Iron Man was helpless. He shrugged.
"Lock, you know so many things, but you refuse to explain any of them. At first, I thought you were just attracted to my looks."
"Get lost…"
Lock hadn't recruited Ivan on the spot for two reasons. First, Ivan hadn't retrieved the bird yet. Second, without him, Ivan still had Hammer to lean on — and Ivan wasn't ready to let go of his desire for revenge through building mechs.
Even if he failed to kill Iron Man as in the original story, at least venting his resentment this way would be some kind of release.
After all, the feud between his father and Tony's father had only been about work — not murder. That kind of grudge could still be resolved.
Sure enough, not long after Lock and Iron Man left, Justin Hammer came knocking.
Ivan's display on the racetrack had left him stunned.
Very quickly, Hammer learned that Ivan's tech came from the same foundation as the Iron Man suit. If he got Ivan, he'd essentially gain access to the core of Stark's reactor.
Losing twenty percent of his company shares meant nothing to him. If he could acquire this core technology, Hammer could build an even greater weapons empire.
"Tony refuses to mass-produce suits? Fine. I'll do it, and I won't be such a hypocrite."
With Hammer's political pull, transferring an unimportant prisoner from a European jail to the U.S. was nothing difficult. All it took was the excuse that the attacker was an American citizen.
No small European country would dare resist the demands of the United States — especially not over a single prisoner. Naturally, Ivan was handed over.
But Ivan wasn't stupid. He knew Hammer was only using him. Promises without guarantees were worth less than smoke.
So, while working at Hammer Industries, Ivan secretly researched on his own — and hid plenty of backdoors in the armored suits he designed.
Poor Hammer thought he was the chess player controlling the board. In truth, he was just a stepping stone in the struggle between Ivan and Iron Man.
As the days passed, the palladium poisoning in Tony's body worsened. To stretch out the dwindling supply of Lock's recovery potions, he only took a dose once every few days, delaying the inevitable.
But unless his heart stopped beating, the palladium toxins would never stop building up.
Tony grew more anxious and more reckless. He began showing up at parties, drinking heavily.
Pepper, unaware of the real reason, was furious at his behavior. But for the moment, she had no idea how to reach him.
"Lock," Tony said one night, voice heavy. "Am I going to die? My blood toxicity's already at ninety percent."
Lock's reply was calm. "If you don't find a solution, yes. My recovery potions are finished. From here on, I can't provide you with any more."
The words weighed on Tony like lead. He turned to Natasha.
"Say this was your last birthday. What would you do?"
Natasha answered without hesitation. "I'd spend it with my husband."
Tony blinked. "Wait — you two are married? Since when? Lock, getting married in secret isn't how good friends behave."
The question left Natasha flustered. She hadn't meant to reveal her relationship with Lock, and now she didn't know how to cover it.
Lock cut in smoothly. "You should worry about Pepper instead. You're this badly poisoned, and you still haven't told her?"
"What's the point?" Tony muttered. "It'll only make her worry for nothing. Forget it. Let's not talk about depressing things. There's a party tonight — let's enjoy ourselves."
That night, at the party—
Tony arrived in his armor, drinking and fooling around with a group of blonde models. He blasted bottles with his repulsors, flipped acrobatics in his suit, and soaked in the cheers.
Lieutenant Colonel Rhodey, invited as a guest, was horrified. The Iron Man armor was the most advanced weapon on Earth. To use it while drunk, recklessly showing off — it was insanity.
Even Pepper's pleas went ignored. Tony just kept escalating, smashing the party into chaos.
Seeing his friend spiraling, Rhodey finally lost his temper.
He slipped into Tony's lab, where another unfinished prototype suit sat waiting. Raw, unpainted, its surface gleamed silver-white.
Moments later, Rhodey marched back into the party in full armor. The crowd screamed again — and Tony, grinning, welcomed him like another act in the show.
Rhodey said nothing. He tackled Tony to the ground.
"Rhodey, what the hell are you doing?" Tony shouted.
Rhodey's voice burned with anger. "Look at yourself, Tony! You still think you alone can keep world peace?"
"What's peace worth? Whoever wants it can have it! Tonight, I'm drinking and dancing!"
"Then I'll dance with you till the end!"
The two armored men brawled in the middle of the party.
Lock had foreseen this scene from the original timeline. He stepped in at key moments, saving bystanders from being crushed or blasted.
Still, panic spread like wildfire. Guests fled screaming. The party collapsed into chaos.
Finally, Rhodey, realizing Tony was truly out of control, disengaged. Without another word, he launched into the sky — and flew the prototype suit straight to the nearest military base.
Watching him go, Tony suddenly fell quiet, the alcohol's haze lifting into silence.
The suits had remote control failsafes. No one could operate them without his authorization.
But he'd allowed Rhodey this one. A backup plan.
If he failed — if palladium killed him — then at least one suit would live on in military hands.
That single prototype would later become the famous War Machine.
The next day, Coulson arrived with a thick stack of files.
"These are the research notes your father left with S.H.I.E.L.D. They're tied to the Arc Reactor. Maybe there's something useful in them."
Tony frowned. "Leave them. I'll look when I have time."
He didn't expect much. He was his father's equal in genius and decades ahead in progress. Old notes might have sentimental value, but scientific value? Unlikely.
In the original timeline, Fury had placed Tony under virtual house arrest, forcing him to study the files. But with Lock in the picture, Fury had shifted tactics. No more heavy-handed orders — only advice.
Until S.H.I.E.L.D. found someone who could rival Lock, Fury knew better than to provoke him.
Coulson then turned to Lock.
"Mr. Lock, I have to leave on assignment. Tony's genius is a gift to mankind. Please… help him through this crisis."
"Of course," Lock said. "But my recovery potions are finished. He'll have to find another way. By the way — you're headed to New Mexico, aren't you?"
Coulson stiffened. "How do you know that?" The mission was classified. Not even Natasha had been briefed.
"I also know it involves a hammer. Once Tony's situation is resolved, I'll come take a look."
Coulson's face eased. "If you're involved, that's a relief."
The last time he'd faced Lock, Coulson had gone back and begged Fury for answers. Fury had been forced to show him Lock's file.
After all, Coulson had already interacted with him. Keeping his subordinates ignorant of a monster-class powerhouse was reckless — one wrong move, and S.H.I.E.L.D. could lose men.
Reading that file had left Coulson shaken.
Back at Stark Industries, he'd aimed a gun at this being without hesitation. Only sheer luck — Lock recognizing him as S.H.I.E.L.D. — had kept him alive.
But afterward, in observing Lock, Coulson had learned something: this man was kind. He saved lives in disasters, avoided needless fights. If Lock was willing to watch over the hammer incident, the threat was already half-solved.
The hammer Lock spoke of was none other than Mjolnir.
According to the timeline, Thor took place after Iron Man 2. Odin had cast the hammer down to Earth, stripping Thor of his power and exiling him to a small town nearby to learn humility.
The hammer had just been discovered. Thor himself had not yet arrived.
Lock wasn't in a hurry. First, he would help Tony survive. Then, he would turn to the hammer.