The final adjustments to the new Arc Reactor clicked into place on the screen, the familiar blue glow reflected back at me as I examined the design. This time, it was stable. I had managed to synthesize a new palladium isotope, something that wouldn't slowly kill me from the inside as fast as the one I had now. Finally, after hours of tinkering, recalculating, and more than a few moments of doubt, it was done.

"Looks good, JARVIS," I said, leaning back in my chair, trying to shake off the exhaustion. "It's stable. We did it."

"Indeed, sir," JARVIS responded, his tone professional but with a subtle hint of satisfaction. "The new reactor should significantly extend both the longevity and safety of the device in your chest. Shall I prepare the necessary components for the transition?"

I exhaled, relieved but also anxious. I had put this off for too long. The prototype in my chest had kept me alive, but I couldn't deny that the fast poisoning was wearing me down. "Yeah. Let's get everything prepped. We'll need some assistance."

Before I could say more, the soft chime of the doorbell echoed through the mansion. My heart picked up a beat, knowing exactly who was standing on the other side. JARVIS chimed in, "Miss Potts and Colonel Rhodes have arrived, sir."

I stood up, trying to stretch out the stiffness in my back. "Alright. Let them in."

The workshop door slid open as Rhodey and Pepper walked in.

Rhodey was the first to speak, his usual no-nonsense demeanor masking the concern in his eyes. "Tony. Damn, man, we thought you were gone."

He hadn't changed much. Same crisp military posture, close-cropped hair, the weight of responsibility etched into every line of his face. But there was something more there now—relief, yes, but also a touch of anger. I couldn't blame him for that. I had left him hanging in the dark.

Pepper, on the other hand, stood beside him, her arms crossed, her expression a mix of exasperation and worry. As always, she looked composed and professional, her strawberry-blonde hair tied neatly back, dressed in one of her perfectly tailored blouses and pencil skirts. She looked like she was ready to walk into a boardroom at any second. But I could tell the last few days had worn on her, too. The bags under her eyes and the tension in her shoulders gave her away.

"You've got some nerve, Stark," Pepper said, her voice firm, but there was a crack in it, just enough to let me know how worried she'd been. "Vanishing like that."

I winced. "I know. I'm sorry."

Rhodey crossed his arms, glancing around the workshop. "What the hell happened? I mean, disappearing without a word, and now you're here working on...what? What's all this?"

I took a deep breath and gestured toward the glowing Arc Reactor embedded in my chest. "I had to work on something more important."

That was when both of them saw it—really *saw* it. The reactor, its steady blue glow pulsing softly under my shirt. Pepper gasped audibly, and Rhodey's eyes widened, his usual calm composure slipping just a bit.

"Tony...what the hell is that?" Rhodey asked, stepping closer, his eyes fixed on the reactor. "What's going on with you?"

Pepper's hand went to her mouth. "Oh my God, Tony...is that—"

"Yeah," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "This is keeping me alive right now. Well, barely. That's why I called you both here. I need your help."

Their expressions were a mix of shock and concern, but I knew I had to explain it. "It's an Arc Reactor. Something I built to keep me from, well...dying. There's shrapnel—pieces of metal—lodged near my heart. This thing is the only thing stopping it from killing me."

Pepper's eyes were wide. "You built...that? In your chest?"

"Yeah," I said, nodding toward the screen where the schematics of the new version hovered. "But this one is killing me slowly. It's stable enough for now, but I've just finished designing an upgrade. It'll be safer, better. And I need your help to switch it."

Rhodey's jaw tightened. "Damn it, Tony. Why didn't you tell us sooner? This is serious."

"I know it is," I said, my voice quieter than I intended. "That's why I'm telling you now. This new reactor—me and JARVIS just finished synthesizing it. I need help getting it into my chest."

Pepper's face was a study in controlled panic. She was trying to hold it together, but I could see how hard it hit her. "Tony," she started, then paused, her voice shaking just slightly. "You can't just...keep this a secret. You should be in a hospital. What if something goes wrong?"

"There's no hospital that can help me with this, Pep," I said gently. "This is the only way."

She bit her lip, crossing her arms tighter around herself, as if trying to hold herself together. "Well, if you're going to insist on doing this," she said, shifting gears into her professional mode, "then you need to make a press statement. The world thinks you're dead, and the board is going to panic if you don't call Obadiah soon."

I grimaced at the mention of Obadiah Stane. I knew she was right, but the thought of dealing with Obie right now was less than appealing. I could already imagine the questions, the concern, the thinly veiled disappointment in his voice.

"Yeah, I'll get to that," I said, forcing a smile. "In the meantime, can you just...make an appearance for me? Buy me a little time?"

Pepper raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Fine. But you need to handle this soon. We can't keep this quiet forever."

"Thanks, Pep," I said, relieved. I turned to Rhodey. "And I'll need you to assist me with the switch. It's a simple process, but I need someone to make sure it goes smoothly. We can't risk anything going wrong."

Rhodey nodded, his concern evident but hidden under that steady, military calm. "You got it. Whatever you need."

I motioned toward the new reactor, its glow softer than the one in my chest. "This is the new version. It's stable—no more poisoning me slowly. We'll switch it out, and then I'll be good as new."

Rhodey glanced between me and the reactor. "Let's hope so."

I looked between my two closest allies, feeling a wave of gratitude and guilt wash over me. They didn't know about the bigger threats looming—the Mandarin, Galactus—but that was something I had to carry alone, at least for now.

"Alright," I said, taking a deep breath. "Let's get this over with."

I lay back on the cold metal table in my workshop, trying to steady my breathing as the weight of what we were about to do hit me. The new Arc Reactor sat glowing softly nearby, and for a moment, I felt a flicker of nervousness. The old one had kept me alive, but it was killing me fast. This new one? It had to work. Otherwise, I wasn't getting back up.

"Alright, Tony," Rhodey said, standing over me, his brow furrowed with concentration. "You sure you're ready for this?"

I forced a grin, even though my heart was hammering in my chest. "Yeah, piece of cake. Just follow JARVIS's instructions, and we'll be fine."

Rhodey gave a tight nod, clearly more serious than he was letting on. He wasn't the kind of guy to let things rattle him, but this was different. I could see the concern in his eyes. Not that I could blame him. We were about to literally pull the thing keeping me alive out of my chest.

"JARVIS," Rhodey said, his tone all business now, "walk me through the process."

"Certainly, Colonel," JARVIS responded. "The procedure will involve carefully detaching the original reactor, then inserting the new one into place. You'll need to be precise, as there will be a brief period where Mr. Stark's heart will be without power. Please prepare yourself."

Rhodey took a deep breath, his hands steady as he reached for the tools JARVIS had prepared. I felt a wave of dread crawl up my spine, but I had to push it down. Focus. This had to work.

As Rhodey began the delicate task of removing the old Arc Reactor, I felt the first surge of pain. It was sharp, sudden, like someone driving a spike into my chest. My breath hitched, and my vision blurred for a moment. My chest felt empty, the soft hum of the reactor gone. I gasped, instinctively reaching for something to hold onto, but I forced myself to stay still. I had to keep it together.

"You're doing great, Tony," Rhodey said, his voice calm but tight with focus.

The pain sharpened, a white-hot burn spreading across my chest as the old reactor finally came free. My heart stuttered, faltering, and I could feel myself slipping into darkness. I couldn't let that happen. I had to stay conscious.

So I did what I always did when things got bad—I distracted myself.

"Rhodey," I croaked, my voice strained, "you ever wonder what it'd be like to fly without needing a jet?"

Rhodey glanced at me, his hands moving carefully as he prepared to insert the new reactor. "Tony, I'm kind of in the middle of saving your life here. What's this about flying?"

I forced a weak smile through the pain. "You remember back in 2002? That little incident with the jetpack?"

Rhodey's expression shifted, a faint smirk crossing his face. "Yeah, I remember. You got kidnapped, I pulled your ass out of there, and you promised me a jetpack. Still waiting on that, by the way."

I grimaced, another wave of pain surging through me as I felt the brief, terrifying void where my heart should be. "Well... I'm about to make good on that promise. I've been working on something—a powered exoskeleton. I'm thinking of calling it a power suit."

"A power suit?" Rhodey's eyebrows shot up, but his hands stayed steady as he maneuvered the new reactor into place. "You're serious?"

"As serious as a heart attack," I wheezed, the irony not lost on me as my heart stuttered painfully again. "Think of it as a payback for the jetpack. I'll build one for me too. Call it... the next step in personal flight."

Rhodey chuckled under his breath, but it was tense. "Man, you really are something else."

As he worked, I kept talking, more to distract myself from the pain than anything else. "Rhodey... once this is over, I've got a feeling we won't be safe. I don't trust Obadiah. There's something off. After I make the press statement and show up for the boardroom, things are going to get dicey."

Rhodey didn't look up, his focus on getting the reactor in place, but his voice was calm. "I'll watch your back. But what makes you think Stane's a problem?"

I winced as the pain flared again, my vision swimming for a moment. "I don't know. Just a hunch. He's too... connected, too involved. I need to figure out what's really going on, but I've got a feeling he's not going to make it easy."

Rhodey stayed quiet for a moment, his face unreadable. "I hear you, Tony. But let's focus on getting you through this first."

That was the thing that confused me. I expected Rhodey to react differently—to be more shaken by what I was telling him. But he wasn't. He was calm, focused, like he already knew how bad things were going to get. Or maybe he just trusted me more than I realized.

"Almost done, sir," JARVIS said, his voice soothing, though I could hear the urgency. "Colonel, you will now need to activate the stabilization system."

Rhodey pressed the final button, locking the new reactor into place. The familiar hum returned, the steady pulse of energy flowing through me. I felt the pain begin to ebb, my chest stabilizing as the new reactor took over.

I let out a shaky breath, my muscles finally relaxing as the weight lifted off my chest. The reactor glowed softly under my shirt, its steady rhythm reassuring.

"You did it," I whispered, feeling the tension drain out of me. "You actually did it."

Rhodey grinned, though there was still concern in his eyes. "Of course I did. Someone's gotta keep you alive, Stark."

I sat up slowly, my body still shaky but feeling infinitely better than before. "Thanks, Rhodey. I owe you one."

"You owe me more than one, man," Rhodey said with a smirk. "But I'll take the power suit as payment."

I chuckled weakly, rubbing my chest where the new reactor sat. The pain was gone, replaced with a steady sense of relief. But deep down, I knew this was just the beginning. The real fight was still ahead. And somehow, Rhodey took everything I said in stride, like he was ready for whatever was coming.

That was the part that confused me. But maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. Rhodey had always been the calm one, the one who kept me grounded. And if there was anyone I could count on to have my back, it was him.

"Alright," I said, standing up slowly. "Let's get out of here. We've got work to do."