Ordinary people at the scene might not have had any idea who the X-MEN were — to them, it was just another group of "weird superpowered folks" who showed up out of nowhere to save the day and then vanished without a trace. But George, along with some of the officers who accompanied him, had already heard about the Xavier Institute and knew they weren't just masked vigilantes playing heroes.
Still catching his breath from the tension of the incident, George raised his voice:
"You can take him. But someone needs to come with us to the station to fill out the official report."
Jean, after casting a quick glance at Logan and Rogue, stepped forward. Her posture was calm, but her eyes reflected firmness.
"I'll go with you."
George nodded, satisfied. Under the leadership of the officers present, the crowd began to disperse in order, as if a collective weight had finally been lifted from their shoulders.
George himself silently admitted he hadn't expected all that chaos to be resolved so quickly. He wasted no more time after that: he got into the patrol car and headed straight to the Hammer Expo, still unaware of what he would find there.
"I'm heading there too, bye-bye~" said Spider-Woman.
She fired a web, launched herself with an elegant swing, and began gliding between buildings toward the Hammer Expo.
"Take him. I'll be back later," Jean told Logan and Rogue.
As Gwen sped swiftly through New York's skyscrapers, her thoughts focused on one thing alone:
"I hope nothing bad happened there…"
But before she could go any farther, Ruby contacted her through the communicator:
[Gwen, actually there's no need for you to head there anymore.]
The young heroine froze, stopping on top of a lamppost.
"What? What do you mean?"
Ruby, her voice calm, quickly explained the situation.
At that moment, Tony Stark was already handling the problem directly. Furthermore, the greatest threat had already been neutralized.
[Now all that's left is for the police to arrest Justin Hammer. The conspiracy between him and Ivan Vanko is completely exposed. There's no way he can escape it.]
Gwen sighed.
"So… it's over for him."
And it was true. Justin Hammer knew perfectly well that his career as a businessman was ruined. He had let himself get involved with Ivan Vanko, and now there was no way to clear his name. The only strategy left was the most pathetic of all: trying to shift the blame onto someone else.
---
Meanwhile, on the Hammer Expo stage, Happy and Pepper were working frantically on one of the main computers. They tried to extract information, track any trace of Vanko, or find a remote command that might still be controlling the drones. The problem was they didn't know Ruby had already shut down all the machines.
Justin Hammer, the moment he realized the situation was collapsing, slipped into a corner backstage. But during that brief moment, reality crashed down on him like a crushing weight: he had been used. Manipulated in the most grotesque way.
Resentment burned inside him.
"Me… a business genius… fooled by a second-rate Russian criminal."
His frustration boiled into blind fury.
He then stormed out onto the stage and, on impulse, began accusing Pepper and Happy.
"It must have been you! You plotted this whole thing with Stark! He could never stand me surpassing his technology, so he set up this farce to frame me!"
Happy blinked slowly.
(This guy can't be serious.)
Pepper, on the other hand, only raised an eyebrow, as if Hammer were less than a nuisance. The CEO of Stark Industries didn't need to waste time arguing with someone who was clearly drowning in his own mess.
The officers who climbed onto the stage weren't slow to piece things together either. Hammer had built the drones. Hammer had presented the expo. Hammer was directly tied to the chaos. It was too obvious to ignore.
"Mr. Hammer, please don't resist," one of the officers said, grabbing his arm. "We have reason to believe you deliberately orchestrated this commotion."
"No! It wasn't me! It was Stark! He hacked into my drones' system—he's the criminal, not me!" Hammer shouted, flailing like a fish out of water.
Pepper rolled her eyes, already pulling out her phone to call Tony.
"Tony, I can't do anything from here. I can't control these robots!"
On the other end, Tony's reply came immediately.
'Okay, it's all good now. Just wait for me where you are.'
"What? What do you mean, just wait?" Pepper's eyes widened. And then, in the background, she heard something that left her even more confused: Tony was… laughing.
"You're laughing?"
'Hahahaha…'
"Tony Stark, I swear to God—"
But Tony cut her off, trying to hold back his laughter and failing miserably:
'Enough, enough. I'll explain later. Love you, bye.'
"TONY!? Tony!!?"
Pepper froze, staring in disbelief at her phone. The frustration was almost palpable.
"That man is going to stress me to death…"
---
Meanwhile, the battle was already in its final moments.
Tony was laughing inside the armor. Not just because the attack was over, but mainly because of Rhodes' pitiful performance.
"Hahahaha…"
Rhodes, inside the War Machine, let out a loud sigh, utterly impatient.
"Tony, this isn't funny."
"Of course it's funny, you just don't have a sense of humor. But that's fine, Rodes… take a deep breath. I'll show you how it's done."
Even though he couldn't see his friend's face behind the mask, Rhodes knew Tony was wearing that irritating grin—half smug, half amused.
He stepped back, shaking his head.
"Go ahead, genius. Embarrass yourself all you want. At least in the end I'll have something to laugh about."
Tony puffed out his chest, spreading his arms like a maestro about to conduct a symphony.
"Tony Stark."
Vanko's voice rang out, dripping with rancor and sarcasm, as if spitting out the name.
"I should thank you for your suggestion. Thanks to it, my suit has become even more powerful. Though I don't know how you discovered the new element, a thief is still a thief."
Tony tilted his head for a moment, his expression hidden by the helmet, but his tone dripped with cynicism.
"Thief? Please. I'm many things, Ivan, but a thief isn't one of them. I create. I invent. You just take the worst shortcuts. By the way, congratulations on continuing the legacy of being the knock-off version of my brand."
He didn't want to talk about his past—not now, not in front of someone like Vanko. But the man's actions that day had left Tony furious. If he hadn't arrived in time, the drones would have opened fire on civilians. Pepper and Happy would have been among the victims. That thought alone was enough to erase any trace of humor.
With a mechanical click, two weapons rose from the shoulders of the Mark XI, ready to fire.
Vanko, who moments earlier exuded confidence, no longer seemed so relaxed. He stepped back cautiously. But before he could prepare, a dense curtain of white smoke blasted from Tony's weapons, flooding the battlefield in seconds and completely blocking visibility.
"What!?" Vanko snarled, straining to see.
There was a thermal camera installed in his suit, but… how could secondhand sensors detect the latest Stark tech?
In an instant, Tony was already behind him.
"Take note, Ivan: sometimes smoke bombs are more effective than missiles. That's the difference between thinking outside the box and being crushed by it."
As Tony flew circles around him, Vanko could only swing his energy whips blindly, like a cornered animal snapping at the air.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., analysis ready?"
[Sir, weak points are at the joints. But the main threat remains the energy whip.]
"Good… time for surgery."
Tony raised his palms, unleashing a barrage of guided micro-bombs. They flew with precision, striking each joint of the enemy's armor.
"No! You bastard!" Vanko roared.
Desperation twisted his face. As the suit's creator, he knew those were his gravest vulnerabilities. And, thanks to the focused blasts, he finally managed to pinpoint Tony amid the smoke. The whip lashed out violently in his direction.
If it had been Tony's old suit, he might have been hit. But the Mark XI was lighter, tougher, far more agile. The whip tore through the haze like a blade, but Tony was no longer there.
"All wrapped up already?" Rhodes asked, eyeing the smoke-filled field.
Tony appeared above, out of range.
"Not yet. But relax… it's going to look good."
Even without seeing his friend's face inside the War Machine, Tony knew Rhodes must be rolling his eyes, wearing his classic "I can't believe I'm still friends with this guy" expression.
Tony just snapped his fingers.
An explosion boomed within the smoke, followed by a wave of air that swept across the area. As the haze cleared, what remained of Vanko's suit lay scattered across the ground like scrap metal.
"Already? That fast?" Rhodes muttered in disbelief.
Ivan Vanko, who minutes before had seemed arrogant and relentless, now lay unconscious, defeated.
"Okay, Rodes, I'm leaving the boring part to you. Arresting, filing paperwork, taking nice little photos, etc., etc., etc., I'm out."
Without waiting for a reply, Tony shot into the sky in a golden streak.
The Mark XI's first official battle had ended in victory. And inside, Tony couldn't hide his excitement. At the same time, he knew that if he had been wearing his previous armor, the fight would have been much harder.
"Yeah, I guess I owe Arthur a thank you for this upgrade."
Meanwhile, Rhodes stared at his own armor. A doubt gnawed at him. Had the modifications made by Hammer Industries left it less reliable? He needed answers… and Justin Hammer would have to give them.
Approaching Vanko, Rhodes crouched and checked his breathing. Nothing. Vanko was dead.
Rhodes sighed. As a soldier, there was no room for compassion for someone like that. He then activated the thrusters and headed toward the Air Force base. Deep down, though, there was bitterness. The name War Machine seemed to carry more weight than ever.
It was a noisy night in New York.
---
At the same time, in a dark dimension.
The space was silent. No wind, no life, no color. Only absolute darkness. At the center of this void, a woman was chained. Her green garments were in tatters, her pale skin reflecting the merciless prison.
Suddenly, some of the chains snapped with a sharp crack.
A cruel smile formed on her lips.
"Soon, I'll be free from here."
A chilling laugh filled the emptiness:
"Ha… hahaha… HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The woman raised her face, her eyes burning with hatred.
"Asgard… your queen shall return soon. And you will pay for what you did to me, Father…"
(End of chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."