One mistake.
That's all it would take to unravel everything he'd built so far.
Tony stared down at the half-burned schematic lying on his workbench—carbon-scorched at the edges, still smoking faintly. The smell of burnt graphene polymer filled the lab.
> [Warning: Power Surge Detected – Cause: Arc Reactor Overclock Exceeded Safe Parameters by 18%.]
[Note: Archive cooling module not yet integrated.]
"Yeah," he muttered, waving away smoke. "I noticed."
Prototype Chassis V-0.4 had almost melted its spine actuator during a test lift. The pressure seals hadn't been rated for the torque force the arm servos delivered—he had forgotten to adjust the calibration after adding new magnetic compression rings.
It was a small oversight.
Small oversights get people killed.
He couldn't afford that. Not when he knew what was coming.
---
Two Days Earlier – Stark Tower, Manhattan
Obadiah leaned on the balcony railing, swirling whiskey in a crystal glass, his eyes fixed on the city skyline. The man beside him—balding, early fifties, military posture—stood in silence.
"Is he doing anything… dangerous?" Obadiah asked.
The man handed him a file. "He's building something. Redirecting funds. Materials orders match power-regulated chassis plating. Could be industrial. Could be… pre-combat tech."
Obadiah sipped his drink. "You ever try to put a lion in a collar, General Ross?"
The general gave a cold smile. "You get eaten."
---
Present – Malibu
Tony ran diagnostics for the third time that morning. New reinforced alloys were on the way from a private supplier in Japan—non-traceable, paid through shell grants. He'd have to write a paper or two to keep MIT happy, but that was fine. He could finish a doctorate thesis in his sleep now.
The Archive helped with that.
> [New Branch Unlocked: Adaptive Alloy Chemistry (Mark I Tier Complete)]
[Sub-Path Opened: Nano-Compression Layering – Locked (Requires: Vibranium Sample)]
Always with the Vibranium.
Still, the suit was getting closer to viability. Each successful test brought him one step closer to being prepared for Afghanistan. If he could step into that cave with more than a box of scraps—if he had a base frame or energy core waiting somewhere…
He could change everything.
---
That Evening
Dinner with Maria was unusually quiet. Howard was overseas—Switzerland, if Tony remembered right—still chasing Cold War shadows and old ghosts.
Maria watched Tony eat, expression unreadable.
"You're pushing too hard," she said finally.
Tony raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"You sleep four hours a night. You barely speak to anyone. You've stopped writing music, and I haven't seen you draw in weeks. You were a child with a paintbrush once. You loved color."
Tony hesitated.
That version of him—the one with crayons and dreams—had died long before the soul in his chest ever took over. Maybe Howard had killed it. Maybe the world had. Maybe Tony Stark was always meant to become metal and fire.
"I see more color now," he said softly, "when the arc reactor spins up."
Maria flinched.
---
Later That Night – In the Archive
Tony sat cross-legged in the simulated workroom, surrounded by a ring of armor blueprints. Not quite the Mark I from the cave, but close—more advanced. Sleeker joints. Emergency power fail-safes. Targeted EMP dampeners.
> [Timeline Divergence: 0.41%]
[Path Stabilizing – Future Impact Zones Identified:]
• Stark Industries R&D Division
• Ten Rings Activity – Unusual Movement (Afghanistan)
• Hydra Data Bloom – Dormant Node Detected in SI Subsidiary Accounts
That last one made him pause.
Hydra. Already?
He pulled the data thread open. Fragmented code. Financial routes embedded deep in dummy corporations—shell accounts under a weapons division no longer in active use. On the surface, innocent.
Underneath? Tendrils.
---
> [Do you wish to trace and flag hostile network behavior?]
Tony hesitated.
The Archive was smart. Too smart. If he started poking at Hydra now, it could spiral. The butterfly wings he was flapping might cause a hurricane before Iron Man was born.
"Not yet," he whispered. "Not until I can hit back harder."
> [Acknowledged.]
[Node marked as latent threat. Observation protocols enabled.]
---
Early Morning – Secret Lab
The new spinal brace for Prototype V-0.5 was reinforced with graphene-tempered carbon steel, designed to hold under extreme torque.
He bolted the final piece into place, connected the reactor interface, and stepped into the harness.
> [Synchronizing…]
[Vitals Stable. Load Distribution: 89% Optimal.]
[Activating Assistive Servo Suite.]
He took one step.
Then another.
The floor panels hissed softly as the weight displaced. Servo motors purred, responsive. Feedback was instantaneous. He raised his arm and flexed—smooth motion, no jitter.
For the first time since his rebirth, Tony Stark felt like Iron Man.
Not a man in a box. Not a weapon.
A builder of futures.
---
And yet… something still gnawed at him.
That morning, the Archive had flashed a new header line at the top of his HUD.
> [MULTIVERSE SIGNAL – WEAK PING DETECTED.]
[Design Pattern: "Superior Iron Man" – Classification: Hostile Echo.]
[Monitoring for Contamination.]
Tony stared at the warning long after the rest of the lab powered down.
He didn't know what "Superior Iron Man" meant yet. But something—some version of him—was watching.
Some version had done this before.
And maybe that version had failed.
---
Meanwhile – Afghanistan
In the sands of Golmira, the Ten Rings leader stood watching a crate marked with the faded logo of Stark Industries.
Inside, weapons gleamed under cloth tarps. Missiles. Repulsor rifles. Mines.
He nodded once.
A deal had been made.
The kidnapping was already in motion.
---
[END OF CHAPTER 4]