Tony wasn't being himself. Alcohol can have that effect on people, he had started hanging around with a lot of girls at school then spending days at a time on armours, he was going out in public more and not caring who saw him. Pepper was getting worried, "He's a big boy he will sort himself out, until then we wait until he hits a wall." Rhodey sighed,
"What if we can't help him once he's got there?"
"Pepper, this is Tony..."
"No, it isn't! Tony Stark is not some rich, high society playboy who has a cocky attitude and an alcohol problem!" Rhodey laughed,
"He has always been rich and cocky, and he's just taken things too far." Pepper stormed into the armoury and grabbed a bottle from Tony's hand, "Hey! What was that...?"
"Tony, get it together! I get it your having a tough time, your Dad, Stane and Gene but this has to stop!"
"What if I don't want to? What if I am forgetting the pain, just for a little while?"
"You're killing yourself Tony!"
"Well what are you going to do about it," he shrugged and went back to facing the armour.
"Damn it Tony look at me!" as she said this she threw the bottle against the wall, "You either clean up your act..."
"Or what!" he yelled back at her, his tone only filled her with more rage,
"Or I'm out."
"What are you saying?"
"I'M SAYING ITS THE BOOZE OR ME, STARK!" and with that she stormed out. Tony sighed, he looked at the smashed bottle on the floor and saw his reflection, "You idiot," he said out loud to his reflection, "You may have just screwed up one of the few good things that has ever happened to you and I hope you're frickin' happy!" He ran his hands through his hair and slumped to the ground in a scream, of anger, depression and misery. Pepper stopped her exit from the compound when she heard the scream, she sighed and kept walking.
"Hey Rhodey, whoa what happened to your Mom's liquor cabinet?" Rhodey laughed,
"Tony with a baseball bat." Pepper smiled, "He said you said something to him to change his mind, what exactly did you say?"
"I smashed a bottle against a wall and threatened to leave him." Rhodey just laughed, it was a very Pepper thing to do. Then they heard a smash from the kitchen, the ran in to see Tony next to a huge bottle of Tomato Juice and then saw what made him drop his glass in shock. Dangling from outside the window was his Dad's picture, marked with yesterdays date; he was sitting in the basement of Stark International handcuffed to the wall. Beside him was Stane's new armour. This photo was pinned to an Iron Man piñata, "I'm coming Stark," was scrawled across the helmet. Tony ran outside and ripped the picture off the piñata, "It's from...that means...but it can't," he turned to face Rhodey who was running up behind him, "I watched him die Rhodey, and I saw it I was at the funeral he's gone!" Rhodey looked closely at the picture, "It's not photoshoped, I swear." Rhodey knew a fake when he saw it and this wasn't a fake. "Stane must be working with Gene to make this happen," Pepper said gesturing at the picture, then she notice the piñata turn around and she saw the back, "Tony, look!" she pointed out in big bold writing,
"Stark, Times square, Midnight or else you go to a 3rd funeral."
Tony started hyperventilating, this was all too much to handle. He hit the piñata with his fist and gummy rings came out, Hilarious Gene, Tony though. He ran off to the armoury to prep the hulk buster then he got a phone call, "Whitney, not now..."
"Hello Tony, miss me?" Stane's voice was harsh and cold,
"Not really, what do you want?"
"A fair fight, you come in the typical Iron Man armour, not big fancy ones or that huge one you used with aim, the normal one, you have about 6 hours, see you soon." Then the line went dead. Tony lost it, he started throwing things and screaming. Pepper ran up to him and clamped his arms down, he struggled but then gave in, "Tony, cool it, you need to sober up before you can start thinking straight about this," she turned him to face her and put his hand on his chest, "Ouch!" she yelped when she touched his ark reactor, she looked at him with a puzzled expression. He sighed and lifted his for her to see, the failing ark reactor. "Over use of the armour, the exposure to all that water and the alcohol...basically those 3 elements separately, or even 2 of them together would be fine with all 3 is causing the ark reactor to fail. So I suggest you don't take up drinking if you want to use your armour." Pepper looked at it in shock, "I can make an upgrade but I have to worry about Stane right now."
"No!" Pepper yelled at him, "You need to draw up schematics for a new one, a better one. Stane is 6 hours away, you don't need to prep the basic armour and Rhodey and I will start working on a plan, If you need to modify the armour you can, in about an hour, keep drinking that tomato juice," he smiled up at her, "in an hour with that down you, you'll be sober enough for me to trust you with the armour but you're a genius so work on a new reactor okay?" (Sorry kinda coping Iron Man 2 here for the element bit." "What am I meant to use, the raw ore was destroyed by blizzard!"
"Then use some element,"
"None of them work."
"Make a new element then." Tony shook his head, Pepper was always so optimistic. Then a thought occurred to him, "If I used the stabilized ore as a base and use the raw ore and a surround then add in..." Tony was consumed testing me theories and drawing up schematics. Pepper smiled, her Tony was back.
"Stane, gosh, not you too! Why is everyone trying to kill my son?" Howard cried, Stane thrust a pencil and paper at him, "design some modifications and he can stay down here with you, there isn't a third option." Howard sighed and drew something up; at least Tony would be alive that way. Stane smiled, "These are good Howard, I will try and take it easy on him for your sake, but unless he takes off that armour I plan to destroy him." Stane walked out laughing over Howard's cries for mercy on his son.
"Kay, Tony you can play with your armour now...Tony?" Pepper walked up behind him and what she saw shocked him. His ark reactor lay on the table and he was face down on said table, "Oh my gosh."