The roaring applause still echoed through the Stark Expo when the first explosion rocked the stage.
Liam felt the ground tremble beneath him, the sound of metal shrieking against metal as a section of the stage erupted in fire. Smoke billowed into the air, and screams filled among the whole audience. The bright lights shattered plunging everything around into chaos.
"Oh, come on. Can't we have one Expo without something blowing up?" Tony's smile had vanished.
Then came the voice, with artificial distortion.
The massive screen behind them glitched before cutting to static, then flickered to life with a live feed—revealing a hulking, armored figure stepping through the wreckage of the main entrance. The moment Liam saw the broad, steel-plated frame and the glowing red optics, he knew what it was.
Iron Monger.
"Did you really think I wouldn't have contingency plans?" the deep voice mocked, amplified through speakers embedded in the suit. The metal behemoth stomped forward, each step leaving deep imprints in the ground. "You stole my company. You took my future. And now, I take yours!"
Before Liam could process that, another presence entered the fray. The air filled with the electrified hum of whips slicing through the night.
"Stark!"
"You like to play with power, da?" Vanko sneered, his thick Russian accent cutting through the chaos. "Let's see if you can handle real power."
"Okay who are you. That old piece of garbage I do take responsibility, but who is this guy." Tony was still in his usual self, but one could tell that he was a bit surprised. He had already eyed Pepper to pass on his metal suitcase.
Then, the sky above darkened—not from clouds, but from a swarm of flying machines descending like mechanical vultures. These were flying robots enhanced and modified, hovered in formation, their glowing optics locking onto the Stark Expo stage. Their weapons primed. Ready.
"Great," Tony muttered, rolling his shoulders. "Because one homicidal maniac in a mech suit wasn't enough—we needed a whole tag team."
"Today, Stark," Stane continued, "we introduce the world to a new kind of power. Not your empty promises. Not your flashy tech. Real, undeniable force."
"And then, we kill you." Vanko cracked his whips against the floor, sending sparks flying.
Liam clenched his fists, his mind racing. There were thousands of innocent people in the crowd, scrambling to escape. If even one of those drones opened fire, it would be a massacre.
"This is going to be a long night." Tony sighed.
"Yeah, you have no idea, but first we need to run."
Tony didn't need to be told twice. The second Vanko's electrified whip lashed toward him, he yanked Liam by the arm and sprinted toward the backstage entrance. The whip struck the stage behind them, sending a wave of sparks.
"Pepper! The case!" Tony shouted, weaving through the crowd. Pepper had already been expecting this and yanked the suitcase to him.
Tony caught it mid-stride, tossed it onto the ground, and stepped onto the release mechanism. In an instant, the case unfolded, locking into place around his body with seamless mechanical precision. The sleek Mark V suit wrapped around him just as he cleared the main stage.
As soon as he transformed a missile detonated near him sending Liam and Tony tumbling backward.
"You can't run forever, Stark," Stane's voice boomed.
"And you can't shut up forever," Tony shot back, firing a repulsor blast, after getting up.
The red energy beam slammed into Stane's armor, barely making him flinch.
From above, the swarm of flying drones zeroed in, their weapons locking onto their targets. Then, with a loud snap, Vanko's electrified whip coiled around Tony's arm, jolting him with a surge of energy. Sparks flew as Tony gritted his teeth, trying to pull free.
Liam cursed under his breath. They were completely exposed here. Too many people, too many enemies, too much open space. They needed cover.
"The backstage! Go now!" Liam shouted.
"Little busy here!"
Liam acted first, he threw serrated knives at Vanko's helmet. These were spectral knives which Liam could conjure using wraith abilities and were quite hidden, so the risk of exposure was minimum. He also used rocks to cover the fact that he threw knives.
Vanko snarled as the knives struck his visor, his grip loosening just enough for Tony to tear free.
"Not a bad throw," Tony muttered before jetting toward the backstage entrance.
Liam was already ahead, slipping through the heavy metal doors into the dimly lit corridors of the Expo's backstage area. The moment Tony got through, he turned and fired a repulsor blast at the ceiling supports. The metal framework groaned before collapsing, sealing off the entrance just as Iron Monger's heavy steps thundered toward them.
"You do realize they're just going to find another way in, right?" Liam said as he sighed in relief. Thankfully, those robots weren't in huge number like in the actual storyline, and they concentrated their firepower on Tony thus the general public hadn't been harmed.
Yet, at least.
"Now you can go out and save people." Tony said since he could understand why Liam didn't show his abilities outside as his other identity a secret. He also checked if Pepper was fine. Thankfully Pepper was taken away by Happy.
"What about you? When is your armor reaching here?" Liam asked.
"My armor isn't autonomous. It can't fly solo, yet. I had been writing the codes but I haven't finished it yet." Tony replied with a bit of embarrassment.
"You got to be kidding me." Liam looked at Tony with daggers in his eyes.
"Hey, I just fought against them. Cut me some slack." Tony replied.
"Then how will you fight?" Liam asked.
"There is no we here. You will fight and I will cheer for you from here." Tony said, as he looked at his own armor. It was busted and only one of his repulsors worked now. This was a shame for him. Liam was right, he should have finished those codes instead of getting himself a new fancy helmet.
Liam sighed. He knew he would have to help this hopeless guy here. And thankfully he had completed one of the 2 games that he had been given to play in a day.