The chaos at the Hammer Industries Expo had settled into a heavy, static tension. Justin Hammer, once the peacock of the defense industry, was now just a shivering wreck on the floor of his own stage. He looked around at the frozen statues of his drones, his eyes darting frantically. In his twisted mind, the disaster was still a winnable scenario if Tony Stark was dead. If the "True Iron Man" had fallen in the crossfire, Hammer could have lived with a life sentence, knowing he'd finally eclipsed his rival.
But the reality was a bitter pill. Not only was Tony Stark standing tall, but not a single person in the auditorium had been killed. Even the "freaks" Hammer had mocked were barely winded. Logan, standing nearby, looked like he'd been through a paper shredder—his expensive suit was a collection of hanging threads—but the deep gashes on his chest were literally knitting themselves shut in front of everyone's eyes.
Huang Wen watched Logan and shook his head. Logan was a stubborn old wolf; he could have ended the fight in seconds if he'd used his "Invincible Diamond" defense or his Qi-powered wings. But Logan had a warrior's pride—or perhaps a secret fetish for being shredded, much like Bruce Banner's former habit of hulking out of his clothes. At least Bruce had finally invested in some high-tech, super-stretching purple trousers. Logan, it seemed, still enjoyed the breeze of a torn shirt.
Jack stepped forward, the heels of his boots clicking on the stage. He looked down at Hammer with the cold, detached gaze of a man who had seen too many "pirate merchants" try to play God.
"Justin Hammer," Jack said, his voice echoing with the practiced weight of a 21st District Station Chief. "You're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent, but let's be honest—anything you say is just going to make your lawyer's life a living hell."
Jack felt a surge of satisfaction. He'd stolen that line from one of Zhong Qiang's crime novels, and it felt every bit as cool as he'd hoped.
"I... I was framed!" Hammer shrieked, his voice reaching a glass-shattering pitch. "The Russian! Vanko! He's at my company right now! He's the one who hijacked the suits! Go to Hammer Industries! Catch him before he flees! I'm a victim of corporate espionage!"
"Victim? You're a landlord for terrorists, Justin," Tony Stark's voice crackled through his helmet. "But I'll take the tip. I've got some questions for the guy who thinks he can build a better Arc Reactor than a Stark."
With a roar of his thrusters, Tony tore through the hole in the roof, leaving a trail of blue fire as he headed toward the Hammer Industries headquarters.
As the military personnel and local police flooded into the building to secure the frozen drones, Huang Wen felt a familiar vibration on his wrist. His high-tech watch was chirping. It was a direct line from S.H.I.E.L.D., and the caller ID was a single, angry "F." Silly Girl immediately diverted the call to a text display to avoid an audible shouting match.
Huang Wen glanced over at Steve Rogers. The Captain was standing with the soldiers, his presence alone bringing a sense of calm to the panicked recruits. He was a natural leader, but to Nick Fury, he was a "lost asset" that had just been found without a proper receipt.
The message on the watch was short and radiated pure, unadulterated fury: "I thought you were in seclusion, Huang. Is the 'seclusion' room located at the Hammer Expo? And why is a 'Captain America Fan' with a Vibranium shield currently doing your bodyguard work? You broke him out of the ice, didn't you?"
The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. was not a man you wanted to lie to twice. He had been planning the "Rebirth of the Legend" for months, and Huang Wen had just popped the capsule like a soda can on a whim.
Huang Wen rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a rare moment of social awkwardness. He whispered to Silly Girl, "Type this out: 'It was a total accident. I was meditating and the lab's cooling system had a minor meltdown. Steve just... thawed. I couldn't exactly put him back in the freezer, could I?'"
In the Triskelion, Nick Fury stared at the screen of his terminal, his single eye twitching. "Cooling system failure? Does he think I'm an idiot? He's a bad person. A truly, catastrophically uncooperative person."
Fury's hand hovered over his desk. He reached into a hidden compartment and pulled out a device that looked like a relic from the 90s—a clunky, modified pager. He had saved this for a planetary-level threat, but his frustration with Huang Wen was reaching a similar magnitude. He needed a "big sister" to come home and set the playground rules.
Click.
Fury pressed the button. He didn't know how long it would take for the signal to reach the other side of the galaxy, or if Carol Danvers would even be in a position to respond. He just knew he needed leverage. He needed an upgrade to his communication tech, too; maybe if he could send a video of Huang Wen's smug face, Carol would fly back faster.
Meanwhile, at the Hammer Industries main lab, Tony Stark didn't bother with the front door. He smashed through the reinforced glass of the penthouse floor and landed in a crouch, his repulsors glowing.
The guards had already fled or been paralyzed by a strange, lingering chill in the air. Tony marched toward the central mainframe room, where the signal had originated. Inside, he found a man slumped over a desk.
"Vanko?" Tony called out, his faceplate sliding up. "Get up. We need to talk about your cable management. It's atrocious."
The man didn't move. He was Ivan Vanko, the Russian physicist who had haunted Tony's nightmares for the last hour. But as Tony got closer, he realized Vanko wasn't dead. His chest was rising and falling rhythmically, but his limbs were locked in a rigid, unnatural position. His eyes were wide open, staring at the screen, but he couldn't even twitch a finger.
"Vital signs are stable, sir," Jarvis whispered in Tony's ear. "However, his nervous system appears to be under a localized stasis. Based on the bio-signature, this is the result of Mr. Huang Wen's 'Acupuncture Point Strike.' He's essentially a human statue."