The two-pronged electromagnetic whip—thick, crackling, and emitting blinding arcs of blue energy—lashed out instantly, forcing both the Mark VI and the War Machine to immediately separate. The blow was so immense, neither armored figure, even with their new alloy plating, could withstand a direct strike without risking major structural failure.
Rhodey, desperate to disengage from the remote control and now furious about the collateral damage he had caused, unleashed a torrent of defensive firepower. He wildly fired everything he had left in his War Machine suit at the hulking Whiplash Armor.
Ivan Vanko, however, moved with an incredible, fluid agility that defied the bulk of his custom suit. He reacted to the incoming rounds not by dodging, but by using his whip as a weapon and a shield. With a terrifying snap, he lashed out, and the blue energy sliced clean through the barrel of Rhodey's pride and joy—the massive six-barreled M134 heavy machine gun.
The broken end of the weapon was charred black, melting at the edges. The sheer, overwhelming power of the plasma-infused blow left Rhodes momentarily stunned.
Ivan wasted no time. His second, nimbler whip immediately targeted Tony, who had just taken off to gain altitude. The whip snaked out, wrapping around the Mark VI's ankle thrusters, and with a monstrous surge of current, Ivan pulled back.
The immense, sudden pulling force of the energized rotors slammed the Mark VI directly into a massive, decorative stone boulder in the simulated desert environment. The rock shattered into pieces around Tony.
A violent flicker immediately appeared across Tony's internal virtual panel. The electromagnetic shockwave from the whiplash had temporarily overloaded his suit's external sensors and communication arrays.
As Ivan's attention shifted to follow Rhodes, who was trying to flank him, Tony seized his brief window of opportunity. The eight small, integrated grenade launchers on the right forearm of the Mark VI rose up in a concealed mechanism.
Eight small, high-explosive grenades—Hammer's cheap, mass-produced ordnance—were fired in a tight volley at the armored warrior wielding the whip.
The immense, chaotic force of the high-velocity volley caused Ivan's whip to snap back in reflex. Four of the grenades detonated harmlessly against the energy field of the whip, and two more were deflected away.
Only two grenades managed to strike Whiplash's body. The resulting sharp, localized explosions caused large, spiderweb cracks to appear in his heavy abdominal armor, and Ivan let out a guttural, muffled groan of pain and pure fury.
His retaliation was immediate and merciless. The whip moved even faster, coiling like a serpent around Rhodes's neck plating. As Ivan intensified the power output, the crackling electric current noticeably increased, starting to burn through the wiring and vital systems of the War Machine suit.
Tony rushed forward, using his shoulder charge to knock Whiplash off balance.
Ivan reacted instantly, using his other whip to pivot and anchor the Mark VI, pulling both armored figures into a devastatingly tight bundle. Ivan had intentionally entangled both of them, leveraging his superior mechanical strength.
Rhodey, thinking quickly, used the chaotic momentum to ram his entire body weight into Ivan, knocking the whip's trajectory slightly askew.
However, Whiplash violently shoved him back with a massive headbutt, sending the War Machine staggering. Tony took the chance to break free, quickly firing two focused pulse cannon shots from his hands at Ivan's chest.
But the maneuver cost him. Ivan's whip lashed out one more time, catching Tony's leg and causing him to stumble. Despite the shock, Tony's hands didn't stop. The high-powered, rapid-fire machine gun on Ivan's wrist—his only non-whip ranged weapon—fired a tight burst directly at Tony's torso.
Tony took several heavy, stinging bullets head-on. Flames erupted from his boots as he forced his flight system to the side, continuously firing the focused pulse cannons from his hands to keep Ivan suppressed.
The machine guns on Rhodes's massive suit were proving useless against Ivan's layered armor, and only the pure, kinetic force of Tony's pulse cannons could slightly shake the massive Whiplash armor. Rhodey continued to draw fire, allowing Tony to maneuver.
A heavy, custom-designed missile rose from Tony's shoulder, locking onto the Whiplash suit.
Ivan's mechanical program allowed him to turn to the side at the absolute last moment, but even the residual concussive force of the high-yield explosion caused the Whiplash Armor to violently flip over and crash hard onto the damp ground.
Rhodes, seeing his chance, attempted to pin Ivan down, but he was instantly thrown into the air by the immense, surprising mechanical force of Ivan's thrusters.
"Rhodes, get out of the way! I'm ending this now!"
Two specialized metal shields popped out from the backs of the Mark VI's hands—the focusing arrays for the new core's ultimate weapon—and a brilliant, concentrated red glow emanated from them.
Meanwhile, Leo led Peter toward the inner field arena. They were now only about a hundred meters from the edge of the fight.
The sounds of intense fighting, the deafening cracks of the whips, heavy gunfire, and the sharp thump of explosions were overwhelming the atmosphere.
Peter, seeing the violent commotion and the mangled pile of stones at the other end of the dome, grabbed Leo's hand with some fear, his grip tightening.
"Brother Leo, let's go back right now! It looks so dangerous in there. Aunt May and Aunt Jenny said we can't go to dangerous places! Please, let's go back!"
"It's okay, little man. With your big brother here, absolutely no one will hurt you. I promise." Leo said confidently, trying to reassure him.
"I don't want to! I don't want to see them fighting!"
Little Peter looked over at the chaos, stubbornly pulling Leo's hand backward. Though he couldn't actually move the older boy, he still dug his heels into the mud, leaving clear drag marks.
Seeing that Peter was genuinely terrified and unwilling to step forward, Leo quickly gave up the idea of letting him watch. He couldn't risk scaring the kid or putting him through any more trauma.
He gently stepped forward, placing his own body between Peter and the battle.
Looking back toward the center of the fight, the situation had reached a critical, final climax.
The last whipping arcs of the enraged Whiplash were scoring deep, carbon-seared scars into both Rhodes's and Tony's suits.
At the same time, Tony's Mark VI's ultimate weapon, the new element's laser beam, was fully charged and ready. Its direction was precisely aimed at the prone Whiplash Armor, but the trajectory was also aimed directly at where Leo had been standing a moment ago.
The only physical buffer between the laser's path and Leo was a small, artificial stone model of a hill.
Leo didn't hesitate. He stepped in front of Peter, blocking his path entirely.
A subtle, powerful protective golden light instantly shimmered into existence in front of them, a silent shield of pure metallic energy.
Tony aimed his hands at the Whiplash Armor, and two unparalleled, scorching red laser beams shot out from the back of his hands.
Before Ivan could even react, the laser beams pierced straight through the cracked, weakened metal of his abdominal armor, emerged from his back, and tore a path through the simulated stone hill behind him.
The twin laser beams, still retaining most of their incredible energy, shot towards Leo, converging perfectly on the immovable golden shield in front of him, causing brilliant, shimmering ripples of pure force.
Two seconds later, the laser dissipated. Ivan was left with a massive, smoking, molten hole in his abdomen and severely damaged internal organs. He lay down helplessly in the shallow stream.
The shimmering golden light in front of Leo slowly faded away. Leo looked at the complex laser carrier device that had popped out of the Mark VI's hand and remarked to himself in confusion.
The energy level is much, much lower than I expected for a weapon of that size. It couldn't break through my basic passive defenses at all. Tony still has a long way to go with that new element.
Ivan's Whiplash armor mask was removed by a mechanical joint, revealing an expression of extreme, agony-filled pain as he looked up at Tony, who was now walking toward him cautiously.
"There will always be... unexpected events, Stark. Otherwise, you will lose every time."
"I won't lose, Ivan. Not anymore."
The red flashing light on the reactor core strapped to Ivan's chest increased in a terrifying, urgent frequency.
Tony and Rhodes immediately realized what was happening: it was a forced, final self-destruction.
Tony's mind raced: Was he sure all the drones were dealt with? Was Pepper completely safe?
But before he could even make his next move—before the reactor could breach containment—the bright, dangerous element in Ivan's chest flew up automatically. It broke into eighteen tiny, harmless pieces, and fell to the ground with a soft tink. The explosion was canceled, the energy contained.
Leo took Peter's hand and walked back out, turning only to look up at the final, magnificent burst of celebratory fireworks already going off in the New York sky outside the dome.
"Fireworks are much prettier than explosions, don't you think, Peter? Less noisy, too. But this time it went quite smoothly, without any major destruction in the city, so everyone can have a peaceful and happy New Year, right?"
"Brother Leo, let's go back and watch TV. The fireworks aren't very interesting, and that loud fighting was scary." Peter tugged at Leo, who was still watching the shimmering sky, eager to leave the dangerous area.
"Okay, let's go home, little man. Time for cartoons and a pizza."
Rhodes stared in utter disbelief, first at Ivan's now-dead body, then at the scattered, inert reactor fragments on the ground where the explosion should have been.
The black guy looked completely confused. "What... what the hell just happened to the bomb, Tony? That should have leveled the dome! Did he just... fizzle?"
Tony looked around the vast, empty dome, scanning the shadows. He didn't see anyone, but he knew exactly what had transpired. Leo had casually disarmed the villain in his last, most desperate moment.
Flames erupted from his hands and feet as he charged toward the exit, needing to see Pepper immediately.
"Rhodes, you handle the fallout and the military press conference, okay? I'll send a S.H.I.E.L.D. cleanup crew to handle Ivan's body. I'm prioritizing finding Pepper now!"
Rhodes glanced at his tattered, half-melted armor and mentally calculated the cost of repairing the cars, buildings, and the damage he had caused under Ivan's control.
The mask was clipped back on with a frustrated thunk.
"You're leaving me with this mess? This is unbelievable! I just came to an exhibition, goddammit!"
The next day, Tony Stark received a cryptic, highly classified message and was summoned to a nondescript red brick factory in the city.
At almost the exact same moment, a call came through to Leo's personal, untraceable cell phone. He was also 'invited' to the location.
Leo transformed into a streak of golden light and arrived directly on the flat, reinforced roof of the brick house. He easily opened a small, circular hole in the structure—a clean, silent entry—and flew inside without being noticed by the few S.H.I.E.L.D. guards watching from the perimeter.
Inside, only Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., was sitting in front of a computer, calmly reviewing documents in his hands.
He glanced up at Leo, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere in a flash of gold, and didn't seem particularly surprised or impressed by the impossible entry. "Sit down, Leo. Don't worry about the roof; we'll fix it. We can wait for Tony Stark to make his grand entrance."
"So, Director," Leo began, crossing his arms. "After the whole palladium fiasco, the impromptu party, and the chaos last night, are you still planning on extending that invitation to Tony Stark for your little 'Avengers Initiative'?"
"Don't you already know the answer to that?" Nick Fury glanced at Leo with an indifferent, one-eyed stare. "We've recently discovered what seems to be Rogers' trail. It appears we might find him soon, possibly within the next few days. Since you seem to be an expert on the long-term effects of cryogenic freezing, do you have any suggestions for handling him?"
"He's still alive, but it's not much better than being dead, Fury. He's a man out of time, stripped of everything. Give him some responsibility, give him a purpose—something truly worthwhile to fight for; it'll stabilize him and make him feel better," Leo advised, his voice measured. "Isn't he, Captain America, the perfect candidate for your Avenger idea?"
"As for how to appease him," Leo added with a wry look, "I think S.H.I.E.L.D. should already be prepared to offer him whatever nostalgic comforts he needs. That's your job, after all."
Leo, however, wasn't truly listening to his own advice. His attention was focused on a world map displayed prominently on an adjacent electronic screen. Several key, strategically important locations were marked on it with flashing red icons.
At that moment, the distinctive roar of a high-end sports car engine echoed from the doorway and screeched to a halt outside. Tony Stark had arrived.