The next day, Tony asked Laura to come up to the house.

She asked Happy to drive her up and he waited out in the driveway for her.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked while walking into the shop and seeing him by the setup.

"I need you to go to my office. You're going to hack into the mainframe and you're going to retrieve all the recent shipping manifests. This is the chip. 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." he explained while handing her the drive.

"What about Pepper? She knows now." she asked.

"I don't want to get her anymore involved. You already are and I know you can handle it. Just get in, get the files and get out quickly." he answered.

"Easy. I'll be back in a bit." she nodded.

Before Happy drove her to his office she asked him to stop at her apartment to change and grab something.

After changing into a navy blue pant suit for her return to Stark she flipped the blankets on her bed over and opened up her safe underneath her bed.

Revealing that the top tray had five pistols on it from revolvers to Glocks.

"Let's see one handed… small indoor space… Ruger it is." she picked it up.

She loaded it quickly and then placed it in her bag.


Happy drove her down in the Rolls to Stark HQ and pulled up to the main building where Tony's office was.

He got out and opened the back door for her.

"I should only be a few minutes Happy." she said while getting out.

"Sure thing. I'll be right here." he nodded behind his shades.

She held onto the straps of her bag as she walked inside, getting the attention of some of the employees.

She politely smiled and nodded at them as she walked towards the elevator.

It opened and she sighed with relief, seeing no one was in it.

She got in and took it up to the top floor where Tony's large office was.

The doors opened and she sped walked towards them and slipped through the double doors.

She closed them quietly and rushed over to his desk.

She grabbed the chip from her bag and inserted the drive into his computer.

She frowned, seeing "Access Denied" appear on the screen but the chip gave her access.

She sat down while the chip found the drive.

She began clicking through the files which one appeared as "Sector Sixteen."

She clicked on it, revealing Tony's Mark l design of his suit.

"Sector 16? What are you up to, traitor?" she narrowed her eyes at it.

She began copying the files onto the and clicked on the next one.

A video appeared of Tony being held captive at gunpoint by the Ten Rings leaders and she released a shuddered breath at the unwanted memories.

The leader she killed was speaking in Urdu so she translated it.

"You did not tell us that the target you paid us to kill was the great Tony Stark. As you can see, Obadiah Stane... You also did not tell us that we would have to kill this woman, Laura Watson…" was heard.

Laura clenched her fist but watched on.

"Your deception and lies will cost you dearly. The price to kill them has just gone up."

"So that's why they didn't kill us." she muttered to herself.

"So, what are we going to do about this?" Obie's voice got her attention.

She looked up to see him standing in the doorway.

She looked down towards her gun and calculated her options.

He walked in towards Tony's drinks table while carrying a glass and she moved a newspaper that was on Tony's desk over the drive to cover it.

"I know what you're going through, Laura." he said while pouring himself one.

"Apparently, you do." she hinted.

"I don't take your meaning." he frowned.

"You sold weapons to terrorists, Obadiah." she accused bluntly.

He sighed while scratching his head and grabbed his drink.

She looked up to see the copying was complete and closed out of the window.

He looked over to see the screen saver of Tony's hot rod on it and sat on the desk.

"You know, Laura. I was one of the few to support you from the beginning. Along with Tony." he reminded her.

"And look how that turned out." she spat with glancing down at her legs.

"Listen, Laura. What happened to you and Tony… was terrible. Truly. It breaks my heart." he said in false sympathy that she saw straight through.

"Your poker face is shit." she insulted.

"Laura, I'm insulted you think that way. Perhaps a longer leave of absence is needed to help you see things clearly. Rushing back into work…" he began but she got up.

"I see things just fine." she smoothly grabbed the copy of the L.A. Times, took the drive out of the computer, and placed both in her bag while strapping it over her shoulder in one quick swoop.

"Have a good night, Stane. It'll be the last one you have." she said while glaring up at him.

She marched out and then sped walked down the hall.

She felt his presence behind her as she walked out the foyer and down the stairs but saw Coulson sitting on one of the chairs below.

"Ms. Watson. We had an appointment. Did you forget about our appointment?" he asked.

"Nope. Right now is the perfect time for it. Come on." she nodded towards the exit urgently.

"Right now?" he said surprised while scrambling up to follow her.

"Yeah, I'll give you a meeting." she muttered while Stane watched them leave from the top of the stairs.

The two walked out but she grabbed his arm.

"Coulson, I have evidence that Obadiah Stane is guilt of orchestrating Tony Stark's kidnapping and my kidnapping. He's been in collusion with the Ten Rings!" she said firmly.

"How do you know this?" he asked.

"With this." she took out the drive and placed it in his palm.

"There's also something called Sector 16. I'm not sure what he's up to. I literally just found out about this." she warned.

"Right. I'll bring this in."


Obie walked into the building where the giant Arc Reactor was where engineers were walking.

All except for the head engineer scrambled away.

"Mr. Stane? Sir, we've explored what you've asked us, and it seems as though there's a little hiccup. Actually..." he began but Stane interrupted him.

"A hiccup?"

"Yes, to power the suit, sir, the technology actually doesn't exist. So, it's..." the engineer tried explaining.

"Wait, wait, wait. The technology? William, here is the technology. I've asked you to simply make it smaller." he clarified.

"Okay, sir, and that's what we're trying to do, but honestly, it's impossible." the engineer explained.

"Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave! With a box of scraps!"

"Well, I'm sorry. I'm not Tony Stark."


Later that evening, Tony walked into his living room, hearing his phone rang.

He picked it up, seeing Laura's face appear on the caller ID.

He was about to answer it but a loud ringing was heard and he began convulsing.

"Breathe. Easy, easy. " Stane was heard in his ears and placed him on the couch.

"You remember this one, right? " Obie said while holding a device in his fingers in front of him.

He took out earplugs and turned it off.

"It's a shame the government didn't approve it. There's so many applications for causing short-term paralysis. Tony. When I ordered the hit on you, I worried that I was killing the golden goose. But, you see, it was just fate that you survived that." he used a device to pull out the reactor in his chest and placed it in his fingers.

"You had one last golden egg to give. Do you really think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you? 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? Oh, it's beautiful. Tony, this is your Ninth Symphony. What a masterpiece. Look at that. This is your legacy. 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. I wish you could've seen my prototype. It's not as... Well, not as conservative as yours. Too bad you had to involve Laura in this. I would have preferred that she lived." he placed the arc in a suitcase and walked out.


Laura herself was on the phone with Rhodey, walking out to the garage of a Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, building in Los Angeles, with Coulson and a group of other agents.

Rhodey himself was driving in his truck.

"What do you mean, he paid to have Tony killed? Laura, slow down. Why would Obadiah... Okay, where's Tony now?" he asked with worry.

"At his house I'm assuming. Can you go up there and make sure he's okay. Stane know I know everything." she warned while walking towards Coulson's car.

"You drive Coulson. I'm still down an arm." Laura said as the two got in and he sped off.


Tony managed to stumble into the elevator while his heartbeat continue to slow.

He struggled out of it but collapsed into his workshop.

He saw Pepper's gift on the setup but fell to the ground.

He crawled along the floor and heaved himself up to grab it.

It was on a stack of books which he managed to grab but collapsed onto his back.

His heart beat slower and slower but Dum-E grabbed the glass case and lowered it down for him.

"Good boy." he took it and smashed the case.

Rhodey ran into his house, calling his name.

"Tony? Tony?" he ran down the stairs and through the broken floor to ceiling window to see him down on the floor.

"Tony! Tony! You okay?" he helped him up.

"Where's Laura?" he asked with worry.

"She's fine. She's with five agents. They're about to arrest Obadiah." he reassured him.

"That's not going to be enough."


Coulson sped through the grounds of Stark Industries and pulled up to the building with the reactor.

He, Laura and the other agents got out as she pulled out her gun.

Coulson stopped, seeing it in her hand and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" she asked as if nothing was wrong.

"I have a permit wanna see it? I know how to use this thing." she said nonchalantly.

She rushed over to the keypad and swiped her pass.

That let her into the building and they walked around the arc to a door with "Sector 16" labeled on it.

She swiped it again but frowned.

"Stane must have locked me out." she told Coulson.

He placed a device on it and he and the other agents walked backwards a few steps.

She did the same and all of them turned around.

The device exploded the door and Laura brought out her gun.

Coulson and the other agents followed suit while they walked down the darkened corridors.

They walked down a few steps to see a Mark l suit suspended by chains.

"Looks like you were right. He was building a suit." Coulson told her.

"More like he stole a suit." she scoffed at the original design.

She turned around towards some mangled equipment that she deduced was where Stane had another suit he was working on.

Chains dangling from the ceiling got her attention and she slowly moved through them, gripping the trigger on her gun tightly.

Suit eyes suddenly glowed and the suit raised up.

She fired six shots at the eyes quickly, alerting the others.

She ran out while being pursued as Stane smashed his way through Coulson and the other agents firing at him.

He ignited his thrusters and flew towards the door she just ran through to grab her but got stuck.


Tony meanwhile was flying top speed over Los Angeles towards them.

"How do you think the Mark One chest piece is going to hold up?" he asked JARVIS.

"The suit's at 48% power and falling, sir. That chest piece was never designed for sustained flight." he warned.

"Keep me posted. Watson!" Laura ran back out to the parking lot and tapped her earpiece.

"Tony! Stane has a suit!" she warned.

"Get out of there right now!" she heard him shout but heard rumbling behind her.

A crater formed in the pavement and Stane climbed out of it in his suit.

"Where do you think you're going? " he aimed the gun at her and she aimed her gun, making a last stand with her chin held high.

"Your services are no longer required." it began to charge.

"Stane!" Tony flew in high, getting their attention.

Stane fired at him but he flew into him, knocking him back through another building, a wall and onto the freeway.

They crashed through several cars, causing a large pileup.

A woman with kids driving an SUV slammed on the breaks right in front of Stane.

He picked it up over his head while Tony got up.

"I love this suit!

"Put them down!" he demanded.

"Collateral damage, Tony." Stane began walking towards him.

"Divert power to chest RT." he told JARVIS.

He fired at him from it and grabbed the SUV right before it fell onto the pavement.

The driver was holding onto her kids while they all screamed as Tony was forced down onto one knee, struggling with the weight.

"Power reduced to 19%" JARVIS warned.

She slammed on the gas, running him over and pinning him under.

"Lady! No, no, no, no, no, no!" he lifted up the vehicle to free himself on the other side as she sped away.

Stane flew in, grabbed a passing bike, and smashed it into Tony.

He was flung back into a car while passengers fled off a bus behind them.

Tony was getting up but Stane grabbed him.

"For 30 years, I've been holding you up!" he threw him hard to the ground.

"I built this company from nothing!" he stomped on him.

:Nothing is going to stand in my way. Least of all... you!" he grabbed him by the neck and tossed him into the bus.

He fired a shoulder mounted rocket at it, exploding it.

That flung him high but he used his stabilizers to hover over Stane.

"Impressive. You've upgraded your armor! I've made some upgrades of my own!" Stane ignited his thrusters and began to chase him.

"Sir, it appears that his suit can fly." JARVIS warned.

"Duly noted. Take me to maximum altitude." he asked.

"With only 15% power, the odds of reaching that…" JARVIS began but he interrupted him.

"I know the math! Do it!" Laura frowned, seeing them take off from the parking lot.

Tony and Stane climbed rapidly into the clouds as Tony's power continued to drain.

"Thirteen percent power, sir." JARVIS stated.

"Climb!"

"Eleven percent."

"Keep going!"

"Seven percent power."

"Just leave it on the screen! Stop telling me!"

Tony said as the two flew up towards the moon but ice began building around Stane's suit.

He was flying faster and reached out his hand.

He grabbed Tony's suit leg, pulled him down and grabbed him by the neck.

"You had a great idea, Tony, but my suit is more advanced in every way!" Stane said confidentially.

"How'd you solve the icing problem?" Tony hinted.

"Icing problem?" Stane asked while his suit was still being encased in it.

His suit powered down, shutting off his HUD and thrusters.

"Might want to look into it." Tony knocked him on the head, causing him to free fall.

He was still hovering but his thrusters began to misfire.

"Two percent. We are now running on emergency backup power." JARVIS said but he managed to skip down and land on the roof of the arc reactor.

"Watson!"

"Tony!" she spoke through her comms.

"I'm almost out of power. I've got to get out of this thing. I'll be right there." he said while taking off his faceguard but Stane landed right behind him.

"Nice try!" he placed it back on and swerved from a punch.

He held out his hand but saw that his thruster was ripped off.

Stane punched him, hard, knocking him back.

He ran up and punched him in the face.

Stane grabbed him and began to bear hug him, crushing his suit.

"Weapons status?" he asked JARVIS.

"Repulsors offline. Missiles offline."

"Flares!" he ignited them, forcing him to let go.

"Very clever, Tony." he began searching for him through the smoke.


Laura was still down in the parking lot but went wide eyed, thinking of an idea.

She ran back inside and up yanked a door open.

"Tony, I've got an idea!" she exclaimed while running up the flights of stairs.

"What is it?" he whispered while hiding behind an AC unit.

"Get him to open up his suit!" she suggested.

"What?" he asked confused.

"Just do it! I'll handle the rest." she said while panting and holding her gun.

"Okay, Watson. I trust you." he jumped onto the back of him and his HUD highlighted his targeting system.

"This looks important." he ripped it out.

Stane flung him backwards to the glass center above the arc down below.

Stane's suit opened up while Tony got up on his feet.

"I never had a taste for this sort of thing, but I must admit, I'm deeply enjoying the suit!" he grabbed Tony's helmet and crushed it.

He tossed it back down to him and he looked up at him.

"You finally outdid yourself, Tony! You'd have made your father proud!" Stane fired his gun at the glass, shattering it and causing Tony to fall through.

He grabbed onto one of the supports, right above the arc.

"How ironic, Tony! Trying to rid the world of weapons, you gave it its best one ever!" Stane yelled as Laura kicked through the door on the roof and saw them on the other side.

She hopped over the air ducts and AC units silently until she was a few arms lengths behinds Stane.

She then aimed her gun at the back of his helmet.

"And now I'm going to kill you with it!" he aimed one of his rocket at him.

"Hey, Stane!" both he and Tony heard Laura shout.

He turned around to see her aiming her gun at him and went wide eyed.

"Good night!" she fired at his forehead, taking him out.

His eyes rolled to the back of his head while his suit stumbled backwards.

It fell back into the broken glass.

Tony leapt to the wall as the supports were taken under him.

Stane's suit fell into the arc reactor, causing an overload of power.

Laura ducked just in time as an energy beam shot into the sky which she felt the heat from.

An explosion followed, englufing Tony in it.

Laura ran over, seeing his arc was powered down and reached for a pulse while cradling his head.

"Tony! Tony! Wake up! Tony!" she shouted while desperately trying to take off his suit but his arc flickered back on.