"Rhodey, I have an idea. Do you want to be a hero?"
Iron Man shouted to Rhodey while fending off Ivan Vanko.
"I need an assistant. Raise your hand!"
As he spoke, Iron Man raised his right hand, fingers spread open, aiming his repulsor at Rhodey.
"That's your idea? Alright, let's do it!"
Rhodey didn't hesitate either. He raised his left hand and pointed his own repulsor at Iron Man.
"What are you guys doing?"
Captain America looked completely baffled.
Wasn't this the time to take down Ivan Vanko? Why did Iron Man and Rhodey look like they were about to blast each other?
"Are you planning to knock each other back to break free from Ivan Vanko's electric whips?"
Captain America guessed aloud.
That sounded a bit too crazy.
Even Nick Fury, though he didn't voice it, looked pretty puzzled at what the two were doing.
"What a genius idea! I really am a genius!"
Only Iron Man seemed to immediately understand the purpose behind what his future self was doing.
With a hint of smugness, he glanced at Captain America and Nick Fury, showing off:
"Open your eyes and watch closely!"
Since Iron Man made such a statement, both Nick Fury and Captain America became genuinely curious.
They turned their eyes toward the big screen.
To their surprise, Iron Man and Rhodey actually started firing their repulsors at each other.
But the expected scene of the two getting blasted away didn't happen. Instead, the energy from their repulsors met in mid-air…
And formed a terrifying energy vortex.
Ivan Vanko was unfortunately standing right in the center of that vortex.
Boom!
The vortex exploded violently, creating an unbelievably powerful blast.
Iron Man and Rhodey were thrown off immediately.
As for Ivan Vanko, who was right at ground zero—needless to say, he was on the brink of death.
The footage ended there.
Although the rest wasn't shown, Iron Man, Captain America, and the others knew—Ivan Vanko was definitely done for.
No one could survive such an overwhelming explosion, not even in a steel suit.
"This is what I meant earlier about the consequences of unauthorized experimentation with unconventional weapons!"
Captain America once again solemnly and righteously spoke to Iron Man and Nick Fury.
This time, they were lucky—Iron Man managed to stop Ivan Vanko in advance. But what about next time?
And the time after that?
Who could guarantee that Iron Man would be able to stop every time?
"As an old man, your thinking is still stuck in the past. You should really open your eyes and look at the world now."
Iron Man responded dismissively, not buying into Captain America's warnings.
"Let's get back on topic."
Nick Fury quickly steered the conversation back.
"Obviously, in the future, Ivan Vanko used Hammer Industries to plan that attack."
"Justin Hammer. What an idiot."
Iron Man mocked without hesitation.
The footage was clear: Ivan Vanko had pretended to help Justin Hammer with developing armored suits, which made Hammer proudly host the exhibition.
But what he didn't expect was that Vanko's real goal was to use those suits to kill Iron Man.
He got played like a total fool.
"Stark, what are you planning to do?"
Nick Fury glanced at Iron Man with his one eye and asked casually.
"This kind of thing? Not worth mentioning."
Iron Man looked completely unfazed.
"Now that I know it in advance, it's going to be simple."
If Ivan Vanko had stayed in the shadows plotting, he might have posed a threat to Iron Man.
But now that he was exposed, Vanko wasn't a big deal anymore.
After all, Vanko had the skills but no money. He had to rely on Hammer Industries just to build those suits.
Stopping all of this in advance? Way too easy for Iron Man.
He could even ignore Vanko and let him build his "super-sized armored suit." Still wouldn't be a problem.
Iron Man could simply develop countermeasures ahead of time.
All in all, it really wasn't something to worry about.
[Please answer the following question: Who revealed the true identity of the Winter Soldier?]
[A. Nick Fury]
[B. Captain America (Steve Rogers)]
[C. Iron Man (Tony Stark)]
[D. Phil Coulson]
[Friendly Reminder: Correct answers will earn the "Clairvoyance" skill.
Wrong answers will result in a random deduction of one attribute—this could include knowledge, experience, skills, possessions, etc.]
A new question appeared, temporarily interrupting the conversation and drawing everyone's attention.
Winter Soldier?
Both Nick Fury and Iron Man immediately perked up.
They had just encountered the Winter Soldier not long ago and had seen firsthand how dangerous he was.
They'd investigated him thoroughly afterward but didn't make much progress.
Now, was his identity about to be revealed?
"The Winter Soldier... who is he?"
Seeing the reactions of Iron Man and Nick Fury, Captain America could tell that they clearly knew something.
So he glanced at them and asked.
"He's an agent from some mysterious organization. Very dangerous."
Nick Fury's expression turned extremely serious as he replied to Captain America.
Captain America was quietly shocked.
He already knew that Nick Fury was a big shot with terrifying power and influence.
If someone like that called the Winter Soldier "dangerous," then this guy must be no joke.
"Cap, we suspect the Winter Soldier might be just like you—a super soldier."
Nick Fury added, making Captain America's expression change dramatically.
"Another super soldier? That's impossible!"
Captain America immediately shook his head and denied it.
"The serum injected into me was the last one! The doctor who made it was killed on the spot!"
"And didn't Stark also say your S.H.I.E.L.D. kept trying to replicate the serum? Did that ever succeed?"
"Cap, I didn't say the Winter Soldier used the same serum as you."
Nick Fury scratched his bald head.
"It might be a different type of enhancement drug altogether."
Captain America didn't argue further. Given everything, it was looking more and more likely.
But the fact that the Winter Soldier was also a super soldier like him?
That made him an extremely dangerous individual.
....