"My name is Evenson Richter. Once a proud, if not particularly disciplined, member of the working class, I allowed years of intellectual laziness to erode my convictions. Then Tony Stark arrived with the oldest weapon capitalism had ever invented."
"A massive paycheck."
"I abandoned my principles, sold out my fellow Warlocks, and gladly joined the enemy."
If fate ever offered him the chance to do it all over again...
He’d sign the contract even faster.
Double salary.
Well over a hundred thousand dollars.
All he had to do was attend the Stark Expo and keep Tony’s girlfriend safe.
There wasn’t even a decision to make.
Besides, Evenson had never been the type to avoid chaos. If the Marvel Universe was about to put on another spectacular disaster, he’d rather have front-row seats than read about it afterward.
The moment Tony hung up, Evenson grabbed his keys, climbed into his car, and headed for the Expo.
On the way, he made one more call.
As the organizer of the Stark Expo, Stark Industries had spent weeks coordinating every detail of the event. Since Pepper Potts had officially taken over as CEO, much of that logistical burden had fallen onto her executive assistant.
Natalie Rushman.
Or, more accurately...
Natasha Romanoff.
"Well, this is unexpected." Natasha answered after only two rings. She had just finished giving instructions to the event staff when Evenson’s name appeared on her phone. "I wasn’t expecting a call from you."
Tony’s palladium poisoning had already been cured.
Officially speaking, Evenson’s job as Stark Industries’ "health consultant" had ended weeks ago. He’d disappeared just as quietly as he’d arrived.
So why was he calling now?
"What is it?" she teased. "Don’t tell me you’re asking me out."
Evenson laughed.
"Not today."
Someone else has a date with you.
"But that’s a surprise for later."
"Is Ms. Potts with you?"
"She is."
Natasha glanced toward Pepper, who was reviewing schedules with several event coordinators nearby.
"Listen carefully," Evenson said, his tone turning serious as his speedometer crept well beyond the legal limit. Wonderful. Tomorrow’s mail will probably include another speeding ticket.
"I’m on my way to the Expo. Tony called personally."
"He wants me protecting Pepper."
"He received some bad news."
Natasha’s expression barely changed.
Instead, she casually moved a few steps closer to Pepper, subtly adjusting her position until she could intercept almost any immediate threat.
"So someone finally decided to make their move."
"Thanks for the warning."
"Actually..." Evenson said. "I need one more favor."
Natasha frowned.
"...Go on."
"I don’t have an invitation."
Silence.
"The Expo’s guest-only tonight."
"If you don’t arrange a pass..."
"I’ll probably end up breaking in."
Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose.
"...You couldn’t have led with that?"
While Evenson raced toward the Expo, Tony Stark wasn’t wasting any time either.
Ivan Vanko had issued his declaration of war.
Tony had no intention of backing down.
Especially not when Pepper might be the target.
Without hesitation, he installed the newly perfected arc reactor directly into his chest.
No lengthy testing.
No cautious observation period.
Just one confident click...
...and it was powering his heart.
If any engineer had watched him do it, they’d probably have suffered a stress-induced aneurysm.
A Goblin certainly would.
No sane Goblin engineer would install an experimental power source capable of leveling buildings into their own body without running at least a dozen tests first.
Tony Stark apparently considered that an optional step.
Moments later, the Iron Man armor sealed around him in flashes of gold and crimson.
Then he blasted into the sky.
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
Justin Hammer strode confidently onto the Expo stage, grinning from ear to ear.
"It is my honor to present..."
"The United States military’s next generation of armored warfare!"
Behind him, rows of Hammer Industries drones marched into formation beneath dazzling lights while the audience erupted into applause.
And, standing proudly among them...
War Machine.
Justin looked every bit the triumphant industrial visionary.
Inside, however, he was hanging on by a thread.
As far as he knew, the drones were mostly expensive props. Impressive-looking machines meant to steal headlines and embarrass Tony Stark.
He had no idea he’d brought an army loaded with live ammunition onto the stage.
"Looks like I made it."
Evenson slipped into the empty seat beside Natasha just as the demonstration reached its peak.
She leaned toward him immediately.
"What exactly is happening?"
Her voice remained calm, but her eyes had already begun evaluating everyone nearby as a potential threat.
"I wish I knew the full story."
Evenson pointed toward the night sky.
"You should probably ask him."
Natasha looked up.
A streak of gold and red cut through the darkness before slowing into a controlled hover above the stage.
Iron Man.
The crowd exploded.
Cheers echoed across the Expo grounds.
To the audience, this looked like the beginning of an unforgettable showdown.
Stark Industries was hosting the biggest technology exhibition in the world...
...and Justin Hammer had chosen tonight to parade military hardware across Tony Stark’s own stage.
Now Iron Man himself had arrived.
This wasn’t just entertainment anymore.
This was billionaire rivalry at its finest.
No one wanted to miss it.
The moment Tony landed, he headed straight toward James Rhodes.
"You’re in serious trouble," Tony muttered.
Rhodey frowned.
"I was ordered to be here, Tony."
Their last encounter hadn’t exactly ended on friendly terms, and he assumed Tony had come to settle old scores.
"Whatever this is," Rhodey continued quietly, "there are civilians everywhere."
"Let’s not turn this place into a battlefield."
Instead of arguing, Tony moved beside him and waved casually to the cheering audience.
Without drawing attention, he spoke through a private channel.
"Hammer’s working with Ivan Vanko."
Rhodey’s expression froze.
"Ivan’s alive?"
He’d believed Vanko died after Monaco.
That assumption lasted only a few seconds.
Tony had already turned toward Justin Hammer.
Before he could say another word...
War Machine’s HUD flickered.
ACCESS OVERRIDDEN.
Rhodey’s controls locked.
Every Hammer drone snapped toward Tony simultaneously.
Weapons armed.
Target acquired.
A split second later...
They opened fire.
Tony reacted instantly.
"We’re taking this outside!"
With civilians packed into the Expo pavilion, fighting here would be suicide.
He rocketed through the nearest opening, drawing the drones after him.
Like a seasoned raid tank dragging an entire dungeon full of angry mobs, he pulled every hostile machine away from the crowd in one sweeping maneuver.
The drones pursued without hesitation.
The audience, however...
Panicked.
Moments ago they’d expected corporate drama.
Instead, they found themselves in the middle of a live firefight.
Screams replaced applause.
Thousands surged toward every exit they could find.
People stumbled over overturned chairs as shattered glass rained from the ceiling.
"Well..."
Evenson raised an eyebrow.
"That escalated quickly."
He snapped his fingers.
A transparent barrier blossomed overhead just as a storm of falling glass crashed onto the shield instead of the people beneath it.
The fragments slid harmlessly away like rain striking invisible crystal.
Natasha guided Pepper beneath the protective dome.
Once the last shards had fallen, she looked toward Justin Hammer with cold determination.
"I’m going to find out exactly what happened."
Without waiting for an answer, she strode directly toward the increasingly terrified weapons manufacturer.
Justin Hammer stood frozen in place.
His rehearsed smile had long since vanished.
Only moments earlier he’d been basking in the spotlight, convinced he’d finally outshined Tony Stark.
Now his drones had hijacked the show, opened fire on Iron Man, and turned the Stark Expo into a war zone.
For several stunned seconds, his brain simply refused to catch up.
Wait...
The drones... they’re actually fighting?
He’d spent weeks believing Ivan Vanko’s machines were little more than flashy props. Sure, they looked intimidating, but Hammer had assumed the Russian engineer had exaggerated their capabilities to squeeze more money out of him.
Apparently not.
The realization hit him like a freight train.
Every one of those drones had been built by Ivan.
Every line of code.
Every weapons system.
Every safeguard.
And Ivan Vanko hated Tony Stark with a passion that bordered on obsession.
Hammer had thought he was using Ivan to humiliate Stark.
The truth was exactly the opposite.
He’d been nothing more than a wealthy fool financing someone else’s revenge.
His stomach dropped.
"...Damn it."
If Tony’s reputation took a hit, Hammer could survive that.
If Tony Stark died...
Hammer Industries would be buried beneath investigations, lawsuits, and criminal charges before the week was over.
This wasn’t corporate rivalry anymore.
This was attempted murder.
Panic finally overpowered disbelief.
"Shut them down!" he shouted at his technicians. "Now!"
His employees scrambled across their consoles.
"I can’t!"
"The system isn’t responding!"
"We’ve lost administrative control!"
"The network’s been completely overridden!"
Hammer grabbed the nearest phone.
Dead.
Another.
Nothing.
His office’s internal communications had already been cut.
Ivan hadn’t simply stolen the drones.
He’d locked Hammer Industries out of its own systems.
For the first time in years, Justin Hammer found himself completely helpless.
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