— A few days later, somewhere in Los Angeles.
"Did you get the reactor?"
Obadiah, wearing sunglasses, asked.
"It's here, you can check it."
The suited man, also wearing sunglasses, handed over a briefcase.
Obadiah opened the case, confirming its contents, and smiled with satisfaction.
"Perfect."
"So, what about our agreement?"
"Piece of cake."
Obadiah nodded with a smile, "The reorganized Stark Industries will serve you well."
"Tony Stark has already gone down the wrong path. We'll deal with him, as well as any other obstacles."
The suited man emphasized.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it."
Obadiah smiled, "You've done a great favor for me, I won't forget it."
"Good."
The suited man revealed an evil grin. "Hail Hydra."
— Later that night, Stark Weapons Research Center.
"Beep beep."
Kagura Hitomi, carrying a long, cylindrical package, swiped her ID card at the entrance. The doors to the weapons research center opened automatically.
"You're here, Kagura Hitomi."
Obadiah was standing in the lobby, looking at the completed large Iron Man suit.
"There's been an Iron Man causing trouble around the world, destroying quite a bit of our weaponry."
"Iron Man?"
Kagura Hitomi asked, pretending to be curious.
"Exactly. He's using the weaponry tech we're developing, so his identity is obvious."
Obadiah turned around. "Looks like Tony has truly gone down the wrong road."
Kagura Hitomi stayed silent.
"A weapons dealer who stops selling weapons to destroy them in the name of maintaining peace... Tony's path is so misguided," Obadiah continued. "Anyway, let's get back to business. Come see this."
Obadiah walked over and pulled out a case, opening it with a password.
A blue and white glow emerged from the case.
The round arc reactor inside emitted a mesmerizing light.
"Look at it. Isn't it beautiful?"
Obadiah smiled with pride.
"With this, we hold the future in our hands."
Kagura Hitomi scanned the arc reactor with her holo-UI.
[Improved Arc Reactor, output power: 12 billion joules per second.]
It looked like a legitimate arc reactor, and a high-quality one at that.
Kagura Hitomi felt a sense of doubt but remained calm on the surface. "Do we need to reverse engineer it with the tech department?"
"No."
Obadiah rejected the suggestion. "Before that, let's install it. Let's see how the suit performs, and do a technical validation."
"I wouldn't recommend that, Mr. Stane."
"Install it!"
Obadiah didn't give her a chance to argue.
"Understood."
Kagura Hitomi set down the package and moved to install the arc reactor into Obadiah's Iron Man suit.
She used her hacking skills to infiltrate the suit's system, restricting the reactor's output to below 50%.
"You're dressed differently today, Kagura Hitomi."
Obadiah noticed her outfit.
"New clothes?"
Kagura Hitomi glanced down at her attire.
A black and purple fitted suit, paired with a gray plaid pleated skirt.
Her black over-the-knee stockings covered most of her legs, accentuating her curves.
In addition to her usual outfit, today she wore a pair of gray-white tactical gloves.
This was her custom-designed gear.
The everyday outfit was made from advanced, lightweight carbon nanofiber, providing excellent protection.
Her newly crafted gear was ready for use, so Kagura Hitomi wore it, also gathering data for future improvements.
"Yes, new clothes. Do you like them?"
Kagura Hitomi playfully flipped her silver hair and asked.
"Quite nice, unique," Obadiah replied, seemingly unaware of the suit's significance.
"So, any issues with the reactor installation?"
"Installation is complete, Mr. Stane."
Kagura Hitomi secured the arc reactor into the Iron Man suit.
"It should be ready to activate now."
"Great, great, hahaha!"
Obadiah laughed with excitement. "Well done, Kagura Hitomi! Thanks to your help!"
"Glad to help."
Kagura Hitomi smiled. "Anything else?"
"No, that's it. Your contributions will always be remembered by Stane Industries. You can go rest now."
Obadiah said, his tone heavy with meaning.
"Alright."
Kagura Hitomi wasn't bothered. "I'll take my leave then."
She picked up her long cylindrical package, slung it over her shoulder, and turned to walk toward the door.
"Kagura Hitomi."
"Hm?"
"What's in that package?"
Obadiah noticed the black cylindrical package on her back.
"It's some discarded blueprints. I'm taking them to record and will destroy them later. Do you need to review them, Mr. Stane?"
Kagura Hitomi answered calmly.
"No need. Be careful on your way home."
Obadiah didn't ask further, smiling as he watched Kagura Hitomi leave.
The completion of Obadiah's Iron Man suit marked the birth of "Iron Monger."
Tonight, Los Angeles would witness a battle between Iron Man and Iron Monger.
But how did the bald man get his hands on the arc reactor?
Kagura Hitomi walked down the empty street, pondering.
At that moment, her phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hitomi! Where are you?"
Pepper Potts's urgent voice came through the phone.
"I'm on my way home, Pepper. What's going on?"
Kagura Hitomi sensed the severity in her tone.
"We just got word. Two hours ago, Tony's house was invaded! Unknown individuals breached the security, entered the underground lab. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, don't worry, Pepper. I've been at the company."
Kagura Hitomi reassured her. "What about Mr. Stark?"
"Tony was out doing a magazine interview, he wasn't home."
Pepper said, "I'm glad you're okay. Come back quickly!"
"Pepper, do you have the surveillance footage from the invasion? I'd like to take a look."
Kagura Hitomi was puzzled. Who would dare break into Tony Stark's home?
Aren't they afraid of getting blasted into pieces by Iron Man?
"Sure, I'll send it to you right away. Stay safe and hurry back!"
"Okay, I'll be careful, Pepper."
After the call ended, a video was sent to Kagura Hitomi's phone.
The video showed a man in his prime, blowing open the garage door, entering Tony Stark's lab, and forcibly smashing the storage cabinet holding the Mark III Iron Man suit to steal the arc reactor.
Kagura Hitomi frowned as she watched the intruder.
This guy... he's showing up way too early, isn't he?
The man had dark hair and a silver metal left arm adorned with a red star.
"Winter Soldier…"
Kagura Hitomi muttered.
Wait a second, why is it so quiet around here?
Snapping back to reality, Kagura Hitomi stopped and looked around. There wasn't a soul on the street.
This is definitely not normal.
A sense of unease crept over her.
Suddenly, her holo-UI began flashing red warning messages.
Hostile entity information started appearing in her line of sight.
Huh?
Obadiah, so I'm on your clean-up list too?
...