Corin felt that the objective of this operation had already been achieved, so he found a comfortable spot and prepared to properly enjoy the fight that was about to unfold.
Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes recalled one of the many weapons Hammer had recommended to him back then, the one he liked the most: the "Ex-Wife" micro missile.
Thinking, 'Tony, my brother, watch me perform this time.'
"I'm going to blast open his fortress with the Ex-Wife!"
"With what?", Tony suspected he had heard wrong.
Rhodes struck a cool pose, stepped forward, and activated the launch switch for the "Ex-Wife."
Whoosh!
The armor on his shoulder flipped open, revealing a sharp missile nose. Amid the mechanical whirring, the thruster flame shot out long and bright.
After a brief lock-on and charge-up, the "Ex-Wife" ferociously shot toward the armor on Ivan Vanko's chest.
Clang! Plop!
The "Ex-Wife" slammed hard into Ivan's chest armor with a crisp sound, flipped several times in midair, and then fell into the water at Ivan's feet.
The fierce explosion everyone imagined did not happen.
After stubbornly sputtering out a few sparks in the water, the "Ex-Wife" went completely still.
Watching the missile's outstanding performance, Tony did not know whether to laugh or cry, and casually asked, "Hammer Industries?"
The War Machine missile bay closed in response, and Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes said helplessly, "Yes."
He never would have imagined that the "Ex-Wife" missile he had pinned such high hopes on would turn out to be a dud.
That was just awkward.
It was way too unworthy of such a domineering name.
In short, Rhodes was very disappointed.
On the screen in front of Tony, JARVIS locked onto several points on Ivan's chest, "Better watch mine."
The Mark V missile bay popped open, and several finger-sized micro missiles fired out.
Seeing this, Ivan closed his helmet and let the attacks explode against his chest and helmet, remaining completely unscathed.
They were just a bit louder than the "Ex-Wife," after all, they did actually explode.
Swinging his arms, the lightning effects maxed out, the whips lashed toward the two of them with thunderous force.
Whoosh! Snap!
Tony and Rhodes dodged this highly unusual attack.
The machine guns on War Machine's shoulders and arms fired at the same time, creating dense flashes of fire across Ivan's armor, yet still failing to break through his defenses.
Snap!
As a whip flashed past, Rhodes suddenly realized that the heavy Gatling gun he was so proud of on his shoulder was gone.
The barrel was gone.
'Shit! The big guy is gone, what kind of War Machine is this supposed to be?'
Rhodes's mood was complicated at the moment, but it did not stop him from driving the arm-mounted machine guns to keep firing.
Tony tried to take off and ram Ivan, but the strength of Ivan's armor was anything but ordinary. After several collisions, he achieved nothing, and even got his neck wrapped up by Ivan's lightning whip.
Rhodes had it even worse. Already lacking experience in piloting powered armor, he was easily taken down by Ivan. When he struggled to get back up, another lightning whip wrapped around his neck.
Ivan had reached his moment of glory.
Iron Man in his right hand, War Machine in his left, the high-powered lightning whips in his hands brutally suppressing both of them.
It made Ivan want to shout in exhilaration.
Watching from afar, Corin knew it.
The famous scene was coming.
In his memory, the palm repulsors of the two Mark armors would erupt with tremendous power, like the magical beam clash between wands in Harry Potter.
Corin subconsciously straightened his back, not wanting to miss this spectacular moment.
Tony's agile mind instantly recalled how he and Rhodes had fired a shot at each other back at his place. The power had been impressive.
An idea formed, "Rhodes, I've got an idea… want to be a hero?"
"What?"
Rhodes, his entire body crackling with electricity, was worrying whether his suit could hold up against the lightning whips when Tony's voice sounded in his ear. He did not immediately understand what Tony meant.
"I need a sidekick! Raise your hand!"
As he spoke, Tony raised his palm toward Rhodes, the repulsor in his palm flickering with arcs of energy.
Seeing Tony's movement, Rhodes instantly got it.
'You know, if you want cooperation, just say so. What's with the 'need a sidekick' thing?'
'Do you have to always one-up people?'
"So this is your plan?"
"That's right. Ready?"
Tony urged loudly.
"Ready, ready! Come on! Come on!"
Rhodes raised his palm as well, aiming it in Tony's direction.
Watching their movements, Ivan realized this seemed to be some kind of new move.
He cursed inwardly, 'This is bad!'
Only to see Iron Man and War Machine fire high-frequency energy blasts from their opposing palms at the same time.
Zzz—BOOM!
Two dazzling beams converged on Ivan's armor simultaneously, triggering a violent explosion.
The blinding white light turned the spherical dome of the ecological park into a giant glowing light bulb.
They were inside a massive ecological park located in the center of the city, with mountains and water and beautiful scenery, but the explosion left it in utter ruin.
The blast was so fierce that even Tony and Rhodes were thrown several meters away.
When the two of them walked forward to check on Ivan's condition, he was already lying on the ground, his armor in tatters, the reactor on his chest flashing red.
"You… lost!"
The sudden defeat made Ivan develop a will to die. After secretly activating the self-destruct programs of all the drones, including his own reactor, he still spoke stubbornly.
Imagining countless people going with him to meet God when all those drones exploded, Ivan convinced himself this trade was not a loss.
Realizing what was happening, Tony understood that Ivan was about to self-destruct. The power of a reactor explosion was no joke, and he immediately thought of Pepper, who was still at the venue.
Shouting in worry, flames burst from his hands and feet as he shot into the air and rushed off into the distance.
As Tony flew at top speed, there was only one thought in his mind: get Pepper away from the blast.
What he did not know was that Corin had already recovered every single drone.
Tony scooped Pepper up and flew far away from the danger zone. After landing, however, he received Pepper's resignation letter.
The reason was that she could no longer bear the pressure of Tony abusing himself like this.
Putting aside how Tony subdued the enemy in one move, a deep kiss instantly changed Pepper's mind, and at the same time confirmed Tony's own feelings.
Back in the ecological park, Corin felt the trip had been worth it. He made money, watched a show, and it was time to go home, wash up, and sleep.
Looking at Ivan Vanko on the ground, barely alive yet wearing a strangely excited expression, a thought stirred in his mind, "You don't still think the other drones can blow up with you, do you?"
Corin had no respect for this kind of person who relied on being smart and looked down on everyone else.
Hearing Corin's words, Ivan froze. He quickly checked the status of the other drones through his armor system, and the feedback drove him to despair: [Unable to Connect]
The reactor's self-destruct warning tone grew more and more shrill.
"Shit!"
Ivan, who had not been harmed by countless bullets, was completely broken at this moment.
BOOM!
A massive fireball leveled the entire ecological park.
And after successfully provoking Ivan, Corin activated magnetic control, his body turning into a streak of light as he fled far away.
———
Natasha's mission at Stark Industries was over.
Targeting Tony Stark, Natasha produced a detailed evaluation report.
Based on her report, Tony Stark was denied recommendation for joining the Avengers Initiative.
It contained several key terms: Obsessive-compulsive behavioral traits, self-destructive tendencies, textbook narcissist, playboy, and so on...
Nick Fury strongly agreed with the report. After all, Natasha had infiltrated Stark Industries and observed Tony up close for quite some time.
Her evaluation of Tony was fair, especially that line: textbook narcissist.
Tony had originally thought S.H.I.E.L.D. would keep pestering him to join the Avengers Initiative like before.
He did not expect that Natasha's evaluation report would directly cause S.H.I.E.L.D. to change its view of him.
Tony was a bit stunned, "This makes no sense. How can you approve of me and not approve of me at the same time?"
But the shortcomings of his tsundere personality were exposed at this moment, and Tony began to defend himself.
In the end, Nick Fury regretfully informed Tony, "For now, we believe you can only serve as a consultant."
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