At Xavier's School, inside the dormitory.
"Stark Industries' weapons division will be shut down, effective today!"
Amon lay on the sofa, watching the news broadcast with great interest. It was he who had orchestrated the ambulance's appearance in Afghanistan. The previous day, he had noticed several meteorites falling from outer space and, upon investigation, found them to be Autobots. He had subsequently tampered with the landing coordinates of the ambulance, diverting it to Afghanistan. Otherwise, the Autobot medic should have appeared in the United States.
At this moment, Ilyana walked in with a sullen expression. When she saw Amon lounging on the sofa, leisurely watching TV, a nameless anger began to rise in her heart.
"Damn it, you're still sitting here watching TV while I've been stuck getting tutored by Ororo for the entire morning."
Ilyana leaped up, pounced on Amon, and began to attack him left and right.
Amon easily caught Ilyana's punch, twisted his body, and pinned her onto the sofa. "Didn't you say you wanted to go out and play? Something big is going to happen in New York soon. I can take you out."
Ilyana's struggles weakened, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "Really?"
"Of course it's true," he replied. "There's going to be a robot war. It's a rare event."
Ilyana slapped Amon's hand away and jumped up. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"
"Tony, why did you shut down Stark Industries' weapons division? You'll destroy the company!" Obadiah Stane shouted angrily at Tony, completely unable to understand his reasoning.
Tony Stark replied nonchalantly, "Obi, stop talking. I have more important things to do right now. I don't have time to explain it to you. Don't bother me."
Obadiah was so angry that his chest began to feel congested. He said, breathlessly, "You're just like Howard, equally arrogant and self-righteous. Do you think Stark Industries belongs only to you, Stark? The company's current strength is the result of my entire life's hard work. I won't let you destroy it. I've already proposed to the board of directors to remove you from your position as CEO, citing that your long absence has caused you mental distress."
"Do whatever you want," Tony said with indifference, then turned and walked away.
Seeing Tony walking further and further away, Obadiah couldn't help but shout, "Tony, you're going to regret this!"
"Obi, I am the owner of Stark Industries." Tony's voice came from afar, very soft, but it hit Obadiah's chest like a physical blow.
"Damn it, damn you, Stark!"
In Tony's large, state-of-the-art laboratory, Ratchet, transformed into his Autobot form, was treating the wound on Tony's chest.
"That mysterious man, why didn't he also transfer the wound on my chest? He must have done it on purpose!" Tony grumbled.
The ambulance was meticulously cleaning and disinfecting Tony's wounds. The treatment that Yinsen had given Tony in the cave in Afghanistan had been very rudimentary, but it had saved his life. The fact that he hadn't yet died of a massive infection was a testament to his luck.
"Tony, do you want me to replace this old Arc Reactor? I see you already have a new one ready." Ratchet tapped the Arc Reactor in Tony's chest with a scalpel.
At this time, the door to the laboratory opened, and Pepper walked in. "Tony, is there something you needed me for?" Pepper's voice became smaller and smaller as she took in the scene. A huge metal robot was half-crouched in front of Tony, who was half-lying on an operating table. The robot was holding a scalpel, pointing it directly at Tony's chest. Although the scalpel was tiny compared to the robot's massive metal body, Pepper noticed it at a glance.
"Tony, are you okay?" Pepper asked in a low voice, afraid that any loud noise would startle the giant robot.
Seeing Pepper arrive, Tony's eyes lit up. "Pepper, you came at the right time. I need your help here."
Pepper cautiously approached, looking at the several-meter-tall robot, and asked Tony, "What is this?"
"Ma'am, I've already introduced myself. I'm Ratchet." The emotional, mechanical, synthesized voice of an ambulance began to play.
"You're Ratchet! Before, you were in the form of a car. I didn't realize you could change forms."
Tony, lying on the medical bed, explained, "Ratchet is an Autobot, one of the Cybertronians. They're able to transform between their vehicle and robot forms."
Pepper came back to her senses and asked Tony, "Why did you call me here? And why is there a hole in your chest?" As she got closer, Pepper had also noticed the gaping hole in Tony's chest.
"That's why I called you here, Pepper," Tony said. "Help me take out this 'light bulb' in my chest and replace it with the new one. I think you're the best person to do this kind of thing here."
Pepper asked back, "Tony, this isn't a light bulb. It's like a smaller version of the Arc Reactor that powers the building. Tell me, what happened to you?"
Tony said nonchalantly, "It's a minor problem. I just accidentally got some shrapnel in my chest. It needs to be held in place by an electromagnet. This 'light bulb' is the energy source for that electromagnet."
Pepper wasn't so easily fooled. "You're really careless. This doesn't seem like what you said at all. You're still hiding things from me."
"Pepper, you are the person I trust the most, so only you can replace this Arc Reactor for me." After saying that, Tony looked at Pepper with eyes full of raw emotion.
Being looked at by Tony in such a way, Pepper finally gave in. "Don't even think about asking me for help with this kind of thing in the future," she said with a sigh.
Ratchet silently turned away, not wanting to watch the intimate moment between the two of them.
After replacing the new Arc Reactor, Pepper looked at the old one in her hand and asked Tony, "What should I do with this old one?"
Tony replied nonchalantly, "Just destroy it. Burn it with fire or something."
"It would be a shame to destroy it," Pepper suggested. "It's very commemorative. I think I should frame it in a box."
"Whatever you want," Tony said with a shrug.
Pepper left soon after. Tony had become a hands-off boss, but she couldn't afford to do the same. Stark Industries was in a mess, and there were many things she needed to deal with.
"Tony, I need to remind you that the reactor in your chest is very likely to put you in danger," Ratchet said to Tony in a serious tone. "The palladium can seep into your body through your blood and cause heavy metal poisoning. The best solution is to remove the shrapnel, but that would require a major surgical operation."
Tony waved his hand and said, "We'll talk about that later. Didn't you say there were a few other Autobots who came with you? Did you inform them that Stark Industries is the most advanced place on Earth and will be very helpful in our efforts to stop the Decepticons?"
"I have already notified them," Ratchet confirmed. "They have all landed in the United States and will be here soon. In fact, we all came here together. I still don't know why I landed in Afghanistan." The ambulance-bot was a little confused. It was obviously supposed to have landed in the United States.
Ignoring Ratchet's doubts, Tony offered a suggestion, his admiration for the Cybertronian's technology evident. "Ratchet, you must know a lot about Cybertronian technology. To fight the Decepticons, I want you to work with me to design a new generation of Iron Man suits!"
Ratchet's metal eyes flashed, and he asked with genuine curiosity, "Is that the iron armor you were wearing when we first met? It was indeed an interesting piece of work."
"That was just a defective prototype," Tony declared with a grin. "What we're going to make is an epoch-making suit of armor!"