32

Tony knew that this situation was only temporary, but he had managed to buy himself some time to search for his suit. He hurriedly rushed outside of the store and, after making a circle, approached the store entrance where he saw Pepper wrapping her jacket around Happy's torn arm, attempting to stop the bleeding. Tony realized that he didn't have much time left, so he immediately began searching for the suitcase on the road.

He spotted the battered suitcase a few feet away, partially hidden under a pile of debris from the earlier fight. Tony sprinted towards it, praying that his suit was still intact. As he reached the suitcase, he frantically pushed away the rubble, revealing the familiar glowing arc reactor symbol.

Relief flooded over him as he quickly unlocked the suitcase and threw it open. The sleek silver and red armor unfolded before his eyes, and Tony wasted no time in suiting up. He slipped his limbs into the various sections of the suit, feeling the familiar surge of power as it locked into place.

Once fully suited up, Tony's HUD came to life, displaying a scan of his surroundings and the energy levels of Vanko's suit. Tony could see that Vanko was recovering from the effects of the magnetic interference and would soon be back to full strength.

Just as he had that thought, he saw Vanko storming out of the store in his direction.

Tony wasted no time and activated the repulsors on his boots, lifting himself off the ground and soaring into the air. He flew towards Vanko, his armor cutting through the sky with incredible speed. Tony's mind was focused, his calculations and tactical analysis running at full capacity.

As he closed in on Vanko, Tony assessed the situation. Vanko's suit was formidable, with its own set of advanced weapons and capabilities. Tony knew he had to approach this fight strategically if he wanted to come out on top.

He swiftly analyzed Vanko's suit energy levels once again, calculating the best way to disable it. Tony knew he had to target the suit's power source and overload it, but he needed to distract Vanko first.

Tony unleashed a barrage of repulsor blasts, maneuvering with quick and precise movements to avoid Vanko's retaliatory attacks. His HUD provided real-time information on Vanko's movements, allowing him to react swiftly and with precision.

Tony utilized the full range of his suit's capabilities, firing missiles, deploying wrist-mounted lasers, and using his enhanced strength to keep Vanko on his toes. The battles raged on, each move carefully calculated, each strike deliberate.

Vanko proved to be a formidable opponent, his suit holding its ground against Iron Man's relentless assault. Vanko had long range attack due to his electric whips, due to which Tony had to dodge them and remain at the same distance while firing his own repulsors at him.

Tony knew that one wrong move could cost him the battle, so he continued to analyze Vanko's attacks and adjust his strategy accordingly. He knew he had to stay one step ahead if he wanted to defeat his opponent.

As the battle progressed, Tony noticed a pattern in Vanko's movements. He used this to his advantage, timing his attacks to catch Vanko off guard. He would feint to one side, luring Vanko into a vulnerable position, and then strike with precise and powerful blows.

But Vanko was not one to be underestimated. He countered Tony's attacks with lightning-quick reflexes, using his whips to deflect some of the repulsor blasts. Each clash of their weapons sent sparks flying and reverberated with the force of their power.

Tony knew he had to end the fight quickly before Vanko could come up with an effective response. He initiated a series of high-intensity beam attacks, aiming to disable Vanko's suit's systems. With each powerful blast, he weakened Vanko's defenses, causing his suit to malfunction and leaving him vulnerable.

Finally, Tony saw his opportunity. With one last, well-aimed blast, he sent Vanko crashing to the ground, his suit rendered inoperable.

Ivan Vanko's electric whips started losing their power slowly as the power source of the suit had been damaged by Tony. Ivan knew that had lost the endeavour, as Tony had thoroughly defeated him. However he definitely wouldn't go down without doing anything.

He quickly glanced at Tony's companions, Happy and Pepper, down the road. He got up and rushed in their direction, his eyes crazed. The electric whip in his hand started to die out as it lashed towards the two people.

"Tony, you took everything from me, now I will do the same to you!" Ivan screamed, trying to swing his weakened whip at Happy and Pepper.

Tony was surprised by Ivanko's sudden movements and, as he was about to intercept the attack, he detected a projectile being thrown at great speed in Ivanko's direction. Its speed was so fast that Tony barely had time to observe its trajectory before it pierced through Ivanko's abdomen.

The projectile was a long spear-like weapon, and Tony was familiar with it. As Ivan howled in pain and fell to the ground, Tony turned to see where the projectile had come from. He saw John standing a few feet away, his hand stretched out in a position as if he had thrown something.

"Sorry for being late," John apologized as he rushed towards Tony. He had done his best to reach the location of the fight after Pepper informed him. He had run all the way here as taking a car would only delay him, with all the traffic and signals on the road.

"Thanks for the assist," Tony panted and sighed with relief as he walked towards Happy and Pepper, completely ignoring the heavily injured Ivan.

He kneeled beside the unconscious Happy and began inspecting his wound. His face grimaced at the sight of the severe injury. "We need to get him to a hospital right away," Tony said, his voice filled with concern.

Pepper nodded, tears streaming down her face. "I already called for an ambulance, they will be here any minute.

At the same time, ambulances rushed towards their location.

The paramedics quickly took over, attending to Happy and assessing the severity of his injuries.

Tony stood up, his mind racing with thoughts of what had just occurred. He looked around, the debris and destruction from the battle still lingering in the air.

John approached Tony with a concerned look on his face and asked, "Are you alright, Tony?" His voice was filled with genuine worry.

Tony nodded, taking a deep breath to compose himself, and replied, "I'm fine, John. Thanks."

John nodded, a hint of relief reflecting in his eyes. "No problem, Tony. I'm just glad I could be of help."

Pepper walked over to them, her eyes red and puffy from crying. She looked at Tony, her voice trembling, "I can't believe this happened, Tony. Happy...he's been with us for so long."

Tony placed a hand on her shoulder, offering what little comfort he could. "I know, Pepper. We'll make sure Happy gets the best care."

Just then, the paramedics finished stabilizing Happy and prepared to move him onto a stretcher. Tony and Pepper followed closely, their hearts heavy with worry.

As Happy was loaded into the ambulance, Tony turned to Pepper, "Stay strong, Pepper. We'll get through this. Happy will be alright."

Pepper nodded, mustering a small smile as she wiped away her tears. "I know he will, Tony. Thank you."

With that, the ambulance doors closed, and the vehicle sped away toward the hospital.

"Let's get you to the hospital too," John spoke as he sensed through Observation Haki that Tony was also injured but was only holding himself with the help of his suit.

"In a minute," Tony said and turned toward Ivan, who seemed to be at his last breath.

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