"Hi, Coulson. It's Clark."
"Clark, are you on your way to the Stark Expo?"
At Tony's house, Coulson was the second person to learn about Ivan's phone call. Once Tony contacted Clark, Coulson realized Tony had asked him to get to the Expo early—hoping to prevent a mass panic.
"Not yet, but I'm almost there."
Although Clark hadn't actually left yet, considering the distance between his home and the Stark Expo—and the fact that he could cover it in a second—"almost there" wasn't a lie.
"I need you to stall a car from arriving at the Expo. Delay it as long as possible. License plate 4567."
"Understood. I'll notify traffic control."
As soon as he heard the plate number, Coulson knew who Clark was referring to. Even though Director Kent would no doubt insist on going to the Expo personally, no one could've guessed that his son was Superman. That possibility never even crossed Coulson's mind.
After contacting Coulson, Tony turned his attention to the new arc reactor he was about to test. After a brief 0.1 second of consideration, he slotted the reactor directly into his chest.
"Sir, this new reactor hasn't been tested yet," J.A.R.V.I.S. reminded him.
"Then let's make this the test. Assemble the Mark VI armor. Wow—this is going to be awesome."
When Clark arrived at the Stark Expo, he found that the presentation had just begun.
From the air, he saw Justin Hammer on stage, cooking baozi on a grill while giving a speech.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Iron Man has been around for quite a while now, yet he's kept his technology a secret. But today—hah! Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce the future of the U.S. military. Presenting: Hammer Industries' Iron Soldiers!"
As Hammer made a dramatic gesture, background music began playing, and the giant screen behind him displayed slick military promo videos.
"First up, we've got the Army Iron Soldier, the Navy Iron Soldier, and the Air Force Iron Soldier—our complete tri-service Iron Soldier lineup! Now I have the honor of introducing..."
BOOM!
Just as Hammer was about to introduce the next big highlight—Colonel James Rhodes' Iron Patriot armor—Clark descended from the sky, landing right next to him.
"Air Force Colonel, James Rhodes."
Startled by Superman's sudden and serious appearance, Hammer panicked. His mind raced—did Clark somehow know that the robots attacking Tony in Monaco were the same ones he was presenting tonight?
As he nervously spoke Rhodes' name, he stuttered.
"Whoa, it's Superman!""Justin Hammer brought out Superman!"
Since most of the crowd wasn't aware of the real story, they erupted in cheers. After all, Superman had existed in the Marvel universe for over 70 years. Many attendees—even their grandparents—had grown up idolizing him.
Because Clark used the Superman name, he had inherited that massive legacy and popularity. His arrival sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Click! Click!The flash of cameras and phones beneath the stage grew even more intense.
Facing the sea of flashing lights, Clark smiled slightly, then addressed the crowd:
"Tonight's Hammer Industries presentation is canceled. Please exit the venue in an orderly fashion. Thank you."
His voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the crowd felt as if he were speaking directly beside them.
Due to his father's involvement, Clark had no intention of waiting around for Ivan Vanko to hack the robots, trigger chaos, and cause a crowd stampede.
He planned to end the show early and force Vanko to act first. After all, if Clark destroyed the robots without an explanation, he'd look like the villain. By encouraging the audience to leave, he could bait Vanko into making the first move.
Of course, if Vanko somehow held his temper, Clark would simply crush the machines after the crowd had cleared out.
"What's going on?""Why is Superman asking us to leave?""???"
The crowd didn't react immediately. Many simply murmured to one another, uncertain about what was happening.
"Natalie, let's get out of here."
In the audience, Pepper Potts sensed something was wrong. Though Clark hadn't explained, she knew enough to trust his judgment.
She grabbed her assistant and headed toward the exits, planning to later work with security to evacuate the rest. Whatever was about to happen, Pepper knew it wouldn't be small—she'd seen Clark fight before.
"Friendly reminder: there's going to be a battle here in a few minutes."
Seeing the crowd hesitate, Clark added one more sentence.
Whoosh—
The message finally landed. A large number of attendees stood up and began to file out, unwilling to risk being caught in a fight.
As more people left, even the stubborn ones gradually began to follow the flow.
"Hey! Don't go! My show hasn't even started yet!"
Justin Hammer tried to stop them, but it was useless. If Superman said there was going to be a battle, then why stay and risk death?
But just then, Ivan Vanko—possibly unwilling to lose his audience or simply no longer patient—took over the robots.
The Iron Soldiers suddenly raised their weapons—all aimed at Clark.
"What the hell?! Damn it!"
Justin Hammer stood frozen as he watched his robots aim at Superman without his command. He realized immediately—he'd been played.
He had armed all the robots tonight to better demonstrate their combat effectiveness. And now, he was in deep trouble.
Realizing this, he jumped off the stage and ran for the nearest exit.
"What's going on?"
Rhodey, who had just gotten back up, looked around. The crowd was evacuating, and robots were pointing guns at Superman. He was confused—until he felt his own armor moving on its own.
His suit's targeting system locked onto Clark, completely against his will.
At that moment, Rhodey understood: all the Iron Soldiers, including himself, were being remotely controlled.
"Damn..."
Seeing Rhodey aiming a weapon at him, Clark really didn't want to hurt Tony's best friend. But at the same time, he couldn't risk being ambushed.
Then an idea struck him—Rhodey had one advantage: he wasn't Tony. Even without the arc reactor in his chest, he could still survive.
"Sorry. I'll make it up to you with a lunch box later."
"Huh?!"
Rhodey had no idea what Clark meant.
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