"Boss Kingpin, we've got it all figured out."
Inside Kingpin's office, a middle-aged man wearing glasses reported respectfully.
"How did it go? Did you track the stocks I dumped?"
"Yes, Boss. A small portion was picked up by some scattered retail investors, but the majority of it flowed into a single account."
"And the account? As I suspected, is it located in the Thirteenth District?"
Kingpin's eyes narrowed as he combined this with what Obadiah had said last night.
Indeed, someone in the Thirteenth District was aggressively buying up Stark Industries stock. And the approximate location of the golden armor was also in that district. Was this all just coincidence?
"Did you get a name on the account?" Kingpin asked.
"Yes, it's someone named Alan Ford."
"Alan…"
Standing by the large window, Kingpin looked down at the city of New York. His fingers tapped rhythmically on the dragon-headed cane, and the entire room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
"Investigate this Alan Ford. Focus on any connections he might have with Stark Industries."
"Yes, Boss."
Kingpin turned around, noticing that his subordinate had not yet left.
"What is it? Anything else?"
"Just one more thing, Boss. Recently, that Spider-Woman has started fighting crime in New York, similar to Daredevil. He even injured some of our men."
Kingpin tightened his grip on the dragon-headed cane, a cold smile creeping onto his face. "Spider-Woman… Daredevil... Heh…"
"Don't worry about them. Soon, someone else will take care of those two 'heroes' for us."
Kingpin emphasized the word "heroes" with a tone laced with disdain, revealing just how much resentment he held toward Spider-Woman and Daredevil.
After his subordinate left, Kingpin looked out of the window once more. His gaze fell on Stark Industries, one of the most prestigious companies in New York.
Kingpin eagerly anticipated the day Obadiah would successfully eliminate Tony and take control of Stark Industries. Once Obadiah was in charge, Kingpin would dominate the global black market weapons trade.
By then, the money flowing into his pockets would be far greater than even the most efficient printing press could churn out.
But more importantly, it would allow him to expand his underground empire beyond the borders of the United States.
"Obadiah, don't let me down. I've already sacrificed a major client for you."
---
Inside Stark Industries, Pepper Potts, dressed in work clothes, marched straight toward Tony's office.
Technically, it was Tony's office, but since he rarely came to the company, it had effectively become Obadiah's workspace.
After making sure no one was around, Pepper opened the door and stepped inside. She inserted the USB drive Tony had given her into the computer and waited.
Without Pepper having to do anything, Tony's custom-designed program began to pull up all the orders processed in recent months.
As she sifted through the files, Pepper's eyes were suddenly drawn to something—a blueprint appeared on the screen.
"This is...?"
The design was of a suit of armor, strikingly similar to the one Tony had in his workshop. The only difference was that the one in Obadiah's computer was bulkier and larger.
If Tony's suit resembled a human, then Obadiah's looked like a giant gorilla.
"The Sixteenth District? What exactly is Obadiah up to...?"
Pepper realized that this project was being carried out in a newly opened experimental department, one that both she and Tony were completely unaware of.
Just as Pepper thought she had uncovered something important, a video popped up on the screen, throwing her into a complete panic.
In the video, several terrorists could be seen, and in the center of the group, someone was bound. Though their face was covered by a burlap sack, Pepper recognized them immediately.
The person in the video, bruised and battered with a burlap sack over his head, was Tony.
This footage was taken while Tony was being held captive. But why did Obadiah have this video?
Then, voices from the video played:
"You didn't tell us that the person you wanted to kill was the famous Tony Stark."
"Because of that, Obadiah Stane, you will pay a heavy price for your lies."
"The bounty on Tony Stark's head has gone up."
Pepper Potts finally understood. Everything that had happened was part of Obadiah's conspiracy.
"I need to take all of this back to Tony."
Completely focused, Pepper continued to search through Obadiah's computer for more incriminating evidence, oblivious to the fact that Obadiah had quietly entered the room.
Seeing Pepper at the computer, Obadiah broke the silence, "Miss Potts, what do you think we should do next?"
Startled, Pepper jumped, her body trembling as she quickly glanced toward the door. In a flash, she grabbed a nearby magazine and discreetly covered the USB drive on the desk.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Stane," she replied, forcing herself to sound calm and composed.
Obadiah noticed something was off but didn't alert her to it. He pretended to head to the bar to pour himself a drink, all the while talking about how Tony had been running the company into the ground lately.
Slowly, he began inching closer to the computer...
Meanwhile, downstairs, Coulson sat on a bench, sipping coffee. A server approached him with another cup. "Please wait a moment, sir. Miss Potts, Mr. Stark's assistant, is still in the office."
Coulson nodded and thanked the server. He was here to meet Tony as scheduled, but since he couldn't locate him, he had to wait for Pepper instead.
After a few moments, Coulson heard the office door open. He stood up just in time to see Pepper hurriedly exiting the building.
"Miss Potts, we had an appointment, remember?"
Recognizing Coulson as the agent Tony had mentioned, Pepper's hope soared. She had found help!
"No, I didn't forget. Come with me—now."
"Right now?"
"Yes, follow me. Now."
Sensing the urgency in Pepper's voice, Coulson immediately understood something was wrong. She was seeking his protection. He walked over to her and escorted her out of Stark Industries.
From the second-floor hallway, Obadiah watched the two of them leave. In a fit of rage, he slammed his fist against the railing.
After Pepper had left, he checked the computer and realized that all the critical data had been copied. This meant that once Pepper reached Tony, his actions would be exposed.
Obadiah swiftly grabbed his phone and made a call: "Lock down the Stark Industries complex! Sensitive research data has been leaked!"
"No one is allowed to leave. Do you hear me? No one!"
"Okay, Tony. You've forced my hand. I was going to let you live for a few more days."
Obadiah stormed into the elevator and pressed the button for the lowest floor.
---
In the laboratory in the Sixteenth District, several engineers were making final adjustments to a massive iron machine. Suddenly, the door flew open, and Obadiah stormed in with a menacing aura, heading straight for the chief engineer.
The chief engineer rushed to meet him, "Mr. Stane, we're still working on the task you gave us."
"There's been... a small difficulty," the chief engineer hesitated before correcting himself. "Actually, it's more of a major challenge."
"Challenge?" Obadiah glared at him, barely containing his fury.
Tony had managed to build a suit of armor in a cave using scrap metal. Yet here, with the most advanced technology in the world, these engineers were telling him they had problems?
"Yes, sir. The technology needed to make this armor functional just doesn't exist yet."
Obadiah cut him off. "Wait, what do you mean 'doesn't exist yet'? Then what is that?"
Grabbing the chief engineer by the collar, Obadiah forced him to look at the large arc reactor mounted above.
"William, the technology is right here in front of you. All you need to do is shrink it down and fit it inside."
The engineer named William replied helplessly, "We've tried our best. It's simply impossible."
"Tony Stark did it in a cave with a box of scraps!" Obadiah roared in anger.
"We're not Tony Stark."
Obadiah ran his hands over his bald head, his eyes burning with fury, but he had no outlet for his anger. Finally, a ruthless gleam flashed in his eyes.
"Tony, I'm coming to borrow one last thing from you..."
---
Outside Stark Industries, night had slowly fallen. Inside Pepper Potts' office, both Pepper and Coulson were stuck. Due to Obadiah's lockdown, they couldn't leave. Throughout this time, Pepper kept trying to call Tony, but he wasn't answering.
"Still no luck?" Coulson asked.
"I think he's probably in his workshop again, thinking something over and has told JARVIS not to disturb him."
Tony often did this, isolating himself when he needed to focus, and even JARVIS would be temporarily deactivated at his request.
"Wait, what about Yinsen?" Pepper suddenly remembered and quickly dialed Yinsen's number, silently praying for him to pick up.
Soon, Yinsen answered, "Yinsen, where's Tony? You have to find him right away!"
"Tony? I'm not at home. He told me he wanted to work on a new element by himself and asked me to leave."
"Where are you now? Are you close?"
"If I rush back, I can be there in 20 minutes!"
"Get back there immediately. Tell Tony that Obadiah is trying to kill him!"
Yinsen instantly understood the gravity of the situation. "Alright, I'm heading back now."
Pepper held onto her phone, thinking about who else she could call. She quickly dialed another number.
"Hello, Rhodey?"
"Hey, Pepper. I didn't expect a call from you," Rhodey replied, sounding surprised as he drove.
His tone quickly shifted to one of concern. "What do you mean he hired people to kill Tony?"
"Pepper, slow down. Explain everything."
"Okay, I don't know where Tony is. He's not answering my calls. Can you please go to his house and check on him?"
"Thanks, Rhodey."
After hanging up, Pepper turned to Coulson. "We can't just sit here and wait."
Coulson thought for a moment before replying, "Come with me..."
Without hesitation, Pepper followed Coulson.
---
At Tony's house, Tony was alone in his underground workshop, surrounded by elements, mentally calculating the possible reactions between them.
After what felt like hours, he rubbed his tired eyes. "It seems discovering a new element isn't easy."
"Right, JARVIS?" he called out, forgetting for a moment that JARVIS had been deactivated.
"Oh, right. I forgot, you're on break again."
Enjoying the rare silence, Tony decided not to reactivate JARVIS just yet.
Instead, he grabbed a chlorophyll juice from the table and headed upstairs. Settling onto the couch, he finally noticed the several missed calls from Pepper on his phone.
Just as he was about to return her call, an ear-piercing sonic blast suddenly assaulted his senses, making him lose consciousness. His veins bulged, and his face turned pale as a ghost.
"Hey, Tony. Your inventions are really convenient," Obadiah's voice came from behind him. He grabbed Tony's phone out of his hand, holding a black sonic device in his other hand.
Tony knew exactly what it was. It was a gadget he had once invented—capable of emitting a fixed ultrasonic frequency that could incapacitate, or even kill, its target by disrupting normal bodily functions.
"This thing is fantastic. It's a shame the government didn't approve it for production..." Obadiah remarked, placing Tony down carefully.
He then pulled out a device he had brought with him and pressed it against Tony's chest, over his arc reactor. As the reactor was removed, Tony's face twisted in even greater pain.
"Tony, I have to admit, you might even surpass your father, Howard," Obadiah said, admiring the arc reactor in his hands, its soft blue glow mesmerizing him. He couldn't help but offer Tony a rare compliment.
"But don't worry, Tony. As a courtesy to you, I won't rename Stark Industries..."
...
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