"Tony?" Pepper's voice came through the phone, but Tony Stark was no longer able to respond.
Obadiah Stane calmly took the phone from Tony's hand, ignoring Pepper's frantic questions, and ended the call. Gently propping Tony's head back against the couch, he muttered, "Breathe. Relax."
Obadiah raised the small device emitting the high-pitched frequency that had incapacitated Tony. Holding it in front of him, he said smugly, "Remember this? Shame it never got government approval. Temporarily paralyzing someone can be... quite useful."
He moved closer, shutting off the device and removing his earpiece. Gripping Tony's face with a sense of triumph, he added, "Tony, when I first ordered them to kill you, I did hesitate. After all, you're the goose that lays golden eggs."
Obadiah then retrieved a large, corkscrew-like tool, clearly designed for something far worse than opening wine.
Positioning the device over the arc reactor in Tony's chest, Obadiah pressed it down. Tony groaned in pain as the tool began extracting the device, but Obadiah remained indifferent to his suffering.
With a twist of his hand, the arc reactor was removed.
Obadiah stared at his prize, satisfaction gleaming in his eyes. Waving the reactor in front of Tony, he sneered, "This is your last golden egg." Tony's gaze burned with fury, but his weakened body could do nothing.
Enjoying his dominance, Obadiah leaned closer and continued, "Did you really think your ideas were just yours to keep? Your father... he helped me build the atomic bomb. If he'd been as selfish as you, what do you think this world would look like?"
With that, he placed the arc reactor into a briefcase, sitting down beside Tony as though they were old friends.
Looking wistful, Obadiah added, "It's a shame you dragged Pepper into this. I was going to let her live."
He stood and walked away without a second glance, leaving Tony paralyzed and gasping for air.
Meanwhile, Pepper, deeply unsettled after Obadiah had hung up on her call, suspected something terrible had happened. She was en route to investigate Obadiah's secret Project Mark 16, accompanied by Agent Coulson and a team of low-level S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives.
Unable to assist Tony herself, she called Rhodey.
"Wait, what do you mean someone tried to assassinate Tony?" Rhodey demanded, alarmed.
Pepper explained, "I can't go into detail over the phone, but it's Obadiah Stane. Please, go check on Tony. I'm afraid something's happened—he hung up on me just now without saying a word."
"Where is he?" Rhodey pressed.
"I don't know. He didn't say anything before the call ended. Please, Rhodey, hurry. Thank you." She ended the call, her anxiety mounting.
Moments later, Pepper felt an inexplicable pull to dial Qin Li. After all, it was Qin Li who had found Tony in Afghanistan when everyone else had failed.
"Hey, Miss Potts. What's up?" Qin Li's voice crackled through the wind, clearly enjoying a ride on the motorcycle Tony had gifted him.
"Mr. Li, can you find Tony? He just called me but didn't speak before hanging up. I'm worried something's happened to him." She relayed the details of Tony's suspicions and Obadiah's betrayal.
Qin Li was momentarily taken aback. "What? Things escalated that quickly? Alright, I'll handle it. Don't worry about Tony—focus on keeping yourself safe. Make sure Coulson's team is protecting you. Whatever that bald guy is planning, he's likely ready to act. I'll find Tony."
Hanging up, Qin Li parked his motorcycle by the roadside and activated a teleportation serum to locate Tony's exact position.
In the meantime, Tony, still paralyzed, had managed to crawl toward the basement, where Pepper had stored his old arc reactor for safekeeping.
Every movement was agonizingly slow, but survival instinct pushed him forward. Upon reaching the reactor's display case, Tony knocked over a toolbox in his desperate attempt to retrieve it, sending himself tumbling to the floor once again.
Slumped against the table, he was resigned to death, his strength entirely spent.
Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass filled the room, and the arc reactor appeared in front of his face. Qin Li's voice followed, "Tony, how does this thing work?"
Tony's survival instincts roared back to life. Gripping the arc reactor with trembling hands, he managed to reinstall it into his chest.
Before Qin Li's arrival, Dum-E, Tony's robotic assistant, had been extending its arm toward the old reactor to help. But Qin Li had beaten it to the punch.
As the reactor hummed to life, Tony's body convulsed briefly before relaxing. He let out a relieved sigh and muttered, "Li, you've saved me again."
Qin Li smirked. "You would've managed without me. Dum-E was about to hand it to you before I intervened."
Tony gave a weak smile and patted Dum-E, saying, "Good job, buddy."
Then, remembering something, Tony's expression turned grave. "Pepper's in danger. Obadiah has my arc reactor and is probably installing it into his suit right now. She might be heading straight into his trap."
Qin Li groaned, massaging his temples. "Take care of yourself first, Tony. If Pepper hadn't called me, you'd still be crawling around on the floor. Without Dum-E, you might not have made it at all."
Tony ignored him, determination flaring in his eyes as he struggled to stand.