There was a heavy wheezing.
In a small, dark room, an old square TV was burning. Interference ran across its screen. Across from the TV sat a lean, tall girl. Her hair was messily tangled, and an unsmoked cigarette smouldered in her hands.
The girl was staring at the TV screen like a mesmerised woman without any emotion. World news, Anita Stark was in the centre of events.
"I am the Iron Lady!
The black-haired girl's palm clenched, extinguishing the decayed cigarette inside her. She slowly stood up as the scene with Anita Stark ended.
"'Sophia, Sophia, Sophia, daughter, come here...' an elderly voice wheezed, finally breaking into a wet cough.
"Father," the black-haired girl knelt down and squeezed the old man's hand in her palms.
"Stark, Stark took everything from us, he betrayed me, he only wanted my knowledge of the arc reactor ...
The grey-haired old man had a high fever, he was delirious. The girl only squeezed her father's palm harder, her eyes blurred from the moisture accumulated in them.
Anton Vanko was once the greatest physicist in the Soviet Union. In his mid-teens, he'd accepted an offer from Howard Stark, a talented engineer at the time, thinking he could do much better with him than he had in his homeland. And so it was at first. Stark provided him with any resources and scientific materials. Time gradually passed and the project Anton had dreamed of for so long was finally completed. The arc reactor! A unique source of energy with unrivalled power.
They worked on the project together, Howard and Anton. A brilliant engineer and a brilliant physicist. Anton was responsible for the theoretical development of the project, and Howard was responsible for the resources and implementation of the theory. Of course, the project was never finished, it was only a rough copy of the original - a small cube overflowing with infinite energy. It was in the likeness of the cube, the Tesseract, that the arc reactor was made.
After completing the arc reactor, a sea of ideas began to run around in Anton's head. He didn't want to end with just the reactor. After all, the reactor itself was only the beginning. By applying the same concept, many fantastic ideas could be realised! Inflamed with thoughts of the future, Anton turned to Howard. But Howard's reaction was ambiguous, he said he would think about it and left Anton alone, taking the arc reactor with him. A few months later the police burst into Vanko's flat, and he was tried and deported under false pretences.
His American wife refused to go back to the USSR with Anton and gave him their newly born daughter. Anton was left alone with a two-year-old daughter, without any means of subsistence. He was disgraced in his homeland and only thanks to his gender identity was he able to escape punishment. They refused to hire him and he abandoned his main activity - physics. He needed something to support his daughter and spent the rest of his life raising her, while working at the dirtiest, lowest-paid jobs that no one in their right mind would take on.
At the moment of his last breath, Anton's whole life ran before his eyes. Childhood, youth, maturity and old age. The highs of youth and the deep fall.
The man looked at his daughter for the last time, somewhere inside him relief flared up. At least he had achieved something in this life, he had raised a brilliant daughter, not inferior to him in the past, maybe even superior.
Her father's hand sagged lifelessly, an imperceptible tear ran down Sofia's cheek and she let go of the old man's hand. The small television was showing footage of Stark's press conference again. Two famous actors were discussing her, joking about who would be more suited to be the husband of the newfound heroine.
Fury flashed in Sofia's eyes, and she sat down at her desk, covering her ears with her palms. She tried to shut herself off from the rest of the world and be alone with her thoughts for a little while.
...
"Anita Stark is here!
"Anita!
"Oh, Anita's bodyguard is so cute. I wonder what he's like in bed?
August twitched his eyebrows irritably and glared at the chatty woman. She saw his gaze and immediately made a languid expression on her face. She was a nice-looking girl, of course, and if the mercenary were in Afghanistan now he would have slept with her, but now he had more important things to do.
The Shield and the World Security Council behind it didn't like Anita's performance at the press conference. The council couldn't cover all the reporters scattered after the meeting with Anita. The broadcast had already gone viral on the internet and blocking it would cause unnecessary excitement. The Iron Lady didn't have the full support of the people now, there were still many people who didn't believe the words of the multi-billionaire or didn't support her. But attention was definitely focused on her now. That attention could be exploited.
A couple of days after the press conference, Anita was summoned to the next press conference organised by the World Security Council. Pennsylvania Senator Stern spoke on behalf of the council. She had previously presided over congressional hearings regarding Anita Stark and her iron suit.
The council chose a room twice the size of the hall at Stark Industries for the press conference. When August and Anita entered the room, it was already full. Thousands of journalists from media outlets around the world had been summoned. Even the most obscure ones were present. The hall was completely packed.
Walking slowly down the centre aisle, Anita focused all her attention on herself. Black expensive jacket, designer office skirt, high quality tights and high heels. The final touch was sunglasses and an arrogant smile that said "I'm the queen and you're the shit".
Calmly following the flaunting Stark, Augustus felt like a lackey for a second, but then smiled inwardly, brushing the thought away. He was more like an adult, a rational man, and Anita was more like a little girl who wanted to show off.
Unfortunately, Augustus was no different from Stark in terms of clothing. He had to leave his armour and weapons in the villa and put on a suffocation suit. No one would be allowed into a meeting with a sitting senator in an armoured suit and a gun.
Well, at least they left the patch over the right eye, something to be happy about. But there was no point in the patch, everyone who needed it knew about his extraordinary eye, probably only Stark didn't realise it yet. She had had enough of the first photos from the police station, where he had been photographed with the patch. Her curiosity was satisfied, and she didn't bother to find out anything more from him. Not yet.
"Miss Stark, have you finally deigned to honour us with your arrival? - the senator asked wryly.
"Senator Stern, you're mistaken. We're still two minutes away from the appointed time. It's not my fault that you decided to come so early," Anita took off her glasses and smiled radiantly.
Behind them, cameras clicked and pens rustled in notebooks. Journalists were recording the two women's "welcome" speech verbatim. Stern's face twitched imperceptibly with anger, but she held back a smile.
"'Have a seat, Miss Stark,' Stern said imperiously.
"Let's finish the press conference quickly, Senator, I have a lot to do today," the redhead yawned and waved her hand in front of her as if to ward off sleep. But the senator understood, the gesture was addressed to her.
"Today we're going to talk about your developed weapon ...
"Actually, it's not a weapon, but a high-tech prosthesis that helps me walk. This is part of it," Anita pulled down her collar, exposing the mechanical spine.
"Whatever you say Miss Stark, let's start with the presentation first. Colonel Rhodes, please.
"'You're playing on the wrong side, mate,' Anita grinned, watching the dark-skinned girl in the Air Force officer's uniform rise from her seat.
"Intelligence suggests that the device you see in these images reflects the attempts of certain individuals to create replicas of Miss Stark's controlled suits. This has been confirmed by our allies and intelligence agencies ...
Anita didn't listen to the delirium-filled speech. She pulled an artificial intelligence control unit from her pocket, mimicked a telephone, and connected to the secure network. Huge server rooms within Stark Industries, dedicated to artificial intelligence, cracked the network's fragile defences in seconds and gave access to the equipment. The Colonel's speech had broken off by then, and she looked confusedly at Anita. The senatoress furrowed her eyebrows.
The image on the digital board changed and Stark began to comment on each video in detail. Plenty of countries had tried to create similar crafts to Anita's armour, but all of their attempts looked pretty pathetic. Especially North Korea, who tried to create not just a replica of Stark's suit, but a real Autobot, six metres high and two wide.
The last video showed her eternal rival, Justina Hammer. She was in charge of testing an iron battle suit remotely similar to the Mark. Unfortunately, while testing the body-turning function, a test subject inside the suit died a horrible death.
"This is a provocative video montage, I wasn't there!
The monitor was switched off, the pale senatoress stammering, asking Stark to explain herself. She probably hoped Anita would be confused and give them some time to come to their senses. But putting her glasses back on, the redheaded billionaire only smiled wider and stood up from her chair, half sideways to the reporters.
"As you can see, there are no threats for the next five to ten years, no one will be able to replicate my prosthesis and you don't need to thank me!
"Thank you for what? - Stern asked, sensing something wrong.
"Think of the countries of the Middle East. The terrorist groups there were completely suppressed within a couple of months of my work," Anita's face twisted. - But isn't that enough for you, and now you want to take my property for helping you?! I was only acting in the best interests of America and the American people!
The journalists clapped and whistled. August looked at Anita with a different look. He had not realised that it was not the first time she had travelled outside the United States. As if sensing his gaze, Anita lowered her glasses and looked at him guiltily. The mercenary sighed. This was the sort of thing one would expect from Stark. Her last case in Afghanistan had been too high-profile, she'd been caught on reporters' cameras and made the headlines. She'd never been caught before, but there were a lot of guesses as to who it might be. That's why Anita's words were so easily believed.
To the applause of the journalists, Anita and August left the courtroom. Stern didn't say anything against it, she had to settle the situation with the journalists, otherwise she might lose her position tomorrow.
This little battle had been won, but the war wasn't over yet. The Security Council was unlikely to let Stark go so easily. It's just a little reprieve.
"August, aren't you angry? - Anita asked jokingly, resting her head on the mercenary's shoulder. Stark decided to come to the press conference without security in her own car. She put August behind the wheel, and she herself rode in the passenger seat.
"I realised back in Afghanistan that you're an uncontrollable fool with a hero complex in one place. Why would I be mad about that?
"So you're not angry? - Anita rubbed her cheek.
"The anger was long gone, replaced by indifference.
"You don't care about me?! - Stark moved away from the mercenary and asked, imitating a stern voice.
"Yes.
Anita pouted, folded her arms and turned away from the window. Like a child, or at least she was pretending to be.
Stark watched the rapidly passing scenery outside the window. Her eyes moved stealthily to Augustus sitting behind the wheel. No reaction from him. Anita clicked her tongue quietly. She had long ago realised that the man she liked was thinking outside the box. So she decided to change her approach to him and show a soft, harmless side. Maybe he liked weak-willed girls? Well, I guess it's over again.
"Anita... - or is it not passing by? Inside, the girl smiled slyly, like a predator anticipating its prey.
Stark didn't answer Augustus, continuing to play the offended girl. If he liked it that way, let him enjoy it for now.
A firm hand pressed Anita into the car door. There was a shrill cracking sound and the car bounced. Exhausting heat and the mingled odour of flesh and rubber.
A hard landing, a piercing pain spread throughout Stark's body. The car did several somersaults and finally came to a stop. Her eyes were all double-visioned, vomiting came to her throat, and her right arm could barely move. Sprained or broken.
Anita looked at the driver's seat and was horrified. The driver's door was broken open, and on August's seat lay his burnt, severed arm.
Stark kicked the nearly torn-off door with her shoulder in fear and crawled outside. August lay twenty metres from the car. A pool of blood was forming beneath him.
"No, no, no," Anita jerked sharply toward the body, but the stiletto heel broke and she fell. The girl pulled off her shoes and in tattered tights approached the bloody body. A broken car window cut into her bare feet, but she didn't even notice it. All her attention was focused on the body.
"Your lover? - Broken English sounded and Anita shifted her gaze to the black-haired girl who appeared.
The girl appeared naked from the waist down, with only the miraculously remaining bra covering her large breasts. A reactor protruded from the middle of her breasts, chains ran from it and energised the whips lying near the stranger's feet.
Starka immediately realised that this was the girl who had caused their accident. Her gaze darkened.
"It hurts to lose a dear person, I understand you perfectly well, - sympathetic voice, but a satisfied smile played on her lips.
"Who are you?! - Anita flashed with anger and rose from her bloody knees.
"My name is Sophia Vanko, I am Anton Vanko's daughter. You and I do not know each other personally, but we have an interesting history.
"I've never heard the name Vanko before. It looks like you're mistaken, - Anita began to retreat slowly back to the car. There in the closed boot was a new prototype of the iron suit, the Mark Five.
"It's okay, I'll carve that name on your corpse, you'll remember it.
The electrified whips chirped much more powerfully and the metal base of the whip itself disappeared in a blaze of energy. Anita ran towards the car without hiding, while Sofia walked slowly towards her, rhythmically striking the pavement with her whips. Deep molten furrows were left at the place of contact between the whip and the road.
Stark reached the interior of the car and pressed the boot button. It wouldn't open, all the internal electronics had been destroyed. There was no key in the ignition.
The half-naked girl with the whips was getting closer and closer. The only thing left to do was to run, there was no way to open the boot quickly.
A couple of gunshots rang through the air. Sophia's legs buckled, and she leaned against the pavement, looking back. The "corpse," which is what it had seemed to her before, had "come to life" and fired a pistol at her. Against normal bullets, the prototype of Sophia's suit could not counteract anything.
"Well, at least I'll kill you before I die! - Vanko swung her right arm for a long-range whiplash, but a couple more shots rang out and her arms folded limply around her torso.
Anita watched the bloodied Augustus slowly get up. Holding the pistol in his left hand, he carefully stood up, keeping his weapon on Sophia's sitting and bleeding body. The mercenary's right arm was missing below the elbow, but his face was calm. Blood was dripping from him, he was literally moments away from death, but the man didn't panic, didn't even cringe in pain.
Approaching the shocked Stark, he placed his bloody palm on her cheek and asked seriously:
"Are you all right?
"I'm fine, but you're not! Get down on the ground quickly, the car should have signalled an emergency on the gps by now! The ambulance and the police will be here soon.
"Don't worry, these wounds will heal quickly. Do you remember what happened at the villa?
"You're an isk-gene mutant, right? - Anita asked cautiously, approaching the bloody mercenary from head to toe to support him.
"No, you're wrong.
August reached the car and picked up his severed arm. As if nothing had happened, he reattached it to the stump and it magically fixed itself as if it had been instantly attached.
The mercenary was lucky to survive. He managed to keep his head intact. Otherwise, if his brain had been damaged, he would have died. Everything else didn't matter as long as it didn't reach critical, damage to more than half of the internal organs. Level two regeneration could safely restore his lost limbs or damaged organs with bones.
Regrowing a torn off fragment back to the body was much faster than regrowing from scratch. The approximate regrowth of August's lost arm could take a month, maybe more.
The howling of approaching sirens could already be heard from afar.
***
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