An Old Man with a Whip

Fanny thought that he would just have to wait for Billy to return from his work, leave the two women with him, take a tour of the exhibition, and then go home.

However, reality often betrays any expectations that people have.

A commotion suddenly broke out in a corner near the stage right after Tony finished his speech and was about to go back

stage.

A man in dirty clothes and a toothpick in his mouth emerged amidst the crowds. On his chest, a circular device glowed with the trademark cyan light of the ark reactor, its crackling energy channeled to the two whips in his hands.

"Fuck!"

Fanny blurted out. This development completely blindsided him.

"This is Tony's territory!"

Who would've guessed that the Whiplash, Ivan Vanko, would appear right here and now?!

After Fanny calmed himself and thought carefully, Ivan's sudden appearance actually made sense.

Tony was already a famous rich man, and now he was Iron Man. He could be said to be a star among stars. No ordinary person could know his whereabout at all times, including Ivan Vanko.

Especially since without his extensive poisoning and desperation, Tony hadn't gone around looking for trouble. This made it even more difficult for Ivan to track Tony down and exact his revenge.

Ultimately, Ivan chose the massive Stark Expo as the stage for his vengeance. It was a rather straightforward thought process, but it was also why Fanny didn't expect it.

"Is he not afraid of bullets?!"

Fanny had no idea what was going on in Ivan's head when he decided to appear with most of his body exposed. Unlike Tony's suit, there was no single armor plating visible on Ivan's body, and the miniaturized ark reactor was only used to power his two energy whips.

If there was a sniper on the field, or even a security guard handgun with good aim, he would be killed in one shot!

"Bang!"

Ivan slammed his energy whips to the ground, and sparks flew into the air. The surrounding audience didn't react, thinking that he was a part of the show, which made them excited instead of afraid.

The crowds only started to realize that something was very wrong after Ivan whipped several security guards who rushed in to subdue him, leaving them half-dead on the ground.

"Aaah!"

Screams erupted, and the noisy crowd exploded in chaos. Seemingly happy with his result, Ivan continued swinging his whips.

Even the old man who trained in the park could not compare to this level!

Tony quickly reacted. He immediately realized that something was wrong when he saw Ivan. He rushed to his armor on the stage, but he was intercepted by Ivan, who looked straight at him.

"Bang!"

"Tony Stark!"

Ivan spat out the toothpick in his mouth and swung his whip. He glared at Tony with eyes full of hatred and began expositing monologue in a true villain manner.

"Your family is one of thieves and butchers. You tried to erase that history, just like every sinner. You want to forget the lives destroyed by the Stark family."

Tony carefully looked at the miniaturized ark reactor on Ivan's chest. He was very familiar with that device, but he was utterly baffled that it was on someone else's chest.

His mind immediately turned to Fanny and Obadiah. However, Obadiah shouldn't have had enough time or resources to analyze the device, so it was unlikely that he gave Ivan the reactor design.

As for Fanny, despite having enough time to get the design, he had no motive to take it.

"I have no idea how you got my technology, but I'm gonna guess that you hadn't paid the patent fee, right?"

Tony tried to stall for time. He did not have any armor on him now. Without armor or armament, fighting a strong man with two energy whips was no different from courting death.

"Tony!"

Someone suddenly shouted not far away. Tony's bodyguard Happy had noticed something was wrong and immediately rushed over with a metal suitcase in his hand.

Beside him was a woman with red curly hair and a particularly curvaceous figure. Her eyes flashed with recognition at Ivan Vanko.

Ivan was clearly unhappy that the two disturbed his moment. He turned his attention to them and slammed the energy whips to the ground again, intent on removing them first.

Happy wasn't blind. He knew that the crackling energy whip was nothing to mess with. But his duty as a bodyguard wouldn't allow him to escape.

"Be careful! Happy, give me the case, now!"

Tony urged him to hand over the suitcase.

Happy immediately threw the box at Tony, which annoyed the billionaire. This thing can't assemble itself in midair!

"Whoosh!"

Ivan didn't know what was inside the box, but he obviously didn't want Tony to have it. He accurately swung his energy whip at the box, sending it away.

Most people around the stage had fled upon realizing that Ivan was a dangerous person, but New York never had a shortage of reckless people. Other than the reporters, groups of fanatical Tony fans were still watching from afar.

Fanny didn't know where his two companions had been swept to, and he didn't care enough to look for them. He quietly mixed in with the fanatical fans and watched the situation develop—he couldn't let Tony accidentally die in front of him, after all.

There's a difference between not being eager to jump in at the first chance to help and avoiding every chance to help.

While Fanny was deliberating whether he should intervene, the woman beside Happy moved. She moved around the battlefield with nimble spider-like acrobatics, rushing right in front of Ivan before he could react with his whip.

"It's her!"

Fanny decided against helping Tony when he saw the woman. This was the best infiltrator and conventional combatant within the Avengers. Dealing with an incomplete Whiplash would be trivial.

Ivan also noticed Black Widow rushing at him. He had zero mercy to spare for the fairer sex and swung the whip in his hand without hesitation.

His opponent bent herself backward.

Black Widow dodged the attack with impossible flexibility. In a single fluid motion, she swung her entire body upward, the tip of her high heels meeting Ivan's chin.

Even with his strong build and energy whips, the Russian man couldn't block Black Widow's kick. He fell on his back as a result.

This was a woman who dared to flirt with the Hulk!

"Good job, Natasha. You have your bonus!"

Tony complimented Black Widow's kick while running to reach the metal suitcase.

However, Ivan was not an ordinary person. His tenacious spirit as a villain allowed him to quickly recover. Of course, it helped that the kick failed to connect on any critical region.

Black Widow wanted to keep on with the momentum, but Ivan already waved his energy whips with unmatched vigor, somewhat deterring Black Widow.

Fortunately, Tony finally reached his Mark 5 suitcase armor. It was not as powerful as his other armors, but it was the only one within his reach.

And it was currently his fastest armor to equip.

The sight of Tony equipping his armor on the big screen created an explosive wave of cheers from the audience, especially the pocket of fanatical fans that Fanny hid in—resulting in his eardrums suffering.