Chapter 199: An Attack at the Monaco Grand Prix

Monte Carlo, Monaco.

[LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE MONACO GRAND PRIX STARTS SOON!]

Monte Carlo was packed with spectators waiting for the Formula One race to begin. Fans had gathered from all over the world, from ordinary racing enthusiasts to wealthy celebrities and business tycoons.

In the VIP Room

“Mr. Hammer, there have been plenty of rumors about your rivalry with Tony Stark. People say you hate him because you can’t compete with him. What’s your response?” a news reporter asked Hammer during an interview.

Hammer was about to answer when the reporter suddenly glanced at the screen behind the cameras. Her attention immediately shifted to it, and Hammer followed her gaze to see what had caught her attention.

On the screen, Tony Stark was climbing into a Formula One car, apparently intending to participate in the race himself. Seeing this, everyone in the VIP room also turned their attention to the screen.

“Sarah, did you know about this?” Pepper asked, looking at Tony on the screen.

“No, I had no idea,” Sarah replied.

“This is what he told me was something important,” Pepper muttered, already annoyed by Tony’s decision.

Soon, the race began. With Tony Stark participating, even more people tuned in to watch the event online, curious to see how the billionaire would perform behind the wheel.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly until a man among the track workers suddenly made his move.

Ivan, who had been planning his revenge, saw that the moment was right and entered the racetrack. He activated his homemade suit, and the heat from the machinery beneath his clothes quickly burned through his outer clothing, revealing the strange armor underneath. A pair of metal whips extended from his hands, their wires glowing with blue energy.

“What are the security guys doing?! A guy’s entered the track! Take him out now!” people from race management shouted.

Just as a Formula One car sped past him, Ivan swung his whip. The glowing weapon sliced straight through the vehicle, cutting it cleanly in half.

The car lost control at high speed and crashed, sending debris across the track. Screams erupted from the spectators as people rushed away from the circuit, while the race officials desperately tried to understand what was happening.

“Oh no!” Pepper exclaimed, immediately worrying about Tony.

Then she noticed Happy carrying the box containing the Iron Man suit and immediately understood what he was planning to do. Pepper and Happy rushed out of the VIP room and headed for their car, with Sarah quickly following them and climbing into the back seat.

Vroom!

Happy drove straight onto the racetrack, heading against the direction of the race as the situation continued to deteriorate. On the big screen, they could see that the mysterious attacker had targeted Tony’s car, with Tony desperately trying to survive.

“Drive faster!” Pepper shouted, panicking as she watched Tony struggle to escape.

On the other side of the track, Tony was running out of options. Ivan’s whips were tearing through everything in their path, and Tony could barely keep his car ahead of them.

Just as Ivan prepared another attack, Happy’s car came charging toward him and slammed him against the wall. Seeing the approaching vehicle, Tony abandoned his car and climbed over the safety barrier.

“Are you okay?” Happy shouted.

Seeing his people arrive, Tony felt relieved and stumbled toward them.

“Yeah! WERE YOU AIMING FOR HIM OR ME?!” Tony shouted, a little angry.

“I was trying to scare him.”

“I CAN’T TELL!” Tony shouted back.

“What is wrong with you?!” Pepper shouted at Tony, who barely had time to respond before she yelled, “GET IN THE CAR!”

Seeing no other choice, Tony headed for the car. However, the back seat was already full, so he opened the front door instead.

“Oh God, this is embarrassing. First vacation in two years,” Tony muttered to himself.

Just as he was about to get inside, Ivan’s whip sliced through the car door, sending it crashing to the ground.

“OH, COME ON!” Tony shouted, jumping back in surprise.

Happy reversed the car and slammed into Ivan again, pinning him against the wall. However, Ivan quickly recovered and attacked the car with his whip, striking its center. Luckily, the attack landed right between Pepper and Sarah.

“That was close!” Sarah exclaimed.

Pepper screamed as she realized how close they had come to being hit.

“Give it to me,” Tony said, asking for the Iron Man suit box.

But before they could pass the suit to him, Ivan attacked again. With the situation becoming more dangerous, Sarah got out of the car, pulled out the small gun she had been carrying, and fired at him.

This time, one of the bullets hit Ivan’s shoulder. However, it barely slowed him down. His armor absorbed most of the impact, and he turned toward Sarah, raising one of his glowing whips.

“Okay, that’s not good,” Sarah muttered.

She quickly moved aside as the whip struck the ground where she had been standing, leaving a mark on the asphalt. Sarah fired a few more shots, aiming for the gaps in his armor, but Ivan kept advancing. She couldn’t risk getting close enough for a better shot, and her bullets weren’t doing enough damage to stop him.

Seeing Ivan turn his attention toward Tony, who was still trying to get into his suit, Sarah realized she needed to distract him.

“Hey! Metal-face!” Sarah shouted, firing another shot at him. “Over here!”

Ivan turned toward her and swung his whip again. Sarah ducked behind the car just in time, the weapon slicing through part of its bodywork.

“Sarah!” Pepper shouted.

“I’m fine!” Sarah called back, though she wasn’t about to test how many more attacks she could dodge.

With Ivan focused on her, Tony finally had enough time to put on his Iron Man suit. As the armor began closing around him, he glanced in Sarah’s direction.

“Is carrying a gun part of the assistant secretary job now, or did I miss that memo?” he asked. “Because I don’t remember that being in Pepper’s job description.”

“Maybe you should read your employees’ résumés more carefully!” Sarah shot back, firing another round at Ivan.

Tony gave her a look as the armor locked into place. “Noted. Remind me never to give you a bad performance review.”

Sarah’s gun eventually ran out of bullets. Ivan immediately attacked again, but this time, Tony was ready. The two began fighting, with Ivan’s glowing whips clashing against Tony’s armor. Despite Tony’s attempts to fight back, the whips were powerful enough to tear through parts of his suit, forcing him back whenever he tried to close the distance.

Seeing the danger, Happy, Pepper, and Sarah retreated to safety.

Despite the damage to his suit, Tony eventually found an opening. He grabbed Ivan’s armor and tore the arc reactor from his chest.

The blue glow faded, and Ivan’s suit finally stopped working. Tony knocked him down with a punch, and just as Ivan tried to get back up, the police officers who had arrived at the scene rushed forward and restrained him. Even as they dragged him away, Ivan wore an arrogant expression, as if he hadn’t lost at all.

Tony looked down at the arc reactor in his hand, his expression turning serious before he crushed it.

News of the attack spread quickly. Footage of the mysterious man fighting Tony Stark appeared across television and the internet, and soon, people everywhere were asking the same questions. Who was he? Where had he obtained technology similar to Iron Man’s armor?

For those interested in Stark’s inventions, the incident was more than just an attack. It was proof that someone else might have found a way to replicate his technology, and many were eager to learn how.

Meanwhile, Tony had another problem to deal with. His assistant, Sarah Collins, had revealed that she was actually Sharon Carter, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Now, she stood beside a bald, one-eyed man who introduced himself as Nick Fury.

“You’re fired,” Tony said angrily.