Stark Expo – Hammer Industries Pavilion
Spotlights swept the stage like a rock concert. The curtains drew back to reveal Justin Hammer himself strutting forward in a white suit that screamed desperation disguised as confidence.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Hammer's voice boomed across the auditorium, "welcome to the future of American military might. The future of security, safety and strength. The future that bears my name—Hammer Industries!"
The crowd applauded politely. Hammer grinned wider, pacing with a microphone in hand, relishing every second.
"Now, I know what you're all thinking. 'Sure, Tony Stark dazzled us with fireworks. Sure, Peter Parker just gave us a science fair on steroids.' But what has Hammer got? I'll tell you." He snapped his fingers.
The stage erupted in spotlights as a line of gleaming armored figures marched into view. Each clanked forward in perfect rhythm, drones painted in the colors of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Hammer announced, his arms spread wide like a preacher at Sunday service, " The Hammer Drones!"
The applause grew louder this time. Cameras flashed.
Hammer beamed. "And what's a drone army without a man to lead them?" He gestured dramatically. "Introducing the pinnacle of man and machine. The ultimate armored soldier. Iron Patriot!"
Colonel James Rhodes, encased in the secretly upgraded War Machine armor, rose onto the stage via an elevator with mechanical precision. The crowd erupted in cheers. Hammer drank it in like it was fine wine.
Only Tony, sitting near the front, looked unimpressed. His arms were crossed, eyes narrowing.
Pepper leaned closer to him. "Do you buy any of this?"
Tony muttered under his breath, "Not for a second."
Stealth Shadows
Behind the crowd, unnoticed, Peter and Gwen had vanished. Their suits shimmered into stealth mode, the white-and-cyan glow of Gwen's Iron Spider Mk. II fading to a transparent blur beside Peter's darker nanotech armor.
"Drones are about to go live," Peter's voice whispered in Gwen's comms. "Civilians first priority. Keep your eyes on the exits. Also, deploying shielding drones."
"Copy that." Gwen whispered back, eyes scanning the packed rows of spectators. "Let's make sure this doesn't turn into a massacre."
Above, the drones shifted unnaturally, their optics glowing a sinister red. Hammer kept smiling, oblivious.
Back on stage, Hammer finally noticed the muttering in the audience, the unease spreading as the drones began moving without command. He turned to Rhodey.
"Uh, everything's under control! Right, Colonel?"
Rhodey didn't answer. He stiffened, the War Machine suit locking into a combat stance. Hammer's smile faltered.
"Uh—Colonel?"
The audience gasped. The drones raised their weapons.
Tony cursed under his breath. "Here we go."
The drones had come online and they aimed their weapons at Tony and fired. But then a hexagonal pattern shield of yellow energy rose in front of the crowd. The high caliber rounds getting deflected like with ease. Tony's suit flew down from above, latching onto him.
Tony flew off while the Hammer Drones along with War machine took off after Tony, shattering the glass dome but the civilians were safe as the Shielding drones had taken position a long time ago.
Elsewhere in the Expo complex, Natasha Romanoff and Happy Hogan had taken off in Tony's car in order to track down Ivan Vanko.
They had reached the Hammer facility and while Happy had taken down one guard Natasha was taking down all of them one by one.
Natasha moved like liquid shadow, scanning consoles and wiring with a trained eye. Happy stood awkwardly behind her, muttering. "Y'know, for a lab that's supposed to be controlling a bunch of killer drones, it's… way too quiet."
Natasha pulled up a diagnostic console. The screen flashed empty. Her expression hardened.
"He's gone."
"What do you mean gone?" Happy asked, confused.
"Vanko was supposed to be here. But this…" She pointed at the blank feed. "This isn't control. It's a ghost shell. He's pulling strings remotely."
Happy swallowed hard. "So all those drones—"
"—aren't Hammer's anymore, not that they ever were." Natasha finished grimly.
Pepper, without missing a beat, stormed up toward the stage. She grabbed a pair of police officers on her way. "Arrest him."
Hammer sputtered, eyes wide. "Wait, what? I didn't—this isn't—"
"You gave control to a convict!" Pepper snapped, pointing a sharp finger. "You endangered thousands of civilians. You're done, Hammer!"
Hammer looked for a few moments at Pepper and said, " Now you're thinking like a real CEO. Culling the competition." The police dragged him away as the panicked crowd left the pavilion.
The Silent Guardians
From the shadows of the upper balconies, Gwen's voice came through Peter's comms.
"Crowd's starting to panic."
Peter's reply was calm, precise. "Then we give them cover. Stay invisible. Let the spotlight fall on Tony."
Below, Iron Man launched himself into the sky, repulsor blasts ready. Rhodes, playing along, allowed the War Machine suit to "go rogue," making it appear to the world like Hammer's drones had betrayed him.
Meanwhile, unseen, Peter and Gwen worked the edges of the chaos—redirecting fleeing civilians, disabling stray drones with pinpoint precision, and making sure no innocent life was lost in the crossfire.
The Hammer Show was unraveling exactly as Peter predicted.
And Ivan Vanko's true hand was just beginning to reveal itself.
Read 67 chapters ahead on P.A.T.R.E.O.N
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