"Ugh…"
With a gasp, Tony finally came to his senses.
"You okay, Tony?"
Tony grabbed Smith Doyle's arm and said,
"Thanks for your help, Smith Doyle. You saved my life—again."
Hearing Tony acknowledge his help, Smith Doyle felt satisfied with the results of this trip and replied,
"It was Pepper Potts who contacted me. She said you were in trouble."
"Oh, and she mentioned she found evidence of Obadiah framing you. But he might've realized she was onto him."
Hearing that Pepper had been the one to contact Smith, Tony immediately asked,
"Where is she? Is Pepper okay?"
Smith thought for a moment, recalling the original plot, then said,
"Probably? She went with some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to arrest Obadiah."
"S.H.I.E.L.D.? Those guys are useless. Looks like we'll have to handle this ourselves."
Tony still remembered Obadiah boasting about building something massive—something S.H.I.E.L.D.'s useless agents wouldn't be able to stop.
Without hesitation, Tony got to his feet and headed downstairs to his lab to suit up.
Smith Doyle, standing nearby, reminded him,
"Tony, you're still running with the old arc reactor. You should swap it out."
"I remember last time I was here, the Mark II had a new arc reactor model—but I didn't see it in the lab."
Smith knew that the old reactor didn't provide enough power, and Tony had nearly lost to Obadiah because of it.
But Tony shook his head and said helplessly,
"That one barely had any energy left—I scrapped it."
Hearing that, Smith Doyle shrugged with resignation. Looked like Tony was going to have a rough time again.
"I'm heading out to help Pepper. You coming?"
A battle between Iron Man and Iron Monger? Smith couldn't resist.
"Sure. Let's go see the show."
Once Smith agreed, Tony quickly suited up in the Mark IV armor.
When the helmet sealed shut, J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice echoed inside,
"Sir, you're at 80% power."
"That's enough!"
"Smith, let's see who's faster this time!"
With a dramatic pose, Tony launched into the sky from his mansion like a rocket.
Watching Tony take off first, Smith knew he was worried about Pepper.
Wasting no time, Smith burst into flight, using the Air Dance Technique to pursue.
Both of them tore through the sky, breaking the sound barrier—BOOM—faster than the eye could follow.
---
Meanwhile…
Pepper Potts arrived at the Ark Reactor exhibit with Coulson and a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
Muttering to herself, she said,
"Sector 16… It should be right underneath this."
Based on the file names, Pepper suspected Obadiah's project was hidden here.
If S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't wasted time watching the video, holding meetings, and mobilizing agents, they wouldn't have been delayed until nighttime—and Tony wouldn't have gotten hurt.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had deemed Tony's case outside their superhuman jurisdiction. Their main focus was still on Smith Doyle. The only reason they even paid attention to Tony was because of his public profile—and his late father being a S.H.I.E.L.D. founding member.
Ultimately, it took Director Nick Fury's personal approval to authorize agents to move on Obadiah.
Pepper led the group underground but was stopped by a heavy security door. Her keycard didn't work.
In the end, Coulson used more "direct" methods—BOOM!—blasting the door open.
Inside Sector 16, Pepper led the search team.
But Obadiah was already one step ahead—fully suited up in the Iron Monger armor, and he'd spotted Pepper.
When Pepper saw the massive suit, she immediately turned and ran. She'd seen Tony's Mark I before and knew full well these agents wouldn't stand a chance.
The agents, however, raised their handguns and opened fire.
Biu, biu, biu!
The bullets were useless—barely leaving a mark.
Obadiah had no intention of surrendering. He believed that if he could eliminate everyone here, he could bury the whole thing.
With no hesitation, Iron Monger began his rampage—smashing agents like bugs. One punch, one corpse.
The agents' sacrifice gave Pepper enough time to escape the sector and make it outside Stark Industries.
Just then, her phone rang—it was Tony.
She answered immediately and asked,
"Tony! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Thanks for bringing in Smith Doyle. You two saved my life again."
To Tony, it wasn't just Smith Doyle who saved him—it was Pepper, who had gone to him for help both times.
"Tony, Obadiah's lost it. He—"
Before she could finish, Tony cut her off:
"I know. Listen to me—get out of there. Now."
As Pepper talked through her Bluetooth headset, the ground beneath her erupted.
CRASH!
Iron Monger burst out from below.
"Where do you think you're going?"
The mechanical voice of Obadiah echoed from within the giant armor.
Pepper screamed in terror as the hulking metal suit loomed over her.
"I don't need you anymore, darling."
Iron Monger raised his arm. The minigun on it began to spin, ready to fire.
"STOP!"
Just in time, Tony arrived—flying in at Mach 3—and SLAMMED into Iron Monger, knocking him out of the complex and onto the street.
---
Their clash instantly caused a pileup of cars and a major traffic jam.
Two men in giant suits of armor fighting in the street was more than people's nerves could handle. No one knew tech had come this far.
A mother driving with her child stopped right in front of Iron Monger and, panicking, laid on the horn.
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
Annoyed, Obadiah grabbed the car and prepared to hurl it at Tony.
"I love this suit!" he roared.
"Put them down!" Tony shouted back.
"You're finished, Tony."
Without hesitation, Tony commanded,
"J.A.R.V.I.S., full power to the chest repulsor."
BOOM!
A thick blast of energy burst from the Mark III's chest, striking Iron Monger and blasting him away. The car he had been holding flew into the air.
Tony shot forward and caught the car by the hood, gently lowering it to the ground.
"Sir, you're down to 60% energy."
That one blast had drained nearly 20% of his power—proof of how weak the old arc reactor was.
He remembered that when he'd used this same move against Smith Doyle with the newer model, J.A.R.V.I.S. hadn't even bothered to warn him.
—End of chapter—
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