With his armor protecting him, Tony was clearly no longer afraid. He quickly rushed to Black Widow's side and grabbed the Energy Whip without a word, then turned to Natasha and Happy, who'd been standing around doing nothing.
"Okay, I'll handle things here. You two find somewhere safe."
Then he turned back to Ivan Vanko, who looked thoroughly displeased, and said in a deep voice, "I don't know where you stole my technology from, but the game is over."
As he spoke, he tugged hard on the Energy Whip. Unfortunately...
It didn't budge.
The Mark V was a lightweight suit of armor. Its convenience came at the cost of power, but Tony had never relied on brute strength alone. Developing the New Element meant he no longer had to be so careful with how he used his energy.
His chest immediately lit up, and an Energy Cannon blast sent Ivan flying. He landed on the ground, his life hanging in the balance.
Deafening cheers rang out across the venue once again. Everyone was shouting "Iron Man." For the Stark Expo, this had been a failed opening ceremony.
But for Tony Stark's Iron Man, it had been a successful solo performance.
To prevent any mishaps, Tony immediately went over to Ivan and ripped the Miniature Arc Reactor from his chest. The two Energy Whips finally went dark without a power supply.
Looking at the scan results in his hand, Tony was somewhat surprised. Just then, Ivan—lucky enough to have survived the Energy Cannon blast with the little armor he had on him—woke up too. Blood dripped from his mouth as he looked at Tony with a grin. "Stark, you've lost."
"You've lost!"
Tony said nothing. He just frowned at Ivan Vanko and crushed the slightly modified Miniature Arc Reactor in his