Athena gabbed Pepper by the arm, hoisting her out from her seat and followed after the red haired spy as the said spy made contact with Happy. Athena didn't know what was going through Tony's head, she didn't even know if he was capable of driving such a car. As they walked briskly through the hotel, Athena brought up the race on her phone. Just from the noise she could hear from outside, she knew that the race had started and the coverage on the phone only confirmed it. From what she could gather, it seemed that Tony wasn't doing so bad and that he actually was quite efficient at the sport.
Athena paused at a window, watching as the various racing cars zoomed past. Pepper had taken the phone from her and was watching it with a great deal of concern etched on her face while Athena tapped the wooden window sill with her finger, nervously. All seemed to be going okay as the two girls waited for Happy and Natasha to return to them, until a figure stepped onto the racing track.
Athena narrowed her eyes at the figure before tapping an option on the phone to enlarge the coverage in an holographic picture. The figure was clad in an orange jumpsuit and had ditched his helmet to reveal his long greasy and matted brown hair. He walked through the middle of the track, ignoring the incoming cars with a look of sinister determination as he opened the chest of the jumpsuit. Underneath the jumpsuit was a contraption that held an object that looked eerily similar to the arc reactor inside Tony's chest, Athena observed as she further zoomed up on it with the advance technology she owned thanks to Tony.
As the man dropped his hands away from the jumpsuit, two whips fell into his hands which were quickly illuminated by the energy of the mock arc reactor. Athena noted that the whips were powered by the mock reactor on the chest of the man, obviously inspiration from the Iron Man suit that Tony so proudly wore.
The top part of the jumpsuit burned away thanks to the energy that was powering the whips. The whips cackled and sparked as the man walked, eyeing the car that was currently making its way around the bend. With nearly no effort on the whips part, the man severed the incoming car with nothing more than a flick of the arm. Stepping to the side to avoid the severed and out of control car, the man admired the way it flipped through the air before it messily hit the ground.
Pepper gasped in horror, while Athena couldn't help but feel annoyed that, of course, the one race that Tony decided to spontaneously enter, was the one with a deranged lunatic crashing it. Athena looked away from the coverage and spotted Happy down the hallway, holding the Iron Man suit in the shape of a brief case. Athena grabbed Pepper's arm again and dragged her down the hallway towards Happy, who then lead them to the car that was parked outside.
Happy ran to the driver's side and hopped in as the women jumped into the back, Athena demanding that he go quick. Without much warning, Happy took off. Pepper and Athena slamming back into the seats because of the speed that Happy was driving at. Athena's eyes widened as she saw the barrier in front of them, realizing that Happy planned on driving through it.
"Hang on." Happy warned before crashing through the yellow barrier and onto the track. Pepper clutched onto Athena, a small scream escaping her lips as Athena cursed in Greek at Happy. The car screeched loudly against the road as Happy tried to gain control of the car again, now that they were on the track were cars were racing at humongous speeds. Not to mention they were heading in the opposite direction to those cars.
Each time a car went by them, Athena's life flashed before her. Shaking her head, Pepper clambered into the middle seat and leaned forward between the two front seats. "Give me the case."
"Here, take it." Happy said as he handed it backwards while avoiding the incoming cars like a pro.
"Where's the key?" Athena asked, her voicing rising higher with every car that they just about manage to avoid. Having fought in so many battles, this was the only one that put her on such an edge. Perhaps it was just the racing cars.
"It's in my pocket." Happy realized, reaching into the pocket of his trousers.
"Car!" Athena shrieked, gasping as they just about missed the yellow racing car. As they went around a corner, a frightening scene was in front of them. Blackish grey smoke hovered in the air as broken parts of various different cars laid scattered about. The man with the whips stood in front of a flaming car and Athena could only assume and hope that Tony was behind the flames and not in the flaming car, dying. As they neared, they spotted Tony in his blue racing gear, waiting for the man's next move. Happy beeped the car horn, alerting Tony of his next move. Thinking quick, Tony ran and jumped onto the fence as Happy ruthlessly slammed the man into the fence with the car.
Athena let out a deep breath as the man slumped unconsciously onto the hood of the car. Athena clambered out of the car as Tony jumped off the fence, asking them if they were okay. Athena slammed into Tony, knocking him a few steps back, wrapping him into a tight hug. Tony returned the hug, surprised about it but welcomed it nonetheless. His body ached from the tight embrace but he didn't want to end it. He let out a pained breath and leaned his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes in peace.
Hearing the pained breath, Athena felt concerned. "Are you okay? Should we get the paramedics?"
Tony lifted his head and decided to brave it. "Just a little stiff. Don't worry about it."
Athena eyed him, skeptically before leaning in closer and placing a small kiss on the corner of his mouth. "If you say so."
Stunned by the action, Tony stared for a moment then smirked at her. "You missed."
"I did not miss." Athena scoffed, licking her lips.
"Are you two done flirting yet?" Happy shouted out, ruining the moment.
Tony snapped his head to look at Happy, a look of displeasure on his face as he spotted the unconscious body. He then eyed Happy, suspiciously. "Were you heading from me or him?"
"I was trying to scare him." Happy said, justifying his actions.
"'Cause I can't tell!" Tony yelled, stomping towards the window beside Happy, leaving Athena to roll her eyes at him.
"Are you out of your mind?" Pepper shrieked at him from the back seat out the window, nearly hysterical. Her voice was so high-pitched that Athena was actually concerned.
"Better security." Tony yelled back, switching windows so that he could yell at her.
"Get in the car right now!" Pepper shrieked, just as high as her last shriek. Athena moved towards the car as Tony fought back at her.
"I was attacked! We need better security!" Tony argued as he yelled. Athena grabbed him by the arm and dragged him around the car, so that he could get in.
"Get in the car." Athena ordered, not taking no for an answer.
"You're CEO. Better security measures. God, it's embarrassing." Tony shouted at Pepper as he limped. Athena slapped his shoulder for his words before opening the door so they can get in.
"First vacation in two years." She mumbled to herself before letting out a frightened scream as the car door suddenly splits in half.
From the corner of her eye, she spotted the sparking whip heading her way again. She shut her eyes and held the broken car door in front of her, using it as a shield. She quickly ditched the car door once the whip hit against it, eyeing the now conscious man who was getting ready flick his arm again. Athena didn't think twice before throwing herself at Tony, successfully rolling both of them away from the harmful whip that was aiming to kill them.
Athena rolled back onto her feet, nearly immediately and quickly accessed the situation that she was in. The man had now turned his attention to the car that Happy and Pepper were situated in. Looking down at her heel clad feet, she mumbled to herself before kicking them off. "These have to go."
Picking up one of the heeled shoes, she fiddled with it before, with scary accuracy and strength, she threw the shoe. Tony watched the shoe fly through the air with an alarming amount of speed and then hit the man's hand. Only it didn't just hit the man's hand, it went through it. Tony glanced at Athena, who was unfazed by her actions and was holding the other shoe in her hand, ready to repeat the action.
The man let out a pained shout, dropping the whip that was in the injured hand. Pepper and Happy gaped at the shoe that was protruding from the hand. Athena licked her lips, triumphantly.
"Oh my God!" Pepper gasped as Happy reversed the car a bit and then ran it back into the man, who was pulling the shoe from his hand.
"I got him!" Happy shouted, as Pepper continued to scream from the backseat.
"Hit him again. Hit him again." Tony demanded, racing over to the car door that was split in half, trying to keep it fully open as he pointed in. "Football."
Tony's eyes widened in surprise as the car moved forward again, losing the grip he had on the car door. Tony followed the car forward, trying to get another grip on the door as Happy yelled another; "I got him."
"Take the case! Take it!" Pepper begged, trying to give him the case as the car moved forwards and backwards.
"Give him the case!" Athena yelled as she threw the other shoe, this time the shoe was destroyed by the whip before it can hit the man, to her annoyance.
"Stop banging the car!" Pepper roared at Happy, just as the airbag exploded from the steering wheel and hit Happy in the face. The man continuously sliced at the car, eventually slicing it in half. Pepper screamed as a whip came uncomfortably close to her arm.
"Give me the case! Please! Come on!" Tony yelled at Pepper, through the side of the car that had been cut off, clapping his hands. Pepper threw the case towards Tony, which landed at his feet. Athena backed away further from the scene as Tony stood on top of the case, activating the suit. He reached down and placed his hands in the metal gloves, before yanking it up and onto his chest. Once he had done that, the suit came together and then the helmet was down. "Athena, get to the car."
The last thing Athena saw was the serious look on Tony's face before the helmet closed, and she could only hope that the fight went in his favor. Tony kicked the car away, releasing the man from behind it. He lifted a hand, ready to blast a repulsor beam at him but the man flicked his arm quickly, leaving Tony to stumble backwards. Athena watched worriedly as Tony took another two hits, his blasts not doing much to stop the man.
She sighed and realized that it was Tony's battle to fight. She figured she should follow his demand but quickly realized that she would have to go through the fighting men to do so. With a sigh, she figured that subtly wasn't an option anymore.
She ran, ignoring the scream that came from Pepper, before rolling under an incoming whip with expert precision. Using her hands, she hoisted her legs high into the air in such a way that her body followed, avoiding the other whip that was heading her way. Athena kicked the legs from under the man before reaching the car, unscathed. She grinned at Pepper, who was looking at her in awe before watching Tony worriedly again.
Athena was about to step in as the man threw Tony around like a rag doll, until Tony wrapped the whips around him and pulled the man closer to him. He punched the man a few times before flipping him through the air. The man landed on his back, and Tony to took the opportunity to rip the mock reactor from the man's chest, shutting down the suit. Police swarmed around the man, dragging him to his feet as he laughed, hysterically.
"You... You lose. You lose Stark."