Chapter 27: The Chaos Begins
Sometimes you had to admit that Justin Hammer was quite capable.
Hammer Industries had risen rapidly after Tony Stark announced he was leaving the weapons industry. Hammer seized that opportunity and quickly turned his company into one of the U.S. military's primary contractors. His success came from both sharp instincts and ruthless ambition.
Most importantly, he had incredibly thick skin.
When it came to Tony Stark's strengths, Hammer didn't hesitate to learn from them—no matter how humiliating it looked.
And once he learned something, he copied it as best he could.
Under the bright lights of the exhibition hall, Justin Hammer appeared on stage wearing an expensive tailored suit.
Exciting music filled the hall.
With exaggerated tap-dance steps and theatrical gestures, Hammer strutted across the stage, greeting the audience of investors, media figures, corporate leaders, and military officials.
Then the show began.
Aside from the lack of bikini-clad models, Hammer's presentation looked almost identical to Tony Stark's flashy demonstrations.
To be honest, Hammer probably would have loved to include them.
But Hammer Industries was now a major military contractor.
With several Department of Defense generals seated in the audience, he needed to maintain a certain level of dignity.
Soon, Hammer revealed the centerpiece of the presentation.
A lineup of steel combat drones designed for the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
The mechanical soldiers stood in perfect formation behind the stage.
Hammer proudly introduced them.
Then he announced the highlight of the project—
A special collaboration between Hammer Industries and the military.
War Machine.
Inside the armored suit stood Colonel James Rhodes.
The towering War Machine armor looked powerful and imposing.
Combined with the row of steel drones behind him, the display drew loud cheers from the audience.
Many of the military officials nodded in satisfaction.
"Your father is a smart man," Lance Ryder suddenly whispered into Justina Hammer's ear.
She blinked in confusion.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"You're quick to notice something's wrong," Lance said with mild surprise."Most people would simply say thank you."
Justina narrowed her eyes.
"It's your tone," she replied quietly."You weren't praising him sincerely."
"And from what I know about my father… he doesn't deserve that kind of praise."
Lance chuckled softly.
The girl's instincts were sharp.
Continuing that conversation would only cause trouble.
So Lance changed the subject.
"Have you noticed something?" he asked.
"The helmets of those steel soldiers are much smaller than War Machine's."
"That means a normal person couldn't fit inside them."
Justina's eyes widened.
"You're saying they're—"
She nearly shouted the word machines before stopping herself.
Justina was a talented student at Empire State University's engineering department.
She understood the ethical debates surrounding modern technology—things like cloning, artificial intelligence, and autonomous weapons.
All of them were controversial topics.
But she never imagined her own father would deploy a fully armed robot army.
In the modern technological world, powerful hackers existed everywhere.
Without extremely advanced security systems, robotic weapons could easily be hacked and turned against their creators.
Many governments had proposed similar projects before.
But nearly all of them were abandoned before reaching full deployment.
Still, compared to manned Iron Man armor, autonomous drones had clear advantages.
They were cheaper.
Easier to manufacture.
Easier to maintain.
And they didn't require human pilots.
That was why the military liked them.
Of course, Lance knew something the audience didn't.
Justin Hammer wasn't the real mastermind behind these machines.
The true creator was Ivan Vanko.
And Vanko wasn't interested in Hammer at all.
He was waiting for only one person.
Tony Stark.
This entire situation was a trap designed for Stark.
Lance had little interest in their personal vendetta.
What truly interested him was something else.
The real combat capabilities of the Iron Drones.
Eventually, Lance might obtain Stark's Arc Reactor technology, the one inspired by the structure of the Tesseract.
But he couldn't allow Stark to discover that interest.
For that reason, Lance needed a layer of protection.
Hammer Industries could serve as that cover.
Ivan Vanko—also known as Whiplash—was one of the few ordinary humans in the Marvel world capable of challenging Tony Stark directly.
In the end, both Iron Man and War Machine would have to work together to defeat him.
That alone proved how dangerous he was.
Which meant the Iron Drones he designed couldn't be as weak as they appeared.
The steel soldiers on stage looked intimidating.
But their biggest weakness was obvious.
They lacked proper control systems.
Their strength lay only in numbers and low cost.
Against most opponents, that might have been enough.
But against Tony Stark?
They would be crushed instantly.
Especially with JARVIS.
If Stark ordered JARVIS to infiltrate their control systems, the entire army could be turned against its own creators within seconds.
What these machines truly lacked was something like JARVIS—a powerful intelligent operating system.
With that kind of system, they might one day reach the level of Ultron.
But until then, remote-controlled drones had clear limitations.
If someone wanted to build an effective unmanned weapon system, smaller attack drones might actually be a better investment.
They were harder to detect.
Harder to track.
And far more versatile.
After all, even a genius like Ivan Vanko couldn't compete with a true super-intelligence.
Just as Lance finished that thought, a faint alarm suddenly sounded.
High above the city, a bright streak of light shot through the sky with a piercing roar.
Seconds later—
A figure in red and gold armor dropped from the sky.
Iron Man landed smoothly on the stage.
The crowd erupted in applause.
Stark even stood beside War Machine, waving casually to the audience as if nothing were wrong.
Even several military officers who normally disliked Stark couldn't help applauding.
If Iron Man, War Machine, and Hammer Industries truly worked together—
The United States might dominate the entire technological battlefield.
Of course, that was only true in the ordinary world.
In the superhuman world, the United States was only beginning to build its influence.
Lance's attention had already shifted.
His gaze locked onto the triangular Arc Reactor glowing in Stark's chest.
That reactor used a new element—one Stark had created by studying the particle structure of the Tesseract.
The material produced by that element contained enormous energy.
The Arc Reactor powered by it was arguably one of the most advanced technological creations on Earth.
Lance tried to analyze the reactor remotely using his spiritual senses.
But the moment his mind approached it—
A brilliant burst of energy flared from Stark's chest.
Lance immediately withdrew his senses.
The power inside that reactor was far beyond what he could safely interact with right now.
Even that energy alone was enough to place Tony Stark among the most powerful individuals on Earth.
It was no surprise Stark would later fight against Thanos himself.
Many factors contributed to that battle, of course.
But the new Arc Reactor alone accounted for a large part of his strength.
If Lance could apply that element to magic—
Even without the Tesseract, his power would increase dramatically.
But how could he obtain it?
Breaking into Stark's home was impossible.
His current invisibility spell only bent light.
It didn't erase his existence entirely.
Avoiding JARVIS completely would be extremely difficult.
Unless Lance returned to the level of a legendary mage.
But to reach that level, he needed the power source he was currently trying to obtain.
It was a perfect paradox.
At the moment, only one reactor like that existed.
Even Colonel Rhodes used a weaker second-generation reactor.
Ivan Vanko might already have lost this battle without realizing it.
He wanted to build stronger armor than Stark.
But Stark had upgraded the power source itself.
Which meant every other system—defense, weapons, propulsion—had improved as well.
No wonder Vanko would ultimately fail.
Howard Stark's earlier research on the Tesseract had clearly helped Tony make a breakthrough.
Howard Stark.
Industrial models.
Industrial parks.
Suddenly, something clicked in Lance's mind.
His eyes brightened.
But before he could think further, raised voices on the stage caught his attention.
Justina Hammer also looked nervous.
Tony Stark and Justin Hammer seemed to be arguing.
Then—
The War Machine's weapons system activated.
Its guns locked directly onto Iron Man.
At the same time, every steel soldier on stage powered up.
Their weapon systems activated instantly.
Some aimed at Tony Stark.
Others turned toward the crowd below.
Several military officers immediately realized something was wrong.
But before they could react—
Every weapon opened fire.
Fortunately, Stark noticed the problem first.
He blasted upward into the air.
The drones' targeting systems followed him, lifting their weapons skyward and unleashing a barrage of gunfire.
The sound of machine guns echoed through the hall.
It felt like a battlefield.
Bullets slammed into the reinforced glass ceiling.
The high-strength glass shattered instantly.
Fragments rained down everywhere.
The exhibition hall descended into chaos.
"Don't go anywhere!" Lance grabbed Justina Hammer, who was about to run toward her father.
"Leave first," he growled.
"You'll only make things worse if you go up there."
"If you trust me—come with us."
Without waiting for a reply, Lance pulled Betty Ross close and rushed toward the exit.
Justina hesitated for a moment.
Then she bit her lip and followed them.
Amid the chaos, Lance guided them through the crowd with surprising ease.
As they moved, he spotted Justin Hammer rushing backstage.
He also noticed Pepper Potts heading straight toward him with an expression that promised trouble.
Close behind her was a red-haired woman.
Natasha Romanoff.
This was the first time Lance had seen her.
During World War II she had only been a child.
But the earlier generation of Black Widows had once worked with him.
Lance quickly led Betty and Justina out of the exhibition hall.
Within moments, he escorted them safely to the car.
Then—
Before anyone could notice—
Lance Ryder disappeared.
End of Chapter 27
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