Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

Ivan Vanko had been raised in Siberia.

He’d grown up with hardship, bitterness, and a hatred carefully nurtured over decades.

So when a mysterious woman appeared out of thin air inside his hidden workshop, casually demonstrating knowledge of his greatest secret, there was never going to be a calm conversation.

His response was immediate.

Kill the witness.

He had waited years for the chance to avenge his family. His first attempt against Tony Stark had failed. Now, thanks to Justin Hammer’s money and resources, he’d been handed a second opportunity.

He wasn’t about to let anyone jeopardize it.

With a grunt, Ivan drove the screwdriver in his hand toward Sarah’s heart.

It was a fast, practiced thrust.

Moments earlier, her invisibility had made her terrifying.

Now that she stood plainly before him, she looked like nothing more than a tall, slender woman with no visible weapon.

He was a broad-shouldered Russian mechanic who outweighed her by nearly a hundred pounds.

The difference in size filled him with confidence.

As long as he didn’t give her another chance to disappear...

He’d win.

Sarah barely glanced at the attack.

"Typical Russian."

She caught his wrist with one hand.

The screwdriver stopped dead, less than an inch from her chest.

Then she twisted.

Ivan’s feet left the ground.

A heartbeat later he slammed into the concrete floor hard enough to drive the air from his lungs.

The movement was effortless.

Fluid.

As though she had tossed aside an empty coat instead of a full-grown man.

Succubi weren’t frontline warriors by demonic standards.

Sarah would lose to someone like Captain America in a straight fight.

But she was still a demon.

Against an ordinary human...

The outcome had never been in doubt.

"Feeling calmer?"

She folded her arms and looked down at him.

Ivan groaned.

Then, the instant she stepped within reach, he rolled sideways.

He sprang to his feet, snatched up a heavy stainless steel chair, and swung it toward her head with everything he had.

Sarah didn’t move.

She simply raised one arm.

The chair struck with a deafening clang.

The metal frame crumpled inward.

Sarah didn’t even take a step back.

Ivan stared.

"...Monster."

There was no denying it now.

This wasn’t a normal woman.

Hand-to-hand combat was hopeless.

He hurled the ruined chair at her and sprinted toward the newest masterpiece on his workbench.

His plasma whip.

It had been designed for his armor, but he could still wield it manually if necessary.

After listening to Tony Stark’s taunts during their last encounter, he’d increased its power output dramatically.

No matter how tough she was...

If she was still flesh and blood...

One strike would cut her in half.

He was only a step away from activating it.

A black blur sliced through the air.

The crack echoed through the workshop.

His plasma whip...

And the workbench beneath it...

Split neatly into two pieces.

Before Ivan could react, the black blur changed direction like a living serpent.

It coiled around his torso.

Only then did he realize what it was.

A whip.

Jet black.

Held effortlessly in Sarah’s hand.

Trying to outdo a succubus with a whip was like challenging an orc to an axe duel.

Sarah flicked her wrist.

Ivan flew across the room.

He smashed into the wall with a heavy crash before collapsing to the floor.

She slowly reeled him back toward her, dragging him across the concrete.

"I’ll be honest."

"My patience is wearing thin."

She planted one boot squarely on his chest and leaned forward.

"So don’t waste what’s left of it."

Ivan winced.

Then, reluctantly...

He nodded.

The lesson had been convincing.

"Good."

"We can finally talk."

Sarah released the whip.

It unraveled from his body and vanished as though it had never existed.

She dragged over an undamaged chair and sat across from him.

"Who are you?"

"I’ve already answered that once."

She sounded mildly irritated.

"But since you weren’t listening..."

"I’m Sarah."

"Head of Security for the Umbrella Company."

"A mutant?"

Ivan asked automatically.

Between the invisibility...

The impossible strength...

And the whip that had appeared from nowhere...

The conclusion seemed obvious.

"No."

Sarah corrected him.

"An enhanced human."

"Umbrella’s biotechnology allowed me to evolve."

"I’ve heard of Umbrella."

That caught Sarah’s attention.

"You have?"

For a brief moment she wondered whether another organization was using the same name.

That would have been unacceptable.

Brand infringement was serious business.

"I’ve heard because your company took part of my funding."

Sarah blinked.

Then everything made sense.

When Hammer diverted part of Ivan’s research budget toward Umbrella’s projects, Ivan had naturally investigated where the money had gone.

Breaking through Hammer Industries’ laughably weak cybersecurity hadn’t exactly been difficult.

That was how he’d discovered Umbrella.

He simply hadn’t mentioned it.

Justin Hammer was still officially his employer.

And according to everything Ivan had learned...

Justin was strangely afraid of these people.

"My condolences," Sarah said without sounding particularly sympathetic.

Her attention shifted toward the armored suit standing nearby.

"But judging by this..."

"...you never intended to rely entirely on Justin Hammer."

She looked back at Ivan.

"Humiliating Tony Stark isn’t enough."

"You want him dead."

"Of course."

Ivan stood.

"The Starks are thieves."

"They stole my father’s work."

"They condemned my family to freeze in Siberia while they became heroes."

"Embarrassing Tony would accomplish nothing."

"I have to kill him."

Images flashed through his mind.

Rotting wooden cabins.

Snow leaking through broken roofs.

Frozen bread.

Melted snow for drinking water.

Endless winters where every morning was uncertain.

Those memories had fueled his hatred his entire life.

Sarah examined the unfinished armor again.

"So this is your trump card."

She nodded toward the rows of Iron Soldiers.

"And you’ve modified those drones as well."

"At the right moment..."

"...they’ll surround Tony Stark and everyone standing beside him."

Ivan no longer bothered hiding it.

"That’s the plan."

Sarah shook her head.

"It won’t work."

Ivan frowned.

"Why?"

"You planning to warn Hammer?"

"I suppose he is your business partner."

He couldn’t quite read her.

If she intended to protect Justin Hammer, she should have told him already.

Instead...

She had come here alone.

That meant she wanted something else.

"Partner?"

Sarah laughed quietly.

"Justin Hammer isn’t worthy of that title."

She met Ivan’s eyes.

"You and I..."

"...have far greater potential for cooperation."

Ivan gave a skeptical smile.

"You build monsters."

"I build machines."

"What exactly do we have in common?"

"I need your help with three things."

"And what do I receive in return?"

"The chance to complete your revenge."

Ivan snorted.

"You expect me to cooperate because you know my secret?"

"No."

Sarah shook her head.

"I don’t negotiate that way."

"I told you."

"I’m here to help."

She pointed toward his armor.

"With what you’ve built..."

"...you’re unlikely to defeat Tony Stark."

"I can change that."

Ivan’s jaw tightened.

"I have powered armor."

"I have an army of drones."

"What makes you think I can’t beat him?"

"One word."

Sarah looked at him almost pityingly.

"Gap."

"Your armor."

"Your drones."

"They’re still inferior to Iron Man."

"Tony Stark is a genius."

"So are you."

"But not quite on his level."

"I don’t accept that."

Veins bulged across Ivan’s forearms.

He was visibly restraining himself from flipping the table.

"The Arc Reactor was my father’s design."

"I have one."

"So does Tony."

"And his body is already failing from palladium poisoning."

Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"You haven’t heard?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. already provided him with a solution."

"By now..."

"...he has most likely cured the poisoning."

Whether that was already true or not didn’t matter.

Evenson had told her it would happen.

She believed him.

"S.H.I.E.L.D..."

Ivan muttered the name bitterly.

Another enemy.

Another organization that had sided with the Starks.

"It doesn’t matter."

He stubbornly shook his head.

"Our power sources are equal."

"No."

Sarah interrupted.

"Power isn’t the problem."

"Materials are."

She tapped one finger against Tony’s invisible advantage.

"Tony manufactures proprietary high-strength alloys."

"Your drones use commercially available metals."

"The result?"

"His weapons tear through your machines."

"Your weapons struggle to scratch his armor."

She turned toward Ivan’s own suit.

"This one is better."

"You clearly used higher-grade materials."

"But they’re still weaker."

"You compensated by making the armor thicker."

"It works..."

"...but only enough to barely close the gap."

Ivan opened his mouth.

Then closed it again.

She was right.

Tony Stark wasn’t merely an engineering genius.

He was exceptional in materials science as well.

Obadiah Stane had failed to match Iron Man’s armor.

Ivan had reached the same conclusion.

When strength couldn’t be improved...

Thickness became the only answer.

"...Fine."

He finally admitted it through clenched teeth.

"That’s one difference."

"But not a decisive one."

"My armor is thick enough."

"I don’t care if it’s ugly."

"I’m trying to kill someone."

"Not win a fashion contest."

Sarah ignored the remark.

"What about energy weapons?"

"Can your armor withstand repeated repulsor fire?"

"Do you possess equivalent weapons yourself?"

Ivan slammed his fist onto the table.

She’d found another weakness.

His armor could survive a few hits.

Not many.

And building weapons comparable to Stark’s repulsors...

That remained beyond him.

At last, his anger gave way to reluctant acceptance.

He looked directly at Sarah.

"If you’ve pointed out all these flaws..."

"...then I assume you already know how to fix them."

He hated asking for help.

Especially from a stranger.

But he hated the thought of failing his revenge even more.

...

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