BZZZZZZ...
The chainsaw hacked into Iron Monger's shoulder with all the subtlety of a slasher film villain. Sparks flew in every direction as the blade ground through reinforced steel plating, sending molten metal spraying across the asphalt.
Iron Monger looked bigger and meaner than Tony's sleek armor, but in reality, it was just a heavily armored turtle shell. Good for intimidation, shit for combat against someone who knew what they were doing.
And whoever designed it had made one critical mistake, the power transmission rods were mounted outside the armor plating.
CRACK.
The transmission rod at Iron Monger's shoulder severed completely under the chainsaw assault. Obadiah's right arm immediately started moving in jerky, unnatural angles.
"Whatever Tony's paying you, I'll double it!" His voice came through the suit's speakers.
Flames erupted from Iron Monger's feet as the suit attempted to gain altitude. He had finally realized that close combat with this monster wasn't going to end well for him.
Then he spotted what he thought was a weakness.
"You didn't install a flight system! No matter how strong you are on the ground, once I'm airborne, you're down!"
Inside the armor, Ivan remained silent.
WHAM.
Just as Iron Monger lifted a few feet off the ground, Iron Man slammed into it from the side. Given the massive weight difference between the suits, even making Obadiah stumble was impressive.
Iron Monger broke free from Ivan's grip, flames roaring from its feet and back as it prepared for full takeoff.
"Last chance!" Obadiah called out. "I can pay you more than Tony ever could!"
Tony was about to charge forward when Ivan finally moved.
Two glowing silver-white whips shot out from Cable's forearms, wrapping around Iron Monger's torso.
"You're not worthy."
It was the first time Ivan had spoken since entering the fight.
Electricity surged through the whips, flooding into Iron Monger's systems. The flames sputtering from its thrusters died instantly as the electrical assault fried circuitry.
Ivan yanked hard, dragging Iron Monger back to ground level. The chainsaw roared to life again as he targeted the suit's weakest points, the joints where armor plating met servo mechanisms.
Off to the side, Mario stood with Coulson, munching on snacks like they were watching a UFC match. He gestured at the fight.
"Iron Monger's just a thick shell with no finesse. If you're gonna sacrifice mobility, you might as well go all-in on firepower. But Obadiah played it safe and ended up with a suit that's mediocre at everything."
He took another bite of his snack. "And Tony? Glass cannon build. All offense, minimal defense. Against a pure tank like this, he might as well be scratching the paint."
Coulson didn't know how to respond to that analysis, but at least the battle seemed to be going well.
"What's the deal with that armor?"
Mario grinned. "Oh, I started a company in New York. This is one of our products, advanced prosthetics. Medical equipment, technically."
Coulson stared at Cable, which looked like something out of a horror movie featuring a chainsaw-wielding serial killer. His eye twitched.
Medical equipment. Right. And I'm the Easter Bunny.
But he wisely kept that thought to himself.
The fight lasted less than three minutes. Cable dismantled Iron Monger piece by piece, reducing Obadiah's billion-dollar war machine to scrap metal. The screams coming from inside the suit suggested that when he had torn off the armor's arm, some of Obadiah's flesh had gone with it.
Ivan tossed Obadiah's broken body onto the ground, then turned his attention to Tony.
He took an instinctive step backward, muttering to his suit's AI.
"How much power do we have left?"
"Four percent remaining. Recommendation: replace power source immediately."
"No shit," Tony snapped.
He eyed the arc reactor in Iron Monger's chest, thinking about salvaging it. But with Cable's attention locked on him, he didn't make any sudden moves.
Even in this bad situation, his mouth ran on autopilot.
"If you hadn't shown up, I could've handled this myself. And who are you supposed to be?"
Ivan had been silent until that moment. But the instant Tony spoke, the electric whips lashed out, wrapping around Tony's armor and yanking him forward.
"My name is Ivan Vanko. Remember it, Tony Stark. Today I'm here to prove you're not the only one in this world."
As he spoke, his hands began tearing at Tony's armor like he was peeling a lobster.
Tony kept up his verbal assault even as he struggled. "Ivan Vanko? Never heard of you. What kind of guy is that? And your armor design is hideous. Zero aesthetic sense."
His mouth wrote checks his situation couldn't cash.
"Sir, energy remaining: 3%."
"Sir, armor integrity at 30%... 35%... 40%..."
"I know! Shut up!"
Within seconds, Tony was extracted from his armor and tossed next to Obadiah's groaning form.
"Swap out your reactor core. Otherwise you'll be too weak to even talk."
Mario raised his eyebrows. Ivan's got a vicious tongue to match his weapons.
Tony lay on the ground looking miserable. His armor was reduced to a skeletal frame, with only the helmet remaining intact.
Mario walked over, ready to throw Tony a lifeline. After all, the guy had been generous with his "donations."
He helped Tony to his feet, then knocked the still-screaming Obadiah unconscious with a quick rap to the head. A twist of his hand removed the arc reactor from Iron Monger's chest.
"Mr. Stark, we meet again. For your health, you should replace that reactor quickly."
He paused, grin widening. "By the way, I really love your car collection."
Tony looked from Mario to the motionless armor, his mind struggling to connect the dots.
"If you like them, I can give you a few more."
Mario handed over the reactor. "Really? That's generous! Oh, and I'm also a huge fan of your company's weapons development. Could you spare a few of those too? Just ten minutes browsing your exhibition hall would be enough."
Something about this felt off to Tony, but his palladium-poisoned brain wasn't firing on all cylinders. "No problem, but—"
His eyes shifted to Cable. He wasn't stupid. The connection to Mario was obvious.
The armor's cockpit hissed open. Ivan climbed out, and recognition flickered across his face.
His armor frame creaked as he extracted himself from the wreckage. He walked toward Ivan on unsteady legs.
"I want to know why."
Ivan burst into laughter at the question. Then his expression twisted and he swung a fist straight into Tony's face.
For a scientist, the Russian definitely knew how to throw a punch.
One hit. Tony went down like a sack of bricks.
"That's for my father."
Several minutes later, after Mario had explained the history between Howard and Anton, Tony touched his swollen cheek and made a mental note to take up boxing lessons.
He looked at Ivan, who'd produced a toothpick from somewhere and was currently chewing on it. Despite his aching face, Tony extended his hand.
"I'm sorry about your father."
Mario's eyes widened. He hadn't expected Tony to apologize.
Ivan's expression twisted into something between a sneer and a smile. He reached out and patted Tony's hand instead of shaking it.
"You don't need to apologize to me. My father wanted to use the reactor to make money, so your father had him kicked out of America and exiled to Siberia. Do you know how he survived the last twenty years?"
Ivan pointed at the towering Stark Tower behind Tony. "You make money from your inventions too. By your father's logic, shouldn't you also be banished to some wasteland in the American West?"
Tony had no response to that.
Ivan stepped closer and tapped the arc reactor in Tony's chest. "Palladium poisoning is a slow, painful death. I'd hate to see you go out like that before I get the chance to surpass you. Where's the fun in that?"
He turned away and began inspecting Cable. The first real combat test had revealed several design flaws that needed addressing.
Mario clapped Tony on the shoulder. "Mr. Stark, I should get going. Not a fan of being on TV."
The battle was over, and news helicopters were already circling overhead. If there was one thing America excelled at, it was getting cameras to a disaster scene.
"Tony! Tony, are you okay?"
Pepper appeared from somewhere, her eyes red as she ran toward him. Her hands immediately started checking him for injuries.
Tony smiled and pulled her into his arms. "Were you worried about finding a new job?"
He didn't notice Mario in the background, using a pickaxe to collect the remains of both suits into his inventory.
Mario gave Coulson a wave and headed toward the Stark Expo exhibition area with Ivan.
Pepper pulled away from Tony's embrace, wiping her eyes. "I'll find a new company ahead of time."
"Doesn't matter which company you pick. Your boss will still be me."
Billionaire Tony was back online.
"Ahem, sorry to interrupt," Coulson said, "but if you don't leave now, it's going to get difficult."
The crowd was growing, and more emergency vehicles were arriving. He opened the door of a car that had appeared beside them and gestured politely.
Twenty minutes later, Tony stared at the ruins of his villa with disbelief.
He opened the only remaining door and stepped into what was now essentially a construction site. No furniture. No fixtures. Even the hardwood flooring was gone.
He turned to Coulson. "Please tell me this is some kind of illusion."
Coulson's smile was almost sympathetic. "I'm sorry, this is very real. Now you can only hope that gentleman is punctual."
Tony's mind immediately conjured Mario's grinning face.
His face changed instantly. "No! I need to go back!"
---
Mario and Ivan were already settled into first-class seats on the flight back to New York, looking satisfied with themselves.
"This trip was incredibly productive. Ivan, Anna, what did you learn from Tony today?"
Anna couldn't suppress a small laugh. "I learned that you should never agree to any request from you."
Mario rolled his eyes. "The lesson is: never make promises lightly. Also, be punctual. I said ten minutes, and I meant ten minutes. Even though I really liked that tank in his garage, I didn't take it."
Ivan and Anna exchanged glances but said nothing.
Mario hadn't completely stripped the place, he'd left the doors, windows, and load-bearing walls intact. He'd just... selectively relocated some items from the weapons exhibition and a few choice pieces of equipment. For research purposes, naturally. To improve Cable's long-range combat capabilities.
Perfectly reasonable.
Hours later, the plane touched down at New York's airport. The moment Mario stepped off, he spotted a familiar figure and his good mood evaporated.
Fury stood by a black car, hands in the pockets of his leather coat.
Mario pretended not to notice and kept walking.
"Anna, I think I just saw one of my wise and heroic friends. I must be hallucinating from missing him so much."
"I have something to discuss with you."
Mario put on his best surprised expression. "See? I miss him so much I'm hearing voices now."
Fury closed the distance quickly and grabbed Mario's arm.
"Mario. I have something to discuss with you."
Seeing no escape, Mario said, "If it's about the Tesseract, forget it. Say one more word and I'll drop dead right here and bleed all over your nice coat."
"It's not about the Tesseract. I have something else to discuss."
Mario relaxed slightly. "Fine. What is it?"
Fury said nothing and opened the passenger door.
Mario looked at Ivan and Anna helplessly. "You two head back."
They nodded and left. Company cars were waiting outside the airport.
Mario climbed into the passenger seat with a sigh. Fury got behind the wheel and pulled into traffic.
After a few minutes of silence, Mario spoke. "Just say what you want."
"After investigation, I've confirmed what you told me. There's a serious problem inside S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm being monitored."
Mario smiled faintly. "Think of it this way, you've actually done very well. You infiltrated Hydra as a mole and managed to become the director. Most people couldn't pull that off."
Fury ignored the sarcasm. "Besides the Avengers Initiative, I'm having Coulson form a separate strike team. I want your help."
Mario shrugged. "I'm just a guy with a few tricks up his sleeve. How can I help? I was counting on you slipping me some favors from S.H.I.E.L.D."
"A favor."
The word hit Mario like cold water. His smile disappeared. He considered carefully before responding.
"I can help Coulson. Have him bring the team members to me, I've got a special ability that lets me identify Hydra agents. Can't guarantee I'll spot other infiltrators, but Hydra I can handle. And I can provide older-generation armor for his team. But you're paying for materials."
His expression was serious now. "Fury, that squares us. The favor is repaid. If you want more help, you'll need to figure out how to put me in your debt. I'm not running a charity here."
Fury's expression didn't change, but something in his eye suggested satisfaction. This was exactly the kind of transactional honesty he could work with.
"Fair enough. I'll be in touch."