Ch 16 Whipping the Whiplash
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"So now we're going to see the Expo?" Tony asked.
"Yes." Benjamin nodded.
"Man that was embarrassing." Rhodes said.
"At least Hammer was caught." Pepper said.
"Yeah. I liked twisting his arm." Natasha said.
"It was satisfying to see." Pepper agreed, "I wonder what happened to him."
"You know Luke Cage used to be Carl Lucas, right?" Logan asked and they nodded.
"When he was at Seagate, he heard rumors of a millionaire there." Professor Hulk said.
"His imprisonment there was kept a secret from all the other inmates." Xavier said.
"Well, he isn't coming out I guess." Tony sighed in relief.
"No." Odinson agreed.
At the Expo, Happy stopped the car as Natasha and Pepper walked out and into the Expo where Hammer was dancing on the stage. The two women exchanged amused looks.
"What is wrong with this guy?" Tony said.
"He is arrogant and stupid." Natasha said.
"Though he is more amusing than Cross and Stane." Hope said.
"Yeah, he can give us some laughs at least." Rhodes agreed.
"Like he is giving right now." Sam said.
"His arrogance would be his downfall." Steve said.
"Right you are, Captain." T'Challa agreed.
Hammer then gave a speech saying how their brave men and women had been suffering in war and criticized Tony for keeping the Iron Man technology out of reach before saying he had made Hammer Drones as the new face of the US military. And then several drones appeared on the stage on raised platforms- the army, the navy, the air force and the marines. Everyone applauded as Natasha looked emotionlessly while Pepper looked a bit shocked.
"Taking credit for his friend's work." Tony said.
"Ex friend." Wanda corrected.
"Eh, that's all he can do." Clint said.
Hammer then said that in spite of the revolutionary technology, a man needed to be present at war and welcomed Rhodes as Pepper was shocked. Ivan, on the other hand, was typing into the drones.
"What is he doing?" Scott asked.
"He is trying to control the drones." Aunt May said as everyone looked at her in shock.
"I was there too." She said, shocking everyone again, "Along with Peter and my husband."
"Wow!" Pepper muttered.
"That's quite a coincidence." Fury said.
"Yeah, I remember being there." Peter said as he exchanged a look with Benjamin.
Rhodes appeared in the War Machine Suit on a raised platform and saluted along with the drones and Hammer who was about to speak more when suddenly they all heard a soaring sound and looked up to see Iron Man flying in. Natasha and Pepper looked shocked as Iron Man in the Mark VI Armor flew up to the stage and landed on his knee. Everyone stood up and applauded as he stood up.
"That was an awesome entrance!" Peter said.
"You always know how to steal the show." Hill said.
"Yup." Tony shrugged.
"And now it's all about to go to hell." Rhodes said.
"I can see that." Thor agreed.
"Yes. Ivan is up to something." Loki said.
"It isn't pretty." Bruce agreed.
Tony walked up to Rhodes, telling him everyone was in danger and to trust him though Rhodes wasn't in the mood due to obvious reasons. Tony told Rhodes Hammer was working with Vanko, shocking him as he asked Hammer where Ivan was, who acted all confused until the weapons of Rhodes and all the other drones suddenly pointed themselves at Tony.
"And this is it." Rhodes said.
"The ruining of the Expo." Pepper said.
"Yup. That was horrible." Tony said.
"Damn right." Fury agreed.
Tony asked Rhodes if it was him as he said it wasn't. Ivan had hacked into his suit and all the drones and made them aim at Tony as he flew up and they fired above, shattering the glass, making all the civilians run off in fear.
"Good thing they evacuated themselves." Vision said.
"And it's on." Sam said.
Rhodes told Tony they had been locked onto him as the War Machine Suit and the drones fired at him and he dodged all of the shots, with some glass being shattered as the civilians ran off. Hammer went up to Jack and the technicians and asked to regain control of the drones as a technician said he had locked them out. Natasha and Pepper arrived, the latter asking who had locked him out.
"You will soon find out." Natasha said as her and Pepper exchanged a look.
Hammer said they had it handled as Pepper questioned him incredulously and he said it was Tony's fault.
"Typical of Hammer." Tony shrugged.
Hammer told her to go away before Natasha grabbed his arm and twisted it to Pepper's shock, making him grunt in pain as she asked him who was behind it and he finally said it was Ivan Vanko as she let him go and walked off, leaving a stunned Pepper behind.
"You go girl!" Bucky said as Natasha smirked and Steve looked at her with a smile.
"That was just badass." Sam said.
"The first time I realized Natalie was something else." Pepper said.
"Which she was." Tony said.
"Thanks." Natasha shrugged at everyone's praise.
Pepper then called the NYPD in spite of Hammer's protests.
"Did he just call you 'honey?'" Tony asked.
"I didn't pay attention." Pepper said.
She made Hammer move out of the way as she talked to the technician. Tony continued flying as the War Machine Suit and the drones fired at him and JARVIS failed in rebooting Rhodes' suit.
"Sorry Colonel." Vision said.
"It's all right, Viz." Rhodes said.
Ivan watched as the drones continued targeting Tony. Natasha walked out as Happy saw her and she asked him to drive her away. He said he wasn't so she asked if he wanted her to drive, which made him agree to drive her. He then sat on the driver's seat as Natasha sat on the backseat and he drove her off.
"He doesn't like anyone else driving the car." Tony said.
"Yeah I know." Natasha said.
"That's why she said it." Fury said.
Tony was flying around when the drones on the ground fired missiles, making the civilians run off in fear as more of them aimed at Tony but he avoided and a drone on his tail was hit, sending it crashing to the ground.
"YES!" Thor, Bruce and Professor Hulk cheered.
"You have got some brains there." Loki said.
"Thanks Reindeer Games." Tony shrugged.
Ivan diverted the drones and they all fired at the building, making some rubble crash as the people ran off in fear. One of the drones saw a kid in an Iron Man mask and assumed it was Iron Man, aiming at him as the kid aimed his palm at it.
"THAT'S ME!" Peter yelled as he jumped out of the couch.
"What?" Steve asked.
"The kid! It's me!" Peter said excitedly. [1]
"Yes. It is us." Benjamins said as Aunt May widened her eyes in horror.
"PETER PARKER! HAVING A TOY MASK DOESN'T MAKE YOU IRON MAN!" She yelled as Tony, Pepper and Rhodes shifted away uncomfortably.
"Uhhhh…I'm so sorry." Peter started babbling, "It's just I was wearing the mask….and I was scared…and….."
"COME HERE!" She yelled as she hugged Peter tightly, almost suffocating him.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Peter said.
"It's all right." She said as she let him go and finally started calming, "You were 10 and stupid. I'm just glad to have you with me. I love you."
"Love you too, May." Peter said.
"I love you too." Benjamin said and she smiled at him.
Everyone's hearts melted at the mother-son bond Peter and Aunt May had.
"Well, hate to interrupt but on with the show." Logan said.
The drone aimed at the young Peter Parker who was aiming his palm at it when Tony flew behind him, firing at the drone and destroying it as Peter jumped and looked at him. "Nice work, kid." Tony said as he flew off and Peter looked after him.
"Thank you. Thank you Mr. Stark." Aunt May said.
"No problem." Tony shrugged.
"I guess that's where your obsession with him began." Aunt May said to Peter.
"Yes." Peter said.
"I'm over the obsession now." Benjamin said, "I still look up to you, Mr. Stark. But that's that."
"Good." Tony agreed.
Tony flew off and decided to get the drones away from the Expo as Happy drove Natasha to her location and she told him to watch the perimeter while taking off her dress, revealing her bra. Happy adjusted the rear view mirror to watch her change and almost collided with a truck as he steered the car away. Natasha told him to watch the road.
"Perv." Natasha and Bucky said at the same time.
"Wasn't expecting this from him." Tony shrugged, "Perv."
Everyone chuckled.
Tony flew around as the drones chased him and one of them collided into a pillar, getting destroyed in the process as Ivan watched. Rhodes told him they had been diverted back to the Expo as they fired at Tony and he avoided which destroyed the cars. Happy stopped his car near Hammer's warehouse as him and Natasha, now in her tactical SHIELD gear, stepped out. She told him to stay in the car as he asked her what she was wearing.
"SHIELD uniform." Natasha shrugged.
He said he wouldn't let her go in alone.
"Dude she shouldn't let you go in alone." Tony said as everyone laughed.
"She has that effect on many." Fury said.
Natasha asked him to keep the car running but he entered with her anyway as Ivan noticed. A guard tried to stop them but Happy punched him. Natasha slid to avoid a soldier's punch and threw two tasers under him, tasing his feet as he fell down.
"That's my girl." Bucky said.
"Nice job, Nat." Steve said.
"Thanks." Natasha smirked.
"Happy is getting his education right now." Sam smirked.
"I would love to educate him myself." Hope said.
"I would love to see that." Scott smirked.
Happy continued punching the guard but he started fighting back, gaining the upper hand.
"I think he is already getting his education." Tony shrugged.
Natasha flipped over a cart and kicked another guard on the neck, knocking him out. She ran further and slid between a guard's legs, hitting his thing as he fell down and she glared at the next opponent in her pose. As he rushed her, she flipped over the downed guard and wrapped her feet around the other one's neck, flipping him to the ground.
"Been a while since I saw a good hand to hand fight." Steve said.
"Always happy to please the most skilled fighter." Natasha complimented Steve.
"Thanks." Steve said.
Ivan saw Natasha coming up to his location as another drone collided into a building and was destroyed while another flew after Tony and Ivan then deployed them all after him. The technician said the drones were communicating in another language as Pepper asked him to focus on one and Hammer asked him to try Russian.
"Because that will work." Natasha said.
"He is already spilling his beans now." Hill said.
Happy was still getting beaten up as Natasha saw two more men and threw her flashbang discs at their feet. They exploded, blinding the two as Natasha swept one's feet from under him and leapt at the other, kneeing him on the face, knocking him out. Another attacked with a stick but she used a garrote to wrap it and wrapped his neck, knocking him out before blocking another's punch and punching him down while pulling the garroted one down. Another one got up but she wrapped her feet around his neck and flipped him to the ground before twisting the elbow of another one and elbowing his nose and then flip kicking him out. She then stood up and marched further, spraying the last guard's face with pepper spray.
Everyone except Fury clapped at the scene.
"Badass." Peter said excitedly.
"Oh you have no idea kid." Bucky said as Natasha smirked.
"So Natasha used Pepper to get the last guy." Tony joked as Pepper smacked his arm.
"Pretty tasteless." Clint commented.
"What has happened to me?" Tony said.
"I can see why Matt and Elektra like your fighting style." Logan noted.
"Who's Elektra?" Steve asked.
"Matt's wife." Benjamin said.
"Well, Daredevil has a pretty good fighting style too based on what I've heard." Natasha said.
"You are a very resourceful woman, Miss Romanoff." T'Challa said as Natasha nodded in appreciation.
Happy was getting beaten up before he bit the guard on the ear and he screamed in pain as Happy punched him in the abdomen and finally knocked him out with a uppercut, yelling to Natasha he had got one, only to notice all the others already taken down, to his shock.
"Looks like he got his education." Tony said.
"Now he knows he isn't one of those 'Men in Black.'" Thor said as everyone looked at him. [2]
"Jane made me watch the movies." Thor shrugged.
"So you know 'Men in Black' but you don't know casual sex." Loki sighed as everyone laughed.
Ivan was still working and finally started up another suit.
"Oh boy!" Peter said.
Natasha kicked the door open with Happy behind her and pointed both her guns around but saw no one there except the dead guards and realized Ivan was gone. Tony was still flying and told Rhodes to be prepared as he flew into the globe of the Expo. The other drones followed but were destroyed as they collided with it.
"That was a good plan, bub." Logan said as Tony shrugged.
"Not a fan of that." Rhode said.
"Sorry pal." Tony said.
Tony told Rhodes he had to thin out the herd as Rhodes slammed into him and onto the ground. The suit slammed him to the ground and tried to fire as Tony dodged and Natasha started rebooting Rhodes' systems. Tony flipped Rhodes away as Natasha finally rebooted the War Machine Suit and told Tony he had his best friend back, to which he thanked her.
"Thanks Nat." Rhodes said gratefully.
"Don't mention it." Natasha shrugged.
"You just did it in here." Bucky said with a smile as she smirked back at him.
Natasha told Tony his new vitals looked promising as he said he wasn't dying anymore. What he didn't know was that Pepper had been connected to the line too and asked when he was dying.
"Busted." Hope said.
"She busts you in all of these." Scott said.
"Yeah that's her." Tony said.
"Yup." Pepper agreed.
Tony told her he wanted to tell her but didn't as she got mad and he told her he would have made her an omelet and told her.
"Awww." Natasha, Wanda, Hill and Aunt May said simultaneously.
Natasha asked them to save it for the honeymoon as Tony had incoming and he told her they would talk after he had fended off the Hammeroid attack, to which she agreed. He then woke Rhodes up who apologized as Tony told him not to but he did anyway and they agreed to be partners.
"I'm sorry too." Tony said.
"No problem." Rhodes told him.
The two then argued about where to stand before the drones landed and the two lowered their visors.
"And it's starting." Peter said excitedly as everyone watched with tense breaths.
The drones started firing at them as Tony fired his repulsor beams while Rhodes fired his guns. Tony kneed a drone hard, shattering it before punching another and throwing another away as Rhodes continued firing and Tony punched two more away before JARVIS displayed a missile coming for him and he leaned sideways to dodge before firing three missiles that embedded into the three drones and destroyed them.
"Badass." Peter said again.
"Really is." Sam agreed.
"Thanks Viz." Tony said to Vision about warning him on the missiles.
"It is my job, Mr. Stark." Vision said.
Rhodes continued firing and kicking the drones as Tony punched them around before asking Rhodes to duck as he fired palladium powered lasers from the back of his hands. In a rotatory motion, the lasers cut all the drones into two and some trees as well.
"Okay that looked great." Steve said.
"It was awesome!" Peter cheered.
"Yes. You are very resourceful Stark." Thor told him.
"Thanks." Tony shrugged.
Rhodes complimented him but he said it was a one-off as police arrived to arrest Hammer. He pretended to be confused, saying how Pepper was thinking like a CEO and removing the competition as the cops lead him away and he told her he would see her soon.
"Bastard." Pepper snarled.
"I would love to get my hands on him right now." Tony said.
"He was trying to get under your skin, Pepper." Steve told her and she nodded.
"Stop joking, bub." Logan said to Hammer, "You're not going to see Pepper. You didn't even see Luke Cage when you guys were in the same prison."
Everyone laughed at that.
Pepper walked out with the cops and told them how to evacuate people as they agreed and asked if she'd like to come but she refused until the park was clear and they walked off.
"You should have gone with them." Tony said.
"Yes." She agreed.
Natasha told Tony another drone with a higher repulsor signature was headed at them and the Whiplash Armor: Mark II landed near them and the visor removed to reveal Ivan Vanko who said it was good to be back. He then brandished his electrical whips. Rhodes fired the ex-wife but it didn't gain enough energy before hitting his suit and fell down, fizzling out as Tony realized it was Hammer tech and Rhodes confirmed it.
"The one thing of his that worked and even that didn't work." Rhodes said.
"That's Hammer tech for ya." Tony said.
Tony fired some missiles as Ivan's visor came down and he defended himself before swinging his whips as the two flew off to avoid. Rhodes fired at him but Ivan cut off his big gun. Tony flew up but he wrapped the whip around his leg and smashed him into a rock. Rhodes fired again with his miniguns as Tony flew into him but was thrown away. Ivan wrapped his whip around Rhodes and pulling him closer, punched him off as Tony leapt at him with a roar and punched him. He punched twice before being head-butted back and wrapped in the whip as Rhodes tried to fire but Ivan stepped on him.
"The guy's kicking both of your asses." Sam said.
"That was his life's mission." Tony said.
Ivan wrapped his other whip around Rhodes until Tony said he could use a side kick and raised his palm. Rhodes realized what he was getting at and raised his too as their repulsor beams collided and exploded, shattering more glass.
"So that's what you did." Fury said.
"Yeah. The same drill." Tony said.
"Yup. The same." Rhodes agreed.
"Good job." Steve said and they nodded.
Tony and Rhodes looked at the battered Ivan who said, "You lose." They noticed something red beeping on him and all the drones.
"Oh no!" Aunt May said in horror.
Rhodes realized he had set them all to self-destruct as he flew off and Tony flew to where Pepper was. A drone exploded just when Tony grabbed Pepper and flew into the air.
Everyone clapped happily.
He put her on a roof as she said her body couldn't handle the stress and she was quitting as Tony threw his damaged helmet off and joked she was making excuses. He complimented her for taking care of him and she thanked him for understanding.
"Awww." Hill and Aunt May said.
"Wait for it." Rhodes said.
Tony and Pepper talked about how to clean up the mess when their lips met in a deep, loving, passionate first kiss.
Everyone clapped happily.
"YES!" Thor cheered.
"Finally." Sam said.
"About damn time." Fury said too.
Tony and Pepper blushed.
Tony asked if it was weird and she said it was good and they kissed again as Rhodes, who had been there the entire time, said it was as they were like two seals fighting for fish.
"What?" Natasha asked in amusement as they all laughed.
"Drax can take some pointers from you." Benjamin told Rhodes.
"Drax?" Rhodes asked.
"I will tell you later." Odinson said with a smile.
Tony asked him to get lost as he said he had arrived first and told Tony and Pepper to get a roof.
Everyone laughed happily.
"Best one-liner ever." Hill said.
"Hey!" Tony said in mock offense.
He then flew off with the Suit as his car had been destroyed in the explosion and Tony joked Pepper couldn't resign if he didn't accept and she laughed.
"And so it begins." Steve said.
Next day, Tony sat at a debriefing as he looked at his own preliminary report for the Avengers Initiative while footage of the Culver University Incident played around him.
"Look my footage is playing." Bruce smirked.
"Yes." Professor Hulk said.
"Same week." Natasha shrugged.
"My big week." Fury said.
Fury told him not to look at that but Romanoff's assessment of him. He read it as it said he had compulsive behavior. Tony defended himself by saying it was the previous week before reading it said he was prone to self-destructive tendencies. He defended himself by saying he was dying and joked they all were before reading that it called him a textbook narcissist. He agreed and read Iron Man was recommended. Fury told him to continue reading and he read that he was not recommended, confusing him.
"How's that possible?" Peter asked.
"Just watch, kid." Fury said.
As Tony explained himself, Fury said they would only keep him as a consultant. Tony joked how they couldn't afford him as the two shook hands and he asked Fury for a favor as he was being honored in D.C. to which Fury agreed.
"You still can't afford me." Tony joked as everyone rolled their eyes.
"I think I know what the favor is." Rhodes said.
"You do, Colonel." Fury agreed.
The next day, Tony and Rhodes stood as Senator Stern praised them and said they deserved the awards.
"Oh my God!" Aunt May laughed.
"He is hating every second of it." Hill laughed.
"I made sure of that." Tony said.
Stern gave them both their medals, thanking them for their distinguished performances and saying they deserved them as Tony did a mock 'ouch' at the medal being pinned to him as Stern joked how painful a 'prick' could be.
"Yes, yes. You're very painful." Tony said.
"And Hydra." Steve added.
"And a prostitute." Natasha added and everyone burst into laughter.
He then took a picture with them as Tony put an arm around him to make him more uncomfortable and Tony raised his fingers as the screen went black.
"You're torturing the guy to death." Bruce joked as everyone chuckled.
"There's more." Professor Hulk said.
"What?" Steve asked.
"Just watch." Odinson said as he smirked at Thor who suddenly realized what they were talking about.
In a desert in New Mexico, Phil Coulson drove his car somewhere and pulled up before coming out. He looked down at several people surrounding something.
"Coulson!" Tony said happily.
"What're they making?" Aunt May asked.
"You will find out soon." Xavier said.
"I'm pretty sure I know." Thor said.
Coulson then called Fury and said, "Sir, we found it." Down there lay an ancient hammer as the screen went black and thunder was heard roaring.
"YES!" Thor cheered as loudly as he had cheered on seeing Hulk in Sakaar.
"I share your sentiments." Odinson said with a smirk.
"Point Break's lovely hammer is in this too." Tony said.
"So we're seeing this?" Peter asked excitedly.
"We will." Benjamin said.
"Same week, remember?" Natasha asked.
"My big week." Fury said.
"Now I wonder if you should have thawed me out earlier so I could be part of your week." Steve joked.
"No Rogers, I do not want to ruin my week even more." Fury joked as all laughed.
"You all must be really hungry again?" Odinson asked and they realized they were.
"Well, dinner time." Benjamin said, "After that, we will show you to your bedrooms and you can sleep for the night."
Everyone nodded and got up as they walked towards the dining room.