Justin Hamr sat in a shadowy corner of the hotel, his eyes fixed on the arc reactor that had been forcibly removed from Ivan Vanko's chest. Despite the carnage that had unfolded earlier, Hamr's fear montarily gave way to a sly smile. "Tony Stark," he muttered under his breath, "your 20-year technological lead is no longer exclusive to you."
At the detention center, Tony Stark walked briskly alongside several police officers, who briefed him on the enigmatic prisoner. "We've checked his fingerprints—nothing. Not a na, not an ID," one officer explained. "We're not even sure he speaks English. He hasn't said a word since we brought him in."
Tony glanced at the cell ahead. "Five minutes. I'll talk to him alone," he said, his tone firm. The lead officer hesitated. "Be careful, Mr. Stark," he warned. "This guy is dangerous."
Tony entered the cell, finding Ivan Vanko sitting on the edge of a bunk, his back to the door. Clad in prison-issue shorts, Vanko remained motionless as Tony approached. For a mont, Tony wasn't sure how to begin. Finally, he broke the silence.
"Impressive tech," Tony remarked, his voice casual. "But the speed's a bit low. You could double it by letting the anti-energy flow through an ionized plasma pipe. It's efficient, though not particularly groundbreaking. Still, not bad for a poor imitation."
Tony told Ivan Vanko how to make his reactor more powerful, but unlike his original self, Tony had already produced the second-generation reactor. Naturally, he looked down on Ivan Vanko's technology and spoke sarcastically.
"What I don't understand is that you can make a lot of money from it with just a little tweaking, but you're just going to waste the technology that Dr. Otto never succeeded in researching until his death?"
Ivan scoffed, his disdain evident. Tony continued, undeterred. "Let guess. All your friends are thieves and bandits. You probably stole the blueprints."
The insult struck a nerve. Ivan's eyes darkened as he retorted, "Your family—thieves and butchers. You rewrite your history, but you can't erase the blood on the Stark na."
"Speaking of thieves, where did you steal the blueprints from?"
"My father, Anton Vanko!"
Tony raised an eyebrow. "Anton Vanko? Oh, I know the na. He worked with my father on the arc reactor. Problem was, he wanted to sell it to the highest bidder. When my dad found out, he sent your father packing—straight out of the country."
Tony crossed his arms. "And when the Russian governnt realized he couldn't deliver, they shipped him off to Siberia. Guess he was too busy drinking to teach you much."
The jab hit hard. Ivan's face twisted with anger, his fists clenching. Tony's smile widened.
"My father only saw the Ark Reactor as a springboard for greater technology. His dream was even greater, but your father only wanted to make a profit from it. As a result, without my father, he is nothing, Just like that toy strapped to your chest."
Ivan inhaled sharply, steadying himself. "You aren't alive because of your father," he said coldly. "You're alive because of mine."
Tony's smirk faded. "I'm alive because you tried to kill —and failed."
Ivan's gaze burned with intensity. "If you can make God bleed, people will stop believing in Him. And when there's blood in the water, the sharks co. All I have to do is sit here and watch as the world devours you."
"Then let's see if the world will devour . Don't forget what the screen said that I would sacrifice myself and use my mortal body to stand shoulder to shoulder with the gods to save the entire universe!"
Tony shrugged. With the help of the narration on the sky screen, his reputation reached an unprecedented peak at this mont. Only a madman like Ivan Vanko would go so far as to kill a future savior.
"And you? Where are you going to watch?... That's right, your cell! I'll give you a bar of soap!" Tony said and was about to get up and leave.
Ivan Vanko was speechless and could only say to him at the end: "Hey Tony! Let give you a piece of advice. Death by palladium poisoning—it's a painful way to go!"
Tony walked up to the cell and smiled slightly when he heard this, but he didn't say anything to him, leaving Ivan Vanko in prison waiting for his death from palladium poisoning.
On the electric jet, Elon Musk's idea was just a concept, but Tony had already made it. On the plane, Tony and Pepper Potts were en route to New York. Pepper sat with her arms crossed, watching a televised interview with a senator who lambasted Tony's technology. The senator accused Tony of treating the Iron Man suit as a toy, replaying clips from a previous hearing with mocking comntary.
Tony shrugged, unconcerned. The developnt of a new elent had rendered palladium poisoning a thing of the past, and Ivan's crude technology posed no real threat. Pepper, however, remained visibly shaken, the horrors of the earlier attack still fresh in her mind.
But Pepper's face was still very unease. She was frightened by what happened today, especially the bodies of the two person that were cut in half, which left a great psychological shadow on her.
Tony also knew that Pepper was in a bad mood, so he wanted to cook a al for her himself. When Tony lifted the lid of the al, Pepper looked at the half-burnt and half-uncooked fried egg, turned her head and said, "Did you make this?"
Tony grinned. "Three hours of hard work. What do you think?"
Pepper shook her head, her lips twitching into a reluctant smile. "Let's stick to takeout next ti."
Pepper had a heart-to-heart talk with Tony on the plane. After this incident, the company would have a lot of ss that Pepper would have to clean up.
Back at the prison, Ivan Vanko sat alone in his cell, now wearing standard-issue orange. A guard arrived with a tray of food, sliding it through the slot. Ivan picked up the tray and inspected the mashed potatoes carefully. Embedded in the food was a small slip of paper that read, "Enjoy the mashed potatoes."
Beneath the potatoes, Ivan found a small ti bomb, its display flashing: 35 seconds.
At that mont, the guard opened the door, pushing in another prisoner who bore a striking resemblance to Ivan. The newcor's jumpsuit bore the sa number: 6219. Ivan wasted no ti, striking the man unconscious. The guard, seemingly unbothered, left the cell key on the floor as he walked away.
Ivan activated the bomb, its countdown ticking relentlessly. Unlocking the door, he slipped into the hallway. A guard spotted him, but before he could raise an alarm, Ivan broke his neck with brutal efficiency.
The bomb exploded monts later, plunging the prison into chaos. Amid the confusion, Ivan moved swiftly, navigating the facility. He attempted to descend a staircase but found the lower floors swarming with guards. Forced to retreat, he encountered two n who threw a hood over his head and led him away.
When the hood was removed, Ivan found himself in a dimly lit warehouse. Standing before him was Justin Hamr, a triumphant smirk on his face. Ivan's lips curled into a dangerous grin. The ga was far from over.
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