The aerial journey back was much smoother, and Henry felt much more at ease. He began to enjoy the feeling of unrestrained flight, even performing various high-difficulty rolls and dives in the air.
"Hey, this actually feels pretty good!" He was like a child with a new toy. "Much cooler than Tony's iron cans. It just consumes a bit of energy; I'm starting to feel hungry again."
An hour later, in the CEO's office on the top floor of Stark Industries headquarters.
Happy was pacing back and forth in the office nervously. His arm was still wrapped in thick bandages, and his self-reproach and worry were practically overflowing. Pepper stood by the huge floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the streetscape, but her eyes were unfocused.
Suddenly, the elevator door dinged open, and Henry, still in the clearly ill-fitting Armani, strode in. Both people in the office turned to look at him simultaneously.
"Mr. Henry!" Happy rushed forward in one quick step, his eyes red with excitement. "I'm so glad you're okay! I... I failed to protect you that day!"
"It wasn't your fault, Happy." Henry patted his thick shoulder, giving him a reassuring look.
"Those guys were prepared; you did your best."
He walked past Happy, went straight to the bar, poured himself a glass of whiskey, and downed it in one go.
"Whew! That's the right taste." He let out a long breath, then turned to Pepper. "Pepper, do I look thinner? Those bastards wouldn't even feed me. It's practically a crime against humanity."
Pepper looked at him. Although Henry still looked frivolous, she could see a trace of exhaustion deep in his eyes. She couldn't imagine what the young master of the Stark family had been through.
"Welcome back, Henry." Her voice was a little hoarse. "We were all so worried about you. And Tony... he..."
"It's okay, listen to me." Henry interrupted her. He walked to the main chair and sat down without hesitation, propping his feet up on the expensive office desk.
"I don't think these two incidents were a coincidence."
He looked at Pepper and Happy, dropping all joking expressions. His eyes became sharp.
"After I was captured, the people interrogating me knew everything about Stark Industries' weapon secrets, even some details that only Tony and I discussed in the lab. And the organization that kidnapped me was Hydra."
"Hydra?!" Pepper and Happy gasped in unison. They both knew about Hydra—the evil organization that only existed in historical files and was supposedly destroyed by Captain America???
"Exactly. And the person who could simultaneously access Stark Industries' core secrets and connect with an organization like Hydra..." Henry drew out his words, his gaze meaningful. "...is not common in this company."
Pepper's face instantly turned white. A name she desperately didn't want to believe surfaced in her mind.
"Are you saying... Mr. Obadiah?"
"Who else?" Henry chuckled softly. "The uncle who watched us grow up, as kind as Santa Claus. I suspect he masterminded both my and Tony's attacks. His goal is obvious: eliminate both of us, then legitimately take over all of Stark Industries."
"That bastard!" Happy slammed his fist onto the table in anger. "I'm going to smash him right now!"
"Calm down, Happy." Henry waved his hand. "Finding evidence is about retrieving his money for maximum benefit and squeezing out his value. After all, the guy has been bleeding Stark Industries dry for all these years, hasn't he?"
Henry was saying this to comfort them. As for the old man, his fate was sealed the moment he set his sights on Henry. The reason for not dealing with him immediately was that Henry had another important matter to attend to.
He looked at Pepper, his tone becoming serious: "Pepper, Jarvis will grant you access. I need you to use all authority to secretly investigate all of Obadiah's recent financial transactions and communication records, especially those related to his shell companies and any clues connected to the Middle East. Happy, you assist Pepper. Use all your security contacts to dig up all the dirt on Obadiah from over the years. Remember, this must be done in secret. Don't let anyone suspect anything."
"Understood." Pepper and Happy nodded heavily, their eyes resolute.
"Excellent." Henry stood up and stretched. "I'll leave the paperwork to you two. I need to go home and prepare some heavy machinery. After all, I have to go bring our wayward family head back."
With that, he turned and headed for the elevator. Just before the elevator doors closed, he turned back to instruct them: "Keep an eye on our company until I return. If Obadiah comes back early, stall him. Don't let him find anything unusual."
He drove a company car to a secluded suburb at top speed. Then, he abandoned the car and shot into the sky, flying toward the Malibu beachfront villa. He wasn't ready to let people know he was a superhuman yet; after all, it was common sense to know which stock value would be higher: one Stark returning or two Starks returning.
Soon, the white villa nestled on the cliff edge appeared in his view, and Henry's mood brightened. Home, he was back.
He didn't alert anyone and landed directly at the entrance of the underground laboratory. After his fingerprint and iris scans passed, the heavy alloy door slowly slid open.
The lab was exactly as he had left it, filled with various holographic projections and precision instruments, exuding a sense of futuristic technology.
"Jarvis, are you there?" he called softly.
"Always have been, Sir." A gentle, English-accented male voice echoed in the lab. "Welcome back, Mr. Henry. I have detected significant changes in your physiological data. Would you like a comprehensive body scan?"
"Of course, project the data for me to see." Henry walked toward the testing area while taking off the ill-fitting Armani. "Also, help me test my current strength limit."
Soon, a huge holographic screen displayed Henry's physiological indicators. Almost every data point was followed by a series of green arrows, indicating levels far beyond a normal human.
"Cell activity is 28 times that of an average person... metabolic rate is 35 times... bone density..."
Henry looked at the data and nodded in satisfaction. "It seems those Hydra guys weren't completely useless; at least the Superman Serum is effective. I just wonder if there are any side effects."
He walked over to the strength testing area, where a limited-edition Bugatti Veyron from Tony's collection was parked.
"You're the one." Henry took a deep breath, grabbed the front of the car with both hands, and lifted it sharply!
The nearly two-ton sports car was lifted effortlessly over his head, like a foam model.