The Seventh Avenger

Chapter 27: Parting Gift

If Rhodes was nervous about the sudden and unexpected appearance of Ivan in a suit now, then I didn't know how he was feeling when two thick whips of electricity emitted from the arms of his suit, the sound of electricity crackling in the air as this happens. 

I wasn't expecting him to act so calm however. The last thing that I expected was for Rhodes to step forward, his head turned so that the eye slots of his suit were focused on the still-smirking Russian in front of us, as he announces confidently, "I got something special for this guy. I'm gonna bust his bunker with the Ex-wife."

I feel my eyebrows furrow in both confusion and curiosity at his words, not quite a hundred percent sure about what it was that he was talking about. I keep my eyes on Ivan however, just in case he tried to get the jump on us, though I noticed Tony turning towards his friend out of the corner of my eye, and I didn't doubt for a second that he wore a questioning look on his face underneath the red and gold mask of his suit, that was directed towards Rhodes. "The what?" he asks, confusion lacing his voice, though Rhodes ignores him completely and instead raises up his left hand, pointing it directly towards Ivan who still hadn't bothered to move at this point. I conclude that whatever it was that Rhodes called the Ex-wife was most likely a weapon, and my answer was soon confirmed when a small missile that was no bigger than a pen, ejects from the arm piece of his suit, before firing straight forward and past me, heading straight towards a still smiling Ivan...only to bounce harmlessly off his suit before falling to the ground with a small 'thump.'

I feel my face fall as I watch the weapon clatter harmlessly to the ground, and I hear Tony say to Rhodes, "Hammer tech?" His tone of voice suggesting to me that he wasn't very impressed. 

"Yeah," Rhodes replies in a defeated tone, and it takes every ounce of my willpower to suppress an eye roll as my eyes fall on the failed piece of tech on the ground. Honestly, I'm no longer surprised that the weapon failed if it was one of Justin Hammer's creations. 

Suddenly Ivan flings his hand forward towards the three of us, causing me to jump in surprise at the sight of the thick whip of electricity flying through the air towards us. Rhodes and Tony, who had been flanking my either side manage to react and jump to the side just in time to avoid getting hit full force by the whip, while I'm not as lucky. Caught up in my own shock, I remain frozen where I am like an idiot, allowing Ivan to easily wrap the whip of electricity around my neck, a small laugh of delight escaping his lips at the sight. 

My hands claw desperately at the whip at my throat, but not because of the electricity: thanks to my powers, the electricity had no effect on me whatsoever. But I still needed oxygen to breathe, and the whip was wound really, really tight around my neck, preventing me from getting enough air to pass through my throat. I gasp and choke as my lungs burn, desperately needing air as I continue to try and wrench the thick extensions of electricity away from my throat, but to no luck. There was no chance of me loosening the whip from around my neck this way, so I was going to have to find another way. And fast. 

My solution to this comes soon enough in the form of Rhodes shooting at Ivan from the side from the large gun that was built into the back of his suit. The bullets hit and bounce off Ivan's suit, not quite hitting his exposed face, though some get close enough to cause him to slam the mask of his suit back down, not wanting to risk the chance of getting shot in the face. He turns his attention from me to Rhodes, swinging his free arm back as he does so. The whip goes flying back with his arm, though he soon sends it back forward, so hard and so fast, that it cuts a surprised Rhodes' gun in half, ceasing the firing of his now broken gun.

However, this whole debacle creates a diversion from Ivan, causing the whip to slightly loosen around my neck, allowing me to suck in deep breaths of oxygen that my lungs need, much to my delight. Though it's still wrapped around my neck, I take Ivan's momentary distraction as a chance to attack, and with a click of my fingers, I conjure up a fireball in one of my hands. Before Ivan has the chance to turn around and see what I'm doing, I fling the fireball forward, watching as it hits the Russian's suit, where it does little to no harm. I frown at this, though before I have time to think of anything else that I may be able to do to slow Ivan down, he turns back around so that he was facing me. He suddenly swings his arm that had the whip fastened around my neck through the air, the whip taking me along with it. He swings me high up into the air, myself to shocked to react, before he then brings his arm down hard and fast towards the ground, my body following suit and slamming hard into the ground on my back. The wind is knocked out from me, and all I can do is lay on the ground gasping for air that my lungs desperately need, not noticing how the the whip had unfastened from around my neck in the process. I attempt to push myself off the ground, though my muscles scream in protest as pain radiates through them from where I hit the ground. I manage to pull myself up into a seating position however, just in time to see Tony fly straight towards Ivan, only to be knocked to the side with one of the Russian's whips.