"Tony, you should have come to New York today," Obadiah said to Tony Stark.
"If you had been here, things might not have gotten so bad."
"You told me to lay low, Obie," Tony replied. "So I laid low. Just staying home…"
As the two exchanged pleasantries, Kagura Hitomi went back to focusing on her work.
The conversation between Obadiah and Tony mainly revolved around the huge losses caused by the shutdown of the military department, and Obadiah was trying to use this as an excuse to get Tony to hand over the technology for the arc reactor.
Naturally, Tony wasn't about to agree.
"Forget it. There's no room for discussion, Obie," Tony's tone was firm.
"The arc reactor stays with me."
With that, Tony shoved the pizza box into Obadiah's hands and turned to go downstairs.
"Do you mind if I go down and see what you're working on?" Obadiah asked.
"Goodnight, Obie."
"Alright, goodnight, Tony."
After watching Tony leave, Obadiah let out a long sigh, shaking his head in frustration.
"Oh, right, Hitomi. Come downstairs, I need your help."
"I'm coming, Mr. Stark," Kagura replied as she set down her laptop and headed downstairs.
"Hitomi, you know what to do," Obadiah grabbed her arm and whispered, "I want to make things better."
"Don't worry, Mr. Stane," Kagura smiled gently. "I won't let you down."
Sorry, but that was a lie, Mr. Stane.
Obadiah, of course, didn't know what was truly going on inside Kagura's mind. As she left, he smiled contentedly, as if everything were still under his control.
In his mind, no matter how smart Tony Stark was, he could never guess that his trusted assistant, Kagura Hitomi, was actually working for him.
The shrewd, bald man wore a smug grin.
Once he obtained the designs for the arc reactor, eliminated Tony Stark, and mass-produced the Iron Man suits, Stane Industries would become the top dog.
Obadiah Stane would rise to the pinnacle of his career, becoming the world's leading arms dealer.
Dreams like this were always intoxicating. And this was a dream tailor-made for him.
Tony Stark's Mansion, Underground Lab
Kagura walked into the lab.
The spacious room was filled with a dizzying array of equipment, instruments, and glass projection devices.
It was 2008, and practical holographic projection technology hadn't been widely adopted yet.
The only device capable of creating such projections was a holographic table tucked into one corner of the room.
On the desk, there was a small gift box.
Inside was a gift made from the first-generation arc reactor, with a note carved by Pepper for Tony:
"Tony Stark has a warm heart."
"Busy these past few days?" Tony was working at his desk, repairing the prototype of his next-generation flight stabilizer.
"Yeah, there's been more to handle."
"Sorry about that. Is there anything special going on?"
"Mr. Stane came to see me this morning. He asked if I could help him create Iron Man suits."
"Oh?"
Tony raised an eyebrow. "What did you say?"
"I agreed to it, on the surface," Kagura replied honestly. "I don't think I can stop Mr. Stane from trying to make the Iron Man suits, so I decided to help under the guise of assisting his development, but really I'm going to monitor his progress."
Tony furrowed his brows, then walked over and gently ruffled Kagura's silver hair. "Are you sure about this? It's not exactly a safe job."
"It's fine." Kagura shook her head, smiling.
"I'll be careful. More than that, I'm worried you might not approve or misunderstand, Mr. Stark."
"Honestly, I don't want to approve."
Tony sighed.
"But since you've made up your mind, I won't stop you. Just make sure to report back to me on Obadiah's progress regularly. We need to keep a close eye on what he's up to."
"Can I trust you, Miss Kagura?"
"Of course, Mr. Stark."
"It looks like what Obadiah is after isn't just the company my father left behind."
Tony continued, his voice serious. "What do you think would happen if my Iron Man suits and arc reactor tech got out into the world?"
Kagura had already given Tony the information about Obadiah and the Ten Rings' arms deals, so Tony no longer trusted Obadiah at all.
She brushed her long hair aside. "War, chaos, bloodshed, evil…"
"They'd become the most ruthless war machines ever, changing the world's balance forever."
"That's exactly what I'm worried about."
"Yeah."
Kagura nodded, then hesitated for a moment before deciding whether to bring up the military division.
"But?"
"But I think…"
Kagura bit her lip. "Shutting down the military division entirely might be… too rash. And I don't think it would really change the global arms trade."
Tony fell silent for a moment.
"Hitomi, you've seen those soldiers who died from Stark Industries weapons, right? You've seen the pile of weapons in that cave base, haven't you?"
"Yes, it was shocking."
Kagura replied.
"All of that is my responsibility. I completely ignored my responsibility."
Tony sighed again. "Kagura, I can't continue with the arms trade. I don't care who takes over, but I can't keep doing it. Sorry, I guess that's my selfishness."
He looked deeply into her eyes. "No matter the company, no matter who it is, if they're good enough, let them take over the military sales. I'm stepping out."
Tony stopped his work and placed a new design for the Iron Man Mark II prototype in front of Kagura.
"From now on, I have to take responsibility for what I ignored before."
"Mark II?"
The design before Kagura showed a silver Iron Man suit.
"Yeah."
Tony nodded.
"But it's not for sale. It's not going on Stark Industries' equipment list. It's just for personal use, to take responsibility and end the suffering that international justice, police, and military can't reach."
"I don't know who to trust right now. I went to Rhodes, but he's not interested."
"Are we talking about a private vigilante here, Mr. Stark?"
"It's not about the law, Hitomi."
"We're talking about responsibility and conscience."
Tony looked Kagura in the eyes. "Can I count on you?"
"Mm, of course."
Kagura nodded. "I'm your family, Mr. Stark."