At the Stark Expo, although the incident with Hammer Industries caused the military and Hammer's armor project to collapse, there had once been some armor suits left to put on display, lacking only arc reactors for power. However, after the chaos caused by Ivan Vanko, even those showcase suits disappeared without a trace.
Despite this, the government went all out, using the armor Tony had given to Rhodey to restore its reputation. In addition to Rhodey's heavily modified suit, the government quickly put together dozens of flashy but hollow suits of armor.
These were little more than plastic shells with some metal plating, and they used LED lights in place of real arc reactors. While they were useless for actual combat, standing still and saluting alongside Rhodey gave the uninformed public a false sense of security.
Of course, these spectators were watching from home via broadcast because Tony's plan was to lure Ivan Vanko out. Most of the people present were military personnel, with the exception of a few staff handling the broadcast. Everyone else was either a soldier or a government agent.
"I really don't get what the government officials are thinking. They know there's going to be danger today, yet they still brought all this media for live coverage," Blake said, shrugging his shoulders backstage, confused.
"That's why you'll never be a politician," Tony replied, standing beside Blake in his suit of armor. "My father used to say that to be a successful politician, you need to be able to lie even in your sleep. But it's exactly because of the broadcast that Ivan Vanko will believe all of this is real!"
Tony had already publicly announced that he would attend the government's armor exhibition today.
"Alright, it's about time for me to go on!"
"Tony!" Blake called out, feeling as though he had forgotten something.
"Yeah?"
"It's nothing. You go ahead!"
Blake thought for a moment but couldn't figure out what was wrong. Tony gave him a curious look, then sealed his helmet and took off, circling around before landing smoothly beside Rhodey.
"Oh, it's Tony Stark, our Iron Man! Is he here today to challenge War Machine and see who really has the strongest armor?" the host teased as he passed the microphone to Tony's suit.
"Actually, I'm just here to check their homework—to see how much my imitators have managed to match my level. That's right!" Tony responded with his signature sharpness.
Before the host could react, Rhodey's War Machine suit suddenly raised its right arm, multiple gun barrels aimed directly at Tony.
"Oh! Look at Colonel Rhodes—he's been promoted thanks to his armor! True to his military roots, he's responding to the provocation with firepower!" the host said, moving the microphone back toward Rhodey.
"Move aside!" Rhodey's panicked voice shouted.
"What?"
"I said move aside! I'm not controlling the suit—it's been hijacked! Tony, I'm locking onto you. Damn it, my suit's out of control!" Rhodey yelled frantically.
At that moment, Blake slapped his forehead, finally remembering what he had forgotten. Rhodey's suit had also been modified by Hammer's team—not just the weapons system, but the entire control system. It was just like the other suits now under Ivan Vanko's control.
Without hesitation, Blake shouted to Black Widow and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents nearby, "Evacuate! Get everyone out of here! Rhodey's suit is being controlled by Ivan Vanko!"
"Tony! Rhodey's suit is being controlled. Get him out of here now!"
Blake's voice echoed in Tony's earpiece just as the sound of gunfire rang out from outside.
"You should've figured that out sooner. Now everyone knows!"
Tony's suit clanged loudly as bullets ricocheted off its surface. Despite the fact that the area was full of highly trained soldiers and agents, they were no match for the powered armor. However, their orderly retreat made things move faster, even though most people still hadn't evacuated from the expo.
Realizing this wasn't a sustainable situation, Tony drew fire and shot into the sky, his suit absorbing the bullets.
"Blake! I'm not going to attack Rhodey directly. Think of a way to disable his damn arc reactor!"
As Blake emerged, he saw Tony flying upward, with Rhodey's War Machine suit relentlessly firing at him. Just as Blake tried to approach, Rhodey's suit fully engaged its thrusters and began chasing Tony, weapons locking on. Several missile launchers appeared from his back, aimed at Tony.
"You want me to take out his reactor? You'd better fly a loop and come back, or figure out how to turn me into Hawkeye!" Blake shouted, watching the two blazing trails disappear into the sky.
Meanwhile, from the distance, a swarm of armored suits ascended, trailing jets of fire as they raced toward Tony and Rhodey.
"Damn it! How many suits did Vanko take last time? Do something, Blake!" Tony dodged and weaved, trying to avoid the hail of gunfire while making sure not to lead them toward populated areas. The pressure was mounting.
"What do you expect me to do, huh? You need to strap a rocket to my back, or at least give me a hot air balloon!" Blake yelled, jumping in frustration on the ground.
"I should've built you something to fly with! Damn it, why didn't you remind me?" Tony's voice came through, mixed with explosions and gunfire.
"You should've figured it out yourself! Stop talking and bring them back here. Bring them to me and I'll figure out how to disable Rhodey. Don't you have that single-use laser cutter?" Blake shouted, glancing around the now mostly evacuated area.
"On my way!"
Tony shot straight up into the sky. Once all the rogue suits were trailing beneath him, he suddenly veered and sped back toward the expo area.
"Are you ready? I'm coming in hot!"
"Bring it on!"
"Wait a minute, guys, shouldn't you ask for my opinion first?" Rhodey's voice came over the comms.
"Shut up, traitor!" Blake and Tony replied in unison.
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