Whiplash

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At that moment, Tony appeared on TV, already seated in the cockpit of his racing car, ready to start.

Seeing this, Pepper hurried outside to find Happy. Kai quickly followed her.

"Pepper, don't worry," Kai said. "Tony's fine now. He's in good health. If you're concerned, we can head over and check on him."

Yinsen chimed in as well.

"Yeah, let's go together. Don't worry, Pepper. With Kai here, Tony will be okay."

Pepper finally calmed down. They found Happy outside and asked him to drive them to the racetrack.

On the track, as the starting lights flashed, the cars sped forward. Tony, wearing a blue-and-white racing suit, maneuvered his blue-and-white car skillfully, overtaking other drivers with ease.

Unbeknownst to him, Ivan Vanko, dressed as track staff in orange overalls, had slipped past security and stepped onto the track. The audience, both at the scene and watching on TV, noticed the disturbance and began murmuring in concern.

Ivan stood in the middle of the track and opened his jacket, revealing a reactor core identical to Tony's old design. He activated it, and two glowing energy whips extended from his arms, instantly burning away his clothes.

Just then, a racing car sped toward him. With a swift crack of his whip, Ivan sliced the car clean in half. The wrecked vehicle spun uncontrollably, smashing into the guardrail.

The crowd screamed in shock.

In the car, Pepper panicked. "Kai, can you help Tony?"

She turned to Happy. "Hand Kai the briefcase!"

"Don't worry," Kai assured her, taking the silver briefcase from Happy. "Stay back — it's too dangerous inside. I'll handle this."

With that, Kai teleported directly onto the racetrack.

Just as Tony's car approached Ivan, the whip lashed out, striking his vehicle and sending both Tony and his car flying through the air.

Pepper gasped, but before she could panic, she saw Kai appear beneath Tony. With a quick levitation spell, Kai slowed Tony's fall and gently lowered both him and the damaged car to the ground.

Kai rushed forward and yanked Tony from the wrecked cockpit.

"Hey... what's going on?" Tony asked, dazed.

"Looks like one of your enemies decided to crash the party," Kai said calmly, gesturing toward Ivan.

Tony turned and saw Ivan striding toward them, gripping his glowing whips.

"I don't even know that guy!" Tony exclaimed.

"Doesn't matter," Kai said, shoving the Mark V briefcase into Tony's hands. "Suit up. I'll cover you."

Tony wasted no time. He dropped the briefcase to the ground, stepped on it, and the case unfolded, revealing his sleek silver-and-red armor. Tony slid his arms into the gauntlets, the armor assembling itself over his body.

The crowd erupted in cheers as Iron Man appeared.

"Let me handle this," Tony said. "Stay close, just in case."

Tony faced Ivan directly, raising his left hand to fire a repulsor blast — but Ivan's whip lashed out, striking Tony's arm and disrupting the shot.

Tony tried again with his other hand, only to be struck once more.

Finally, Tony managed to fire a repulsor blast, but Ivan deflected it with his whip. Ivan then coiled one whip around Tony's right arm and the other around his neck, using the momentum to slam Tony onto a nearby car.

Groaning, Tony staggered to his feet. Wrapping Ivan's whips around his own armor, Tony used the coils to pull himself closer. Step by step, he closed the distance, then delivered two solid punches followed by a swift shoulder throw, slamming Ivan to the ground.

Unlike Tony, Ivan lacked a full-body suit to protect him. The impact left him winded, unable to continue fighting.

Tony walked over, ripped the reactor core from Ivan's chest, and the glowing whips faded out.

Moments later, security arrived and restrained Ivan. As they dragged him away, Ivan spat blood toward Tony and sneered.

"You... you lose, Stark."

Tony crushed the damaged reactor in his hand.

"Looks like I've got a new problem to deal with," he muttered to Kai.

Meanwhile, Justin Hammer, watching from his hotel room, wore a smug expression.

Later, Tony visited Ivan in prison, curious about the source of his technology.

"It's impressive," Tony said as he examined Ivan's work. "A little slow, but with some fine-tuning... doubling the speed, channeling energy through ionized plasma... this could've been efficient. Honestly, not bad for a knockoff."

Ivan leaned forward.

"Your family... thieves and butchers. Like every other sinner, you want to rewrite your history and forget the lives your family destroyed."

"Thieves?" Tony scoffed. "Where'd you even get this design?"

"My father... Anton Vanko."

Tony frowned. "Never heard of him."

Ivan's expression darkened.

"You're alive because of my father."

"And you're in here because you tried to kill me... and failed."

With that, Tony left the prison. He, Kai, and the others returned to New York, but Tony knew this wasn't over yet.

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