VCM "...???" Nick Fury, who had just been about to speak on the other end, paused for a few seconds.
That familiar irritated tone made him sigh.
'What was up with this kid? Why did he always seem to have a weird attitude every few days?'
"Turn on your TV. It's live." Fury's tired voice finally came through.
"See what? You want me to clean up Tony's mess with Ivan Vanko again?" The man's tone softened. He wasn't a child. Even though he was annoyed, he knew when it was time to get serious.
But Fury's answer caught him off guard. "Not at all. I'm not Tony's babysitter."
That made him raise an eyebrow. But before he could react, Fury added, "That guy is Iron Man. If he can't handle a trivial matter like this, then all my worrying was for nothing."
'So, you are his babysitter, huh?' He thought to himself but decided not to voice it out loud.
Just because Fury acted tough didn't mean he was thick-skinned enough to take jokes lightly.
"You're not calling just to vent, so what do you need from me?" he asked.
"If those knockoff robots were only targeting Tony, I'd let him deal with it himself. But we both know we can't rely on a guy with a vendetta to keep civilians safe. That's why I already sent Natasha to Hammer Industries to deal with Vanko. Before she gets to him, I need you to minimize civilian casualties."
"Got it," he nodded. "Same old excuse. 'This is New York, you can't go all out.' Right? Do I still care about that as a security consultant?"
"You want me to pull up your contract?" Fury countered.
"Fine, fine, I'll go," he grumbled. "Why is it that the first time I get both a job salary and a school scholarship, they just overlap into a big mess? No commission, overtime on holidays..."
Before he could finish, Fury hung up.
Just as he was about to put his phone away, it rang again. This time, it was Tony.
"Hey, Iron Man himself. You still have time to call?" he joked.
"Just barely," Tony's voice was hurried, and the sound of explosions crackled through the line.
He could even hear Rhodey cursing in the background.
"Figures. So, what do you need?"
"Vanko's after me, but I'm not worried about him. Pepper, on the other hand..."
"You want me to protect her?"
"Exactly. Out of everyone I know, you're the only one I trust with this. I mean, even Obadiah's top-tier suit couldn't do anything to you. Handling these low-budget knockoffs should be easy."
"So, are you offering me a temp job?"
"Name your price."
"Talking money cheapens our friendship, Tony. But… I've been taking the bus to school lately, and it's killing my schedule."
"Rolls-Royce, Bugatti, Lamborghini—take your pick. Just keep Pepper safe."
"Now you're talking!" He snapped his fingers, a grin forming. "By the way, Vanko just flew over my head, so he's probably heading your way."
He glanced up at the night sky.
Of course, that was a lie, but it didn't matter.
"You've probably read my file from Fury. I'm sensitive to energy signals. So, listen, Tony, be careful. That guy is way stronger than before. He's probably packing more than just revenge."
"Thanks for the heads-up." Tony cut the call.
From the background noise, the fight on his end was heating up.
Instead of heading straight to the Expo, he made another call.
"What's your status, White Queen?"
"Everything's running smoothly. Hammer Industries is a total mess. No one's noticed that we siphoned all their liquid assets. Just in case, I had Ivan wipe out their internal servers before leaving. Any trace of us was deleted along with a bunch of their classified data."
"Perfect." He smirked. "I also heard Black Widow's on her way to Hammer's headquarters. She's a problem. Avoid her."
"Already planned for that. As for Vanko, I've been messing with his head a bit. If S.H.I.E.L.D. is sharp enough, they might pick up on his mental instability."
"Not our concern. Tony will keep him occupied. Everything's going according to plan." He hung up, took one last look at the Expo's location, and vanished into the night.
In the sky, Iron Man methodically blasted one counterfeit robot after another. Each explosion lit up the night as sparks bounced harmlessly off his armor.
Ethan had always said Tony's tech was top-tier, but only if you were willing to spend big money.
Right now, it was overkill—like using a missile to swat a fly.
The so-called cutting-edge drones, supposedly worth millions, were getting taken out like cheap toys.
"Tony, watch out!" Rhodey's panicked voice suddenly came through the comms.
Before Tony could react, Rhodey's Iron Man suit, still under Vanko's influence, slammed into him, sending him spiraling through the air.
The military had clearly spent a fortune upgrading Rhodey's armor.
The lesson here? No matter how good you were, if someone spent enough money, they could level the playing field.
Fortunately, on the other side of the battlefield, Black Widow had successfully hacked into Hammer Industries' systems.
With a few keystrokes, she restored Rhodey's control over his suit.
"Rhodey, you good?" Tony asked, tapping on his friend's helmet.
Rhodey groaned. "Yeah, but you can take this thing back later. Your pay-to-win armor isn't exactly my style."
Before Tony could laugh, the sound of heavy machinery roared to life.
Ivan Vanko, decked out in a newly enhanced armored suit, strode onto the battlefield, a smug grin on his face.
"Tony… I spent a lot of money on this."
At this moment, the battle once again proved that Stark tech had fully embraced the "pay-to-win" model.
Numbers didn't matter—quality did.
The knockoff drones Vanko brought were obliterated in under a minute by Rhodey and Tony.
But Vanko? Thanks to some serious funding, he had become the equivalent of a fully upgraded raid boss—insane durability, overwhelming firepower.
Wielding his electrified whips, he single-handedly laid Rhodey and Tony flat.
"I can't keep up, Tony! Move aside, I'm bringing out the big guns!" Rhodey groaned, pulling himself off the ground for the third time.
His armor was dented and sparking, but he was determined.
He activated a hidden compartment in his suit, revealing a small but menacing-looking missile.
"Time to test out the 'Ex-Wife.'" The miniature launcher on his shoulder whirred to life, locking onto Vanko.
With a confident smirk, he fired.
The sleek, cigar-sized projectile cut through the air and hit Vanko dead center.
A tiny, underwhelming plink echoed as the missile barely scratched Vanko's suit before falling into the water and sinking like a rock.
"-1 HP."
Silence. Absolute, painful silence.
Tony stared. Rhodey's jaw dropped.
"Hammer Tech?" Tony added salt to his wound,
"What... What the hell?" Rhodey muttered, his confidence crumbling. "That was a top-of-the-line military-grade weapon! HammerTech swore by it! I paid good money for that!"
Tony side-eyed him, expression screaming disappointment.
"This... is why you don't buy third-party DLC."
With an exasperated sigh, Tony stepped forward. "Let me show you how it's done."
A few seconds later, he, too, was getting tossed around like a ragdoll.
Rhodey tried to intervene, but Vanko slammed him to the ground with brutal efficiency.
This wasn't the Vanko from the racetrack—the desperate underdog with only skill and two whips.
This was a man who had learned the power of a deep wallet.
Through backdoor dealings with Hammer, he had acquired reinforced, high-performance armor that made him a walking fortress.
Tony groaned, realizing that brute force wouldn't cut it. He looked toward Rhodey.
"Hey, buddy... you ever wanted to be a hero?"
Rhodey squinted. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Just trust me." Tony reached out a hand.
Hesitant but trusting, Rhodey took it.
The energy cannons in their palms surged, their beams colliding and merging into a single, blinding blast.
"Die, Vanko!"
The explosion was instant, engulfing Vanko in a searing shockwave.
When the dust cleared, the villain was barely standing, his armor shredded, sparks flying from exposed circuits.
Tony approached the downed Vanko, victorious—until Vanko chuckled darkly, blood dripping from his lips.
"You think this is over, Stark?" Vanko wheezed. "I told you, I'm not just coming for you. I'm coming for everything you love."
Tony's smugness vanished. A cold feeling crept up his spine.
"What do you mean?"
Vanko coughed, grinning through the pain. "You already know."
Tony's heart sank. "Pepper."
Vanko's laughter was cut short as his mechanical drones powered up, their chest panels flashing ominously.
"Tony, those bots are about to explode!" Rhodey shouted, already firing up his thrusters.
Tony didn't hesitate. "Pepper, hold on." His suit's repulsors roared as he rocketed away at top speed.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Pepper stood anxiously by the road, watching the skyline with growing worry.
"Relax," her unlikely protector muttered. "Tony's a cocky bastard, but he won't die that easily."
She turned to him. "That's not exactly comforting."
Before he could respond, streaks of fire appeared in the night sky—approaching fast.
"What the hell is that?" Pepper gasped.
"Looks like Vanko left a parting gift." Ethan narrowed his eyes.
He sense the raw force radiating from the incoming machines.
These weren't standard drones.
They were overloaded with unstable energy, ready to detonate.
"Stay behind me." He flicked his wrist, summoning an array of steel throwing knives—Tony's idea of a 'low-tech backup plan.'
With a single motion, he launched them at supersonic speed.
The sonic boom cracked through the night as the blades effortlessly tore through the incoming drones.
Explosions erupted mid-air as the drones were decimated one by one.
But then—
One final streak of light remained, moving even faster than the others.
He tensed, hurling his last three knives.
The first two struck true, but the third ricocheted off the target—sending a fragment spiraling back toward the city.
"Oh, crap." He suddenly had a very bad feeling about this.
A second later, Pepper's phone rang.
The speaker crackled with static before a very familiar voice groaned in pain.
"Uh... tell me that last one wasn't you." Ethan turned slowly toward the smoking crater where a red-and-gold figure was struggling to get up.
"Kid, did you just stab me out of the sky?!" Tony's voice was pure outrage.
"That was... an accident."
"An accident?! You sliced through every other target with one knife, but I get three?!"
"Look, we have bigger problems right now!"
Tony grumbled. "You're just trying to change the subject—wait, why is it getting brighter—"
He turned.
The remaining drones had crash-landed beside him, their core reactors blinking red at an alarming rate.
"Oh, son of a—"
BOOM!
The explosion sent Tony flying again.
From a safe distance, Ethan coughed, brushing off his coat.
He turned to Pepper, face serious.
"So... problem solved. I'll be heading out now."
Pepper raised an eyebrow. "Just like that?"
"Someone's waiting for my leg massage. Priorities." He gave her a lazy salute before strolling off. "Oh, and when Tony lands... remind him to pay me."