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*****
Fini had initially planned to just wait for Billy's return at the opening ceremony. After extricating himself from the two troublesome companions by his side, he intended to take a proper tour of the Expo before finally heading home to conclude the day.
However, events often unfold in ways that defy expectation. Just as Fini and the two women were watching Tony, who had finished his speech and was preparing to head backstage, an unexpected incident occurred.
First, a pocket of chaos suddenly erupted near the corner of the stage.
Immediately following the disturbance, a burly man stepped onto the platform. He was dressed in filthy attire, with a toothpick dangling from his mouth. Mounted on his chest was an improvised version of a small arc reactor, powering the two crackling energy whips he gripped in his hands.
"Holy crap!"
Fini couldn't help but blurt out involuntarily. He hadn't expected things to develop so astonishingly. He never imagined that Whiplash, Ivan Vanko, would make his grand entrance in such a manner.
"This is Tony's territory!"
Ivan's appearance vastly exceeded Fini's expectations. He couldn't fathom how this guy had chosen this specific time and this particular method to reveal himself.
However, upon closer reflection, Fini suddenly felt that Ivan's appearance wasn't all that hard to accept after all.
Tony was originally a super-rich tycoon, and now, as Iron Man, he was practically a star among stars. His specific whereabouts were not something ordinary people could easily track, and that category obviously included Ivan Vanko.
Especially since this version of Tony, who hadn't experienced the despair of palladium poisoning, hadn't been recklessly courting death all over the place. This inevitably increased the difficulty for Ivan to locate Tony and exact his revenge.
Therefore, it wasn't actually that surprising that the highly publicized Stark Expo had become Ivan's main target. It was just that Fini hadn't expected Ivan to really just walk out so 'crudely,' practically unprotected.
"Isn't he afraid of being taken out by a single shot!?"
Looking at Ivan Vanko, with most of his torso exposed to the elements, Fini couldn't quite understand his thought process. The man wasn't wearing Tony's iron armor; the small arc reactor on his chest was mainly there just to provide energy for the two whips.
If there happened to be a sniper in the venue, or even just someone with a slightly accurate pistol, a single shot could end his life instantly!
Crack!
An energy whip lashed against the ground, sending sparks flying. The surrounding audience hadn't yet reacted to the true situation. Thinking it was part of a prepared extra program, everyone remained incredibly excited.
It wasn't until Ivan whipped several bodyguards who rushed up to subdue him, sending them flying far away to lie on the ground with their fates unknown, that the crowd seemed to realize something was seriously amiss.
"Ah!"
Screams erupted everywhere. The already noisy crowd became even more chaotic. Seeing the panic filled Ivan with inner delight, and he kept the whips cracking pa-pa-pa non-stop.
Those old men who practiced whip-cracking for exercise in the park probably couldn't compare to this level of skill!
Tony's reaction was swift. The moment he saw Ivan, he realized something was wrong. He quickly retreated to the stage, intending to equip his steel armor, but unfortunately, his path was blocked by Ivan, who was staring intently at him.
Crack!
"Tony Stark!"
Ivan spat out the toothpick from his mouth and swung his whip vigorously. Staring at Tony with eyes full of hatred, he began that essential villain skill: monologuing.
"Your family are thieves and butchers. And like every other guilty man, you are trying to rewrite your history, trying to forget the lives the Stark family has destroyed."
Tony looked gravely at the small arc reactor on Ivan's chest. He was all too familiar with the device, but he couldn't understand why it had appeared on this stranger.
In that instant, his thoughts went to Fini, then to Obadiah. But according to his investigations, Obadiah hadn't yet successfully analyzed the technology at the time of his defeat, so it was unlikely to have leaked from him.
As for Fini, while he had plenty of opportunities to acquire it, he really had no motive and absolutely no necessity to do such a thing.
"Although I don't know how you stole my technology, I think it's safe to assume you haven't paid the patent fees yet, right?"
Tony tried hard to stall for time. Currently unequipped with his armor and in a bare-handed state, fighting a strongman wielding two energy whips was no different than seeking death.
"Tony!"
Just then, a shout came from nearby. It turned out to be his personal bodyguard, Happy, who noticed the situation was dire and immediately rushed over, carrying a steel box that looked like a suitcase in his hand.
Beside him was a woman with red, curly hair and an exceptionally curvaceous figure. The instant she saw Ivan Vanko, the look in her eyes changed immediately.
Seeing outsiders arrive to interrupt, Ivan grew disgruntled. Without a second thought, he slapped an energy whip against the ground with a loud crack and looked toward the two newcomers, apparently preparing to deal with them first.
Happy wasn't blind, either. Seeing those energy whips sputtering with electric sparks, he knew they weren't anything good to mess with, but his duty as a bodyguard wouldn't allow him to flee before the battle.
"Careful! Happy, quickly, give me the thing," Tony alerted him hurriedly upon seeing the situation, simultaneously urging Happy to hand over the box.
Upon hearing this, Happy didn't hesitate and tossed the box in Tony's direction. Watching this, Tony's head instantly felt a bit swollen—that thing wasn't meant to be equipped in mid-air!
Crack!
Although Ivan wasn't entirely sure what the box was, he obviously didn't wish for Tony to get his hands on it. He swung his energy whip again, accurately hitting the box in mid-flight and knocking it far away.
When they discovered that Ivan was dangerous, the people around the stage had already started fleeing in all directions. However, New York never lacked people with a death wish. Besides the reporters, there was still a group of fanatical Tony fans gathered not far away, watching the spectacle.
The two beauties beside Fini had also been separated from him at some point by the crowded, chaotic mass of people. He couldn't attend to searching for them right now; instead, he quietly merged into that group of fanatical fans, wanting to observe the development of events. After all, he couldn't really watch with his own eyes as Tony met with some accident and died.
Not actively wanting to help, and encountering a situation where one deliberately chooses not to help, are two different things.
Just as Fini was contemplating whether to secretly take action to help a bit, the woman beside Happy moved. Like a nimble spider, she got up, accelerated, and arrived by Ivan's side before he could recover from finishing his whip strike.
"It's her!"
Seeing this person, Fini suppressed the thought of helping. This was someone who had infiltrated the Avengers. Dealing with a mere, incomplete-state Whiplash would be a trivial matter for her.
Ivan also saw Black Widow rushing to his side at this time. He harbored no thoughts of chivalry or pity for the fairer sex; the whip in his hand was waved out unhesitatingly.
Leaning back and bending at the waist, Black Widow dodged the attack in a pose difficult for an ordinary person to complete. As she rose, she threw off the high heel on her foot, and a tender white long leg barefoot kicked out toward Ivan.
Even a majestic, strong man waving two energy whips couldn't block Black Widow's kick; he fell directly backward onto the ground.
This is a woman who dares to flirt with the Hulk, after all!
"Good job, Natasha, you've got your bonus!"
Tony, who was running toward the box, was also keeping an eye on the situation over here. Seeing Black Widow's kick, he couldn't help but praise her.
But Ivan wasn't considered an ordinary person either. The tenacious spirit essential for a villain allowed him to recover quickly—of course, this was also related to the fact that the kick hadn't landed on a vital area.
Black Widow just wanted to pursue her victory, but the energy whip in Ivan's hand was already waving again. Surpassing the level of an old man doing morning exercises in the park, his skill actually made Black Widow feel a bit apprehensive.
Fortunately, at this time, the dilly-dallying Tony finally got his hands on his Mark V. Although the Mark V was inferior to other models in terms of raw power, this was currently his only portable armor.
And the equipping speed wasn't slow, either.
Several seconds later, Tony finished equipping the armor. His appearance on the big screen instantly detonated the cheers of the entire venue. The noise from the group of fanatical fans where Fini was located, in particular, made his eardrums feel tormented.
(End of Chapter)