Susan stayed among the crowd and used forcefields to protect the public. She planned with the police about where to station units and that if they were going to shoot at the drones, aim for the necks. It was the only part of them that wasn't completely covered by military armour. One of the officers was able to shut down one of the drones by doing this, so it was all they had.

'Miss Storm! Everyone's clear from here. There are still civilians near the globe. We could use your help down there,' the chief of police said. Sue turned and made one last sweep of the area to ensure no one was hiding or left behind. A few deactivated drones littered the Expo, some in literal pieces from Sue's new found ability.

'Alright. I'll see where Tony is,' Sue said, and the chief nodded. He ordered his units to head for the globe that sat in the middle of the Expo.

She hadn't heard from Tony yet but she assumed he was busy destroying drones like her. The move she did when the young family needed saving was something she found to be extremely effective. If she focused on the placement, she could expand forcefields to nearly ten feet in diameter. With more training, she could expand them even larger. Drones exploded left and right and she willed barriers to appear around civilians and herself.

Despite all the progress, Sue couldn't help but feel fatigued. Using her abilities took more of her energy than she thought. Her arms felt heavy and a migraine pounded in her head. She would need to remember that using her abilities was just like using any other part of her. The bigger the forcefield, the more power it took out of her.

Sue raised her hand to her earpiece to speak to Tony and tapped it lightly.

'Tony? Are you okay?'

'I'm working on the answer to that question,' his voice brought Sue great relief. 'I'm heading to the biodome. Rhodey's hot on my tail. Are you okay?'

'Yeah, I'm-'

Sue was cut off by a large mechanical bang that shook the ground beneath her. Whipping her gaze up, she froze in her place and let go of her earpiece.

'Sue? Sue, what happened?' Tony was heard in her ear, but she couldn't find her voice to reply.

'The Invisible Woman,' Ivan Vanko smirked. 'I'm sure Tony will have wished you stayed invisible.'

Sue swallowed dryly. Ivan was in a metal suit that was even bigger than the drones he made for Justin Hammer. The shoulders were bulbous as sparks of electricity ran through them from the arc reactor in his chest. Armour that was at least five inches thick in every aspect gave Ivan the height and width of a tank. His signature electric whips slinked out and spat onto the floor with the sparks and shutters of power. The suit didn't have a helmet, letting Sue see the black and white hair and scarred face that had haunted her for weeks.

Ivan shone his gold teeth before he reared back his large arm, lifting his right whip. Sue threw her hands up and produced the blue sheen that Ivan's whip collided with. The current tried to flourish but was diminished from the barrier, leaving Sue unharmed. But Ivan didn't falter and brought down his left whip. Sue flinched as she could see the electricity strike above her.

Seeing that he wasn't getting through Sue's barriers, Ivan powered the arc reactor in his chest and sent it through to the cords in his hands. Bringing a step forward, he threw his whips down together and slammed them into Sue's forcefield. The force was enough for her to lose her strength and she fell back against the pavement. Gritting her teeth, she felt something warm trickle down her lip and drip onto her chin.

'If you can make God bleed...' Ivan's thick accent slinked through the air. 'People will cease to believe in him. I said these words to Tony. They apply to you too.'

Ivan let out a chuckle and took large, heavy steps towards Sue. The woman felt weaker than ever and struggled to lift herself off the floor. She lifted her hand to her face and whipped under her nose, smearing the blood that Ivan relished in seeing. Sue looked up just in time to roll out of the way as his whip flew down with the intent to split her in half. It slammed down in the place where she once was, and the tip clipped Sue's side.

Letting out a cry of pain, Sue arched her back and flew her hand to where she was hit. A large burn cut through the red suit and her skin was exposed to the cold, night air. Blood lined the rawness of her inside and the searing pain nearly immobilised her.

Sue's flight instincts kicked in and she used the last of the strength she had to turn invisible. Ivan froze as he lost sight of her and looked around, hoping to hear at least footsteps. The night was quiet and he cursed in Russian, giving up on the sidekick. He activated his flight jets and flew into the night in search of Tony at the biodome.

Sue waited a moment before collapsing behind a trashcan and letting out a loud sigh. She let her muscles relax completely and her form reappeared in the night. She put her hand to her forehead and stretched out her legs, leaning her entire weight on the bin behind her. Her nose dripped with crimson and the burn sent shots of pain through her body. It was like she had been hit by a bus. Or even a tank with whips.

'Sue, your heartbeat's slow and your temperature's red hot. Come on, speak to me, please!' Tony cried desperately and Sue resisted the urge to groan at the ache in her ear.

'I-I'm fine,' she said through a huff. 'Ivan's heading your way. I'd prepare, if I were you.'

'Are you okay? Did you... did you fight him?!'

'Fight is a strong word-'

'My god, Sue! You really took on Putin?!'

Sue laughed but winced at the pain it brought. She needed at least a few minutes before she could stand and walk. She hoped no drones would come back, but she thought that it was unlikely since the night was eerily quiet.

'Natasha disarmed all the drones,' Tony's voice came again. 'Are you okay? Do you need me to get Pepper?'

'I'll be fine...' Sue said and a thought popped into her head. 'Hey, Tony?'

'Yeah?'

'I wanted to ask about... about at your birthday...' she started. She wasn't sure why she was choosing now to bring up the topic. Maybe it was the near-death experience.

'Do you not remember anything? At all?'

A silence followed and Sue waited. She hoped she hadn't scared him. He was Tony Stark; billionaire playboy who wooed women and was infamous for his sex. Anything he said while drunk was probably what he said to every woman. But Sue had to find out for her own peace of mind.

'Tony?' she said into the earpiece. It was silent and Sue hoped that his helmet hadn't been disabled in communication by beheading.

Letting out a sigh, Sue gave in to her falling eyelids and rested her head back. The sleep was almost immediate, and she was unaware of Tony's voice screaming down the earpiece for her as the drones around her beeped a bright red.

'All these drones are rigged to blow. We've gotta get out of here!'

James and Tony took flight out of the biodome and left Ivan Vanko to cackle with his last breath. JARVIS highlighted Sue's vitals on Tony's screen and he noticed that her heartrate was slow and temperature was slightly colder than usual.

'JARVIS, where's Sue?! What's her condition?!' he said as he flew threw New York at full speed. She wasn't answering through the earpiece and he was sure that she wouldn't be far from a drone that was seconds from exploding. They were all over the city and if Sue was hurt and couldn't move, he had to make sure she wasn't caught in one of the many explosions.

'I'm sending her location to you now, sir,' JARVIS showed the blue dot on the map. 'She only has minor injuries from what I can see. But I'm under the suspicion she may be unconscious.'

'Rhodey!' Tony connected a call to his friend's suit. 'Get Pepper. JARVIS will show you wear she is. Make sure she's not on the ground! Take her somewhere high!'

'I'm on it,' his friend replied.

Tony flew through the Expo and let JARVIS handle the scan of the area below him. Red flashes were everywhere and were getting more persistent, giving him somewhere between five and ten seconds before the firework show began. He panicked as the blue square that jumped across his screen to look for her wasn't stopping. It scanned and scanned, hoping to centre on the red suit he had worked so hard on to keep her safe.

He let out a cry of relief when the square stopped, and he dived towards the ground. Sue's slumped body sat a mere three metres from a drone, its explosion ready to erupt. Tony barely let his feet touch the ground before he scooped Sue up and blasted back into the air, the boost from the eruption of fire and debris assisting the take-off.

Sue woke to the sounds of booms and illuminations of fire. She cracked her eyes open and saw she was above the city and in the arms of Tony's suit. Her head swam and her hair whipped behind her at the aggressive wind. She forced herself to look up at Tony's helmet and mask, knowing that he was under there and alive.

'Oh my god,' Pepper's voice came into earshot as Tony reached a rooftop. The redhead rushed to the two and ran her eyes over Sue to make sure she wasn't hurt.

Tony hurriedly put Sue down on the ground before reaching up and ripping his helmet off of his head. The amount of power he used in the fight with the drones and Ivan was powering everything to its limit. Sparks and wires sprung out from the helmet, and he let out a grunt as he was able to get it off and throw it to the ground.

Sue was able to prop herself up and support her upper half with her hands behind her. James had his mask up off his face and Pepper stood to the side. Tony walked up and stood in his suit with the helmet discarded.