The new Armor ran on two energy sources. This was only the first-generation Fighter.
Ivan intended to upgrade the Fighter again.
With the groundwork laid, upgrades would come much faster.
At best, the current Fighter was only on par with the Mark 4 Iron Man had used last time. To defeat Tony outright, Ivan needed to pick up the pace of his upgrades.
Tony Stark wasn't just one man. He had all of Stark Industries behind him, as well as JARVIS to provide him with every kind of support.
Ivan was on his own, and he had built all those machines himself.
That greatly slowed the pace of his development.
To address that, John suggested, "You could find some assistants. Break your manufacturing work down into smaller tasks and hand them off."
Ivan felt that working alone was too slow.
Unfortunately, he didn't have JARVIS. Otherwise, he could have doubled his speed.
The first-generation model was housed in Taran Industries' underground laboratory.
Since the explosion had wrecked the laboratory, they needed to install more advanced equipment all over again.
Ivan personally supervised the process, while the Taran Reactor supplying power was moved to another floor.
Orlov rubbed his hands together and frequently visited Ivan to check on his progress.
Whenever he passed the Fighter lying quietly in its charging chamber, he couldn't hide the admiration in his eyes.
If he hadn't been afraid of Ivan going on strike, he would definitely have moved the Fighter into his office as a collector's piece.
Reinforcing the new laboratory would take quite some time.
Steel and concrete were used to strengthen its walls, preventing another blast from affecting the outside.
The latest shock-absorbing interlayer panels could absorb 75% of an impact.
The entire Taran Industries building was also being renovated.
The shattered glass