Outside the Hammer Industries Expo venue, a business car pulled up, and Pepper and Happy stepped out.
"I'll park the car here," said Happy, always in a suit, standing by the car door.
"Thanks, Happy."
Pepper, dressed in a fiery little gown, swayed her hips as she walked up the steps to the venue.
Inside, the place was already packed with people, many holding wine glasses, chatting in small groups.
"Justin Hammer's presentation will begin shortly in the main hall..."
Upon hearing the announcement, the guests began heading to the main hall and took their seats.
In front of them was a massive screen displaying the event's star logo: "Hammer Industries."
To the sound of upbeat and comical music, the man who thought he was the star of the show, Justin Hammer, swayed in rhythm and strutted onto the stage, greeted by applause. He approached the microphone.
"That's right, welcome!"
Looking down at the sea of guests, he smugly continued, "Ladies and gentlemen, for a long time, our brave soldiers have fought in dangerous situations. Then Iron Man appeared. We thought no more lives would be lost, but he refused to share his advanced technology. That's unfair, it's wrong, and a waste."
Hammer lamented over Tony Stark, causing Pepper to frown.
"Still, it was a great invention, making headlines worldwide. But today, my friends, the newspapers are in trouble. They're going to run out of ink!"
With a mysterious grin, he gestured to the staff, who removed the podium in front of him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, today I am proud to introduce the new face of the U.S. military—"
Hammer suddenly pointed behind him, and then loudly declared, "The Hammer Iron Soldiers!"
Energetic music played as two rows of towering iron soldiers slowly rose from beneath the floor, synchronized with the music. Hammer walked in front of them and pointed to another spot on the floor.
"The Navy Iron Soldiers!"
Two rows of blue iron soldiers, slightly different from the Army models, appeared before the crowd.
"And the Air Force Soldiers!"
He gestured again, and a third type of iron soldier was revealed.
"Marine Corps Iron Soldiers!"
The final set of iron soldiers made their appearance.
"Yeah! Woo!" Hammer basked in the applause and astonished gazes from the crowd, standing proudly among his creations.
"They're way better than cheerleaders. And though it's revolutionary technology, the battlefield still needs real soldiers. Ladies and gentlemen, today I am honored to introduce the first prototype—the Full Threat Response Battle Armor and its pilot, Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes!"
Dramatic entrance music blared as the lights focused on the center stage, where a slightly different iron suit appeared.
"What?"
Pepper was stunned in the audience. Why was Rhodes here, and how had he become part of Hammer's product?
Up on stage, the War Machine, piloted by Rhodes, raised his hand in salute amidst the roaring applause and cheers. The iron soldiers behind him followed in perfect unison with their salutes.
Hammer raised his right hand in an exaggerated salute, then pompously announced, "Hammer Industries reporting to the U.S. and its allies!"
Just then, a sound of something slicing through the air came from above. The crowd looked up to see a gold-and-red armored figure flying through the night sky, landing swiftly on the stage.
"It's Iron Man!"
"Whoa!"
The audience erupted, standing to applaud Iron Man's arrival, assuming it was a surprise arranged by Hammer Industries. However, the people on stage had a very different reaction.
"We're in trouble," Tony Stark said as he walked straight toward War Machine.
"Tony, there are civilians here. I'm just following orders—don't start a fight!" Rhodes, thinking Tony was here to cause trouble, tried to warn him. After all, the suit he was wearing was "borrowed" from Tony's house and had undergone some significant modifications.
Tony reached War Machine's side, waving to the crowd below. "Wave to them," he said.
Rhodes, confused but not wanting to fight, complied and waved along.
"Everyone's in danger. We need to find a way to get them out. You have to trust me now," Tony continued to communicate with Rhodes through their suit's internal systems.
"I tried, but I got beaten up at your place," Rhodes retorted sarcastically, unwilling to let Tony off the hook.
"Great. I think he's working with Vanko," Tony said, unusually serious.
Rhodes paused, surprised. "Vanko's still alive?"
"Yes."
Seeing that Rhodes seemed to believe him, Tony turned toward Hammer. "Where is he?"
"Huh? What?"
"Where's Vanko?" Tony's voice grew louder.
Hammer was shocked, panicking internally, wondering how Tony had figured out Vanko's involvement, while trying to deflect the question. "Why are you here, man? Bro!"
Just as Tony was about to use force to get answers, Rhodes, in War Machine, started shouting in panic.
In front of Rhodes, red warning messages rapidly flashed across his HUD. With a loud click, the machine gun on War Machine's shoulder suddenly locked onto Tony.
"Is that you?" Tony asked.
"It's not me! It's not me!" Rhodes shouted back.
Soon, all the iron soldiers on stage raised their weapons and aimed at Tony.
"I can't move! I've been locked out! Get out of here! He's controlling the entire system!" Rhodes yelled as Tony flew into the air.
"Let's take this outside!"
Without waiting, Tony had already flown off, with bullets chasing him as dozens of iron soldiers opened fire. The audience scattered in panic, running for safety, while Pepper anxiously watched Tony soar away.
"No, no, no!" Rhodes yelled, unable to stop War Machine from transforming and flying into the sky, pursuing Iron Man.
The Air Force Iron Soldiers quickly followed, ascending into the air after Tony.
In the sky, Tony was thinking fast. "Jarvis, access the system. I need control!"
"Yes, sir."
Behind him, War Machine and the iron soldiers quickly closed the distance, but Tony wasn't flying at full speed—he needed them to catch up so he could deal with them.
"Tony, I've got you locked!" Rhodes' voice crackled with urgency over the comms.
"Who's the target?"
"You!"
A barrage of bullets from War Machine's shoulder cannon forced Tony into a series of evasive maneuvers, twisting and turning to dodge the incoming fire.
"Tony, I'm right behind you!" Rhodes shouted as he accelerated, closing the gap quickly. The shoulder-mounted cannon nearly grazed Tony's armor.
Tony sped up, weaving through the city skyline. Bullets sprayed from War Machine, shattering the glass of a nearby building, startling the partygoers inside.
All the while, Tony kept leading War Machine and the iron soldiers in circles, hoping Jarvis would break through the system soon.
"How's it going, Jarvis?" Tony asked.
"Unable to reboot remotely."
Tony's heart sank a little.
Outside the venue, the ground-based iron soldiers, unable to fly, had reached the open space and were firing into the sky at Tony. Dodging the web of bullets and missiles for a while, Tony realized he couldn't keep this up.
Time to fight back.
He launched several missiles, hitting one of the pursuing iron suits.
But there were too many soldiers on the ground. Their continuous firepower was posing a real threat to him.
He had to change locations.
With that thought, Tony quickly flew away from the venue, heading toward a more open area.
"You've got several soldiers chasing you!" Rhodes warned.
"The farther we get from the venue, the better!" Tony replied, leading War Machine and the iron soldiers away.
Using his suit's superior capabilities and powerful weapons, Tony found opportunities to shoot down the trailing iron soldiers one by one. The fierce aerial battle quickly moved to a parking lot beneath a bridge.
Suddenly, Rhodes noticed something on his map and urgently said, "Listen, a team of iron soldiers just broke away! They're heading back to the expo!"
"I know," Tony responded, frowning, but there was nothing he could do except focus on taking out the enemies behind him first.
"I'm closing in on you—about to open fire! Watch out!" Rhodes' shoulder cannon loaded a few missiles and fired at Tony.
Tony quickly lowered his altitude, causing the missiles to explode harmlessly. But War Machine seized the moment, firing his shoulder-mounted machine gun, sending a stream of bullets that blew up the cars in the crowded parking lot, triggering a massive explosion.
Finally, Tony sped out of the parking lot, gaining distance from his pursuers.
"Rhodes, are you still locked onto me?" Tony asked, his eyes on the map.
"Yes!"
"Suit up, it's time for a shower!"
"Wait, wait, wait!"
Ignoring Rhodes, Tony locked onto a round building ahead, accelerating toward it.
In an instant, Tony flew into the building, screeching to a halt before smashing into the massive iron dome, then shot up through the gap.
The iron soldiers followed blindly, crashing into the steel walls at high speed, exploding into pieces one after another.
"Sorry, I had to thin out their numbers. Where are you?" Tony asked Rhodes.
Before Rhodes could respond, War Machine tackled Tony from behind, slamming them both to the ground.
Boom! The two heavy iron suits tumbled across the ground, rolling several times.
As Tony tried to get up, War Machine pinned him down.
Just as the two struggled in a fierce grapple, the roar of a machine gun sounded.
"Tony!"
Tony gripped the gun barrel tightly, pushing it aside, but it inched closer to his head.
"Oh, shi—"
Inside the Iron Man suit, Tony stared blankly at the machine gun barrel mere inches from his face, a curse slipping from his lips.
"Damn it, I can't die to this piece of junk!"
"No!"
Tears welled up in Rhodes' eyes.
Just as the gun's fire was about to spray dangerously close to Tony's ear, the two heard a faint noise.
Click.
The menacing flames extinguished, and the machine gun fell limply to the ground.
What just happened?
While both were still in a daze, a familiar figure landed in front of them.
"Tony, you're a grown-up Iron Man now. You need to learn to protect yourself!"
Author's note: The Easter egg in this chapter is about Spider-Man, who was initially wearing an Iron Man fan costume and got attacked by the Iron Soldiers. In the end, Tony saved him, but due to Spider-Man's suit being a Lynch supporter uniform, he was not targeted by the Iron Soldiers this time.