"I am Iron Man."

The words had ever since shocked the world in the revelation that Tony Stark publicly announced he was a superhero, and the fearless Iron Man. Stark did not know that at that moment in time, his life would change forever. And it would change his son's life too.

Soon after his revelation, Tony was subject to court subpoenas and summons, ordered to testify if he should surrender the armor to the U.S. Army, or his compeititor, and often brainless and stupid C.E.O. of Hammer Industries, Justin Hammer, would provide his own machinery for them. However, Hammer's technology was very much flawed, and from video evidence, had caused some of their test pilots severe injuries.

Too bad Stephen Strange didn't take the chance to help them.

Across the world in Russia, listening to a broadcast of the announcement, a dying man pleaded for his son to join him. This man, Anton Vanko, laid on his deathbed, watching his legacy die in his eyes, and not to be known by anyone. His son, Ivan fed him his medicine, as the senior Vanko muttered, "Это должен быть ты там наверху."*

(That should be you up there.)

"Не слушай эту чушь."* Ivan assured his father, comforting the dying man. However, Vanko felt guilty he could never give his son the life he deserved, having lived the rest of his life in exile, and Ivan spent most of his life accompanying him. "Мне жаль. Все, что я могу дать вам, это мои знания."* Anton spoke in between coughs, and Ivan worried his father may be close to finding the pearly gates. But Ivan's thoughts were wrong.

(Don't listen to that crap. — I'm sorry. All I can give to you is my knowledge.)

His father had passed away in those last moments.

Ivan cradled his father's body, mourning his loss and began drinking his sorrows away with a nearby bottle. Tears drifted down his face, dripping off his bearded chin, and then, as a means of cursing this damn world, he roared loudly in the air, damning them all to hell.

In his father's makeshift lab, Ivan sifted through multiple blueprints of his creations, putting up one familiar design made by the one and only Stark Industries, an Arc Reactor. A project created by Howard Stark, and Anton Vanko. He began crafting his invention, something that would sure to be striking fear, and honoring his father's disgraced work.

Photos of Tony Stark served as Vanko's motivation, his new hatred being born from the scorns of Vanko & Stark. Molten steel was forged on an anvil, with clanks and hits being hit upon the metal. Hours of coding kept Vanko awake, as he wished for justice. And finally, Vanko had completed the first part of his mission.

Create a miniature Arc Reactor.

—------------------------------------------------

MALIBU, 2008. —- SIX MONTHS LATER.

Zach stayed busy in his father's workshop, refining his Iron Marvel suit to include more features as his father's suit for various purposes, such as protection, extra bits of technology, and software like Jarvis.

"Zachy, you've been up for too long now!" Amara whined from his computer, being on a video call with her little brother. "You need rest, and I do too. Little Jay's fast asleep, and I bet I will be soon." Zach wiped off his sweat from his forehead, also feeling the burn of sleep. "Yeah, you're right, Mimi," He said as he finally finished up his work, and came closer to Amara, who leaned in. "You finally finished it?" She asked hesitantly, knowing her brother was now committed to helping & protecting people.

"Yeah, the changes are complete, and I should be solid." Zach smiled and rubbed his eyes. "You should get some too, Mimi," He said, noting Amara's red eyes of tiredness. "Jay's been keeping you up?" Amara whistled, and chuckled. "Oh, most definitely." She calmly answered. "He wakes up at night sometimes and cries, so I have to soothe him back to sleep."

"Yeah, definitely rest up, sis," Zach responded. "Like, right now. I'll see you in the morning, and give Jay a kiss on the forehead from his uncle Zach, alright?" Amara smiled once again. "I will. I love you, little one." Amara blew a kiss from the other side, as her brother smiled, one of her favorite things in the world to see. "I love ya more, Mimi. Take care." Amara then ended the call, and Zach promptly began shutting down the workshop.

"Hey, kid," Zach heard from behind him, finding his father behind him, holding on to the ledge of the door. "You mind staying up for a little bit more?" Zach, with no hesitation, waved his hand for the lights to turn back on, and help Tony to his chair. Ever since Tony became Iron Man, his blood became more toxic from the palladium contained in the reactor, and slowly enough, it was killing him from the inside.

"So to get your mind off this," Zach began as he reached for a case of palladium plates. "How'd the Stark Expo go? Bet people are excited that it's coming back, and it's around for a whole year." Tony weakly smiled, unbuttoning his shirt to reveal his Arc Reactor. He reached in to grab the machine, which ejected a tarnished plate, which Zach carefully took and replaced with a fresh plate. "They are, no doubt, but that's not all that happened," Tony remarked while plugging the reactor back in. "I got served. Subpoena to come to a court hearing, see if they take away my suit."

Zach raised his eyes. "Really?" he asked. "I'd bet Hammer is gonna be there. That fucking idiot." Just as he spoke up, Jarvis came up with a video procured from Hammer Tech, depicting a pilot of one of their suits having twisted counter-clockwise and the pilot was shockingly still alive. "Dude can't come up with a single idea to counter Stark Industries." Zach turned to Tony, who just started. "But you're out of the weapons game, and he still is in it."

"Doesn't matter," Tony proclaimed as he drank some whiskey from a nearby decanter. "Hammer Tech isn't even close to Stark Industries' ingenuity." Zach eyed his father, for days, Tony was consuming more and more alcohol, as a means to counter the toxicity. "You're really going through a lot of that, Dad." Zach concerningly said, as Tony put down his glass. "I'm fine, kid, don't you worry," Tony replied, not thankfully not slurry. "I learned from you, not to be drinking so much."

"Yeah, well that is true," Zach went on and placed the decanter away. "But the difference is, I can drink that much and not get drunk, but you can't, Dad. It's basic, my metabolism just burns off like water, unless I drink too much. You can not only get drunk, but also addicted." Tony nodded, as Zach proved his point. "Promise me, you won't go at this like a demon in a bottle."

"I promise," Tony answered, making Zach smile slightly. "Then that's all," Zach claimed, and began to walk off to his room. "Night, Dad."

"Night, kiddo." Tony replied as he watched him leave, but not before sneaking another look at the decanter.

—----------------------------------

The court hearing... was an interesting place of conflict. In just minutes, Hammer was exposed with faulty technology in North Korea & Iran, when the court was supposed to be focused on the repercussions of Stark's suit, and Stark now being their nuclear deterrent as his suits actually worked.

Tony was already back to business, checking palladium levels, scolding DUM-IE, and drinking a vile substance he referred to as gobbledegook, one of the other ways to counteract the poisoning. In Jarvis' words, the device keeping him alive was also killing him.

"Miss Potts and your son are approaching. I recommend that you inform Miss Potts–" Jarvis was interrupted as Tony commanded him to mute, effectively silencing the A.I. as Pepper and Zach came in, Pepper was in more disarray of what Tony had just done after the court hearing.

"Is this a joke?" Pepper demanded as Zach walked to his station. "What are you thinking?" Tony drank another sip of his mystery liquid, as her tone became more angrier. "What are you thinking?" Tony rested his glass and looked back at her. "Hey, I'm thinking I'm busy... and you're angry about something.." He pointed at her. "Do you have the sniffles? I don't wanna get sick."

"Did you just donate–?"

"Keep your business."

"...our ENTIRE modern art collection to the..."

"Boy Scouts of America."

"Boy Scouts of America??"

"Yes, it's a worthwhile organization!" Tony argued while taking a piece of virtual paper, crumbling it up, and tossing it into a basketball hoop. "I didn't physically check the crates but, basically, yes. And it's not "our" collection, it's my collection. No offense, kid."

Pepper gasped as her son just shrugged, never really having a passion for the art. "No, you know what!? I think I'm actually entitles to say "our" collection considering the time that I put in, in tax years, curating that."

The two kept arguing, as Zach lost focus from their conversation with topics revolving around the Expo, Tony's ego, more art, with Tony becoming crazier. Zach was pulled back in the conversation however when Tony had said:

"Excellent idea!" Tony yelled. "I just figured this out. You and Zach... run the company."

"I'm sorry, what the fuck!?" Zach yelled from back in the lab. "You're trying to do what!?" Tony pointed back at him and looked at Pepper. "Kid, you and Pepper, are now C.E.Os of Stark Industries."

"Have you been drinking?" Pepper accused him, putting him on the spot. "Uh... Chlorophyll." Tony quickly made up. "I hereby – irrevocably– appoint you and Zach as chairman and C.E.Os of Stark Industries, effective immediately." The two just stared aimlessly at him, confused as they were now in powerful positions of a company.

"Yeah, done deal," Tony declared as he walked off, and a robit gave him a bottle and glasses on a tray. "I've actually given this a fair bit of thought, believe it or not –"

"You mean, like five minutes ago?" Zach asked sarcastically. "Or months ago, cause this is out of fuckin' nowhere."

"Doing a bit of headhunting, so to speak, trying to figure out who a worthy successor – or successors – would be. And then I realized. It's you two! It's always been you." Tony declared once more as he popped a champagne bottle, and poured three glasses, as the mother-and-son were still as confused as Tony's lunacy continued. "I thought there'd be a legal issue, but I'm capable of appointing my successor. That being you two." He handed them their glasses, Zach taking his, and Pepper not taking hers at all. "Congratulations?" Tony said to the two. "Take it, just take it."

"I don't know what to think..."

"Amara's getting a promotion."

"Don't think, Pep, drink. There ya go."

UPSTAIRS – BOXING ROOM.

"The notary's here!" Pepper announced to everyone in the room. "Can you come sign the transfer paperwork?" Tony was sparring with Happy in a one-on-one boxing match, while Zach was talking to Amara about her promotion. "I'm on happy time," Tony called back, while making a few more moves on Happy, the last being a direct hit on Happy's face.

"What the hell was that?!" A pissed Happy Hogan remarked at Tony's moves, not standard at all. "It's called mixed martial arts," Tony shot back at him. "It's been around for three weeks."

"It's called dirty boxing, there's nothing new about it!" Happy spat back at him.

"So, as per my promotion, what does that entitle?" Amara asked Zach with a notepad, ready to jolt down anything she thought. "Well, you get paid time off, don't worry," Zach mentioned. "You also have a flexible schedule, parental leave, insurance benefits... Basically, whatever you need, you got it. I'm not just your boss, I'm your brother, Mimi."

Amara smiled sweetly at her brother and pecked his cheek. "A very generous brother-boss," She took his hand in hers and whispered, "Congratulations on the big promotion, Zachy." She still kept her smile on her face. "I'm so proud of you."

Soon, the notary walked through the hall and into the room, grabbing everyone's attention as she walked in. She was a woman in her late 20s, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, and black dress pants, and had red hair, and as Zach's eyes laid on her, he couldn't stop looking at her. She was very, very attractive.

"I promise this is the only time I will ask you to sign over your company," Pepper assured the former CEO as the notary came over to her with the necessary paperwork. "I need you and your son to initial each box," The notary asked them, as the two men continued with their boxing match. Pepper initialized each box, and handed Zach's papers to him as she went to watch the match between them.

"So-so just initial each of these boxes?" Zach asked the notary, to which she nodded, and Zach quickly wrote his initials, "Z.D.-S." and handed them back to her, without trying to look anywhere he wasn't supposed to. "That's it, I'm done," Tony called out as he grabbed his liquid, then pointing to the notary. "What's your name, lady?"

"Rushman. Natalie Rushman," The notary responded as Zach wanted to bite his hand. Everything about this woman was so attractive to him. "Front and center," Tony called her into the ring. "Come into the Church." Pepper had already twist her neck quickly at Tony's proposal. "No, you're seriously not gonna ask..."

"If it pleases the court, which it does," Tony argued as Natalie agreed to it shockingly, as Pepper still had her protests. She put one leg through the ropes and slowly got stood up in front of Tony, who quickly chugged another prolonged sip of the mystery substance in front of her. "Can you uh— give her a lesson?"

"Actually!" Amara spoke up amid the madness, and had noticed how red Zach had become from seeing Natalie. "Happy, switch out with Zach?" She asked kindly of him, as both Happy and Tony were sweating, However, Zach had gone red, and turned to his sister, who just innocently smiled and teased him.

"I-uh-ummm..." Zach muttered under his breath, but was taken into the ring by Happy, who was glad to get out of more punching. "Damn you, Hogan," Zach snarled to him and turned to face Natalie, who still held a straight face, and immediately apologized for Amara's teasing, whilst Tony hung back with Pepper.

"Pepper. Who is she?" He asked her quickly. "She is from legal," Pepper handed him the papers for her to sign. "And she is potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit if you keep ogling her like that." Tony looked back at her in a "are you serious" manner. "If you ask me, it seems like the kid has a little crush." Tony pointed out. "Besides, I need a new assistant, boss."

"Yes, and I've got three excellent potential candidates," Pepper responded. "They're lined up and ready to meet you.--"

"I don't have time to meet," Tony shot back. "I need someone now, I feel like it's her."

"So, have you ever boxed before?" Zach asked Natalie nervously, as she had taken off her shoes. "I have, yes." Natalie smiled and eyed him carefully. "Oh, that's cool," Zach continued on, just as nervous. "An old friend – Edwin – he taught me some stuff like that before he passed. May he rest in peace."

"How do I spell your name, Natalie?" Tony asked out in the middle of nowhere, as she turned and replied, "R-U-S-H-M-A-N". "What, are you gonna Google her now?" Pepper sarcastically asked him, as he activated the holotable near him, and searched up her name. "I thought I was ogling her." Tony recalled as he found multiple files on her.

Multiple files on the same person, as Tony swiped through all of them. "Wow... very, very impressive individual..." Tony said as he then pulled up photos of her from the archives. "You're so predictable, you know that?" Pepper growled at him, which Tony ignored. "She's fluent in French, Italian, Russian, Latin, who speaks Latin?"

"No-one speaks Latin," Pepper argued again. "It's a dead language." Tony then pulled up one of her photos, and this one was sure to make anyone drop to the ground, seeing as it was Natalie in some clothes that no-one would wear to work. "You can read in Latin, or you can write in Latin," Pepper went on, as Tony kept looking. "Did you model in Tokyo? 'Cause she modeled in Tokyo," Tony pointed out to her, making her look at it, and look away.

Natalie looked back at the two, which had Zach ready to make a move. He took up his right fist and began to raise it to her, but with a turn of her head she grabbed it instantly, and dropped herself to the ground, taking Zach's head with her legs, and dropped him on the ground. Zach landed with a thud, as Natalie restrained his arm with hers, and her legs had trapped his head in between them.

"OH MY GOD, ZACH!" Pepper immediately got out of her chair as did Tony, who whispered, "That's what I'm talking about." Amara gasped in shock, not thinking her brother would have been pinned down that quick. "I'm o-okay..." Zach muttered, but laid his head back. "No, I'm not..."

Natalie let go, and quickly fixed up her shirt before exiting the ring, and quickly apologized to Zach before going to Stark, and the young one returned to his sister's aide, who was also apologizing. "I just thought it would be what they were doing!" Amara reasoned. "I didn't think that woman could actually pin you to the ground!"

"I-It's fine," Zach struggled for a second. "We're good, Mimi." Amara shrugged and patted his back. "I just thought you had a small crush on your dad's assistant."

"Just – I need your impression," Natalie asked of Stark, who began rattling off an actual impression. "I meant your fingerprint." Pepper walked back to the two, as Tony began placing his fingerprint on the documents. "So how are we doing here?"

"Great, just wrapping up here," Tony said as he finished up, and turned to her and Zach. "Hey, you're the bosses now." Natalie shut the folder close and turned to Stark. "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" She asked kindly.

"No/Yes," Tony and Pepper had both said at the same time, before Pepper took the wheels. "Yes, that will be all, Ms. Rushman." Pepper said to her as she showed her the way. "Thank you very much."

"I want one."

"No."

MONACO GRAND PRIX, 2008

At the Hotel De Paris, Tony had exited his vehicle, flashing a peace sign to all his supporters outside, while Pepper, Zach, & Happy, holding onto a red suitcase, had exited from the other side, keeping their eyes away from the supporters and quickly entering the building. However, Amara couldn't make it due to Jay needing his mother.

"You know, it's Europe," Tony advised Pepper and Zach. "Whatever happens in the next 20 minutes, just go with it." Pepper looked back at the former boss with peering eyes. "Go with it? Go with what?" The two were then greeted by Natalie, who had become Stark's assistant, and was still attracting Zach's attention in a light red dress. "Mr. Stark? Miss Potts, Mr. Danvers-Stark," She asked him politely. "How was your flight?"

"It was excellent," Tony remarked, reaching for a drink from a nearby waiter. "Boy, it's nice to see you," He nudged Zach's shoulder, with the young man still flustered. "Isn't it, Zach?"

"We have one photographer from the ACM, if you don't mind. Okay?" Natalie took back their drinks, and placed them back on the tray, bringing the photographer to them. "When did this happen?" Pepper asked behind smiling teeth. "What? You made me do it."

"I made you do what?" Pepper asked, more confused from the last couple of days. "You quit, Smile, look, right there," Stark advised behind his own smiling teeth. "Stop acting constipated, don't flare your nostrils." He turned to Zach, who just made a small smile. "Kid's doing great!"

Stark then went off with Natalie to discuss what was on his itinerary for the day, while Pepper and Zach followed behind her. From what he could hear, Zach could make out that Tony had a 9:30 dinner, but planned to be there at 11. They procured their table, via Natalie, as Pepper decided to greet Elon Musk, who was sitting at the table next to them. "

"Mr. Musk, how are you?" Pepper greeted the SpaceX and Tesla Mogol, who stood up and congratulated her. "Hi, Pepper!" Musk shook her hand. "Congratulations on the promotion." His eyes shifted to Zach, who just looked at Elon with a stare. "And you, Zach!" Musk had also shaken his hand with great promise. "You're making Tony and Howard so proud."

(a/n: yes, Elon Musk had a cameo in iron man 2...)

"Thank you, Elon," Zach couldn't help but be grateful, while Tony came back to greet Elon. "Elon, how's it going?" Tony shook hands with him too. "Those Merlin engines are fantastic!"

"Thank you, yeah. I've got an idea for an electric jet!"

"Maybe keep your focus small at the moment?" Zach suggested. "I'd bet Tesla would be pretty successful with more improvements to their engines with electric power." Musk laughed and patted his shoulder. "Tony! Your son's got your mind, of course!" Tony nodded in appreciation. "We'll make something work with that jet, though."

Tony & Pepper made their way to the bar, and Zach caught none other than Justin-fucking-Hammer nearby, scouting the area for them to come around. "What an idiot." Zach muttered to himself, as a nearby waiter came near him, offering a drink to him. "Oh, nothing to drink, thank you," He kindly responded to them. "Oh, on second thought, may I get a ginger ale?"

The waiter nodded and walked back to the bar to grab a ginger ale for him, as Zach turned around to witness the mass of people coming on. People of influence, other developers, photographers, Christine Everhart, Ella, businessmen...

"Wait, Ella?" Zach said to himself, and turned his head after grabbing his drink, seeing what looked like his ex-girlfriend, Ella Monroe in front of him. Could it really be her? After all this time? But what would she be doing in Monaco... unless...

Monaco was a place that he and Ella went to as a holiday vacation. At that time he hated Monaco, but he went because the place made her happy, and he actually had made a lot of precious memories there. But remembering them was simply pain he couldn't bear.

Zach decided to see for himself if it was really Ella, and walked forward to this mystery person. "Excuse me–" Zach asked and tapped her on the shoulder, as she had turned around for him to see she wasn't her, but was someone else who looked rather similar to her. "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else."

"Don't worry about it," The woman brushed off. "I hope you find who you're looking for."

Zach shyly walked away, but still lamented on how foolish he was to think he was actually her. She left him for fuck's sake, and he thought she would be at this lavish event? To watch cars race each other? If he really knew Ella, she would never have wanted to watch this, she would want to do sometime worthwhile. The waiter had just come back with his ale, and carefully handed it to him, but Zach's fingers twitched with power, and nearly burned the waiter midway through the handing off.

His fingers let the glass slip out from under, and dropped out, but before it hit the ground, he had tried to catch it, but the glass eluded his grasp, and shattered on the floor. But due to everyone's chitter-chatter, no-one paid any thought, but the waiter.

"I-I'm fine- fine, sir, truly," Zach stuttered. "Very sorry about the glass, you know what?" He reached into his pocket for his wallet, and with shaky hands, reached for a few bills, and urgently gave them to the waiter. "Keep the change." Zach shook with fear. "Where can I go to avoid – avoid all this?"

"Juste au coin, à votre gauche." The waiter spoke up, but midway through his talking, his speech had changed in Zach's head. As everyone else heard the waiter speak in French, Zach heard his words overlap in English. 

And he didn't know French. 

Still, he rushed off to the quietness, and tried to calm down, but he couldn't. His mind was killing him, and without a thought, he bent the railing with his mere strength, and within a nearby reflection, his eyes were cast blue.

"Mr. Danvers-Stark, I saw what happened, are you okay–" Natalie walked behind him, but stopped as she heard his breathing became erratic. "Sir? What's going on? Are you okay?" "Oh, shit..." Zach muttered, yet still panicked.

"I need to get out of here."

The breathing became harder, and Natalie quickly rushed him to another secluded part of the party, an empty hallway. Zach leaned against one of the walls, and dropped to his feet with his back to the wall. To him, oxygen was barely getting in him, and it felt too hard to breathe. He felt like he was going to die.

"Just try to think about something else!" Natalie rushed, trying to get him comfortable enough. "Anything else! Happy things! Good things!" She listed off the top of her head. "Friends! Family! Loved ones!"

"I - agh – I can't—" Zach wheezed. "Go away, I might hurt you!" He was almost out of breath and nearly about to faint, prompting Natalie to do something she didn't think she'd do. She grabbed his collar, and looked him in the eyes. "Zach, shhhhh." She spoke calmly to him, wiping off tears that Zach didn't know he shed. "It's okay, shhhhh."

And she slammed her lips right on his.

Zach nearly went into shock by this, but instead melted into it for the moments that it lasted in, and they separated, with his panic attack now washing away. "How did you – how did that–" Zach asked her, who just shrugged. "I read somewhere that something like this is a natural stress reliever, " She explained as she brushed her red hair behind her head. "And when I kissed you, you calmed down."

"Oh, um..." Zach muttered to himself. "Thank you– for the kiss..." he realized what he had said, and wanted to clear it up. "I mean, you helped stop me–" Natalie placed her finger on Zach's lips, shushing him again. "It's no problem, Mr. Danvers-Stark." She responded politely.

"Please, my savior should be able to call me Zach," Zach insisted. "I know I'm a C.E.O, but please call me Zach, at least when it's just us." Natalie smiled and helped him back to his feet, conjoining her arm with his. "Well then, Zach," She answered happily. "We should be going back, your father's table must be open now.

MEANWHILE...

After a pointless conversation with Justin Hammer, Tony exiled himself to the bathrooms to test himself again. He placed his finger on the pricker, unleashing a small needle to strike his skin and analyze his blood.

BLOOD TOXICITY: 53%

Tony waved his hand to shake off the sensation, but knew soon enough he'd be a dead man. The poisoning would eventually catch up to him, and he felt he hadn't lived his life to the fullest. Tony looked at the small circle of blood on his pointer finger, and placed it in his mouth, his saliva taking away the pain. 

He clutched himself on the edges of the bathroom countertop, and stared at himself in the mirror, dedicating what he'd wanted to do with his last months, weeks or days of his life. "Got any other bad ideas?" He asked his reflection. And boy, was this his craziest one yet.

An hour later, Stark had donned a racing suit with his last name embroidered on the front, and several civilians rushed to him, greeting his arrival into the Monaco Grand Prix. Pepper sat in silence at their table, until she heard Hammer's nasly voice from across the room, where Christine Everhart conducted his interview.

"Natalie. Natalie!" Pepper called the assistant, who had come back with her son, which had made Pepper suspicious where the two went off to, but she was more concerned why Tony was acting like a fucking loony. "What do you know about this?" Pepper asked her as her head pointed cautiously to the TV. "This is the first that I have known of it," Natalie urgently answered, also just as worried.

"What the fuck is Dad doing?" Zach muttered to himself once more. "Did the palladium poisoning go to his head or some shit?" He added in a whisper no one could hear.

"This – this cannot happen!" Pepper gasped as she saw Tony's name enter the leaderboards. "Absolutely, I understand," Natalie answered authoritatively. "How can I help you?" Pepper looked back at her. "Where's Happy?"

"He's waiting outside."

"Okay, get him, we need Happy."

"Tony's... you know, he... we're not competitive," Justin tried to explain to Christine, who was trying to leave this awkward setting and head to the bigger scoop. "You know what I mean?"

'Nothing's gonna happen, Hammer,' Zach thought to himself. 'This is just sad for him.'

MONACO GRAND PRIX

The race has just begun, and Tony was off to the races. However, someone else was there, ready to end Stark's life earlier than he thought. Yet Tony was not doing bad in the race, he was surprisingly good. He was passing other cars, and making his way to the finish. But the television camera had caught a man in an orange jumpsuit, and a toothpick in his mouth, walking onto the track, almost making people believe he had a death wish.

The man ditched his helmet, revealing his face to the masses, a man with a few visible tattoos and long curly black hair. He opened his jumpsuit, showing off a very similar contraption on his chest, an Arc Reactor of his own with a harness to him, unlike the Iron Man suit, this was more of an exosuit than an actual suit.

The man unleashed two rods from his sleeves, from which silver tendrils roped out, and burned the top half of his jumpsuit, bringing about the exosuit in its entirety, and the tendrils laced and cackled with electricity. As an approaching race car came closer, he whipped one of his lashes near the neck of the car, slicing it in half, and jerking in the air.

On this very day, Ivan Vanko would be forever remembered in history, not only as the man who nearly killed Tony Stark.

But as Whiplash.