Impersonating Iron Man

Apocalypse knew Ivan was about to pull something big.

Unfortunately, villains always died at just the right moment.

If he had called earlier, before Iron Man had completed the synthesis of the New Element, the outcome of the coming battle would have been uncertain. Ivan might even have had the better odds.

But now... the two exchanged a knowing glance and smiled.

With the New Element, Ivan's dual-cycle Arc Reactor was nothing but a joke.

Iron Man suddenly remembered. "Damn it. Hammer's weapons presentation is in forty minutes. Pepper Potts and Natasha went to the event. They're in danger."

Even without Apocalypse's foreknowledge of the plot, Iron Man knew something major was bound to happen at the presentation. He immediately put on his armor.

"Tang, this is another suit tailored specifically for you. It only has some long-range weapons. Everything else mainly focuses on improving flight speed."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony," Apocalypse said.

The current armor could transform into a suitcase, making it far more portable and finally practical for use.

It was not as convenient as the nanotech armor of the future, but you could not become fat with a single bite.

Given Apocalypse's strength, there was no need to design weapons for close combat. Only in long-range attacks did he fall short, so the suit was equipped with basic weapons such as miniature missiles and lasers.

Iron Man's armor was gold and red, flashy and stylish, while Apocalypse's was sky blue.

Apocalypse had no particular preference for colors. It was made sky blue mainly to reduce the chances of being spotted while flying through the sky.

The two suits flew out of Iron Man's home, one after the other.

Apocalypse ordered the AI to accelerate at full power!

"Whoosh—"

The blue flames from the thrusters beneath his feet surged. In no time, he vanished from Iron Man's sight. A few seconds later, with a boom, he seemed to break through something, and a ring of white mist appeared around the armor.

A sonic boom cloud!

In just a few seconds, he had accelerated to the speed of sound!

The acceleration of a sports car going from zero to a hundred was pathetic compared to the armor.

Only Apocalypse's monstrous body could withstand such acceleration. Other than feeling his body sink slightly, he felt no discomfort.

Iron Man himself would never dare play around like that. The G-forces from that instantaneous acceleration would be enough to tear apart his internal organs.

Having reached the speed of sound, Apocalypse did not stop and ordered further acceleration!

He wanted to see the armor's top speed.

Mach 1...

Mach 2...

Mach 3...

It was not until Mach 3.5 that the armor finally reached its limit.

Apocalypse was greatly satisfied. This was much faster than leaping around on his own.

The armor could make calls as well. There was still some distance to Hammer Industries, and Apocalypse remembered something. He called Yinsen. "Has the bird from Siberia been brought back yet?"

"Mr. Tang, it has already been brought back. However, the climate here is different. This bird is suited to surviving in Siberia's cold regions, so I made it a miniature refrigerated birdcage. I also had some Siberian bird feed airlifted back. It is currently in excellent condition."

"Good work!" Apocalypse praised.

Scientists really were meticulous. If he had gone himself, or had S.H.I.E.L.D. send agents, those details might have been overlooked. The bird could have died from failing to adjust to the new environment.

Apocalypse thought for a moment. "Take the bird to the botanical garden downtown. Be careful and find a place to hide. A major battle might break out there."

According to the original plot, Ivan had been beaten flat in a botanical garden in the city by Iron Man and War Machine.

Whether events would still unfold according to the original plot or not, it was best to make arrangements in advance.

Even upon hearing that there might be a major battle, Yinsen did not question him further. He immediately replied, "Understood."

Having grown up in the Middle East, he had experienced countless wars. Such a small matter was not worth mentioning. As long as his boss gave the order, he would carry it out.

Hammer's weapons presentation.

Hammer, the CEO, was proudly introducing his newest models—the Hammer Unmanned Iron Soldiers.

The Steel Soldiers were divided into four main categories: Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. Each category had its own specialized functions.

Whenever he introduced a category, a row of Steel Soldiers marched out in perfect formation. The towering machines were immensely intimidating and frequently drew gasps from the audience.

Apocalypse did not know whether Hammer's technology was simply insufficient, forcing him to divide them into four categories because he could not create something as versatile as Iron Man's armor, or whether it was merely a sales strategy to deliberately separate them.

However, based on Apocalypse's knowledge of the plot, he leaned toward the former.

After all, the miniature missile Hammer had modified for War Machine—Ex-Wife—had nearly made Iron Man laugh himself to death.

After introducing the products, Colonel Rhodes appeared in Iron Man armor.

Hammer shamelessly claimed it was his prototype model, named "War Machine." In truth, it was simply one of Iron Man's old suits that Colonel Rhodes had taken away.

After Hammer Industries modified it, installed some weapons systems, and painted it a new color, it was packaged as one of their products.

Colonel Rhodes did not expose him. Ever since Iron Man had been traumatized in the Middle East, he had become deeply repulsed by weapons and had no intention of designing weapons for the United States military.

That left the military with few choices. Hammer, whose capabilities ranked just below Iron Man's, became their first choice.

Among the audience sat Pepper Potts and her nominal assistant, Black Widow.

Normally, competitors would not be invited to this kind of presentation. Hammer had deliberately sent an invitation to Stark Industries, clearly intending to provoke Iron Man.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question-and-answer session. Does anyone have anything to ask?"

Before any reporters in the audience could raise their hands, Apocalypse descended from the sky like a meteor!

With a light thud, the sky-blue armor landed steadily on the stage.

The airflow created by his high-speed arrival nearly made Hammer lose his footing and almost blew him over.

"Iron Man! Iron Man is here..."

Cheers erupted from the audience.

Hammer's face darkened. Tony was too damn hateful. He had stolen the spotlight again, yet Hammer could not lose his temper.

After all, he was the one who had sent Iron Man the invitation.

"Welcome, welcome, Tony. You still love being in the spotlight as much as ever," Hammer said, putting on a show of grace.

He did not know that Tony Stark was not inside the armor, nor did Pepper Potts and Black Widow in the audience. In everyone's eyes, Iron Man's armor was never loaned out. There was only one of its kind.

Of course, the War Machine suit was an intentional "accident."

Apocalypse activated the armor's loudspeaker and shouted, "Everyone, leave this place immediately. It's dangerous here."

But no one listened. Instead, they wore expressions of eager anticipation.

Everyone knew Iron Man and Hammer were sworn enemies. With Tony Stark's personality, if he did not show up, that was one thing—but if he did, he was definitely going to cause trouble.

They had not expected Iron Man to crash the event the moment he arrived. The audience became even more excited, all waiting to see how Hammer would respond.

Hammer's face was full of anger. This guy had stolen his thunder the moment he arrived, and now he wanted to drive away his guests. He was utterly infuriating.

Hammer said, "There is no need for concern, everyone. My Steel Soldiers can fly at subsonic speeds. Even if danger arises, they can quickly take everyone away from here."

"Oh? Only subsonic? That slow? I just took five seconds to accelerate to Mach 3."

There was no comparison. Even with Ivan's help, these Steel Soldiers were still far behind Iron Man's technology.

"Impossible!" Hammer shouted. "Accelerating to Mach 3 in five seconds would crush a person flat. It's simply impossible!"

"Nothing is impossible. It is merely beyond your imagination."

"Tony," Colonel Rhodes of War Machine stepped forward and said, "can you do me a favor and stop causing trouble here? We aren't forcing you to build weapons for the military, but you can't stop us from buying weapons either."

"Rhodey, you're overthinking it." Apocalypse did not reveal his identity. "Ask Hammer who designed these weapons. And ask whether Hammer still has control over these Steel Soldiers."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Steel Soldiers' weapon systems lit up. Their gun barrels slowly turned and aimed at the people below the stage.

Ivan, who had been monitoring the place all along, saw Apocalypse expose his scheme and knew he could not delay any longer. He immediately activated the Steel Soldiers.

"Damn it, these junk machines aren't under my control!" Hammer shouted.

He frantically pressed at the laptop in his hands, but the Steel Soldiers would not stop at all.