Boom!
Another iron figure arrived. The mask opened, revealing the face inside: Whiplash, Vanko.
"It's good to be back," Vanko smiled.
"This is bad news."
Tony was about to step forward when Rhodey stopped him. "It's my turn now. I have a secret weapon for him. Watch me blast him with 'Ex-Wife.'"
"With what?" Tony asked, confused. Ex-Wife? What was that?
Rhodey confidently stepped forward. A missile slowly rose from his shoulder. Zing! A palm-sized missile shot out.
Clang!
The missile bounced off Vanko's chest armor, dropped into a puddle on the ground, and quickly fizzled out.
"Hammer Industries?" Tony commented from the side.
"Yes," Rhodey felt hugely embarrassed.
Peter quipped from the side, "No wonder it's named Ex-Wife. It's truly ruthless and cold-hearted, just like an ex-wife."
"Allow me." A row of missiles rose from Tony's shoulders, aimed at Vanko, and fired. Zing! Zing! Zing!
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Vanko put on his mask, resisted all the missiles, and swung the electric whips in his hands toward them.
Tony and Rhodey rolled to the sides, and Peter rolled backward. All three dodged the electric whips simultaneously.
"Hey! Scarface!" a voice called from behind Vanko.
Vanko turned his head, and bang! Silas landed a kick to Vanko's head, knocking him to the floor. Unfortunately, the armor was incredibly tough. Even Silas's multi-ton kick didn't knock his head off.
Vanko shook his head, stood up, and said, "There's another one, a fish that got away." Vanko suddenly turned back and whipped Rhodey, who was trying to sneak attack him, flying.
"I just wanted to see if it still worked," Rhodey said, lying on the ground.
Vanko's eyes darkened as he looked around. The opposition now consisted of four people, a situation extremely unfavorable to him.
"You should raise your hands, leather whip old man," Tony said, aiming his palm at Vanko. Now Vanko couldn't escape.
Peter prepared his web-shooting gesture, waiting for the signal to attack. Rhodey stood up, aiming his shoulder cannon at Vanko, and Silas's eyes slowly charged with power.
"Die!" Vanko swung his electric whips, splitting everything they touched in half.
Tony flew up, attempting to attack from the air, but Vanko struck him with an electric whip. Tony didn't give up; he grabbed Vanko's electric whip with both hands, buying time for the others.
"Hurry up, guys, I feel like I'm getting roasted," Tony said, looking at the damage level of his armor.
Rhodey followed Tony's lead, lunging forward and tightly grasping the electric whip with his hand. "I'm a hero too!" he shouted.
"Here I come!" Peter leaped onto Vanko's head, trying to pry open Vanko's face mask.
When Silas saw this scene, he felt a strange sense of déjà vu, like they were fighting Thanos!
"No time to think about that." Silas immediately fired a laser beam. Unfortunately, the laser beam, which had always been invincible, met resistance. When the laser beam hit Vanko's armor, it didn't immediately slice through Vanko's exterior; the armor blocked it.
"Haha! This armor isn't like those casually made drone junk!" Whiplash retracted his electric whips, grabbed Peter off his head, and violently flung him away. Peter twisted his body in mid-air and landed firmly on the ground.
Vanko then swung his electric whips, catching Tony and Rhodey by the neck. "Stark, you have to admit, my armor is superior to yours! Because you've been a fake all along!"
"Rhodey, do the move!" Tony yelled, grasping the electric whip around his neck.
Rhodey's eyes widened. "Are you sure?!"
"Yes! And you guys, get out of here!" Tony yelled, turning his head toward Silas and Peter.
Silas, familiar with the plot, knew exactly what they were about to do. He gave them an OK gesture and pulled Peter into the Shadow Realm.
"Are you ready!" Rhodey yelled.
Tony and Rhodey extended their palms, energy constantly gathering in their palms. They planned to defeat Vanko by colliding their repulsor blasts.
Vanko opened his mask and looked left and right. What were they going to do?
"Fire at the sky!" Silas suddenly leaped out of the Shadow Realm. Because of the lighting, Vanko's shadow was directly beneath him. Silas used Vanko's shadow as a medium and then used the Snake Talisman to become invisible. The moment Vanko opened his mask, Silas appeared in front of him and punched him.
As for Tony and Rhodey, upon hearing Silas's words, they instinctively fired their attacks into the sky. Two beams of light flashed across the sky.
Without his armor protection, Silas easily knocked out Vanko with one punch; he didn't intend to kill him. Thud! Vanko fell to his knees, and then his body slowly tipped forward.
Silas thought it was time. Suddenly, another black-clothed figure appeared, wearing the Tara Mask. He grabbed Vanko and took him into the Shadow Realm.
The sudden turn of events surprised everyone; no one expected another person to be there.
Only Tony was suspicious. "Is that your guy?" After all, he had seen Silas's Shadowkhan before.
Silas shook his head. "That's the former leader of the organization, Tara. He's an unpardonable villain."
"Hmm..." Tony initially suspected the two black-clothed figures were the same person, but now it seemed they were not.
"Where did that guy go?" Peter asked after being pulled out of the Shadow Realm by Silas.
Rhodey said, "It looks like someone abducted him."
"How is that possible?!" Peter couldn't believe someone could be taken away right under their noses.
"His ability is similar to this black-clothed person's," Rhodey said, comparing the abilities of the two black-clothed figures. The latest one could open a dark portal, and the first one could too. These two must have some connection.
Peter looked at Silas in shock, but he held back his questions for the moment. It wasn't too late to ask Silas once they got home. Asking here would easily expose both their identities.
"Don't look at me. I don't know him," Silas said, stepping back.
Actually, that figure was Little Black. Silas felt more comfortable having Little Black handle the matter, especially since Tony had already seen Little Black. Now, as long as Silas distanced himself from Little Black, Tony could only suspect him; there was no direct evidence.
"Never mind. That guy can be dead for all I care." Tony gave Silas a deep look. He still suspected Silas was involved.
Silas met Tony's gaze directly, not avoiding his stare, confidently telling him, it wasn't me.
"I'm going to find Pepper," Tony said, leaving the area.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Rhodey nodded to Silas and Peter and flew away.
"Where are you going, Peter!" Silas saw Peter shoot a web, ready to leave.
"To see if anyone is injured!" Peter said, then left.
Silas, resigned, figured he had time and followed him.
As for the drone explosion, because of Silas's interference, Vanko did not activate the self-destruct device immediately, resulting in the drones not exploding.
Exhibition Entrance
Tony and Pepper were kissing. After separating their lips, Pepper said, "I feel like that was kind of weird."
"Did it? Let's try it again then." Tony leaned in again.
"No, I think that was super weird. It looked like two seals fighting over a grape," Rhodey said, sitting on a downed drone.
In the distance, Peter and Silas sat watching Stark and the others below.
"That's so cool. Mr. Stark found love," Peter said. He had already snapped a picture of Tony kissing.
"Don't worry, you'll find it too, Peter," Silas said.
The two sat on the high-rise, dangling their feet and chatting.
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