In the heart of New York, within Tony's duplex villa.
"Pepper, please, I need you to retrieve the confidential transaction list of various Stark weapons in Stane's office computer's administrative folder," Tony implored.
"Tony, if I find the list, what will you do?" Pepper inquired.
"Of course, I'll use the list to locate and destroy all those weapons!" Tony replied with determination.
"I'm sorry, but even if I quit, I won't help you with this," Pepper firmly stated.
Tony, dressed casually at home, and Pepper, in her usual professional attire, discussed matters in the living room.
Pepper bluntly refused Tony's request and was about to turn and leave.
Tony stared at Pepper's retreating figure and earnestly exclaimed, "Pepper! When I made a fortune, you stood by my side and helped me. Now that I want to help those who were harmed because of me, and you want to distance yourself from me?"
This statement deeply moved Pepper, causing her to pause and turn to look into Tony's eyes. She said in a solemn tone, "Tony, you know I'd do anything for you, but this could cost you your life. By helping you, I'd essentially be pushing you into a dangerous situation!"
Tony's face remained as calm as ever. After experiencing some life-altering events in his thirties, he appeared more mature and composed. He sat silently on the leather sofa, smiled, and said, "If it weren't for this conviction, I would have died there."
He looked at Pepper with unwavering determination in his eyes.
At that moment, Pepper suddenly realized that she could no longer dissuade the man before her. Pepper hesitated for a moment, sighed, and then stepped forward to pick up the storage device and access card from the table.
A while later, a business car left the villa and headed towards the Stark Industry building.
Meanwhile, a sports car had just sped past in the opposite direction and quietly arrived at the villa's entrance.
Inside the duplex villa's living room.
Tony picked up a glass, took a sip of water, and was about to head to the basement.
Just then, a hand suddenly reached out from behind and injected a small syringe into his neck. Tony's face turned pale, and he twitched slightly as he collapsed onto the sofa.
The glass fell to the ground and shattered into a pile of glass shards.
Although he was paralyzed and unable to move, Tony remained conscious. In his field of vision, he saw a face that was all too familiar yet twisted with age.
"Tony, didn't expect this, did you? You were careless. In the past, you gave me permission to enter and leave your villa freely."
Stane walked up to Tony, his tone icy, and casually held a device that assisted in opening the Arc Reactor, preparing to remove the energy core from Tony's chest.
Tony stared at him with bloodshot eyes, expressing both confusion and shock.
"Tony, when I cooperated with terrorists and issued a kill order against you, I even advised them to spare your life. I didn't want them to kill the golden goose that lays the golden eggs," Stane said with a slightly sinister expression and a tone filled with anger. "But now, it's your godfather, Kyle, who's forcing me into this. With just a few words, he's kicking me, who has poured decades of hard work into Stark Industry, to the curb!"
"What 'Symbol of Peace,' what legendary hero! Tonight, I'm going to squash him like a fly, just like you do to a mad dog! Of course, I'll need the assistance of the Iron Man Armor you created!" Stane said as he removed the energy core from Tony's chest.
Without the energy core, Tony was like a person without a heart. His face became even paler and more ghastly, and the shrapnel inside his body, no longer being suppressed by the Arc Reactor due to the lack of energy, began to damage his internal organs continuously.
"Tony, I wish you a peaceful departure. I'll send your godfather to heaven as soon as possible, so you two can keep each other company," Stane chuckled before he picked up the radiant energy core, lightly patted Tony's face, and swiftly left the villa.
He planned to use this new energy core to activate the modified Mark I Iron Man Armor and seek revenge against Kyle in the Stark Industry office building!
After Stane left for a while,
Tony, lying on the couch, experienced intense coughing fits. The paralysis had mostly worn off, but the wounds caused by the shattered shrapnel had turned him into a frail and dying man.
"Am I going to die?" Tony asked with a bitter smile, struggling to breathe rapidly as he slumped down on the cold floor.
The old energy core had been stolen earlier that day, and now the only new core had been taken as well. Even if there was enough time to create a new core, his body didn't have the strength for it.
Without an energy core, all he could do was slowly wait for death.
"I can't accept this."
The hall was silent in the night, and Tony, losing his strength and life force bit by bit, approached the threshold of death. Several warm faces kept flashing through his mind.
His father Howard, his godfather Kyle, his butler J.A.R.V.I.S., and even his Assistant Pepper... he realized that he hadn't had the chance to express his feelings to her.
With his body growing colder, Tony's breathing became weaker, and his eyelids felt as heavy as lead, about to close.
*Tap, Tap.*
Steady footsteps subtly echoed through the silent hall.
Tony, struggling to keep his eyes open, saw a tall, black figure slowly approaching him.
"Godfather? Is it you? No, this must be an illusion before death," Tony mumbled in a hoarse voice.
Then, the figure had already reached him, crouching down and asking, "Tony, are you giving up like this?"
"Godfather, I don't have a choice. You were right; only the strong can choose, and the weak have no choice," Tony replied, breathless and feeble.
"You are undoubtedly weak now, but you have the potential to become strong. Before you become a hero on par with gods, as your godfather, I won't allow you to die," Kyle said calmly. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a worn-out energy core that emitted a faint glow.
Seeing the old energy core, which represented hope for life, Tony's eyes widened suddenly. His gaze sparkled with vitality, and even his body regained strength. His cloudy mind cleared completely.
"Godfather, is it really you?" Tony looked at Kyle, who was crouching in front of him, with a mix of disbelief and excitement.
"Who else but me?" Kyle smiled and placed the old core into Tony's chest. He encouraged him, "Go on, show that guy what you are made of."
"You are Iron Man, after all! From now on, work hard to keep up with me. Our future enemies will be a thousand times stronger than someone like Stane!"
There was a time when there was a man who fought alongside him but disappeared during a battle, crashing his plane into the sea.
Today, Kyle placed that same expectation on Iron Man, Tony.
(End of this chapter)