"Tony, I'm here!"
A violent burst of machine-gun fire tore through the air.
Rhodey charged in with both arms raised, unleashing a storm of bullets at Vanko's mech as if ammo cost nothing.
But despite the noise, the effect was little more than leaving shallow dents—nowhere near enough to break through the armor.
Rhodey landed beside Tony.
Just as Tony lifted his hand to fire a repulsor blast, Rhodey held out an arm to stop him.
"I'm using my Ex-Wife to blow this guy to pieces."
Rhodey's tone was deadly serious.
"...Your WHAT?!"
Tony stared at him, speechless.
Ex-wife? That kind of ex-wife? When did Rhodey get married—let alone divorced?!
He'd never heard of this.
Rhodey steadied his stance.
A circular launcher popped out from his shoulder.
Beep—beep—beep—
A rocket roughly the size of a thick marker pen locked in place, flames igniting at the tail.
"Firing!"
With a sharp whoosh, the Ex-Wife launched.
Wheee~~
It spiraled through the air like a cheap fireworks rocket, spinning straight toward Vanko.
Vanko stood firm, ready to counter.
Clink—
A crisp, humiliating little sound.
The rocket bounced off Vanko's armor like a pebble, dropped into a tiny puddle, and sputtered out.
The entire scene froze in awkward silence.
Rhodey's dark face clearly showed a shade of red beneath it.
"Hammer Tech?" Tony asked.
"…Yeah."
"I KNEW that clown was unreliable. And you still handed your suit over to him?!"
Tony's face went black.
"Give me a break. Ever since you shut down Stark Industries' weapons division, the military switched suppliers to Hammer Industries. What was I supposed to do?!"
Rhodey really had no choice—he knew Hammer was trash, but as a colonel, he had no say in procurement.
Just then, one of Vanko's electric whips lashed toward them.
Tony and Rhodey jumped aside.
The whip struck a tree behind Tony—splitting it clean in half, the cut charred pitch-black.
"Stark! Your death has arrived!"
Vanko stormed toward Tony, his electrified whips crackling wildly.
Tony countered with repulsor blasts, but even his improved beams couldn't punch through the mech's reinforced plating.
"Damn it—Jarvis, remind me to boost power once we get home!"
From Tony's arm compartments, dozens of micro-explosives burst out like a cloud of fireflies.
Vanko's mech simultaneously launched a spread of micro-rockets to intercept.
BOOM—!!
The shockwave shattered the entire greenhouse exterior.
Tony seized the moment, grabbing one of the whips with both hands and trying to pull Vanko in.
But he underestimated Vanko's strength—
Vanko didn't budge an inch.
Instead, Tony was gradually dragged forward as Vanko reeled the whip in.
"Tony—I've got you!"
Rhodey charged in to help break the whip—
only to be caught by Vanko's second whip.
Bzzzzzz—
As Vanko's gear systems spun, both whips retracted further, dragging Tony and Rhodey helplessly toward him.
"Tony, did you skip breakfast?! Pull harder!"
Rhodey dug his heels in like he was in a tug-of-war, but it did nothing.
Tony, straining with everything he had, couldn't hold Vanko back either.
"Now the real show begins."
Vanko's voice darkened.
The whip's electrical output surged.
"AAAHH!!"
Both Tony and Rhodey screamed.
High-voltage current jolted through their suits.
Stark armor was insulated—but not for this.
Pain spread rapidly.
Tony's skin flushed red beneath the armor.
Even with most of the current diverted, some still flooded into their bodies.
"Lucas! If you don't show up, I'm gonna die out here!"
Tony shouted as several suit functions went offline—including flight.
At that moment—
A blue, crystalline longsword shot through the air behind Vanko—
cleanly severing both electric whips in a single flash.
The sword continued on, embedding itself deep into a nearby tree.
The recoil sent Tony and Rhodey flying backward, sparks crackling across their armor.
Paralyzed temporarily, neither could move.
"See? In the end you still need me. Hah."
Lucas stepped off Onion's back, launching himself skyward.
With a faint shing, the sword lodged in the tree shot back into his hand.
The moment he gripped the blade, Lucas spun in midair—
and unleashed a devastating slash straight at Vanko.
A shower of sparks burst out as Lucas landed lightly.
"What… what is this? Impossible!"
Vanko stared down at his chest.
A massive gash ran diagonally from his left shoulder across to his right waist.
His armor had been cleaved cleanly in two, the cut smooth as a mirror.
Pain surged through him.
Blood streamed out through the ruined plating.
He had never imagined—
Not bullets, not rockets—
but one sword could slice open his supposedly indestructible mech.
Rage filled his eyes.
In an instant, what remained of his electric whips shot forward like vipers, entangling Lucas.
Electricity surged—several times stronger than before.
"Die, boy!!!"
Vanko roared, funneling the mech's entire remaining power into the whips.
Enough voltage to incinerate a human instantly.
Lucas exhaled calmly.
"Electricity, huh?
I know a little something about that too."
Purple lightning erupted from Lucas's body—
flooding back through the whip lines toward Vanko.
The moment the two currents collided—
BOOOOOOM!!!
A thunderous explosion shook the entire garden.
Bolts of electricity ravaged everything around them.
Plants withered and burned in seconds.
The greenhouse transformed into a wasteland of scorched earth.
Finally—
Vanko's whips overloaded and blew apart, ending the clash.
The air reeked of burning metal and ozone.
Vanko staggered, armor ruined, chest slashed, his signature whips destroyed.
"Hahahahaha…!"
He laughed wildly, blood dripping from his lips.
"Stark… looks like you win.
I guess God still favors thieves like you.
But it's fine…
I'll be watching from heaven when you fall into hell."
"You won't get that chance," Lucas said flatly.
"People like you don't go to heaven.
And God doesn't bother with nobodies.
You'll be crushed to dust."
Lucas raised his hand.
"Before you die, let me show you…
what real lightning looks like."
The crystalline sword vanished.
In Lucas's grip appeared a dark-violet staff—
shaped like twisted branches, yet sharp like a ceremonial spear.
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