Chapter 67: Undercurrents.

Two days after the incident

Tony Stark got the Army's Distinguished Service Medal, while Colonel James Rhodes was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.

Senator Stern isn't the one presenting the ceremony. As he had shitted himself on TV, he is avoiding all media for now.

Ryan didn't get any, instead, he received some promises from a military-prone senator to support his effort to pass the bill to increase teachers' salaries. It's only a verbal promise, but it helps.

"I could use some forceful method, such as brainwashing and all, however, it will be bad for the future and the cause if I get caught," Ryan said.

He knows that Shield is monitoring him right now. After the battle, a team of agents is monitoring him from the opposite building. 

They tried using many surveillance equipments, but none could get through to Ryan's house. No sound, image, infrared scan, or else can be used. 

Every time a bug is placed, Ryan straight away calls George Stacy to the house and makes trouble for Shield.

The Hammer Industries stock price had been at the floor price because of the incident. Justin Hammer is now in prison for an act of treason against the country. With Vanko dead, the country needed a scapegoat.

Tony Stark is meeting Justin Hammer in prison. It's the prison under the  Department of Defense instead of Shield. He will be transferred to Shield prison later. 

"Just tell me where the reactor is, and I will make sure you get a private room in prison," Tony said.

Other than the 3 reactors Ryan found, there isn't any lead on the other 5. Tony is testing whether Hammer knows anything.

Justin Hammer slammed the prison cell separating him and Tony. "Just wait Stark, when I get out of here. I will make sure you pay!!"

Abandoned by his shareholders and his country, Justin had fallen into the abyss. Tony knows that he couldn't talk with the guy, so he goes back home. He connects to a call when he is riding a car instead of flying in his suit.

"Anything on your side?" He asks.

The voice on the other side of the call said.

"I have a lead from Silver Sable. The cargo had passed through a black market mercenary, Ulysses Klaw. However, it was already sold. The amount is unknown." Ryan said.

During the call, Ryan got new information from Yelena. She texted him about the possible location of an arc reactor.

"IRAN?!" Tony had a headache. That country is making progress, albeit slowly, in the robot battle suit department. With sufficient power sources, they will be making great strides in that.

Another person is also connected to the call. Colonel James Rhodes is hearing everything they discussed.

"I can handle the ones in Iran using the military name. It's also time for the Iron Patriot to make its official debut." He said confidently.

"I like the name War Machine more," Ryan mumbled.

Rhodes pointed out, "Me too, but the military thought it'll seem too threatening."

Shield is also searching for the arc reactor. Natasha got the information from Tony. She is now following a lead in Russia.

Speaking of Natasha, she went back to the headquarters. Her mission in assessing and evaluating Tony to become a member of the Avenger is already done.

"How can they approve of me and at the same time don't? It doesn't make sense. " Tony complained. He didn't tell them the confidential part about the Avenger. 

"Let me guess, they called you a textbook narcissist, self-destructive, not a team player, displayed compulsive behavior…" Ryan teased

Tony cuts in angrily, "Alright alright! I don't need to hear it a second time." 

Rhodes laughs out loud. "But they did make you a consultant right?" 

"Yes. And Ryan, they want to ask you to be a consultant too" Tony is now doing his job for Shield.

"No thank you. " Ryan hung up the call.

Tony remembers back when he met Fury before.

"Why couldn't I access the information of an ordinary doctor? Unless he is an agent too?" Tony is finding a helper in his fight.

He found it quite easily too. "Kai Vera. The Kingsman. Is he a royal guard? " he tried to pry the information from Fury but to no avail.

He is relentless in asking. "Is he an Avenger too?" 

To which Fury replied ambiguously, " One day maybe."

When Tony gets back, he enters a full investigation mode. 

"His clinic is always in the red. But he is a shareholder of mine. Good thinking to invest in me when the price is at the lowest. " He applauded Kai's resourcefulness.

"Also, he is Natasha's boyfriend right?" Pepper, who is beside him, asked. 

" Who knows what is going on with them." They are looking at a restaurant CCTV video, where Natasha and Kai shared a dessert.

…

"I found Ted Calloway whereabout. " Romanov said in the communication line with Shield. She rides a bike to a hidden location. She prefers to use a car, but after spending some time with a certain someone, she loves using the bike now.

Ted Calloway, one of Justin Hammer's subordinates. It is believed that he holds one of the arc reactors that was sold by Ivan Vanko. The guy has fled to Russia. 

Romanov had been so busy with work that she didn't even check Shield data on Kai. All she knows is that the media is calling him the Kingsman.

'He is a top combatant. He hides it really well that it irked me' She thought. But there is a smile on her face. 

In a hidden base in Russia, Ted Calloway, or rather the man who impersonated Ted Calloway to infiltrate the American military sector and get the data for new weapons, is holed up here.

He is working on something. Many metal and equipment are seen laying around. 

"With Vanko's techniques, I have succeeded." 

He takes out a bronze-looking suit of armor and connects the miniature arc reactor to it. 

Now, he has a working combat suit on his own. It can't fly, but it will give him enhanced combat strength. As the suit is newly created, it has no weapons yet. 

*Beep* He got an alarm that someone is infiltrating the base and taking out the mercenary that he paid. 

*Bang Bang Bang* Natasha is shooting the group of mercenaries. She leaves a pool of blood everywhere she goes.

"It doesn't matter now. My work is done here." The faceless man leaves quietly amongst the chaos. He will choose to steal rather than fight. 

'Stark has many other interesting items..right?' He thought happily in his head while blending into the shadows.

When Romanov reached his position, he was already gone.

Romanov tries to follow his trail, but it's too late. She contacted Shield to report.

"He is a highly professional espionage agent. Now, his threat will be elevated. We need you on this," Maria Hill said on the communication line. 

It seems that it will take some time before Natasha can meet Kai again. She is tasked to find the Spymaster trail. 

Outside the base, a girl with her hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a black-skintight combat suit is monitoring the battle inside the base. 

She is wearing an Oni half-mask that covers her eyes but leaves her mouth visible. She mumbles seeing Natasha's figure fighting the mercenaries. "Sister…"

Her silhouette then disappears from the rooftop, like she was never there. 

…

New York, Knight Industries.

Ryan is doing his job as usual despite the chaos. He stopped by the biotech department of the industry to pick up Gwen and go to lunch. 

He hears Gwen bickering with someone when he enters the research lab.

"Nope, cross genetic fusion will in turn make the person primal. It's better if we keep our gene sequence, but introduce another type of strengthening agent, like the super-soldier serum." The researcher debated.

"However, the strengthening isn't strong. If we introduce, for example, spider genes into a person, wouldn't they have the ability of a spider while being human?" Gwen retorted. 

Ryan chimes in, " Aren't you girls tired of doing this every single day? "

Betty Ross chided, "If she will admit that she is wrong."

Gwen said to Betty, "Back at you."

Ryan massages his head. The girls are best friends, but in research, no one wants to back down. 

It's only a theoretical debate though. It started after they found out that Oscorp is researching cross-species genetics.

He invited Betty to have lunch together. "Not this time. I promised to have lunch/dinner together with him."

Him being the runaway doctor. Ryan reconnects the two when he becomes Banner's patron. They speak with each other almost every day. 

"Tell Bruce I said 'Hi'. Also, he is in the plague-ridden area, right? I've already synthesized a vaccine. He can help me distribute it." Ryan reminded Betty.

She nods and walks away to go face time with her long-distance lover. While Banner's tragic lover is walking away, Ryan contemplates whether he did the right thing by reconnecting the couple. 

He then sees Betty's eager smile when she walks away. 'At least, for now, it is a good thing. Even Banner's 'episode' rarely happens recently.' He thought.

"What are you thinking about?" Gwen asks while she is getting ready.

"About Betty and Banner," Ryan said. Gwen already knows about the Hulk.

The next day comes. Ryan is checking the news at his house. 

"How the hell did Justin Hammer escape from prison?" He is puzzled. 

It seems the low-level villain had some card in his hand. Hammer escapes one day before Shield takes over in detaining him. 

He contacted Rhodes who is in Iran right now.

"What's up?" Rhodes is amidst a battle right now. He is storming a facility in Iran to recover the palladium arc reactor.

Ryan connected to a satellite view of the battle. "They did make a mech…" He sees Rhodes is fighting a 5-meter-tall metal robot. 

"It seems powerful, but it's not. " Rhodes mocked before he shot the mech's leg with his arm cannon. The robot limb is broken and it kneeled on one knee. 

"Of course, I will marry you!" Rhodes joked before he destroyed the mech's head and ripped off the arc reactor. "One done!" He said.

The robot driver is scared and frozen as he is stuck in the cockpit and the Iron Patriot is in front of him. 

Rhodey smacks the driver's cheek slightly. "Don't worry, it's a mission to extricate some item, not to kill you."

He flies away with the recovered item. "Iron Patriot debuts with success!" Rhodes said excitedly. 

"Congrats. I will send you a bottle of wine. By the way, Hammer is out of prison." Ryan cut the call. 

He didn't care what would happen. He had placed a tracker on Hammer's bloodstream. He can find the guy anytime he wants.

Hiddle comes into the penthouse. "Master Ryan, we have procured 70% of Hammer Industries. However, 30% more belong to the military. They wanted to meet you to discuss the company's previous contract with the military."

"Didn't they abandon all of it when Hammer is in prison to save their face? It seems our guess for them to renew the contract at a much lower price when a new owner takes over is true. " Ryan hypothesizes.

"Bet they didn't expect me to swallow the company, Hahaha" He couldn't hold his laugh. 

"Try to sell back the ownership to the military. See if they want it. I won't make weapons for them even if they meet me. Otherwise, the company will change directions~" 

He calm down from laughing and looked at Hiddle. "Of course, sell it for a premium. The backpay for the 3D printer will be paid for by the new owner. "

"If they don't want to, then the company will be mine. They can sell their shares to me." 

'Devious', that is what Hiddle thought. The old butler has a big smile on his face. "I know what to do." He walks away. He loves this kind of job the most.

Ryan can do this as Hammer Industries' price is dirt cheap right now. While he is playing, Justin Hammer got the news about what Ryan is doing to his company from an inside source. 

He slammed the metal table with his head. "Arghh!!!" He screams in frustration! He then laughs. "I may not be a genius, but I am not lacking in money. Just wait, I will make your life a living hell." 

His voice echoed inside the metal container he was in. "Dive underwater. " He ordered. His submarine crews obeyed and Justin is now lost at sea. 

He got a contact from someone called the Spymaster yesterday after he broke out of prison. He can make a deal with the guy. "TO RUSSIA!" He said to the crew.

All the while a spider drone is monitoring him.

…

In a research facility in North Korea.

(In North Korean Language) 

"Comrades, we have succeeded. " The researcher of the mecha factory declared. 

"The supreme leader is happy with your effort. Congratulations comrades!" A supervisor said to the researcher. 

They got 3 arc reactors from the underground market. The trail to get to them was cleaned up as all the witnesses are now dead.

Their happiness is short-lived as suddenly, the mecha that they are testing exploded, killing them all and turning the research building into debris. One of the arc reactors is destroyed in the process as it is attached to the mecha.

(In the Japanese language.) "Pathetic, I expected more", a blood-red suit of armor walks unscathed from the burning fire carrying a silver case containing the remaining reactor.

In the outer layer of the armor, the man donned samurai wear. He tied a headband with a Japanese flag on his helmet.

Some North Korean soldiers noticed the man and opened fire on him. However, the bullet bounced back when it hit the armor.

"(Japanese) The revenge on the American will be carried out by me. " The man said. 

He targeted the soldier who was 10 meters away and killed them using his miniature particle beam cannon that was shot from his hand. 

Yoshida Asano is a man born after the Hiroshima nuclear explosion. When his mother is pregnant, she got radiation from the bombing, causing Yoshida to be born a hideous freak.

Yoshida swore revenge on the Americans for their atrocities. He had used his genius to found his own company, the Asano Robotics. With it, he built a powerful armor of his own.

The surrounding becomes quiet as no one other than him is alive. He flies away from the location. He didn't even use the arc reactor technology on his armor, but his power source. The cryogenic flat batteries. 

"The sins of a father will be taken over by the child," Yoshida mutters. The father mentioned was involved in the Manhattan Project. Specifically, Howard Stark.

…

In New York.

"It looks like it's going to rain tonight," Gwen said while watching the sky from the glass door leading to the balcony. 

The dark cloud enveloped the entire city. The preliminary smell of rain teased the sense of smell of every New York resident.

Ryan hugged Gwen from behind. He wanted to relax. These few days have been crazy. 

Suddenly, ALBUS chimed in.

"Sir, unknown atmospheric phenomena are currently ongoing. It's in the town of New Mexico."

Ryan sighs. "Did something fall?"

"I don't know sir. There is insufficient data."

"Monitor the smartphones of the citizens there. If someone finds something, it is highly likely they will snap a photo of it."

"On it sir. Also, one of the researchers you invested in is there. Should I notify her to get to safety?"

"Well, knowing her. She surely will run towards it rather than back away. " Gwen chimes in.

Ryan nods. "Notifies me if she is in any trouble"

He doesn't want to interfere with the matters of a God. But he can help Jane Foster if needed. 

It will be a good thing to maintain a beneficial relationship with someone who will wield Mjollnir in the future.

"Okay, enough with the work. I want you to tell me the story of how you hacked into the drone and make them fight each other. " Gwen ordered.

"Again? Aren't you bored?" Ryan is helpless toward Gwen's glittering eyes. 

"I will never be bored. My man is a superhero. Better than Stark even. You destroyed 25 drones. Well, you and the Kingsman. Stark destroyed only 15!" She emphasized.

She saw Ryan's resistance. "If you tell me again I will listen to it while…" she moves to whisper in his ears. Then she bites it playfully.

His eyes widened hearing what she told him. "I have no choice. It started when …" He said excitedly. They moved the story to the bedroom. 

While he was telling the "story", he thought,' there is a nice perk from being a hero.' 

The next day, he wakes up in a messy bedroom. Their storytime last night lasted quite a while. 

"Gwen, wake up. You're late for work." Ryan said lovingly while kissing his girlfriend's cheek. She said, "I'm not going…too sore…"

Ryan goes to the kitchen to make some breakfast. At that time, Albus notifies Ryan about a hammer that falls in the desert in New Mexico.

"It's about time."

…

On the Island, the elf is gathering his helpers. 

"I won't be on earth for a few days. You can ask Ryan Knight for help if something happened. " He said.

"Where are you going ?" Annika asked.

"To a very dangerous place. It's not meant for humans to be there. " the elf replied.

"Yinsen, please help Obax. Annika, please help Yelena in finding the other arc reactor."

He says his goodbye and takes off in the spaceship. He heads out to the galaxy.

Author Note: I always wondered what is going on after Iron Man 2. I will include 2 Iron Man nemeses in the new arc. Spymaster and Samurai Steel. It will be my rendition of the supervillains. Enjoy!