A deafening, metallic roar echoed through the workshop as the impact hammer of a heavy stamping machine slammed down with shuddering force. The floor vibrated. A metal casting, clamped beneath the platform, was instantly formed, glowing a dull red.
A human hand, its skin rough as sandpaper and knuckles thick and scarred, stretched out fearlessly toward the casting that was still radiating intense heat waves.
Ivan Vanko, his fleshy face shadowed with grime, held a long-chewed toothpick in the corner of his mouth. He squinted, his eyes carefully tracking the details of the palm-sized metal piece as it cooled. The smell of hot metal and oil hung heavy in the air.
Just behind him, a metal armor about two and a half meters tall stood nearly assembled. The Ark Reactor that had been installed in its chest continued to emit bursts of dazzling, blue-white energy as its internal structure hummed and rotated with a low, steady thrum.
The next moment, Ivan Vanko, having completed his inspection, grunted in satisfaction. He walked toward the metal armor holding a pile of the newly pressed castings. With practiced, rough movements, he began fitting them into place.
Soon after, the final piece of metal casting was bolted on with a sharp squeal of metal.
The two energy whip cords, hanging coiled by the armor's arms, began to slowly fill. A high-temperature plasma fluid flowed into them, glowing a menacing orange and letting off a low, dangerous crackle.
Ivan Vanko, his face constantly reflecting the flickering plasma light, stared at his own powerful metal armor. A ferocious smile gradually pulled at the corner of his mouth, showing stained teeth.
Then he looked down at the tablet strapped to his thick forearm.
Right in the center of the screen, Justin Hammer, wearing a bright smile and an expensive suit, was standing in the center of a brightly lit stage. He was passionately introducing the sea, land, and air steel soldiers produced by Hammer Industries to the adoring crowd.
"Oh, poor pretty boy..."
Ivan Vanko, muttering to himself in a low rumble, stretched out a thick, grease-stained finger and lightly ran it across a series of complex data on the tablet.
In an instant, all the steel soldiers on the screen, sea, land, and air, immediately stopped their saluting postures. The abrupt, synchronized whir of servos cut through the audio feed. They quickly deployed all the weapons they were equipped with and launched a devastating, immediate attack on everything around them.
The silent surveillance images on the tablet screen switched quickly, showing the panic. One frame showed cheering faces, the next showed mouths open in screams as people dove for cover. He watched the cruel, silent scenes of chaos and destruction.
A satisfied smile once again appeared on the corner of Ivan Vanko's mouth.
"These life debts will be counted on your head... Tony Stark!"
His expression went flat. Ivan Vanko closed the tablet.
He turned toward the empty, cavernous experimental base and let out a low, barking shout.
Immediately afterwards, there was a buzzing and rotating sound from the Ark Reactor on his chest, as well as the subtle, scraping sound of countless metal parts colliding and rubbing together.
A mechanical parrot, half a man tall and crudely assembled from countless metal parts, quickly flew through the air with a screech of un-oiled joints. It fell heavily in front of Ivan Vanko, its metal claws skidding on the concrete.
His bloodshot eyes glanced at the metal beak of the mechanical parrot and the dark, wet traces of blood on its claws.
Ivan Vanko, not surprised at all, slapped the mechanical parrot's metal head hard. The sound was a dull clang. He grinned.
"Let's go find that guy... and seek vengence!"
Boom, boom, boom...
Above the main venue of the expo, the air was filled with smoke and the whistle of projectiles.
Steel soldiers of different types, for sea, land, and air, were constantly using their basic weapons loaded with live ammunition. They launched a covering and violent bombardment toward the panicked crowds and flashy exhibits.
Accompanied by the concussive force of explosions shattering buildings and countless human bodies falling apart, the terrified people kept letting out bursts of desperate, shrill cries. Coupled with the ubiquitous, thundering blasts and the shriek of tearing metal, the Stark Expo vaguely played out a terrifying mechanical symphony.
Located in a hidden corner of the exhibition venue, behind a large concrete planter.
Pepper Potts, who was wearing a black evening gown, lifted the hem of her skirt in a single, neat movement. A white instep, veins showing through the skin, lifted up instantly.
A hard kick hit the middle of Justin Hammer's legs, a vital spot for men.
The impact made a sickening thwack.
In an instant, Hammer, his face suddenly turning a pale, sickly white, let out a strangled gasp. He covered his vitals with a painful expression and fell to his knees, trembling all over and wheezing for breath.
The next second, Pepper, her brow creasing with what looked like a flash of regret, took a deep, shuddering breath.
She bent down slightly, grabbed a handful of Hammer's greasy hair, and yelled through gritted teeth, her voice shaking with rage.
"Damn it, Hammer! What stupid thing did your Hammer Industries do!"
"Do you know that you completely ruined the Stark Expo! This was Tony's years of preparation! It was my years of preparation, too! Now it's completely ruined by you! So many innocent people died! Your Hammer Industries can wait for bankruptcy! You'll be thrown into prison by countless angry victims!"
"No! It wasn't me! I really don't know anything!" Hammer choked out, tears and snot running down his contorted face. "It must be that guy! That damn guy must have lied to me!"
"Who? Who is it? You should tell me clearly!"
Just as she pulled the other person's hair hard, planning to thoroughly ask for the truth, there was a loud screech of metal and a ground-shaking crash.
An out-of-control Iron Soldier landed heavily on the ground not far from them.
The whining sound of its scanning device cut through the air. A red targeting light, located on the Iron Soldier's head, swept the shadows and instantly locked onto Pepper Potts and the kneeling Justin Hammer.
"Ah! Just my luck! Just my luck!"
Instantly, Pepper opened her deep blue eyes wide with terror. She immediately released her slender hand that was holding Hammer's greasy hair. She took small, stumbling steps in her heels and turned to run behind the supporting column of the building.
However, the anxious Pepper only remembered to keep an eye on any movement of the Iron Soldier.
But she forgot the skirt she was still holding in her palm and the uneven, debris-strewn ground under her feet.
The next second, her ankle twisted, and she fell heavily to the ground with a cry, scraping her hands and knees on the rough pavement.
Pepper, who was dizzy from the fall, had no time to feel the stinging pain in her body or the grievance in her heart. She quickly propped up her upper body, her head spinning, and turned her head to look in the direction of the Iron Soldier.
At this moment, the black muzzle on the opponent's shoulder had firmly locked her position. There was a distinct click-whirr as it armed itself and prepared to fire.
"Tony! Where are you! Help!"
Pepper, her eyes red and filling with tears, suddenly raised the smart watch on her wrist. Trembling all over, she shouted desperately to her lover.
Boom, boom, boom...
Just at that critical moment.
Accompanied by another deafening landing sound, one that shook the very ground beneath her.
And a fleeting, terrifying mechanical roar.
The Iron Soldier in front of Pepper Potts was obliterated, shattered into countless pieces in the blink of an eye. The concussive blast threw hot shrapnel past her head.
A large number of metal parts were scattered all over the ground, mixed with explosion flames and sparks.
"Tony! I just... um?"
Pepper Potts, who was almost crying with joy, turned her head back with tears of relief in her eyes. But the bright smile that just bloomed at the corner of her mouth suddenly froze on her fair face.
Just a few dozen meters away.
A huge metal monster, three meters tall and heavily wrapped in a shell of black, angular metal, was slowly retracting the servo mechanical arm behind it.
Three terrifying weapons with huge calibers were mounted on it, and the barrels seemed to emit wisps of burning breath, hissing in the air.
Pepper Potts, with her eyes wide open, swallowed a mouthful of saliva subconsciously. The sound was a dry click in her throat. The slender arm supporting her on the ground began to tremble slightly.
This is obviously not Stark's Mark armor. It looked like it had been carefully and brutally modified...
"Iron, Iron Monger?!"
The slightly absent-minded Pepper Potts unconsciously said what she thought in her heart, her voice barely a whisper.
"Ms. Pepper? This is not your little gadget. I prefer to call it the 'Terminator' power armor..."
At this moment, the stranger wearing a diamond-shaped metal helmet seemed to hear Pepper's mumbling. The voice was deep and metallic, distorted by an external speaker.
He stared at the blonde woman sitting on the ground through the helmet's dark eyepiece. The low voice slowly echoed in the exhibition, punctuated by the sounds of distant explosions and flames.
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