"The man from the beginning. Ivan Vanko." Shoji said.

"Yeah. He managed to recreate the Arc Reactor. And who knows what he'll do with it." Todoroki said.

"Hold on one second, buddy. Let me see something here." Tony said as he used his phone to hack into the TV screen. "Boy, I'm good. I commandeered your screens. I need them. Time for a little transparency. Now, let's see what's really going on."

"What is he doing?" Stern asked.

"If you will direct your attention to said screens... I believe that's North Korea." Tony said as footage of a giant mech suit was shown.

The mech was exiting a hangar when it suddenly fell over and began shooting it's guns randomly, even hitting, and likely killing, the cameraman.

Stern, realizing he had lost control of the trial, began requesting that the TV be turned off. Justin Hammer got up to try and turn it off himself.

"Iran." Tony switched to a video of another mech.

This mech managed to fly for a moment before spiraling out of control, crashing into the cameraman. (These poor guys.)

"No grave, immediate, threat here. Is that Justin Hammer?" Tony said as a video of Hammer testing out a suit of his own appeared on the screen. "How did Hammer get in this game?" Tony joked.

Hammer began frantically trying to shut off the footage.

"Justin, you're on TV. Focus up." Tony taunted.

Rhodey tried to contain his laughter in this moment.

In the video, Justin Hammer was having a test pilot test the suit.

"Okay, give me a left twist." TV Hammer said.

The pilot twisted left slightly. The suit seemed to work just fine.

"Left's good. Turn to the right." TV Hammer said.

The moment the pilot turned, the entire torso of the suit rotated 180 degrees to the right. The sound of bones cracking could be heard as the pilot screamed in agony.

"Oh, shit! Oh, shit!" TV Hammer said in shock.

Justin Hammer then, finally, shut off the TV and quickly went back to his seat.

(0:15:29 - 0:16:23)

"Ah! That poor guy!" Uraraka said.

"I hope he's okay." Eri said.

"You sacrificed yourself just to test a baby. I will never forget you, whoever you are." Mei saluted.

"Wow. Yeah, I'd say most countries, five, ten years away. Hammer Industries, twenty." Tony said.

(0:16:23 - 0:16:29)

"Sounds about right." Melissa said.

"None of those suits seem even remotely close to replicating the Iron Man suit." Power Loader said.

"They'd probably need an Arc Reactor, which none of them know how to make." Ojiro said.

"But Vanko does. Which means he could be a threat that Stark doesn't know about." Tsu said.

"Hopefully, he isn't a threat." All Might said.

"I'd like to point out that that test pilot survived." Hammer tried to defend himself.

(0:16:29 - 0:16:32)

"Oh, thank goodness." Inko said.

"He's probably paralyzed though." Recovery Girl said.

"I think we're done, is the point that he's making. I- I- I don't- I don't think there's any reason-" Stern stuttered.

"The point is, you're welcome, I guess." Tony interrupted.

"For what?" Stern asked.

"Because I'm your nuclear deterrent." Tony answered. "It's working. We're safe. America is secure. You want my property? You can't have it. But I did you a big favor." He stood and faced the audience behind him. "I've successfully privatized world peace." He said as he gave everyone two peace signs.

The audience stood and clapped.

"What more do you want? For now!" Tony questioned.

(0:16:32 - 0:16:55)

"He's got a point. Regardless of what you think, he has seriously made things better for everyone. He brought peace to the world for crying out loud." Sato said.

"I have to agree. He's more than proven that the suit is safe in his hands." All Might said.

"Better his hands than theirs." La Brava said.

"I tried to play ball with these ass-clowns." Tony insulted.

(BLEEP) you, Mr. Stark. (BLEEP) you, buddy." Stern cursed Tony.

(0:16:55 - 0:17:02)

Eri got mad at Stern for being mean to Iron Man.

"...Ass-clown." Eri glared at Stern.

"Ah! Eri!" Izuku said.

"W-what?" Eri looked at Izuku innocently.

"You shouldn't say that." Izuku said.

"No, she's right, Izu-kun. That guy is an ass-clown." Toga said.

"Himiko!" Izuku glared.

"We're adjourned. We're adjourned for today." Stern said, realizing that there was no winning this trial at this point.

Tony put on his sunglasses, blew a few kisses and then began leaving.

__________________________________

Ivan Vanko was shown, still at work in his basement. He was also watching the trial on TV.

"My bond is with the people. And I will serve this great nation at the pleasure of... myself. If there's one thing I've proven, it's that you can count on me to pleasure myself." Tony joked on the TV before leaving the courtroom, victorious.

(0:17:02 - 0:17:26)

Some of the audience chuckled.

"We certainly can count on you to do that." Midnight snickered.

Aizawa just shook his head and sighed.

"On another note, we're back with Vanko." Iida changed the subject.

Ivan continued working on his device. Once completed, he was shown wearing it. It was a harness with two whips.

As Ivan activated the suit, the whips were electrified. He then swung at the TV, slicing it in half.

(0:17:26 - 0:17:55)

"I think Vanko might be a threat." Jiro stated the obvious.

"Looks like he's used the Arc Reactor to create a weapon of his own." Melissa said.

"Electrified whips. A simple, yet interesting use of the Arc Reactor's power." Power Loader said.

"It's just a harness and some whips. It doesn't even come close to the Iron Man suit." Bakugo said.

"True, but considering how most, if not all, of the Arc Reactor's power is being used solely on the whips, that means those whips are extremely deadly." Mei said.

__________________________________

Tony was shown in his workshop. He clapped his hands, causing the monitors in front of him to power up as music began playing.

"Wake up. Daddy's home." Tony said.

"Welcome home, sir." JARVIS greeted. "Congratulations on the opening ceremonies. They were such a success, as was your Senate hearing. And may I say how refreshing it is to finally see you in a video with your clothing on, sir." JARVIS joked.

Tony couldn't help but chuckle.

(0:17:55 - 0:18:15)

The audience chuckled as well.

"So nice to hear more of JARVIS and his endless sarcasm." Melissa said.

"I can only imagine the sorts of things he has to deal with on a daily basis." Thirteen said.

U was then shown trying to make a smoothie for Tony, but he ended up making a complete mess and knocked over the blender.

"U! I swear to god I'll dismantle you. I'll soak your motherboard. I'll turn you into a wine rack." Tony threatened.

U, sadly, powered down.

(0:18:15 - 0:18:23)

"Still being mean to your robots." La Brava sighed.

"Honestly, Stark, you should treat your babies with a little more respect. Especially after they saved your life." Mei said. Even she felt like Stark was being a little harsh.

"To be fair, U is making a mess of things." Momo said.

"How many ounces a day of this gobbledegook am I supposed to drink?" Tony asked JARVIS as he began drinking some green liquid.

"We are up to 80 ounces a day to counteract the symptoms, sir." JARVIS answered.

(0:18:23 - 0:18:31)

"Symptoms?" Uraraka questioned.

"Is Stark sick?" Sero asked.

"It might have something to do with his blood toxicity from earlier." Izuku said.

"Check palladium levels." Tony used the device from earlier to once again check his blood.

"Blood toxicity, 24%." JARVIS said.

(0:18:31 - 0:18:40)

"24 percent?! It went up?!" Iida asked.

"Why? What's wrong with him?" Kirishima wondered.

"It appears that the continued use of the Iron Man suit is accelerating your condition." JARVIS analyzed.

(0:18:40 - 0:18:45)

"So using the suit is making him worse." Compress said.

"That's bad. Who cares?" Twice said.

"If the suit is making his condition worse, then he should stop using it." Tsu said.

"Why doesn't he?" Mina asked.

"Because he can't." All Might said. "People are counting on Iron Man to protect them. He's their Symbol of Peace, and the only hero in this world. If Stark suddenly quit being Iron Man, the world would fall into chaos. The peace he's created would disappear. He has to keep fighting in order to preserve what he's built."

"Is that why you keep fighting, All Might? Even though you're so injured?" Sero asked.

"Yes. It is." All Might nodded.

All Might understood how Stark must feel right now. He is in a similar situation. Even after being critically damaged by All For One, All Might refused to quit being the Symbol of Peace. He has to keep going, for everyone's sake.

Stain thought about what All Might said. If Stark really is choosing to damage his body just so people continue to feel safe, then that is undeniably noble. But considering the fact that this is Tony Stark, it's more likely that he simply doesn't want to give up the fame that comes with being Iron Man, even at the cost of his own life.

"Another core has been depleted." JARVIS said.

Tony removed the Arc Reactor from his chest and took out the palladium core inside it. The removed palladium core was rusted and burnt.

"God, they're running out quick." Tony said as he put in a new palladium core and then inserted the Arc Reactor back into his chest.

"I have run simulations on every known element, and none can serve as a viable replacement for the palladium core. You are running out of both time and options. Unfortunately, the device that's keeping you alive is also killing you." JARVIS explained.

Tony analyzed his chest and saw that there were several vein-like lines spreading out a bit from his Arc Reactor, showing that the Arc Reactor is indeed the root of the problem.

(0:18:45 - 0:19:15)

"WHAT?!" The audience shouted.

"Hmm. As I suspected, the Arc Reactor is the issue." Nezu said.

"I was wondering if it would ever be an issue. Having that Arc Reactor in your chest doesn't exactly sound safe." Recovery Girl said.

"You knew this was going to happen? Why didn't you say anything?!" Kaminari asked.

"It didn't seem like it was necessary to bring up. After all, there weren't any issues in the first movie, so I just assumed that Stark must have found a solution to the potential problem." Recovery Girl explained.

"Well, apparently there is no solution! There isn't a single element that can replace the palladium core!" Melissa stated.

"Why not just do some surgery to remove the shrapnel? Then he wouldn't need the Arc Reactor at all." Izuku suggested.

"That won't work. As of now, there is no safe method of removing the shrapnel. There's a high chance that any attempts to remove it could kill him before the palladium poisoning does." Trixter explained.

"So Stark needs the Arc Reactor in order to stay alive. But by using the Arc Reactor, he's slowly poisoning himself." Dabi said.

"And using the Iron Man suit is just accelerating the process." Todoroki said.

"Kehehehehe! Isn't that just ironic! The very thing keeping the hero alive is also what's gonna kill him!" Shigaraki cackled. "And the best part is that by continuing to save people as Iron Man, he's just killing himself faster! You say he has to keep fighting to preserve what he's built, but he's gonna die anyway. And once that happens, this era of peace he's started will come to a swift end."

"You're wrong!" Eri yelled. "Iron Man won't die! He'll... He'll figure something out..."

"Yes! Stark is a true genius. I'm certain he won't let some blood poisoning beat him!" Mei said confidently.

"You can believe that all you want, but he's already tried everything. There is no getting out of this one. Like it or not, Iron Man will die. If there is one thing heroes are good at, it's dying a meaningless death." Shigaraki said.

Eri glared at Shigaraki, looking forward to the moment Iron Man proves him wrong.

Mei simply frowned. In truth, Mei was actually really worried. After all, Stark had apparently tried every known element and none of them could work. That means that there really shouldn't be any possible solution to his problem. There's no conceivable way that Stark survives this. And that was a scary thought.

Mei had always heard people talk about their favorite heroes. How much they admire them. How much they want to be like them. But Mei herself had never truly understood that feeling. She had always liked heroes because they are good people and a good source of inspiration when it came to developing support gear. But her interest in heroes always stopped there. She never knew what it was like to truly look up to a hero. That is, until she saw Tony Stark.

Stark is the first hero Mei truly admires. Stark has done things that many would consider impossible. He miniaturized the Arc Reactor, built the Iron Man armor, and took on an army without a Quirk. And he did it all with just his intellect alone. He's an incredible genius who uses his technology to help people. Mei wants to be just like him. She wants to be able to say that the babies she created helped people.

But now, Stark is faced with a problem that even he can't solve. If even he can't figure out a way to survive, then maybe it really isn't possible. Mei always likes to think that she can achieve anything she puts her mind to. But, deep down, she knows that there are limits to everything. Normally she just sees those limitations as a challenge, but in a situation like this, where someone's life is on the line, she can't help but be afraid. Stark really is going to die. And there isn't anything he can do to change that.

"Miss Potts is approaching." JARVIS notified. "I recommend that you inform her-"

"Mute." Tony ordered as Pepper entered the room.

(0:19:15 - 0:19:20)

"He's not gonna tell her, is he?" Inko asked.

"No, he isn't..." Gentle said.

"Is this a joke?" Pepper stormed towards Tony, seemingly angry about something. "What are you thinking?"

"What?" Tony questioned.

"What are you thinking?!" Pepper repeated.

"Hey, I'm thinking I'm busy. And you're angry about something." Tony stood from his seat and began walking away. "Do you have the sniffles? I don't wanna get sick."

(0:19:20 - 0:19:34)

"You're already sick." Kota said.

"And you should really tell Pepper." Recovery Girl said.

"Did you just donate our entire modern art collection to the Boy Scouts of America." Pepper asked.

"Yes. It is a worthwhile organization. I didn't physically check the crates but, basically, yes." Tony answered as he and Pepper walked past multiple holograms of his suits. "And it's not 'our' collection, it's my collection. No offense." He corrected.

"No, you know what? I think I'm actually entitled to say 'our' collection considering the time that I put in, over 10 years, curating that." Pepper argued.

"It was a tax write-off. I needed that." Tony explained.

(0:19:34 - 0:19:57)

"What's the problem? Isn't it nice that he donated his art?" Toga asked.

"Yes, but not from Potts' perspective." Aizawa said.

"Stark is likely giving away his art collection due to his incoming death. But Potts does not know that. From her point of view, Stark is just carelessly giving things away." Kurogiri explained.

"Not to mention the fact that Pepper worked really hard to acquire all that art in the first place." Trixter said.

As everyone talked, a few in the audience noticed that one of the holograms Stark and Pepper walked by was of what appeared to be some sort of suitcase. They wondered what sort of invention that was.

"You know, there's only about 8,011 things that I really need to talk to you about." Pepper said.

"Dum-E. Hey, stop spacing. The Bridgeport's already machining that part." Tony said, paying no mind to Pepper at all.

"The Expo is a gigantic waste of time." Pepper stated.

"There's nothing more important to me than the Expo. It's my primary point of concern. I don't know why you're..." Tony said.

"The Expo is your ego gone crazy." Pepper countered.

(0:19:57 - 0:20:18)

"Agreed. Since your time is limited, you should spend it doing something productive, not showing off." Endeavor said.

"I disagree. Remember what Stark said during the Stark Expo opening ceremony? He talked about legacy and ensuring a better future." Tsu said.

"The reason Stark brought back the Stark Expo wasn't to show off. It was to encourage people to come together and work towards a brighter future." Melissa said.

"He's trying to ensure that the world will be okay even when... Even when he's gone..." Uraraka said.

Tony ignored Pepper and instead picked up a painting of Iron Man.

"Wow. Look at that." Tony admired the painting. "That's modern art. That's going up."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding." Pepper said, becoming more and more frustrated with Tony's ego.

(0:20:18 - 0:20:25)

"You sure he's not just being egotistical?" Dabi asked.

"Well, this is still Stark at the end of the day." Kirishima said.

Pepper tried to explain to Tony that Stark Industries is in disarray. Tony dismissed this, stating that their stocks have never been higher. Pepper pointed out that that's only from a managerial standpoint. Tony continued to ignore Pepper's concerns and went to put up the Iron Man painting.

"Oh, no, no, no, no! You are not taking down the Barnett Newman and hanging that up!" Pepper said, referring to the painting of a literal black line.

"I'm not taking it down. I'm just replacing it with this." Tony said as he swapped the paintings.

(0:20:25 - 0:20:41)

"Seriously? That's art? It's just a black line. Anyone could do that." Kota said.

"Yeah, art can be pretty weird. The things that people consider to be masterpieces are so odd sometimes." Trixter said.

"Non, non, non! Do you not see the true beauty behind it's simplicity?" Aoyama asked.

"Hmmmmmmm... Nope. Don't see it." Mina answered