Pepper swung open the door to Tony's workshop, pausing at the sight before her. Multiple holographic displays filled the air, showing not just the Mark III schematics, but also footage of the Superman-Metallo fight that had dominated the news. Tony stood in the middle of it all, hands moving through data streams as JARVIS analyzed energy signatures that shouldn't exist.
"Sir, the radiation patterns from the additional cores are unlike anything in our database," JARVIS reported. "The interaction between the variants appears to be creating some kind of amplification effect."
"Show me the molecular breakdown again," Tony ordered, studying a 3D model of what looked like crystalline structures. "Focus on how the blue and red samples interact with the original green—"
He caught sight of Pepper and quickly gestured, collapsing several displays. "Hey. You busy?" He approached her, trying to look casual despite the chaos of information behind him. "You mind if I send you on an errand?"
"What is all this?" Pepper gestured at the remaining displays where Superman could be seen driving Metallo north, away from populated areas. The three cores in the cyborg's chest pulsed with sickly light that made even the video feed seem wrong somehow.
"That's... complicated." Tony grabbed a small device from his workbench. "But right now, I need you to go to my office. You're going to hack into the mainframe and retrieve all the recent shipping manifests." He handed her the lock chip. "This'll get you in. It's probably under Executive Files. If not, they put it on a ghost drive, in which case you need to look for the lowest numeric heading."
"Sir," JARVIS cut in, "thermal imaging suggests the fight is moving into Arctic airspace. The combination of radiation signatures matches what we encountered in Gulmira."
Pepper's eyes narrowed as she studied the footage. "Tony, what aren't you telling me? First the armor, now this... these energy readings JARVIS is tracking..."
"The mineral samples from Gulmira," Tony muttered, more to himself than her as he pulled up another display. "They weren't just weapons-grade material. Someone's been experimenting, creating variants. And now they've turned a soldier into a walking reactor."
"And what do you plan to do with this information if I bring it back here?" Pepper asked cautiously, the lock chip heavy in her hand.
"Same drill." Tony's voice hardened as he watched Metallo slam Superman through what looked like an ice shelf. "They've been dealing under the table, and I'm going to stop them. I'm going to find my weapons and destroy them." His jaw clenched. "All of them. Including whatever they used to create that thing."
"Analysis complete," JARVIS announced. "The blue variant appears to be enhancing cellular regeneration while the red sample affects psychological responses. Combined with the original mineral's radiation..."
"They've created something that can actually hurt him," Tony finished, watching Superman struggle against the enhanced radiation. "And they did it using my tech as the base. My weapons. My responsibility."
"Tony," Pepper started, her voice carrying that particular mix of concern and frustration he'd grown too familiar with lately. "You know that I would help you with anything, but I cannot help you if you're going to start all of this again."
Tony finally looked away from the displays, his attention fully on her. "There is nothing except this. There's no art opening. There is no benefit. There is nothing to sign." His eyes drifted back to where Metallo was demonstrating impossible strength. "There is the next mission and nothing else."
"Sir, the radiation levels are increasing exponentially," JARVIS reported. "The mineral variants appear to be creating some kind of feedback loop."
"Is that so?" Pepper's voice went cold. "Well, then, I quit." She threw the lock chip onto the table, the small device clattering against metal.
"You stood by my side all these years while I reaped the benefits of destruction." Tony's words stopped her at the doorway. Behind him, the displays showed Superman being driven into the ice by a blast that carried more power than should have been possible. "And now that I'm trying to protect the people that I put in harm's way, you're going to walk out?"
"You're going to kill yourself, Tony." Pepper's voice cracked slightly. "I'm not going to be a part of it."
Tony slumped into a chair, unable to look at her. On the screens, Metallo's enhanced strength sent Superman carving a trench through Arctic ice. "I shouldn't be alive unless it was for a reason." His eyes found the schematics for his armor, then the energy readings from Metallo's cores. "I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it's right."
"The mineral's effects appear to be intensifying," JARVIS noted. "Energy output has exceeded previous maximum readings by 312%. At this rate, the cellular damage to Superman's biology—"
"Mute," Tony ordered softly, his eyes locked with Pepper's. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then Pepper sighed, a long exhale that seemed to carry years of worry. She walked back to the table and picked up the lock chip.
"You're all I have too, you know," she said quietly.
Tony watched her walk away, his chest tight around the arc reactor. Once she was gone, he turned back to the displays. "JARVIS, give me everything you've got on these radiation patterns. And get me a location on that fight."
"The engagement appears to be approaching what satellites suggest is some kind of structure in the Arctic ice," JARVIS reported as new data streams filled the air. "Though its energy signature is... unusual."
"Show me the mineral interaction models again," Tony ordered, his mind already racing through possibilities. "If they've managed to create variants that can enhance each other's effects..."
"Sir, perhaps we should alert Colonel Rhodes about—"
"No." Tony's voice was firm as he studied the crystalline structures floating before him. "This goes way above anything Rhodey can handle. We're talking about power that can hurt Superman. Technology that shouldn't exist yet." His hands moved through the data with practiced precision. "And it's all built on my designs. My weapons."
"The radiation levels continue to climb," JARVIS noted. "If the pattern holds, the combination of variants could trigger a cascading reaction that would—"
"I know." Tony watched as Metallo slammed Superman into the ice again, the cores in his chest pulsing brighter with each impact. "Pull up everything we have on the armor's radiation shielding. If we have to get involved..."
"Sir, even with the modifications we made after Gulmira, the suit isn't designed to handle this level of—"
"I know that too." Tony's eyes never left the displays as he watched the fight moving closer to whatever waited in the Arctic ice. "But we might not have a choice. Because whatever's about to happen up there..." He gestured at the readings that showed Metallo's power levels still climbing. "It's going to make Gulmira look like a warm-up."
The workshop filled with new holograms as JARVIS compiled data, the AI's processors working overtime to analyze energy signatures that defied conventional physics. Through it all, Tony kept watching the footage, his expression growing harder as he recognized more and more of his own technology in what Luthor had created.
"Sometimes I think I know what's worse," he said quietly, more to himself than JARVIS. "The weapons I meant to create, or the ones I never imagined they'd build from my work." He watched Metallo demonstrate impossible strength as the cores pulsed in harmony. "Get me everything you can on Luthor's cybernetics program. And keep tracking that fight. Something tells me we haven't seen what those mineral variants can really do yet."
"Indeed, sir," JARVIS replied as new data streams filled the air. "Though perhaps we should hope we don't find out."
Tony's only response was to pull up the Mark III schematics again, his fingers already making adjustments to the radiation shielding. Above him, the displays showed Superman and Metallo vanishing into the Arctic storm, while energy readings continued to climb toward levels that shouldn't be possible.
The storm was coming. The only question was whether he'd be ready when it hit.
The elevator doors opened onto Stark Industries' top floor with a soft chime that seemed too cheerful for Pepper's churning stomach. She stepped out cautiously, her heels clicking against polished marble as she scanned the empty offices. The usual bustle of corporate life had died down to that particular stillness that came with late afternoons, when even the most dedicated employees had gone home.
Perfect timing, or terrible luck - she wasn't sure which yet.
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, she caught glimpses of news helicopters circling in the distance, no doubt still tracking that thing attacking Superman. The sight made her chest tighten as she remembered the haunted look in Tony's eyes as he'd studied the energy readings. Another problem she couldn't let herself think about right now.
Focus on what's in front of you, she told herself firmly. One crisis at a time.
Tony's office waited at the end of the hall, all glass and chrome and that particular mix of ego and elegance that defined everything Stark. She slipped inside, closing the door with deliberate care. The soft click of the latch seemed unnaturally loud in the empty space.
The computer hummed to life at her touch, Stark Industries' logo spinning lazily before demanding login credentials. Her fingers found the lock chip in her purse, cool metal carrying the weight of Tony's trust. And maybe something worse, given how he'd been acting lately.
The security breach warnings flashed angry red as she inserted the drive, then faded to access granted green. She blew out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. First hurdle cleared.
The Ghost Drive appeared immediately, along with eight other files that shouldn't exist. She clicked through them with growing unease - Confidential shipments to the Middle East, more manifests that had never crossed her desk. Then a TOP SECRET file that made her blood run cold: designs for what looked like Tony's original suit, marked "Sector 16."
"What are you up to, Obadiah?" she whispered, the words barely a breath as she selected the Ultra_Secret file.
The video player that popped up showed Tony in a way that made her heart stop. Bloody, battered, surrounded by armed men - the reality of his captivity that he'd never let them see. The Urdu voices barked harsh demands that the translation software quickly rendered into English:
"You did not tell us that the target you paid us to kill was the great Tony Stark. As you can see, Obadiah Stane..."
"Oh my God." The words came out as a horrified whisper. Her hands shook as she started copying files to the drive, mind racing to process the implications. All those weapons shipments, the secret projects, Tony's paranoia since coming home - it hadn't been paranoia at all.
"So, what are we going to do about this?"
Obadiah's voice froze her in place. He stood in the doorway, smiling that particular smile that had always set off warning bells she'd forced herself to ignore. Now those bells were screaming.
"Hmm?" He strolled into the office like they were having a casual meeting, making his way to Tony's private bar. While he poured himself a drink, Pepper managed to slide the newspaper over the drive with trembling fingers that she forced to appear casual.
"I know what you're going through, Pepper," he said, studying the amber liquid in his glass. He sniffed the bottle appreciatively. "Ah, Tony. Always gets the good stuff."
She forced her lips into something approximating a smile, nodding politely while her hand found the mouse. The last files were still copying - each progress bar moving with agonizing slowness. Just a few more seconds...
"I was so happy when he came home," Obadiah continued, settling onto the edge of the desk. "It was like we got him back from the dead." His eyes fixed on her with uncomfortable intensity. "Now I realize, well, Tony never really did come home, did he? He left a part of himself in that cave. Breaks my heart."
Through the windows behind him, she could see more news helicopters gathering. Whatever was happening with Superman had drawn every camera in the city. But right now she had her own monster to deal with.
"Well, he's a complicated person," she managed, keeping her voice steady through sheer force of will. The copy was almost complete. "He's been through a lot. I think he'll be alright."
Obadiah's scrutiny felt like a physical weight. "You are a very rare woman. Tony doesn't know how lucky he is."
She felt heat rise in her cheeks - partly from the compliment, partly from fear that he'd seen through her act. "Thank you. Thanks." The files finished copying and she clicked the screensaver on just as he leaned forward to look at the monitor. "I'd better get back there."
She stood, gathering the newspaper and drive in one smooth motion that she'd practiced too many times dealing with Tony's various crises. The weight of the small device felt like it could drag her through the floor.
"Is that today's paper?" Obadiah asked casually. Too casually.
"Yes."
"Do you mind?"
"Not at all." Each word felt like walking on glass.
"Puzzle," he said with that shark's smile.
"Of course." She handed it over, the drive burning against her palm where she'd palmed it.
"Take care." The words carried weight she didn't want to examine too closely.
She forced herself to walk normally toward the door, though every instinct screamed at her to run. Don't look back, she told herself. Don't give him any reason to—
A phone rang somewhere behind her - not Obadiah's usual ringtone. Through the glass walls, she saw him pull out a different phone, one she'd never seen before. His expression changed as he listened, something hungry crossing his features as he glanced toward the windows where helicopters still circled.
She didn't wait to hear what news had caught his attention. The elevator felt like it took years to arrive, each second stretching as she imagined footsteps behind her. But when the doors finally opened onto the lobby, the sight that greeted her almost made her cry with relief.
Phil Coulson sat in one of the reception chairs, radiating that particular blend of bureaucratic blandness and hidden competence she'd come to associate with him. His own attention was split between his phone and the news playing silently on the lobby's TV screens - more footage of that chrome monster they were calling Metallo.
"Ms. Potts?" He stood smoothly, tucking his phone away. "We had an appointment. Did you forget about our appointment?"
She could have kissed him. Instead, she grabbed his arm, already moving toward the exit. "Nope, right now. Come with me."
"Right now?"
"We're going to have it right now." She glanced back toward the elevator, half-expecting to see Obadiah's familiar silhouette. "Yeah, walk with me."
"Okay." To his credit, Coulson adapted quickly to her urgency, matching her pace as they headed for the doors.
"I'm going to give you the meeting of your life," she promised, her grip tightening on his arm as she caught movement on the upper floor. "Your office."
As they pushed through the lobby doors, Coulson's phone buzzed again. He glanced at it, his carefully neutral expression shifting slightly. "Excuse me, Ms. Potts. I need to take this." He stepped away, speaking quietly: "Coulson... Yes, I understand. No, maintain distance for now. We're tracking the radiation signatures..."
Pepper barely registered his conversation, her mind racing through implications. The drive felt like it was burning a hole in her palm, each step carrying her further from one danger and possibly toward others. Behind them, Stark Industries windows reflected the setting sun like fire, while news helicopters continued tracking something moving north.
The monsters were real, she realized. All of them, whether they wore chrome skin or business suits. And somehow, she'd ended up caught between them all.
—
The Arc Reactor dominated the room like a mechanical heart, its blue glow casting strange shadows across the hastily assembled workstations below. White-coated scientists scurried around its base, their movements carrying the particular tension of people trying to solve an impossible problem.
William clutched his phone tighter when he saw Stane approaching, the conversation with Luthor's team dying mid-sentence. "Yeah, we've been working our best to do it. Absolutely, we're... I'm going to have to call you back." He ended the call as other scientists made themselves scarce, reading the storm in Stane's expression.
"Mr. Stane? Sir, we've explored what you've asked us, and it seems as though there's a little hiccup. Actually..."
"A hiccup?" Stane's voice carried that dangerous calm his people had learned to fear.
"Yes, to power the suit, sir, the technology actually doesn't exist. So, it's..."
"Wait, wait, wait." Stane's massive frame seemed to fill the space as he advanced on William. "The technology?" He gestured at the towering reactor above them. "William, here is the technology. I've asked you to simply make it smaller."
William's throat worked nervously. After what happened to the last team that failed... "Okay, sir, and that's what we're trying to do, but honestly, it's impossible."
"TONY STARK WAS ABLE TO BUILD THIS IN A CAVE!" Stane's roar echoed off metal walls as he drove William back. "WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS!"
"Well, I'm sorry." William's voice shook. "I'm not Tony Stark."
Stane's laugh held no humor as he turned away. On one of the monitors behind him, footage from Gulmira played silently - the prototype they'd built from Tony's original designs being torn apart by impossible forces. Superman and that armored figure moving with terrible coordination while a black aircraft that shouldn't exist provided cover.
"No," Stane said quietly. "You're not." He pulled out his phone, checking a message from Luthor. Their partnership had served its purpose - Lionel got his mineral research, and Stane got what he needed to finally deal with Tony. "You're dismissed."
"Give me the room," he ordered. The scientists scattered like startled birds, leaving him alone with the glow of Tony's greatest creation. He answered on the final ring. "Lionel. I was just thinking about you."
"Spare me the pleasantries, Obadiah." Luthor's voice carried that particular edge that meant things had gone very wrong. "Corbin's gone completely off the rails. He's not just targeting Superman anymore - he's threatening to expose everything."
Stane moved to one of the monitors showing news footage of Metallo driving Superman north. "I'd say that's more your problem than mine. The prototype served its purpose in Gulmira - gave us everything we needed from Stark's original design."
"Don't play games with me." Ice crept into Luthor's tone. "Your weapons tech is as deeply embedded in this as my research. If Corbin starts talking..."
"If?" Stane laughed, the sound echoing off metal walls. "Look at him, Lionel. The soldier you tried to control is already beyond your reach."
"Which is precisely why we need to contain this situation. My team has developed a failsafe—"
"Your team." Stane's voice dripped contempt. "The same team that assured us they could control him? Face it, Lionel. This is going to burn everything you built to the ground."
Silence filled the line for a moment. When Luthor spoke again, his voice carried deadly precision: "Are you threatening me, Obadiah?"
"Threatening? No." Stane smiled, already calculating stock projections, market responses, public reaction when Corbin's story inevitably broke. "I'm just a businessman anticipating market changes. And LuthorCorp's stock is about to take quite a hit when people learn about your secret military programs. The illegal weapons contracts. The human experimentation..."
"You seem to forget your own involvement in those programs."
"Do I?" Stane moved closer to the reactor, its light casting harsh shadows across his face. "Stark Industries has been very public about cutting ties with weapons development. Thanks to Tony's... change of heart. We've even helped stop terrorist groups from using our old tech. The same terrorists you've been quietly supplying through shell companies."
"You won't survive this either," Luthor snarled. "When Corbin reveals—"
"What? That you turned a decorated soldier into a weapon? That you enhanced him without understanding the consequences?" Stane's smile grew colder. "I'm just the supplier who was misled about the intended applications. But you, Lionel... you're the mad scientist who created a monster."
He could almost hear Luthor's teeth grinding. "This partnership—"
"Is over," Stane finished smoothly. "Though I'll be sure to put in a generous offer when LuthorCorp's stock hits rock bottom. Might even keep some of your research division intact. The profitable parts, anyway."
"You treacherous—"
"Goodbye, Lionel." Stane ended the call, turning back to the monitor where the battle continued to unfold.
William cleared his throat nervously from the doorway. "Mr. Stane? About the miniaturization problems..."
"You're all fired." Stane didn't even look at him. "Clear out your stations within the hour. Security will escort you out."
"But sir, the project—"
"Failed." Stane's voice could have frozen nitrogen. "Like you said, you're not Tony Stark." He watched the scientists hurriedly gathering their things, already scrubbing their involvement from official records. "If you want something done right..."
His eyes drifted to the reactor again, then to the briefcase containing his sonic weapon. Tony had always been the real prize. Everything else - Luthor, Corbin, even the Arc Reactor mockups - was just a means to an end. Now it was time to go straight to the source.
He smiled, imagining Tony's face when he realized just how completely he'd been betrayed. All those years of protecting the golden goose, and now...
"Time to collect that last egg," he murmured, heading for the elevator. Behind him, the Arc Reactor's glow seemed to dim slightly, as if sensing what was coming.
Let Luthor deal with his own mess. Soon Stane would have something far more valuable - the key to the future itself, carved right out of Tony Stark's chest.
The elevator doors closed on his smile.
—
Upstairs, Tony was walking into the lounge when his phone started ringing. He found it under a cushion, Pepper's name lighting up the display. "Tony?"
The high-pitched whine caught him completely off guard. His muscles locked as the sonic paralysis took hold, phone slipping from suddenly nerveless fingers. Stane's familiar bulk appeared at his side, catching the device and ending the call before lowering Tony's head to the couch.
"Breathe..." Stane's voice carried false concern as he positioned Tony's paralyzed form. "Easy, easy..."
Tony's eyes tracked the device in Stane's hand - his own invention, twisted into something cruel. "You remember this one, right?" Stane smiled, removing his ear protectors. "It's a shame the government didn't approve it. There are so many applications for causing short-term paralysis."
He moved to face Tony directly, adjusting his head with mock gentleness. "Ah, Tony..." The smile grew colder. "When I ordered the hit on you..." A slight widening of Tony's eyes was all he could manage as blood trickled from his ear. "I was worried I was killing the golden goose."
Stane reached into his briefcase, withdrawing a circular device that made Tony's heart race. "But, you see, it was just..." He planted it over the arc reactor, smoke curling as it burned through Tony's shirt. "...fate that you survived that."
A twist of his wrist and Tony's lifeline began sliding free. "You had one last golden egg to give." Stane held up the glowing reactor, admiring it in the dim light. "Do you really think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you?"
He leaned closer, reactor still trailing wires from Tony's chest. "Your father, he helped give us the atomic bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you?" With a final yank, he separated the reactor completely. Tony's gasp was barely audible as his heart struggled against the shrapnel trying to reach it.
"Oh, it's beautiful." Stane settled beside him, cradling the reactor like a lover. "Oh, Tony, this is your Ninth Symphony. What a masterpiece. Look at that. This is your legacy." His eyes gleamed with fevered intensity. "A new generation of weapons with this at its heart. Weapons that will help steer the world back on course, put the balance of power in our hands. The right hands."
He chuckled, gathering his briefcase. "I wish you could see my prototype. It's not as... well, not as conservative as yours." His smile turned cruel. "Though I suppose you got a preview in Gulmira. Before your new friends helped wreck millions in development. Luthor was quite upset about that, by the way."
Tony managed the slightest twitch, drawing another laugh from Stane. "Oh yes, Lionel sends his regards. We've had such a productive partnership. His mineral research, my weapons development... though I suspect he's outlived his usefulness now that I have this." He patted the briefcase containing the reactor. "Funny how alliances work, isn't it? Almost like the ones you're trying to build with these new powered friends of yours."
The paralysis was starting to fade, but not fast enough. Tony could only watch as Stane stood, adjusting his suit with casual precision.
"Too bad you had to involve Pepper in this." Stane's words carried genuine regret. "I would have preferred that she lived."
The briefcase clicked shut with terrible finality as he turned away, leaving Tony struggling for each breath on the sofa. Through the window behind him, news helicopters still tracked something moving north - other monsters, other battles. But right now, Tony could only focus on his own rapidly failing heartbeat as his oldest friend left him to die.
Stane paused at the door, silhouetted against the evening sky. "You know what's funny? In a way, you're going to help me save the world." His smile was visible even in shadow. "Just not the way you imagined."
Then he was gone, leaving Tony alone with the growing darkness in his chest and the knowledge that he'd helped create something much worse than he'd feared.