Tony Stark soon learned that Pepper Potts had left Stark Industries for Blade Technologies. Obadiah had slyly encouraged others to edge her out to keep her from uncovering his illicit arms dealings. Blade Technologies had welcomed Pepper with open arms, recognizing her talents, and Tony was silently fuming over the loss. Obadiah had since hired a fresh management graduate—competent, charismatic, and adept enough to keep things running, though far from Pepper's caliber. With Blade Technologies taking the lead in advanced weaponry, Obadiah was less concerned about Stark Industries losing ground.
"I'm getting Pepper and Happy back," Tony declared after a long pause.
"Tony, you could just take the company back instead..." Obadiah began, signaling to his secretary to fetch the contract.
But Tony waved him off, already halfway out the door. "Not interested."
The media quickly caught wind of Stark's return, and at his press conference, he boldly declared he was shutting down Stark Industries' weapons division. But without control of the company, his announcement had no weight.
"Why, Obadiah? Why won't you support me in shutting down weapons production?" Tony confronted him afterward.
Although Tony knew the second Yinsen had been a plant, he still remembered the genuine Yinsen, who'd lost his family to a Stark weapon. The thought of his inventions harming innocent civilians gnawed at him, pushing him to cut off the flow of Stark weaponry once and for all.
Obadiah gave a long-suffering sigh. "Tony, this decision affects more than just you and me. Closing the weapons division would devastate shareholder interests, and the military won't stand for it either."
Tony's fiery determination only deepened Obadiah's hidden relief that he hadn't relinquished control. Stark Industries held military shares; shutting down weapon production was a non-starter. Tony seemed so focused on a personal vendetta that he was overlooking reality.
"Tony, focus on the one thing you're still brilliant at—technology. Blade Technologies is advancing faster than we can. Their War Machine model is pushing limits with every iteration."
Obadiah was genuinely wary of Zodhis's genius and wanted Tony to keep pace. The return of Stark had already boosted company stock, but it was Tony's mind that Obadiah saw as their true competitive edge.
Curious, Tony asked Jarvis to pull up the latest from Blade Technologies. He paused when he saw their new model, Iron Overlord.
"Is this for real?" he muttered, impressed.
Iron Overlord's specs surpassed War Machine's original model by a mile. Twice as thick and fortified without sacrificing agility, it boasted an onboard AI proficient in combat techniques, allowing it to anticipate and respond even faster than its human pilot. Heavy weaponry made it a near-perfect tank for close-quarters battles. Zodhis had seemingly designed Iron Overlord with formidable hand-to-hand capability, possibly even to confront powerful threats like the Deep Sea King.
While Obadiah hoped Tony would rival Zodhis in technology, Tony had lost interest in weapons manufacturing. He might have considered it before, but now, something about creating tools of destruction no longer sat right with him.
Meanwhile, Zod observed Tony's progress from afar. "He's close to cracking a cold fusion reactor for the Arc Reactor. In a few months, we'll see him as Iron Man, though he's hardly unique now, with everyone flying around in power suits," he chuckled.
Sales for War Machine models had spiked, and even Iron Overlord had garnered some interest, though its cost and complexity limited availability.
"Open wide," Zod lay comfortably on Esdeth's lap as she fed him a spoonful of ice cream. Taking a playful bite with his used spoon, she grinned.
"Really, no trace of saliva?" she teased.
With a smirk, Zod replied, "I've mastered control over my DNA's traceability. No dander, no hair, no sweat. Not even a scent."
Undeterred, Esdeth leaned in to kiss him, only to find Zod's expression neutral and unreadable. Sighing, she returned to her ice cream, slightly disappointed. Zod had honed himself to control desires and emotions as easily as flipping a switch; the usual vices like anger and lust had no hold on him.
After a while, he stood up. "I need to study the solar radiation storm."
The "solar radiation storm" was actually the cosmic radiation phenomenon that had transformed the Fantastic Four. Encased in a specialized atomic alloy container, Zod had spent considerable time experimenting with it, hoping to harness its power. Yet, despite reviving numerous test subjects with his electromagnetic abilities, none had survived exposure. Even unaltered criminals succumbed to genetic collapse.
"There's a mystery here I've yet to crack," Zod murmured, staring at the swirling cosmic energy in fascination.