Mark V reflected a cold metallic gleam beneath Monaco's sunlight. Fully suited up, Tony lifted his left leg and kicked the black Rolls-Royce beside him.
With a screech of tires, the sedan slid several meters sideways. Tony shoved Happy and Pepper away from the area. He needed to keep them away from this madman, and he also needed room to move.
Then he raised his left hand toward Ivan Vanko, and the Arc Pulse Cannon in his palm began charging.
But Ivan Vanko gave him no such chance. The electric whip in his hand lashed out, striking Tony's raised left arm and throwing up sparks. Tony staggered sideways from the blow, and the pulse cannon on his left hand was damaged as well.
He steadied himself and tried to charge the pulse cannon on his other hand, but Ivan Vanko's second whip struck him across the chest.
A charred scorch mark appeared on Mark V's chest plate. Tony was knocked back two steps, but that retreat also opened up the distance between them.
Now standing beyond the electric whip's range, Tony fired two pulse blasts in rapid succession, free from interference.
Ivan Vanko seized the timing and swung the electric whips in his hands, tracing two arcs before him and neutralizing both blasts.
At the same time, Ivan Vanko stepped forward again, bringing Tony within the attack range of his whips. The electric whip in his left hand lashed out and coiled around Tony's left arm, while the one in his right wrapped around Tony's neck.
Then Ivan Vanko jerked hard.
Tony was yanked off the ground by that tremendous force, carving an arc through the air before slamming heavily into the road behind him. The instant his back struck the ground, Tony felt all the air being crushed from