Ordinary people at the scene might not have had any idea who the X-N were — to them, it was just another group of "weird superpowered folks" who showed up out of nowhere to save the day and then vanished without a trace. But George, along with so of the officers who accompanied him, had already heard about the Xavier Institute and knew they weren’t just masked vigilantes playing heroes.
Still catching his breath from the tension of the incident, George raised his voice:
"You can take him. But soone needs to co with us to the station to fill out the official report."
Jean, after casting a quick glance at Logan and Rogue, stepped forward. Her posture was calm, but her eyes reflected firmness.
"I’ll go with you."
George nodded, satisfied. Under the leadership of the officers present, the crowd began to disperse in order, as if a collective weight had finally been lifted from their shoulders.
George himself silently admitted he hadn’t expected all that chaos to be resolved so quickly. He wasted no more ti after that: he got into the patrol car and headed straight to the Hamr Expo, still unaware of what he would find there.
"I’m heading there too, bye-bye~" said Spider-Woman.
She fired a web, launched herself with an elegant swing, and began gliding between buildings toward the Hamr Expo.
"Take him. I’ll be back later," Jean told Logan and Rogue.
As Gwen sped swiftly through New York’s skyscrapers, her thoughts focused on one thing alone:
"I hope nothing bad happened there..."
But before she could go any farther, Ruby contacted her through the communicator:
[Gwen, actually there’s no need for you to head there anymore.]
The young heroine froze, stopping on top of a lamppost.
"What? What do you an?"
Ruby, her voice calm, quickly explained the situation.
At that mont, Tony Stark was already handling the problem directly. Furthermore, the greatest threat had already been neutralized.
[Now all that’s left is for the police to arrest Justin Hamr. The conspiracy between him and Ivan Vanko is completely exposed. There’s no way he can escape it.]
Gwen sighed.
"So... it’s over for him."
And it was true. Justin Hamr knew perfectly well that his career as a businessman was ruined. He had let himself get involved with Ivan Vanko, and now there was no way to clear his na. The only strategy left was the most pathetic of all: trying to shift the bla onto soone else.
---
anwhile, on the Hamr Expo stage, Happy and Pepper were working frantically on one of the main computers. They tried to extract information, track any trace of Vanko, or find a remote command that might still be controlling the drones. The problem was they didn’t know Ruby had already shut down all the machines.
Justin Hamr, the mont he realized the situation was collapsing, slipped into a corner backstage. But during that brief mont, reality crashed down on him like a crushing weight: he had been used. Manipulated in the most grotesque way.
Resentnt burned inside him.
"... a business genius... fooled by a second-rate Russian criminal."
His frustration boiled into blind fury.
He then stord out onto the stage and, on impulse, began accusing Pepper and Happy.
"It must have been you! You plotted this whole thing with Stark! He could never stand surpassing his technology, so he set up this farce to fra !"
Happy blinked slowly.
(This guy can’t be serious.)
Pepper, on the other hand, only raised an eyebrow, as if Hamr were less than a nuisance. The CEO of Stark Industries didn’t need to waste ti arguing with soone who was clearly drowning in his own ss.
The officers who climbed onto the stage weren’t slow to piece things together either. Hamr had built the drones. Hamr had presented the expo. Hamr was directly tied to the chaos. It was too obvious to ignore.
"Mr. Hamr, please don’t resist," one of the officers said, grabbing his arm. "We have reason to believe you deliberately orchestrated this commotion."
"No! It wasn’t ! It was Stark! He hacked into my drones’ system—he’s the criminal, not !" Hamr shouted, flailing like a fish out of water.
Pepper rolled her eyes, already pulling out her phone to call Tony.
"Tony, I can’t do anything from here. I can’t control these robots!"
On the other end, Tony’s reply ca imdiately.
’Okay, it’s all good now. Just wait for where you are.’
"What? What do you an, just wait?" Pepper’s eyes widened. And then, in the background, she heard sothing that left her even more confused: Tony was... laughing.
"You’re laughing?"
’Hahahaha...’
"Tony Stark, I swear to God—"
But Tony cut her off, trying to hold back his laughter and failing miserably:
’Enough, enough. I’ll explain later. Love you, bye.’
"TONY!? Tony!!?"
Pepper froze, staring in disbelief at her phone. The frustration was almost palpable.
"That man is going to stress to death..."
---
anwhile, the battle was already in its final monts.
Tony was laughing inside the armor. Not just because the attack was over, but mainly because of Rhodes’ pitiful performance.
"Hahahaha..."
Rhodes, inside the War Machine, let out a loud sigh, utterly impatient.
"Tony, this isn’t funny."
"Of course it’s funny, you just don’t have a sense of humor. But that’s fine, Rodes... take a deep breath. I’ll show you how it’s done."
Even though he couldn’t see his friend’s face behind the mask, Rhodes knew Tony was wearing that irritating grin—half smug, half amused.
He stepped back, shaking his head.
"Go ahead, genius. Embarrass yourself all you want. At least in the end I’ll have sothing to laugh about."
Tony puffed out his chest, spreading his arms like a maestro about to conduct a symphony.
"Tony Stark."
Vanko’s voice rang out, dripping with rancor and sarcasm, as if spitting out the na.
"I should thank you for your suggestion. Thanks to it, my suit has beco even more powerful. Though I don’t know how you discovered the new elent, a thief is still a thief."
Tony tilted his head for a mont, his expression hidden by the helt, but his tone dripped with cynicism.
"Thief? Please. I’m many things, Ivan, but a thief isn’t one of them. I create. I invent. You just take the worst shortcuts. By the way, congratulations on continuing the legacy of being the knock-off version of my brand."
He didn’t want to talk about his past—not now, not in front of soone like Vanko. But the man’s actions that day had left Tony furious. If he hadn’t arrived in ti, the drones would have opened fire on civilians. Pepper and Happy would have been among the victims. That thought alone was enough to erase any trace of humor.
With a chanical click, two weapons rose from the shoulders of the Mark XI, ready to fire.
Vanko, who monts earlier exuded confidence, no longer seed so relaxed. He stepped back cautiously. But before he could prepare, a dense curtain of white smoke blasted from Tony’s weapons, flooding the battlefield in seconds and completely blocking visibility.
"What!?" Vanko snarled, straining to see.
There was a thermal cara installed in his suit, but... how could secondhand sensors detect the latest Stark tech?
In an instant, Tony was already behind him.
"Take note, Ivan: sotis smoke bombs are more effective than missiles. That’s the difference between thinking outside the box and being crushed by it."
As Tony flew circles around him, Vanko could only swing his energy whips blindly, like a cornered animal snapping at the air.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., analysis ready?"
[Sir, weak points are at the joints. But the main threat remains the energy whip.]
"Good... ti for surgery."
Tony raised his palms, unleashing a barrage of guided micro-bombs. They flew with precision, striking each joint of the enemy’s armor.
"No! You bastard!" Vanko roared.
Desperation twisted his face. As the suit’s creator, he knew those were his gravest vulnerabilities. And, thanks to the focused blasts, he finally managed to pinpoint Tony amid the smoke. The whip lashed out violently in his direction.
If it had been Tony’s old suit, he might have been hit. But the Mark XI was lighter, tougher, far more agile. The whip tore through the haze like a blade, but Tony was no longer there.
"All wrapped up already?" Rhodes asked, eyeing the smoke-filled field.
Tony appeared above, out of range.
"Not yet. But relax... it’s going to look good."
Even without seeing his friend’s face inside the War Machine, Tony knew Rhodes must be rolling his eyes, wearing his classic "I can’t believe I’m still friends with this guy" expression.
Tony just snapped his fingers.
An explosion bood within the smoke, followed by a wave of air that swept across the area. As the haze cleared, what remained of Vanko’s suit lay scattered across the ground like scrap tal.
"Already? That fast?" Rhodes muttered in disbelief.
Ivan Vanko, who minutes before had seed arrogant and relentless, now lay unconscious, defeated.
"Okay, Rodes, I’m leaving the boring part to you. Arresting, filing paperwork, taking nice little photos, etc., etc., etc., I’m out."
Without waiting for a reply, Tony shot into the sky in a golden streak.
The Mark XI’s first official battle had ended in victory. And inside, Tony couldn’t hide his excitent. At the sa ti, he knew that if he had been wearing his previous armor, the fight would have been much harder.
"Yeah, I guess I owe Arthur a thank you for this upgrade."
anwhile, Rhodes stared at his own armor. A doubt gnawed at him. Had the modifications made by Hamr Industries left it less reliable? He needed answers... and Justin Hamr would have to give them.
Approaching Vanko, Rhodes crouched and checked his breathing. Nothing. Vanko was dead.
Rhodes sighed. As a soldier, there was no room for compassion for soone like that. He then activated the thrusters and headed toward the Air Force base. Deep down, though, there was bitterness. The na War Machine seed to carry more weight than ever.
It was a noisy night in New York.
---
At the sa ti, in a dark dinsion.
The space was silent. No wind, no life, no color. Only absolute darkness. At the center of this void, a woman was chained. Her green garnts were in tatters, her pale skin reflecting the rciless prison.
Suddenly, so of the chains snapped with a sharp crack.
A cruel smile ford on her lips.
"Soon, I’ll be free from here."
A chilling laugh filled the emptiness:
"Ha... hahaha... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The woman raised her face, her eyes burning with hatred.
"Asgard... your queen shall return soon. And you will pay for what you did to , Father..."
(End of Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain , try to throw those pathetic power stones at . Let’s see if even your insolence can amuse a king."
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