The so-called "Mandarin" was nothing more than a puppet set up by Aldrich Killian.
He used beautiful women and drugs to control the man, then had him film threatening videos — creating the illusion that he was the mastermind behind the attacks.
First, the name "Mandarin" was chosen to create fear and sensation worldwide.
Second, it was meant to divert the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. and other global security agencies.
This "Mandarin" was a complete fool.
After becoming a puppet, he lived like a king — always attended by beautiful women, constantly entertained, under a sort of luxurious house arrest.
Most incredible of all, after everything that happened, he didn't die, nor did he spend much time in prison.
Later, in Shang-Chi, he even appeared again — this time happily hanging out with a certain mythic beast from Ta-Lo.
Thinking of this, Lock turned to Pepper and asked:
"Has Killian been looking for you?"
Pepper blinked in surprise.
"You know about that, too? Yes, he came to see me. I didn't tell Tony because I didn't want him to misunderstand."
"He showed me some kind of neural network technology. But it felt too militarized. Since Tony no longer lets the company build weapons, I turned him away."
Lock couldn't help laughing:
"Hahaha, do you know that he is the one behind all this? The Mandarin is just his puppet to draw attention away from him."
Tony, Pepper, and Happy all stared in disbelief.
Tony asked:
"That's impossible. Why would he do all this? What's in it for him?"
Lock gave Tony a long look and said:
"Besides wanting money and power — revenge."
Ten years ago, Killian was a crippled, desperate scientist. At a cocktail party, he finally had the chance to talk to Tony Stark in an elevator.
But Tony had been flirting with a brilliant scientist — Dr. Maya Hansen — and was planning a "deep scientific discussion" with her in a hotel room.
Naturally, Tony brushed Killian off, told him to wait on the rooftop for five minutes…
…and then completely forgot about him.
Tony and Maya enjoyed themselves through the night, while Killian froze on the roof until dawn.
From that night on, Killian swore vengeance on Tony Stark.
Seeing Lock stare at him, Tony frowned.
"Why are you looking at me? Are you saying this guy is after me? I don't even know him."
"You know him," Lock replied calmly. "You just don't remember him."
"This goes back more than ten years. Tony, do you remember a beautiful doctor named Maya Hansen?"
"Uh…" Tony's eyes darted to Pepper. "I… don't think so."
He quickly shot Lock a pleading glance.
Lock ignored him.
"If Maya were ambitious enough, you might already have a 13-year-old child."
Tony's face went pale. Pepper's expression turned sharp — her eyes narrowed, tears threatening to fall, her heart caught between anger and hurt.
Given Tony's past, the thought wasn't impossible.
Tony had lived a life of indulgence, never caring about consequences — and he wasn't known for taking precautions back then.
Seeing his guilty expression, Lock added lightly:
"Don't worry. I'm just saying if."
Tony exhaled, relieved, then glared.
"Lock, seriously, don't scare me like that. If you know something, just say it."
"Do you remember that there was a lame man with you and Maya in that elevator — trying to sell you his research?"
Tony's face changed slightly.
"Now that you mention it… Yeah, there was someone. I told him to wait on the roof."
"That was Killian."
With Tony's genius brain, the pieces immediately fell into place.
The once pitiful cripple had now turned himself into a powerful man — and he wanted revenge on the people who humiliated him.
Tony frowned, suddenly uneasy, remembering Killian had visited Pepper personally.
"Lock… you're here to deal with them, right?"
Lock shook his head.
"No. I only came because Happy is my friend. I believe that with your resources, you can handle this problem easily."
He added:
"By the way, that same Dr. Maya Hansen is now working for Killian. If she comes to you, be careful. And the current U.S. Vice President is in on this, too."
In the original events of Iron Man 3, Killian's actual power wasn't overwhelming — but his schemes wasted Tony's time.
Tony spent so long chasing the fake Mandarin that by the time he learned the truth, Pepper had already been captured and injected with Extremis.
Now, with Lock laying everything bare, Tony had no reason to waste time. With his intellect and influence, taking down Killian's entire network would be trivial.
Before leaving, Lock grabbed pen and paper, scribbled a line, folded it, and handed it to Tony.
"When you and Pepper leave the hospital, there'll be a horde of reporters outside. Before you say anything, read this first."
Tony glanced at the note.
"Is this one of those 'mystic Eastern tricks'?"
Lock smirked.
"No trick — just advice. I'm heading out. Happy, get some rest."
"Where are you going?" Pepper asked.
"Thor and Jane found something strange in London. I want to see for myself."
Lock left the hospital, soaring into the sky.
Inside the ward, Happy's heart was racing with excitement.
Pepper panicked.
"Should we call the doctor?!"
"No, no — I'm fine," Happy grinned. "Did you hear that? King Lock said I'm his friend! Hahaha! I even sparred with him! Wait until I tell everyone at the bar!"
Pepper just pressed her palm to her forehead. She couldn't understand why men thought bragging rights were more important than living.
Tony, however, completely understood.
"It's brag-worthy, Happy. But you need people to believe you."
That single sentence threw Happy into new turmoil.
Who would believe it?
Everyone believed Tony — he'd fought alongside gods in the Battle of New York.
But Happy? He was just the bodyguard.
Maybe… maybe he could say he fought King Lock and survived?
…No, that was even less believable.
When Tony and Pepper left the hospital, a sea of reporters surrounded them.
Tony had been about to announce his Malibu address and challenge the attackers to come get him — just like in the original timeline — but then he remembered Lock's note.
He opened it.
Do not publish your address.
Tony froze. How did Lock know what he was about to do?
It was a thought that had popped into his head less than ten seconds ago.
So instead, he smirked at the cameras and said:
"Mandarin, you want me? Come and get me. My home address is 880 Malibu Point. Don't chicken out."
Of course, this was a decoy. Tony hadn't lived there in a while.
When Killian's helicopters arrived the next day, they were immediately ambushed by remote-controlled suits and automated defenses.
Killian was livid.
First, Stark humiliated him years ago — now he'd been tricked again.
He was forced to fall back to his original plan: send Maya to lure Pepper.
But Maya never got the chance. She was arrested the moment she approached, thanks to Tony's pre-arranged security.
A false message was then sent to Killian, claiming Pepper had been taken hostage and providing the location of his lair.
Within hours, an army of remote-controlled suits and armed forces surrounded his base.
Killian was completely cornered.
His carefully designed plot crumbled like paper — no grand showdown, no elaborate fight.
Just a quick, clean takedown.
Killian even began doubting himself.
Was his "genius plan" always this stupid?
Meanwhile, Lock soared across the Atlantic, arriving in London.
This time, he came for the Aether — the Reality Stone.
But the Infinity Stones were never easy to claim.
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A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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