony stood up and greeted him:

- Hi kid! – greeted Tony – Are you here for a walk?

- Tony, it's me, I'm here; it's simple, let's go! – said Rhodes:

- Okay! – Tony said in agreement and they both sat down:

- I have with me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon prepared by Colonel Rhodes and Colonel, just for the record, please read page fifty-seven; paragraph four! - said Senator Stern:

- Are you asking me to read a specific paragraph from my report, sir? – asked Rhodes:

- Yes! – Senator Stern replied:

- I thought I would give a more detailed and comprehensive testimony! – said Rhodes:

- I understand, but things have changed! – said Stern:

- You understand that reading a paragraph out of context does not reflect the view…. – said Rhodes:

- Just read it, Colonel! – said Senator Stern, interrupting Rhodes – I understand, thank you!

- Right! "Since he does not yet operate within any definable area of government, Iron Man poses a potential threat to the country's security and interests"! – read Rhodes – However, I would like to conclude that Iron Man's benefits far outweigh….

- Enough! – said Senator Stern, interrupting Rhodes once again – That's enough, Colonel!

- If you ask nicely, I can be the Secretary of Defense! – said Tony, making the people in the audience laugh – I can even reduce my working hours!

- I would like to continue showing images related to your report! – said Senator Stern:

- I believe it is premature to reveal these images! – said Rhodes:

- With all due respect, I understand, but if you could just narrate it for us, we would be very grateful! - Stern said. Rhodes stood up and approached the television:

- The images! - said Rhodes - Intelligence suggests that the devices that appear in these photos are in reality attempts to make copies of the Iron Man armor, confirmed by our allies and local intelligence indicating that these armors may be in operation at this moment!

Tony took out his newest prototype Starkphone made of Starkium and started tinkering with it, looking for intelligence data he could use:

- Excuse me! – Tony said, pointing his cell phone at the TV and pressing a button – I'm controlling your screens, just a moment! It's time for more transparency!

- What are you doing? – asked Senator Stern:

- I want you to pay close attention to the screen! – said Tony – We can start in North Korea!

Black and white footage showing a giant, clumsy robot exiting the hangar before falling to the ground and starting to shoot in all directions until blood splatters the camera:

- Turn that off! – said Senator Stern:

- Iran! – said Tony pressing on the Starkphone screen at the same time that Justin Hammer gets up and approaches the screen and it shows images of the attempted flight only to fall to the ground and then crash into the camera – It does not represent an immediate threat! Is that Justin Hammer?

The next image shows Justin Hammer next to a suit of armor making movements with the pilot imitating him; at this moment Justin is already altered and shouting:

- Justin, you're on TV! – said Tony. Still on the screen, Justin made a movement to partially turn his spine, but the armor turned completely and the pilot's scream of pain could be heard, people exclaimed in shock and Justin finally turned off the TV:

- We can wait ten to twenty years until they can build a viable armor! – said Tony – Hammer Industries, double that!

- Just to clarify that the test pilot survived and is doing well! – Justin said into the microphone:

- I think that this way Mr. Stark is manipulating things…. – said Senator Stern:

- I think you should thank me! – said Tony, interrupting the senator:

- Why? – asked Senator Stern:

- Because I don't play hardball in this hearing! - Tony replied and everyone noticed that the air of joy he had; along with his happy words were gone, now they were dealing with Tony Stark, the businessman, the Merchant of Death; Iron Man - Now, I'm tired of spending hours listening to you order me to hand over the Iron Man armor in various forms of language and changes of tones and words!

- No! – said Stern – You are the one who is wasting my time, this committee, the government and the taxpayer!

Tony smiled:

- I believe that since I entered this room, you have not heard a single word from the lady next to me, or heard her introduce herself to this committee or even asked her to identify herself for the record! - Tony said and for the first time they noticed the woman sitting next to Tony and noticed that she was silent:

- That's not possible! – said Stern:

- Check! – said Tony.

Stern was silent and then he was speaking to the clerk off the microphones with some of the senators on the committee checking in, Tony looked at Rhodes and smiled, he looked at Jennifer and smiled too, she took this time to prepare herself:

- It seems that Mr. Stark is right, so I apologize to everyone present! – said Senator Stern, who seemed to have swallowed a particularly sour lemon – In order to fill out the records, I would like you to introduce yourself!

- My name is Jennifer Waters and I am Mr. Tony Stark's personal attorney! – said Jennifer:

- Now that the introductions are in order, we can continue! – said Tony smiling with a predatory smile – I have here with my lawyer a series of documents in which I patent the Iron Man armor and its internal and external components, as well as its various versions that I come to build; I guaranteed by will that this will pass to my wife and children!

- If the weapon poses a threat to the security of the United States, it should be turned over to the government for safekeeping! – said Senator Stern:

- The first thing I did when I got home was to stop weapons production. I didn't shut down weapons production, I just suspended it until the problem was solved, and I can say that it is being solved, and I can also say that weapons production is being resumed! - said Tony - The second thing I did was to have a conversation with representatives of the CIA, FBI, DOD, SHIELD, Homeland Security, and the Army, and I told them all about what I would do with the diversions of the weapons that my company produces; when Stane in his Iron Monger suit was defeated, I met with these agencies and signed for all of them the consultant contract in which it was stipulated that the government should have someone piloting an armor, and the chosen one was Colonel Rhodes in the War Machine!

Jennifer placed a folder with several documents on the table, certainly proving what Tony was saying:

- Later I talked to the government and got permission to carry all the weapons inside the armor, with that I accepted psychological evaluation from the agencies; of course separate from Rhodes so as not to have a conflict of interest! - said Tony and Jennifer placed some more folders on the table - I would like to add that my wife follows the same protocols as me and also has the same documents!

Tony breathed:

- You want my armor? You won't get it! – said Tony – I have it and we are already connected to the government; connections with trustworthy and capable people and not with a senator who wants to gain visibility at the expense of others!

- Fuck you, Mr. Stark! – said Senator Stern – Fuck you!

Tony stood up and raised his fingers in victory:

- You saw it! – Tony said to the audience – I tried to collaborate, but these politicians are so incompetent to understand the situation!

- Fuck it! – said Stern – Session suspended!

After the session victory, Tony went home, spent some time celebrating with his wife and then playing with his children, he rested, but now it was time to get back to work; Tony was in his workshop and he clapped his hands and the music started playing:

- Wake up kid, daddy's here! – said Tony:

- Welcome sir! – greeted Jarvis – Congratulations on the opening ceremony; it was a success; as was the hearing in the Senate; I must say it is exciting to see you in a video dressed up!

- That was once before Pepper! – Tony said and then he heard a noise of liquid being thrown everywhere and turned to see that U hadn't put the lid on the blender:

- Look here! – said Tony – I'll take you apart, I'll wet your motherboard and turn you into a minibar!

Tony returned to his work screens:

- Answer me one thing, how much of this crap should I drink per day? – asked Tony:

- We are working with two and a half liters a day to cleanse the palladium from your body, I must be the bearer of good news that this will be the last day you will consume the detox! - Jarvis replied:

- Good! – said Tony after finishing the glass with the liquid:

- Starkium research is advancing with results beyond expectations! - said Jarvis - I must say that I expect great success when I present it, I must also announce the great success and manufacture of synthetic vibranium!

Tony had rescued his father's vibranium studies before giving the shield to Captain America and now, he is a proud manufacturer of synthetic vibranium:

- Is everything ready with the patent? – asked Tony:

- Yes! – replied Jarvis – The adaptations made in the factories are on schedule to be completed!

- Great! – said Tony – Unfortunately, only the Mark VII will have Starkium and synthetic vibranium!

- Well sir; we are still in the early stages of the Mark VII! – said Jarvis – But the Stark Tower project in New York could be fueled with Starkium and its iron structure would be made entirely from the new metal!

- That's what I intend, Jarvis! – said Tony:

- It may take longer to build! – said Jarvis – Mrs. Stark is here!

- No music! – said Tony and the music ended when Pepper entered:

- Good morning! – Pepper greeted:

- Good morning, dear! – greeted Tony:

- Are you ready for the next presentation at the Stark Expo? – Pepper asked:

- Don't pressure me! – said Tony:

- I have! – Pepper said immediately – You will introduce a new element to the world and publish your article about it that same night!

- Everything is ready! – said Tony – The patent is legal with the documents, the article written and ready to be published; you don't need to worry!

- As a PA, I should be concerned! – said Pepper:

- About that, let's change some things! – said Tony:

- What? – Pepper asked confused:

- You know, since Stane died, there's a vacancy open and I'd like you to fill it as my COO (Chief Operating Officer)! – said Tony – I want you to be my official right-hand man in the company!

- What? – asked Pepper still confused, adding surprise now.

Tony took her hand and led her to the sofa where they both sat:

- I thought about it, I thought about evaluating other candidates, but I discovered that it's you; always you! – said Tony:

- I don't know what to think! – said Pepper:

- Accept it! – said Tony – Just Accept it!

Pepper smiled:

- Yes! – said Pepper:

- Things are going to get complicated without you as my PA, but I have Jarvis and I think we can activate one of my AI to help you, including in the armor and maybe it's time to activate one for Rhodes! - said Tony:

- Okay! – said Pepper.

Things continued normally at the company, of course Pepper's appointment was welcomed, but critics say that because she is the CEO's wife or that there is already a better candidate on the market or even more so trying to find any error in Pepper's appointment, but, as previously said, the appointment was well accepted, seen as an officialization of something that has been happening since Pepper established herself working by his side; Tony was taking care of matters, including the other presentation he would make at the Stark Expo, but today, three days after Pepper's appointment, he was in Monaco, together with his wife and Happy driving for them to watch the Historic Monaco Grand Prix; Tony got out of the car with people waving and he waving back; Pepper did the same and Happy was carrying the briefcase handcuffed to her, entering the Hotel De Paris and arm in arm with his wife greeting people, they arrived at the bar:

- Anthony, it's you! – said a voice that Tony recognized and he hoped he would only hear on the night he would perform – Hi my friend, how are you!

Tony sighed, Pepper did her best to look well-behaved:

- You're not the only rich guy with a state-of-the-art car! – said Justin Hammer – Do you know Christine Everhart?

- Hi! – greeted Christine:

- Do you already know each other? – Justin asked:

- Already! – Pepper replied – It was the first interview we gave after the revelation of Tony being Iron Man!

- Yes! – said Justin – The big interview!

- How are you after the interview, Miss Everhart? – Tony asked:

- Well, very well, doing more work of course! – replied Christine:

- Justin Hammer is next then? – asked Pepper:

- Yes! – Christine replied – Personalities; in the various sectors of American industry!

- Great! – said Tony – We don't want to disturb you, but the race is about to start and we reserved a table! – said Tony:

- Sure; sure! – said Justin – Have fun!

Tony and Pepper left the bar and went to the table in front of the window and sat down, next to it they could see the TV and the drivers were getting into the cars; then the race began, the drivers following without overtaking on the first lap; feeling the track, Tony and Pepper saw them passing by the window, on the second lap, they started using the overtaking spots; the race was normal, Tony was waiting for the moment without showing anything on his face, he knew what would happen, he would have to act differently now; then the TV cameras focused on a man entering the track, then cables were being held in his hands that could clearly see the energy running through them, his clothes caught fire and Tony saw an exoskeleton and to his surprise an ark reactor on his chest and then the cars arrived quickly and he brandished the cables like a whip cutting the front of the first car that passed by making it take off and flip on the track, he stood still and then he was cutting the Stark Industries car, it was at that moment that Tony and Pepper looked at Happy:

- We have to go there! – said Happy:

- There's no time! – said Tony, taking off his jacket and vest – Stay here with Pepper!

Happy puts the suitcase on the ground and in that time three more cars were destroyed and people exclaimed in surprise; the audience at the scene was screaming; Tony put both feet on the suitcase and it began to expand, he stretched it and fitted it to his chest, now, people began to record on their cell phones as the Mark V expanded and closed around Tony's body, piece by piece closing until it closed on his face, he turned to Pepper:

- I'll be right back! - Tony said, walking out of the hotel, reaching the street and taking off with the repulsors, heading quickly to the place where the man with a whip and a reactor in his chest was; he landed in front of the man and then fired the repulsors from his hands, hitting the man and sending him backwards; he was still alive, having at least a minimum of protection; he swung the whip, cutting the ground and Tony fired again, with the whip dispersing the energy of the shot and with the other brandishing it in Tony's direction, which he dodged and fired the repulsor, which the man used the whip to disperse the fired energy; Tony fired again, but the man dodged, brandishing the whip, hitting his left hand, destroying his repulsor and cutting his chest; Tony fired twice more with the right repulsor, trying to get close to the man to destroy his ark reactor, but he brandished the whip once more, grabbing his arm and neck.

The Man pulled him, throwing him to one side and then to the other and began to discharge electrical energy into Tony; forcing the systems, Tony pulled the man, hitting him with his right arm and knocking him to the ground, disoriented, Tony saw the chance and ripped the reactor from his chest, rendering his equipment useless, the audience applauded while the police were pointing their guns at him and others arrived to immobilize him and drag him to prison; the man spat blood at his feet and began to laugh:

- You lost! – said the man laughing hysterically – You lost! You lost Stark!

The Man was dragged away screaming as Tony crushed his reactor; the fire department and ambulance arrived; later when he assured his wife that he was okay, Tony went to the police station, he got permission to visit while hearing from the officer about the man burning his fingerprints, they didn't have a name:

- Five minutes! – said Tony:

- Five minutes! – said the director and Tony entered his cell; the man was handcuffed and chained to the floor, sitting:

- Hello Ivan! – said Tony:

- You know who I am! – said Ivan:

- When I put the reactor in my chest, I searched and studied all of my father's files about this work and found the name Anton Vanko, a little more research and I found his name and made sure not to facilitate his access to America! - Tony explained:

- You did a great job! – said Ivan:

- Interesting technology, but it only had a few cycles per second! – said Tony – It could double the rotations! It concentrates the energy of the repulsors in the ionized plasma channels! It works! Not very well, but it's a very usable copy!

Ivan shook his head slowly from side to side considering Tony's advice:

- I don't understand! – said Tony – With more time and more adjustments, he could sell to Iran, North Korea, Russia or on the black market; given his sales history, I'm sure he has the right contacts!

- You came from a family of thieves and murderers and now, like every guilty person, you try to rewrite your history! – said Ivan – And forget all the lives that the Stark Family destroyed!

- Did you come just for that? – asked Tony – All that fuss you made was just to remind me of the sins I already know about!

- My father is the reason you are alive! – said Ivan:

- I'm only alive because you had a chance and missed! – said Tony:

- Did I make a mistake? - Ivan asked smiling, putting doubts in Tony's mind - I knew that the moment I couldn't get into America, that I only had one chance, I have no intention of killing you, I want you to be alive to see your legacy destroyed, so Monaco was a chance that I wouldn't let pass, even if I spent the rest of my life in prison, even if I didn't see your legacy being destroyed!

- Do you think you got it? – asked Tony:

- If you make God bleed, then the people will not believe in him! - said Ivan - And there will be blood in the water and the sharks will come to consume you! In fact, what I did to you will resonate for the rest of your life and I will be remembered as the one who made God bleed!

- I'll send you some soap! – said Tony, turning to leave:

- Wait, Tony! – said Ivan – The palladium in your chest, a painful way to die, very slowly!

Tony left the police station after informing the chief who the man was and leaving all the information available to the Monaco police, then took a jet back home:

- "Unbelievable; this man has indestructible, uncontrollable power in his hands and has no idea what he is doing; he thinks that the Iron Man armor is a toy; proof of this is that we have someone capable of building the same technology as him"! – said Senator Stern on television – "I was at the hearing where Mr. Stark stated that this technology cannot exist anywhere else! Nowhere else will it exist in five to ten years and here we are in Monaco seeing that this technology already exists"!

- No sound! – said Tony, sitting down in the airplane seat – What the honorable Senator Stern doesn't know is that I never said anything like that in the hearing and what he also doesn't know is that I had already warned Interpol and the American government about Anton and his son Ivan!

- Even with all his efforts, he still managed to get close to you! – said Pepper - What did he achieve?

- He didn't want to kill me; knowing that he wouldn't be able to get into America; he wanted to make me bleed and the smell of blood would attract the sharks! - Tony replied - They would do the job for him!

- Stern is the first shark! – said Pepper:

- The weakest! – said Tony – He'll eat his words when he receives government memos informing him that I warned him about Vanko!

- Where were you during those three hours? – asked Pepper:

- Talking to Hope Van Dyne (Bug Girl), Sharon Rogers (Capys) and Sharon Carter (Shar-Bear)! – Tony replied – Reassuring them that he was fine and that Ivan Vanko is in jail for the rest of his life and how out of date he is!

- What do you mean? – asked Pepper:

- He still thinks I'm using palladium in the reactor! – Tony replied:

- It's going to be a huge surprise when he finds out about his new element in prison! - said Pepper:

- I wish I was there to see that! – Tony said smiling then looking at the window and his smile disappeared:

- Tony? – Pepper asked worriedly:

- Do you think Vanko won? – asked Tony – Will I be surrounded by so many sharks that I won't be able to do it and die?

Pepper grabbed Tony's hand:

- No matter what happens, I'll be by your side! – said Pepper – Always! You won't face this alone!

Tony and Pepper were back home, Tony just hugged his kids and wife and stayed in bed with them sleeping, two days later, Ivan Vanko died in his cell in a prison riot; a week later Justin Hammer was authorized to review the War Machine armor and update the software; something Tony had not authorized and he had already told the government that he would update the War Machine armor, but, it seems that Secretary of Defense Truman Marsh was tired of waiting and gave the job to Justin Hammer; Tony could only curse the Secretary of Defense and put his legal department on this issue that could do something, especially with the contracts Tony signed with the government regarding the armor; the next few days were of peace and tranquility; Tony was preparing to present at the Stark Expo:

- Are you sure you don't want to come? – Pepper asked:

- Absolutely, my dear! – replied Tony – Hammer can make a great presentation, show off his technological wonders, but when it comes to putting them into practice, it's a different story!

- I have to agree! – said Pepper – But, it's always good to watch the competition!

- At least Glenda will accompany you! – said Tony:

- She's going to stay home with the kids! – said Pepper:

- What happened? – asked Tony:

- She prefers to watch it on TV! – Pepper replied:

- So you're going alone, to watch Hammer! – said Tony:

- Not alone! – said Pepper:

At that moment a red-haired woman in a beautiful dress enters:

- Mrs. Stark, the car is waiting! – said the redhead:

- Miss Mills! – said Tony – I thought you had already left the company!

- This is my last night, Mr. Stark! – said Amanda Mills – Mrs. Stark invited me to accompany her to Hammer's presentation as a way of saying goodbye!

- I don't know if this is a good goodbye! – said Tony and then smiled – Have a good night, dear!

- You too, Tony! - Pepper said, kissing her husband and then leaving accompanied by Amanda Mills; Tony was in his workshop working on the Mark VI, he already had an idea of the name he would give it; he had finished the final touches when the phone rang:

- Call with restricted number sir! – said Jarvis:

- Yes! – said Tony, answering:

- Hi Tony! How are you? – said a voice that sent a chill down Tony's spine – I doubled the revs!

- What? – asked Tony:

- He told me that if I doubled the revs it would give me more energy, good advice! – said Ivan:

- That's pretty witty for a dead guy! – Tony said and Ivan laughed:

- You too! – said Ivan; Tony pressed the screen, muting the microphone:

- Track it! – said Tony:

- Yes sir! – said Jarvis:

- Now the true story of the Stark name will be written! – said Ivan:

- Where is Jarvis? – asked Tony:

- Accessing the Oracle Network! – said Jarvis – East Coast!

- What your father did to my family for forty years I will do to you in forty minutes! – said Ivan:

- Cool, let's talk in person! – said Tony:

- Tri-State area, Manhattan and surroundings! – said Jarvis:

- I hope you're ready! – said Ivan – We are dead men and we will drown in blood; ours and others'!

Ivan hung up and Tony waited for Jarvis's response:

- Incomplete tracking! – Jarvis said; Tony looked at another screen where he saw the announcement of the Stark Expo presentation that Justin Hammer would give tonight:

- Is there a Hammer Industries factory in the area? – asked Tony:

- Yes! – Jarvis replied – Hammer Industries robotics factory in the region, conclusion that the place provides the material necessary for Ivan Vanko's work!

- Check out what Justin Hammer has been up to since Vanko was arrested in Monaco! – said Tony:

- Accessing Hammer Industries servers! – said Jarvis – Looking for records!

Tony was standing:

- Records found! - Jarvis said, showing a video of Vanko meeting with Hammer - The meeting took place in Monaco! Facial recognition of the prison guards indicates the receipt of large sums of money moments before Vanko's escape and the faking of his death!

- That's enough for me Jarvis! – said Tony – Assemble the Mark VI!

- Sir, you didn't test the lightning protection! – said Jarvis:

- There's no time, assemble the armor! – said Tony – Try calling Rhodes, Happy and Pepper!

- Calling! – said Jarvis – We are being blocked from making calls!

- How? – asked Tony:

- A virus that constantly changes in infinite variables that prevents me from discovering the code to unlock the phone calls!

- Assemble the armor! – said Tony – I'll take care of the virus and we hope to arrive in time!

Hours later, Tony was in his new armor and flying at full speed towards the Stark Expo, he had eliminated the virus, but Ivan blocked his number in the Stark Expo area which forced him to fly at maximum and already preparing to order everyone to evacuate:

- Jarvis, show me if Hammer's presentation has started yet! – said Tony:

- Presentation has already started! – said Jarvis:

- Put it on the screen! – said Tony.

On the screen in the corner of the helmet's visor, Tony heard the music starting and on the stage, the screen with the Hammer Industries logo and Justin entering the stage dancing:

- I accept the music, but I don't accept him dancing! – said Tony:

- I agree sir! – said Jarvis:

- "Yeah! I liked everyone's excitement!" – Justin said amid the audience's applause – "Thank you for coming!" "Ladies and gentlemen, for a long time, this country has had to put brave men and women in danger, then Iron Man came along and we thought that from then on we would have no more deaths, unfortunately this technology is proprietary, that's not fair, it's not right, in fact it's very bad!" "However, it was an impressive innovation, it made headlines all over the world, today ladies and gentlemen the press is about to have a lot of work ahead of it; because this subject will be all over the media!"

Stagehands came and took away the podium Justin was speaking on, he coughed a little and put his hands on his hips:

- "Ladies and gentlemen; today I present to you the new face of American military power: The Hammer Drone"! – said Justin – "Army"!

From the back of the stage, eight drones with cannons on their backs rose onto a platform:

- "Navy"! – said Justin and next to the army drones, eight more drones went up – "Air Force"!

In front of the stage; eight more drones went up:

- Jarvis, see if the control signal is coming from behind the scenes or if it is connected to Vanko! – said Tony:

- Control connection behind the scenes, sir! – said Jarvis – Another connection that I can't interfere with is coming from the Hammer Industries robotics factory!

- "Marines"! – Justin said and he was under the applause of the audience as if he had already won – "This is much better than the dancers of certain exhibitors, I assure you, but, the most revolutionary thing about this technology is that there will always be a need for a man present on the battlefield; ladies and gentlemen, today I am proud to introduce the first man of many who will take these drones into combat, Air Force Colonel James Rhodes"! "The War Machine"!

- Son of a bitch! – Tony shouted seeing Rhodey appearing on stage – Fuck Truman Marsh!

Rhodes saluted, followed by drones and Justin Hammer:

- "To America and its allies, Hammer Industries is reporting…."! – said Justin:

- We're coming sir! – said Jarvis:

- Time to join the party! – said Tony, entering the main pavilion and then landing, followed by the huge applause of the audience – We have problems!

- Tony; I'm under orders! – said Rhodes:

- This is the Mark VI; codename Houston! – Tony said, placing his right hand on Rhodes' shoulder and waving with his left – Wave to them; these people are in danger, we have to get them out of here!

- What's going on? – asked Rhodes:

- He works with Vanko! – Tony replied:

- Vanko is alive? – asked Rhodes, surprised and confused, and Tony approached Hammer:

- I know Vanko is alive! – said Tony:

- What? – Justin asked in surprise:

- You're working with Ivan Vanko! – said Tony – How do I cut his connection with your drones?

- Hey! Whoa! Whoa! – said Rhodes and then the shoulder machine gun is pointed at Tony:

- Was it you? – Tony asked in surprise:

- No, I'm not doing it! – said Rhodes – It's not me! Tony, I can't move, I'm stuck!

Then the drones are pointing their weapons at him:

- Tony get out of here! – Rhodes shouted – I'm engaged!

- Let's go outside! - he said taking off and leaving and the drones started to shoot, blowing up the glass on the roof, people started to leave in a commotion and screaming and then the drones took off following Tony:

- Jarvis, I hacked it! – Tony said – We need to free Rhodey!

- Yes sir! – said Jarvis as Tony went up, being followed:

- Tony; my aim is locked! – said Rhodes:

- Who's the target? – asked Tony:

- It's you! – Rhodes replied.

Tony was maneuvering avoiding the War Machine's shots by passing through the towers near the main pavilion, in the air, Rhodes fired the missiles built into his forearms:

- Flares! – said Tony activating the flares and thus causing several explosions in the sky and thus avoiding being hit – Son of a bitch using my weapons against me!

A screen appeared in the corner of the viewfinder, security cameras from backstage with Pepper and Amanda dealing very well with Hammer and Pepper calling the police; Tony was avoiding the shots by maneuvering between the fair buildings and at that moment drones began to fire missiles at points where Vanko could control the crowd, Tony saw that he was trapping them; now Tony had to maneuver and avoid the drones in the air and also on the ground shooting at him, but, luckily, they shot down one of his own drones, but then Tony saw the army drones moving and saw that one of them is pointing at a boy with the Iron Man helmet:

- What a shit! – said Tony, landing and then firing his repulsor, destroying the drone – Good job!

Tony took off again, fleeing from Vanko's drones:

- Tony, there are several enemies to attack you! – said Rhodes:

- Let's take them away from the fair! - said Tony leaving the fair area and being followed by the drones arriving at the parking area, the air force drones began to fire, Tony maneuvered between the pillars and one of them hit one of the pillars, destroying it:

- Tony, they split up! – said Rhodes – They're going back to the fair!

Tony managed to avoid the missiles from the air force drones and also maneuver between the shots from Rhodes' machine gun and the drones' missiles, but not preventing some cars from exploding; they left the parking area heading back to the fair, Tony activated the missiles on his forearm and fired at the drones and Rhodes; of course they activated the flares and managed to get away unharmed when the missiles exploded; Tony maneuvered to fly over the pool being followed:

- Are you still aiming? – Tony asked:

- Yes! – Rhodes replied:

- So prepare for the worst, we're going to experience turbulence! – said Tony:

- Tony! Tony! Tony! – Rhodes shouted and Tony managed to maneuver inside the globe while he and Rhodes managed to get out, the drones exploded; Tony moved away expecting more drones from Vanko:

- Sorry, friend, there were so many drones behind us! – said Tony – Where are you?

To his surprise, Tony is grabbed by Rhodes and they both fall into the fair's green dome, they both fall into the river water and Tony gets up first, going over to Rhodes, but he manages to maneuver and ends up on top, firing his machine gun and Tony manages to avoid the shots and then the armor turns off and with force Tony throws Rhodes away, he breathes a sigh of relief:

- Reboot complete! – said Amanda Mills – War Machine is back!

- Thank you, Mrs. Mills! – Tony thanked:

- Call me Natasha Romanoff; besides, Vanko is not here! – said Natasha:

- He's coming! – said Tony:

- Along with the drones! – said Pepper:

- There you are! – said Tony:

- Yes! – said Pepper – I want to see you finish off Vanko once and for all, I won't have him hovering over us and threatening our children!

- I agree! – said Tony – I'll finish him off as soon as I get rid of the Hammerroids attack!

- Nobody deserves it! – said Pepper.

Tony approached Rhodes:

- Rhodey wake up, I need you! – said Tony – They're coming!

The armor's face opened showing Rhodes, he looked at Tony:

- Dude, you can keep your armor! – said Rhodes:

- We don't accept returns! – said Tony helping Rhodes to get up – Okay?

- Yes! – Rhodes replied:

- They're coming; what's the plan? – asked Tony:

- Whoever has the most firepower stays at the top! – replied Rhodes:

- Ok! – said Tony and they both walked to the highest point:

- What are you doing? – asked Rhodes:

- Going up! – Tony replied:

- I was talking about myself! – said Rhodey:

- You have a big gun, but size doesn't matter, my friend! – said Tony:

- That's called strategy! – said Rhodes:

- Then you can go up, I'll serve as bait! – said Tony:

- This is certain death, Tony! – said Rhodes.

Then a sound caught their attention, ending the discussion. One by one, the drones were landing in a circular formation, surrounding the two who were back to back, waiting for what was to come. Then, all the drones landed. The masks on the helmets of the two came down, protecting their faces, and the drones attacked. War Machine started firing his machine guns. Tony fired with the repulsors, taking down a drone, followed by another and another. Both of them moved in circles to aim and hit all the drones they could. Tony ducked, dodging a blow from one of the drones. He used the repulsor to rip off its head. He ripped off another drone's head with a punch. Rhodes was pouring all his ammunition on top of the drones. Tony dodged a rocket by leaning to the side and fired mini missiles from his left fist, hitting three drones that exploded. Tony was using the repulsors when he noticed that the drones were getting closer and closer, closing in on them:

- Rhodes, get down! – Tony said, activating the lasers on the back of his hands and with a circular motion he cut everything around, including the drones; they both looked at the results of what had happened:

- I should have done this before! – said Rhodes smiling:

- It's just one shot! – Tony said and to emphasize, capsules jumped from the palms of his hands.

Pepper had stayed behind to make sure everyone had left the place, now she was waiting for the situation to end; she tapped the communicator in her ear:

- How are things going, Jarvis? – asked Pepper:

- Vanko has yet to show up, but fortunately you and Mr. Rhodes have solved the drone problem! – Jarvis replied:

- Is the platform for assembling the armor still here? – Pepper asked:

- Yes ma'am; with your armor waiting! - Jarvis replied and Pepper smiled, returning to the pavilion towards the stage where with her cell phone she authorized the platform to appear; as always, Tony was attentive and he put a locker for her bag, Pepper also put on her expensive shoes and ripped her skirt, tied her hair and began to put on her armor, complete, she left towards Tony and Rhodes:

- Attention, seven signals approaching your location! – said Natasha Romanoff – One of the signals is significantly larger!

Tony and Rhodes looked up and saw an armor approaching and then they saw the armor landing in front of them along with six drones, the armor's helmet opened showing Vanko's face:

- It's good to be back! – Vanko said smiling:

- Not good! – said Tony

- Houston; we have a problem! – said Rhodey:

- Now let me know! – said Tony and then they heard the sound of repulsors approaching Iron Woman had landed next to them:

- What would you do without me boys! – said Pepper:

- You are all here, now I can begin the downfall of the Stark Family! - said Vanko - Now is the time to feel what I have felt for all these years and if I lose, I will still win; because I made you bleed Stark and that will never be forgotten!

- Let me shut him up! - Rhodes said activating the missiles on his shoulders and firing at Vanko and quickly the helmet was assembled protecting his head and then the missiles exploded causing a huge shock wave and devastating the area, Rhodes, Tony and Pepper raised their arms for protection and when the smoke surrounded them, their arms were lowered - He was already gone!

The smoke cleared showing Vanko and the drones intact:

- After Hammer had access to your armor, I got to know its weapons! - said Vanko, opening his helmet and showing his face once more - That's why I created a shield based on the reactor's energy, it can still withstand the missiles on Stark's back!

Then Vanko extended the whips that shone with electricity:

- Let's do our last dance! – said Vanko:

- I'll take care of the drones! – said Pepper:

- Now it's my turn! - Tony said activating the mini cannons on his shoulder and firing, but Vanko's armor reacted faster protecting him; Pepper was advancing on top of the drones, first she activated the rockets on her forearms and fired, catching two drones that exploded, she fired a left repulsor hitting a drone and punched with her right, opening the drone's chest, ripping out its reactor, the rest were bombarding her, dodging a rocket she aimed both hands firing the repulsor hitting the fourth drone, she blew up the head of the fifth drone with a blast from the repulsor at close range and was caught in the shoulder by a cannon shot from the sixth drone, but she retaliated by hitting its reactor with a repulsor. At the same time this was happening, Vanko reacted by brandishing his whips, forcing Tony and Rhodes to dodge to the side. Rhodes began to shoot at Vanko, who brandished the whip, cutting off Rhodes' machine gun and showing the power that Vanko had; Tony took flight to hit Vanko from above, but was grabbed by the waist and pulled down, hitting a rock. Rhodes was still shooting. Vanko raised his arm to protect himself, which allowed Tony to advance, flying at Vanko, who used the arm that was protecting himself to push Tony away and throw him away. Vanko then brandished the whip, wrapping it around Rhodes' neck and pulling him to the ground, punching him:

- Hey! – Pepper shouted and Vanko saw both hands pointing at him – Hold that!

Pepper fired both repulsors at Vanko and threw him back; Tony landed next to her and they both fired a missile each from her back, hitting Vanko and causing another huge explosion; when the smoke cleared, Vanko was still in one piece after using his shield; he quickly flew and kicked Pepper, sending her back; Tony punched Vanko in the head, a right cross and then a left hook, and then Vanko reacted by headbutting Tony; Vanko brandished his whip and cut Tony's chest and then wrapped it around his neck, he brandished the other whip, cutting Pepper's chest and then grabbed her by the neck and pulled her using his outstretched arm to hit her and put her on the ground, stomping on her hard. She could see that her armor's chest was sinking; Vanko brandished his whip, grabbing Rhodes' neck; Tony was desperately trying to pull Vanko away from Pepper, but Pepper reacted by activating the mini rockets on each arm and firing them at Vanko, causing an explosion that engulfed them both; Vanko pulled away, freeing Pepper, who got up and advanced on Vanko, but he fired a ray from the reactor in his chest, throwing Pepper away:

- Rhodey! – said Tony – I have an idea!

- Which one? – asked Rhodes as Vanko electrified the whips as he tightened his grip trying to strangle Rhodes and Tony:

- Do you want to be a hero? – asked Tony:

- What? – asked Rhodes:

- Let's work in pairs, raise your hand! - Tony replied - Fire the repulsor!

- That's your idea? – asked Rhodes:

- Yes! – Tony shouted:

- Go for it! – shouted Rhodes – Go! Go! Go!

Both fired their repulsors at the same time and they met and accumulated in a large ball of energy in front of Vanko who was surprised, but could not react in time and exploded with the wave of energy destroying the glass of the dome, the three got up and approached Vanko fallen with the armor destroyed, defeated; the three looked at him with their faces uncovered:

- You lost! – said Vanko – And in my death I will still win!

Vanko's reactor began to flash red just like the drones' reactors on the battlefield:

- Self-destruction! – said Pepper:

- We have to get out of here! – said Rhodes:

- In front of you! - said Tony taking off, being followed by the two, moving away from the dome and the fair, landing on a roof and taking off their masks and showing their faces and seconds later the explosion happened and when it was over, leaving only fire:

- Jarvis, is Vanko dead? – asked Tony:

- Affirmative sir, no sign of life from the Stark Expo area! – replied Jarvis:

- And now? – asked Pepper:

- We deal with the consequences that Vanko left behind! – Rhodes replied.

When he returned to his apartment in New York, Tony slept for hours and after he woke up he spent time with his children, with his family, the day after the fight against Vanko, he found himself in a warehouse in New York; a meeting was scheduled with Nick Fury; he was sitting in front of a table with screens surrounding it showing the chaos of the Stark Expo, Happy was behind him holding his gun as well as four security guards with their weapons in their hands; Tony was waiting for Fury to appear; then a folder was placed in front of him:

- This belongs to you! – Fury said, sitting down; Tony opened the folder expecting the sham of the report he had once received, he read it and was surprised, but he knew how to hide it:

- This is a consulting contract! – said Tony – I don't know if you can pay my price, but I'll think about it!

- We can pay your price! - said Nick - But, given the situation that you are still hunting terrorists and still have to deal with a large company like yours, we decided to make you a consultant!

- But, I'm already a consultant! – said Tony:

- Yes, you are! – said Nick – But, the contract you signed with SHIELD only covered the terrorism situation that interested us, this new contract is more comprehensive and can even give you access to the Avengers Initiative!

- I'll think about it! - Tony said, standing up and turning to leave, and then he turned to Fury - On second thought, I'll accept the contract and give up the payment in exchange for a small favor!

- If it's within SHIELD's range! – said Nick Fury:

- Rhodes and I will be honored in Washington and we need a master of ceremonies! – said Tony:

- I'll think about your case! – said Fury.

Two days later on a sunny morning, the stage was set and Senator Stern stood on the platform speaking:

- It is an honor to be here today, to present these awards of distinction to Colonel James Rhodes and Mr. Anthony Stark, who is, of course, a national treasure! - said Senator Stern, placing the medal on Rhodes' chest - Thank you, Colonel, for your remarkable performance, you deserve it!

- Thank you sir! – said Rhodes and this time he passed it to Tony:

- Mr. Stark, thank you for your remarkable performance, you deserve it! – said Senator Stern, placing the medal on Tony's chest, but he felt a sting and grunted in pain – Ah! Sorry! Funny how a prick can be annoying! Let's take a picture!

Senator Stern stood between Rhodes and Tony and placed his hands on each of their shoulders and smiled. Tony looked away, but soon he was looking at Pepper and her children, Richard and Laura watching and applauding. Tony raised his arm and made the "V" sign with his fingers for victory and smiled.