Monaco Grand Prix Circuit
The thunderous roar of Formula One engines never ceased.
Five red lights blinked on one by one—
Then went out.
The race began instantly.
VROOOOM—
Whether it was instinct sharpened by years in the Iron Man armor, or sheer driving talent, Tony—starting in fourth position—launched forward with explosive momentum.
Not only did he avoid falling behind—
He surged ahead.
Car No. 5 was left trailing in his wake.
"Tony!"
Pepper and the others rushed into the grandstands, but the race had already begun. All she could do was pray he finished safely.
On the track—
Tony's No. 4 car advanced aggressively, quickly overtaking Car No. 3 and climbing into third place. He was closing fast on second.
And then—
A disheveled man in an orange track worker's uniform stepped onto the racing line.
In his hands—
Two long whips crackling with blue-white electricity.
Gasps erupted across the stands.
With every step he took, his jumpsuit burned away in streaks of molten fabric, revealing beneath it a miniature Arc Reactor and a partially exposed exoskeleton harness.
He was the villain of Iron Man 2—
Ivan Vanko, a.k.a. Whiplash.
Using blueprints left behind by his father, Anton Vanko—a former Soviet physicist—Ivan had constructed his own Arc Reactor and weaponized exoskeleton suit, codenamed Whiplash.
His purpose?
To fulfill his father's dying wish—
And take revenge on the Starks.
In truth, however, the Arc Reactor had been a joint achievement between Howard Stark and Anton Vanko.
Anton had attempted to sell the technology for profit to foreign powers before completion.
When the betrayal was exposed, Howard—who held controlling authority—had him expelled.
The grudge passed down to the next generation.
The leading No. 1 car roared toward Ivan at top speed.
Ivan did not move.
He swung.
The electrified whip sliced through the car like a blade through tofu.
BOOM!!!
The car split midair, crashed, and exploded.
Car No. 2 swerved desperately and avoided him.
Ivan ignored it.
Because Car No. 4 was coming.
"Tony Stark…"
Ivan's mouth twisted into a vicious grin as he lashed downward.
The strike was meant to bisect both car and driver.
"Holy—!"
Tony jerked the steering wheel hard, twisting the car sideways.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., max out the anti-inertial field!"
"Sir—"
The rest was drowned out.
The whip carved through the front of the vehicle, melting the chassis.
The anti-inertial generator was destroyed instantly.
Tony and the rear half of the car were flung violently away.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
The car flipped—one full rotation after another.
Fortunately, the anti-inertial field absorbed the worst of the initial force, and the experimental Halo safety system Tony had insisted on integrating—years ahead of regulation—saved his life.
When the wreckage stopped spinning—
Tony was dizzy.
But alive.
He crawled out from the overturned remains.
Ivan advanced, dragging his electrified whips behind him.
Behind them, other F1 cars spun out, crashing and exploding in chain reactions.
Panic spread through the crowd like falling dominoes.
"How does he have a miniature Arc Reactor?!" Tony muttered.
He was flesh and blood.
No armor.
No advantage.
Instinct screamed for retreat.
But as he saw civilians fleeing in terror—
And knowing his own life expectancy was already ticking down—
Tony stopped running.
He turned.
"Come on!"
"I'm not afraid of you!"
"Is that so?"
Ivan snapped his whip.
Tony dropped into an accidental split, barely avoiding being bisected.
Okay.
Direct confrontation? Bad idea.
Tony began baiting Ivan away from the densest crowd.
But with the exoskeleton's assistance, Ivan was faster.
Crackling electricity sizzled through the air behind Tony.
I'm dead.
I'm dead.
I'm definitely dead.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
A car slammed into Ivan from behind.
Happy Hogan, channeling full street-racer energy, had floored it—Pepper in the passenger seat.
Two thousand horsepower, straight to the back.
"Tony!"
Pepper leapt out immediately.
"Do you know how worried I've been?!"
Tony responded—
By kissing her mid-sentence.
Then he grabbed the Mark V suitcase armor from Happy.
As the silver panels unfolded around him, he said:
"It's not over. This place isn't safe. Get out of here with Happy. I'll handle him—I promise."
Pepper hesitated, then nodded and retreated.
Round Two
Encased in the Mark V Armor, Tony felt invincible again.
Though the design sacrificed durability for portability—
He was Iron Man.
He beckoned at Ivan.
Ivan smiled.
And delivered a devastating five-strike lightning combo.
The Mark V's thin plating failed almost instantly.
Electric arcs tore through the armor.
Tony convulsed as a whip wrapped around his ankle—
And he was flung like a rag doll.
CRASH!!!
He smashed through a concrete wall and ended up pinned beneath debris, struggling.
"Move! Come on—move!"
"Mark V, you inconvenient piece of junk!"
Ivan approached slowly.
"Tony Stark… thief. Hypocrite. Fool."
"Next year today will be your memorial."
"Go join my father in hell."
"…Too bad."
A lazy, amused voice cut through the chaos.
"Hell's already full."
Ivan froze.
He never had time to turn.
A golden Palm Repulsor Blast struck him from behind—
Reducing both man and exoskeleton to particulate ash in a single detonation.
Silence.
Leon descended casually.
One foot planted atop a slab of broken concrete beside Tony.
He leaned down, extending a hand.
With a crooked grin and unmistakable Gojo-level mockery, he said:
"Oh~ Big brother."
"Are you crying?"
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