The Stark Storm

by ISS1988

Tony was fighting, desperate to save the world, desperate seeing all the odds turn against him and his allies, but then an interaction with the Infinity Stones takes his mind back in time, in the young body with the memories of the next years of his life, he discovers that he is in a different universe and with that everything changes.

1. Start Over

Iron Man and any story related to Marvel Comics or Marvel Studios does not belong to me.

Well, I don't know how to speak or write english; While I was reviewing the text, I remembered that many people requested the fic in English, so forgive me for any mistakes and I hope you enjoy the story.

Marvel

The Stark Storm

Chapter 1

Start Over

He had returned; Tony Stark had gone back in time, he shouldn't believe it, but he always imagined it when watching SYFY programs, but being a man of science he shouldn't believe it because it's impossible, in fact, it was proven that time can be manipulated; this was clear and especially when he went back in time, but he didn't go back alone, when he interacted with the Infinity Stone of Time, Peter Quill was interacting with the Infinity Stone of Reality and Thor was interacting with the Infinity Stone of Space that was close to the other stones since he had returned his mind or soul to a younger body; like; they who for a moment managed to take the stones from Thanos' gauntlet and it was that moment that happened before he could quickly recover the stones. Tony thinks he came back with Quill and Thor, but reality was changed; different and at the same time the same; Tony was still born in 1970 and still lost his parents to the Winter Soldier at the age of 21; so much so that she had no problem looking around every corner of the accident site looking for the cameras that recorded everything, but, of course, she was taken.

Tony took advantage of the time before taking over the company to contextualize himself in the history that was now very altered and then he could begin to formulate plans for what was to come; his father had participated in Project Rebirth and the Manhattan Project as they were originally; alongside Doctor Abraham Erskine and the supervision of Colonel Chester Phillips and Peggy Carter by the SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve) they create the super soldier through the Super Soldier Serum or the Erskine Serum injected into Steve Rogers and thus Captain America is born in 1942, but Erskine is assassinated by a HYDRA spy; Rogers spends two years as a poster boy until he discovers that Bucky Barnes has been captured and in the meantimeandexperimented on by HYDRA; Rogers crosses enemy lines and rescues the prisoners; alone and so he creates the Howling Commandos and begins to destroy HYDRA bases until the final confrontation in 1945 against Johann Schmidt,theRed Skull and thus falling into the ice where he was lost and frozen, but not before facing and defeating Arnim Zola, Baron Heinrich Zemo and Wolfgang Von Strucker.

Here,new memories and research come in; memories for Tony that he met Captain America's daughter, Sharon Rogers, who was born in 1946 and that her aunt Peggy hid who her father was, since she was practically raised in her father's house while Peggy said she was her niece; Sharon inherited all of Rogers' super soldier characteristics; and she doesn't age; Tony remembers calling her his older sister and when she showed all her abilities and even working with a SHIELD agent, in some way that Tony doesn't know, his aunt Peggy got vibranium to make a spear for Sharon and she took the name of Captain America and like her father fought for the innocent and oppression and fought against HYDRA especially; Tony knows that the allies at the end of the second war took scientists for themselves, including HYDRA scientists who led to rebuilding HYDRA; with the Soviets came the Red Room; this division of Leviathan already existed to handle two projects, the Black Widow Project and the HYDRA scientistscapturedby the Soviets began Project Winter Soldier; after years these same scientists had their own goals and could not have HYDRA as a hidden enemy and so they exposed it to weaken it. With this exposure came Captain America's enemy, Sinthea Schmidt or simply Sin, the daughter oftheRed Skull and she also didn't age thanks to the super serum that Red Skull had in her blood.

Aunt Peggy married Daniel Sousa and they had other children, Uncle Daniel always treated Sharon as his daughter and he always placed Tony as part of this family along with his parents; his godfather is a professor and intellectual that his father always helped Professor Charles Xavier; his father always knew that Professor Xavier has psychic powers and always knew about the existence of mutants and always worked to help them; such trust that his father made Charles his godfather; Tony continued to help as his father. Here Tony searched for files about him; at first he participated in a CIA program in 1962 for Division X, formed by Charles Xavier; Professor X, Erik Lehnsherr; Magneto, Raven Darkholme; Mystique, Hank McCoy; Beast; Christopher Summers; Corsair; Sean Cassidy; Banshee; Angel Salvadore; Armando Muñoz; Darwin and Moria MacTaggert who managed to contain the Cuban Missile Crisis from escalating into an all-out war as the Hellfire Club wanted; a group of this club led by Sebastian Shaw, Emma Frost; Janos Quested; Riptide and Azazel; Darwin had been killed.

It was during this crisis that Charles ends up in a wheelchair; Magneto leaves with Mystique, Angel Salvadore, Riptide, Emma Frost and Azazel and forms the Brotherhood of Mutants; Charles recovers from his injuries and founds his school with his father providing financial support and years later becomes Tony's godfather. This group would reappear in 1973; ten years later; Vietnam was at its peak and the students left Charles' school to fight in the war and prove that mutants are also patriots; it seems that in an apocalyptic future, humanity was being commanded by the worst of humans; the Sentinel Program came into effect with agents and later; Sentinels with armor with the ability to adapt to any situation; Uncle Charles told him about this; why, he still had no answer, maybe he already knows about what happened to Tony; he said that his older self with the help of a mutant sent the mind of another mutant to the past and change what happened; they succeeded, even with Magneto putting a stadium around the White House; Mystique became the heroine and face of Mutant Rights by stopping Magneto and saving President Nixon.

There was a peace without major events happening that required the world to be saved; mutants managed to be placed on an equal footing with humanity and by the UN and later with the constitutional approval of several countries, his father for almost twenty years helped to maintain the status that was achieved, but in some places it did not happen and informally by the UN, the X-Men went out into the field to ensure that this happened. Tony prepared himself, upon taking over the company, Tony went back to work; creating the same things he had done before, focusing on other lines than just weapons to the disappointment of Stane who whenever he could, said that he was abandoning his father's legacy, even so, the company was growing, becoming important and getting government contracts; To his great anger, he let Stane sell weapons behind his back. He knew that what he deserved would come in time, but it was not in weapons that Tony innovated. He invested in the Automotive Division, which was manufacturing military vehicles and also civilian vehicles and research focused on vehicles that emitted pollutants. The Energy Division was for research into clean and cheap energy. The Technology Division was for the development of technology in the most diverse areas. The Medical Division was for the development of medical equipment and studies for the cure of diseases. The Aerospace Division was for the development of airplanes, rockets and space exploration technology. He created the Howard Stark Scholarship to seek young talents in schools and colleges to work at Stark Industries. He also created the Maria Stark Fund to help those in need in devastated regions and made donations to help charities, especially the Institute for Gifted Young People. Of course, he continued the Entertainment Division, since his father was a film director and Tony would invest in films and series.

Tony had to wait for Pepper to show up, she would show up in 1993, he stopped going out with models, drinking and partying, he was past the time of mourning, especially with the loss of Janet Van Dyne in 1987; Aunt Janet, since she, Aunt Peggy and his mother were great friends; best friends; unfortunately he hasn't been able to keep in touch with her daughter Hope Pym since 1989 when her father, Hank Pym, left SHIELD; initially he hadn't done anything, just focused on work and little by little he got closer to Pepper; in 1995, he could already call her a friend like he does with Rhodes; it was in that year that he met David Xavier again, son of Charles Xavier and Moria MacTaggert, he calls himself Legion and went on his own adventures, he came with his mother seeking help for a translation and then began the events of Apocalypse, a super powerful mutant who wanted to destroy the world and remake it in his image; the original 1963 team was assembled Charles Xavier; Raven Darkholme; Hank McCoy; Christopher Summers; Sean Cassidy; Moria MacTaggert, later; uncle Charles had told how things had gone wrong.

Apocalypse happened, decided to recruit four horsemen; he went after Erik Lehnsherr, Magneto who had hidden watching his Brotherhood of Mutants being hunted as terrorists; Emma Frost; Angel Salvadore, Riptide were killed; another recruit was Ororo Munroe in Egypt who began calling herself Storm; another recruit was Elizabeth Braddock in England who goes by the name of Psylocke; his fourth horseman is Christopher Summers, the Corsair who was kidnapped along with Xavier; the team was reunited with those who were left, Mystique decided to lead the team along with Hank and Sean, Moria joined them as well as her son David and with the new recruits, Jean Grey, Scott and Alex Summers, Warren Worthington III and Kurt Wagner. Tony could only watch the world be devastated when they managed to stop and kill Apocalypse, his horsemen being freed and only Magneto decided not to stay in the mansion; and Christopher Summers being killed.

In 1996, once again the original team from 1963 was reunited to stop Magneto who was on Muir Island and somehow managed to get the super soldier serum and during the procedure everyone was affected becoming stronger and rejuvenated; it was in this year that Tony started dating Pepper and in an act of trust with the help of Charles Xavier he showed her his memories about some things about what happened and listened to her explanation about how some things should not be changed until the right time; it took a while, but she accepted and continued with the relationship. In 1998 Tony receives a phone call from Hope Van Dyne; it was in this conversation in which he discovered that because his father did not care about her, she had given up on him and changed her name from Pym to Van Dyne; she had called to thank him for the gift and that she wanted to be present in Tony's life along with Sharon and Sharon Carter who had always been close, even with the glaring age difference; Tony had made it clear on the gift card about having sent gifts in previous years and questioned his father who, under much pressure, confessed to having thrown the gifts that Tony sent away and this increased the rift between father and daughter; Tony apologized for being the cause of the fight between father and daughter, but Hope said that it was not his fault but her father's, but her pride and they both arranged to meet and Tony would introduce Pepper to Hope.

In 1999, Tony married Pepper and he knew that this would be a year of change; he went to New Year's Eve in Bern, Switzerland where he gave a lecture, sober and very attentive, as soon as it was over he immediately left, he talked to Maya Hansen, even for some time and asked to go to her company and do a demonstration and avoided Aldrich Killian; maybe things will change or stay the same; in 2000; Tony becomes a father; he was always afraid of becoming like his father and it took him more than eighteen years to become a father, but now he was becoming one sooner, Richard and Laura are his most precious things in this world next to Pepper, Rhodes and Happy and he will protect them all. Tony watches Maya Hansen's exhibition and is impressed by her work and commits to helping her; for the next few years Tony balances work, being a husband and a father until he finally arrives in 2008.

Tony was in Las Vegas to receive an award; the Apogee Award for Design and Engineering Excellence and unlike last time he would receive this award:

- "Tony Stark, genius, inventor, visionary, American patriot!" – said the announcer's voice; funny enough, he always wanted to know what this announcer had said before Rhodes gave him the award – "Since his youth, the son of the legendary arms manufacturer, Howard Stark, with his brilliant mind and pure genius attracted all the attention; at the age of four he built his first circuit board, at the age of six his first engine and at the age of seventeen he graduated with honors from MIT; but then the death of a titan shocked the nation, Howard Stark's longtime ally and friend, Obadiah Stane, steps in to replace the legendary founder until at the age of twenty-one the prodigal son assumes the leadership chair of Stark Industries; with the keys to the kingdom, Tony leads a new era in the manufacture of smarter and more sophisticated weapons, innovations in other military areas, innovations in the medical areas, automotive, in the entertainment industry, space industry, clean energy and developing talent; Today Tony Stark has changed the American profile in many areas of great importance to the country"!

James Rhodes was on the platform ready to speak:

- As a representative of the military at Stark Industries, I have had the privilege of serving with a true patriot, he is my friend; ladies and gentlemen; it is my honor and pleasure to present this year's Apogee Award to Mr. Tony Stark!

Tony who had Pepper and Obadiah on each side stood up smiling and waving to everyone, he moved and went up to the stage where he greeted Rhodes:

- Beautiful words! – said Tony:

- Now I want to hear from you! – said Rhodes, smiling:

- You like to see me in these situations, Bicudo! – said Tony, standing in front of the guests, holding the award – It's a pleasure to be here! It's a great honor to receive this award; this is a recognition not only of my work, but of all of Stark Industries; thank you and thank you all! We're in Vegas, Baby, let's enjoy it!

The applause followed by laughter when Tony finished his speech, he was leaving with Pepper and Rhodes, Obadiah had already left, now he was walking through the casino surrounded by security guards led by his friend Happy Hogan; they arrive at the car; Pepper enters first:

- Mr. Stark! Excuse me! – shouted a female voice, the security guards stopped her – Christine Everhart from Vanity Fair! Can I ask you a few questions?

- Is she trouble? – Tony asks, whispering to Hogan:

- She's beautiful! - Hogan replied whispering and Tony looks at his wife inside the car, she smiles and nods positively; Tony turns to her:

- Yes! – Tony replied – Ask!

- He has been called the "Da Vinci" of our time; what do you think of that? – asked Christine:

- Ridiculous, I can't paint! – replied Tony:

- And your other nickname? – asked Christine – "The Merchant of Death"?

- Not bad! – Tony replied – But, is this because of the Department of Military Research?

- Yes! – Christine replied:

- Stark Industries doesn't just rely on weapons! - said Tony - The technological development of the military goes hand in hand with civilian development, Stark Industries decided to bring these two sides closer together and work to bring more and more innovations that benefit both sides and, furthermore, Stark Industries is more dedicated to the protection of soldiers, communication and medicine on the battlefield!

Tony sighed:

- Berkeley? – asked Tony:

- Brown! – Christine replied:

- Very good, Brown student! – said Tony – The world is not perfect, but it is the only one we have; unfortunately it would be a utopia if we no longer needed weapons; it is human nature to fight and find new ways to kill each other!

- Did you memorize that line? – asked Christine:

- I talk every day in front of the mirror! – Tony replied:

- I want a serious answer, Mr. Stark! – said Christine:

- Very well, my father always said as a philosophy that to achieve peace you need to have a bigger stick than the other guy! – said Tony:

- Nice phrase for someone with the biggest sticks! – said Christine:

- My father helped defeat the Nazis, was part of Project Renaissance, the Manhattan Project, and made weapons to fight the Soviets! – said Tony – Yes, I diversified the company to explore other areas and I don't give the same importance to weapons as my father did; many, including his Brown teachers, would say he was a hero!

- And many people would say he profited from the war! – said Christine:

- Both sides are right! – said Tony – You do indeed plan to talk about the great advances we have made in medicine and in combating hunger through intelligent farming; these advances come from military funding!

- Have you ever lost an hour of sleep in your life? – asked Christine:

- I lost several with my wife and children! – said Tony – Good night!

Tony got into the car with Pepper looking at him and smiling:

- How was it? – asked Pepper:

- I thought they taught rhetoric better at Brown! – Tony replied.

The next morning, Pepper is in bed after a night of sex with her husband:

- Good morning Mrs. Stark, it's seven in the morning! – said JARVIS, the AI that takes care of various aspects of the Stark Family's life – Malibu is twenty-two degrees with scattered clouds!

The windows became transparent, showing the open sea landscape, and the smart windows showed a wide range of information:

- Good conditions for surfing with one meter waves! – said JARVIS – High tide will come at ten fifty-two in the morning!

Pepper had already showered and dressed, there were still some things to do before Tony went to Afghanistan, she went down to Tony's garage and workshop when she saw him working on his Hot Rod car and his children Richard and Laura watched with great attention, or as much attention as eight-year-olds could give, but, just like their father and grandfather, they had a great interest in assembling and disassembling things; Pepper entered:

- Mommy! – said the twins at the same time running to hug her:

- As soon as you arrive, all their attention will be on you! – said Tony – I want an exploded view!

Tony was looking at the screen as it showed the engine disassembled into parts:

- Cylinder three compression is low! – said JARVIS:

- Register! – said Tony:

- I'm their mother! - said Pepper - And we agreed that we wouldn't complain about the attention our children give to each of us!

- I know that! – said Tony:

- You should already be on your way and arriving on the other side of the world! – said Pepper:

- Why the rush? – Tony asked, turning to Pepper:

- Your flight was scheduled for an hour and a half ago! – Pepper replied:

- It's strange, since the plane is mine, they would have to wait for me to arrive! – said Tony:

- We have to go over a few things before you leave! – said Pepper:

- Why have a plane if it can't wait for me! – said Tony:

- Larry called, there's someone else interested in Jackson Pollock! – said Pepper while her children were watching the two talking – Do you want it?

- Is it a representation of the spring season? – asked Tony:

- Actually "Springs" is a neighborhood in East Hampton where he lived and worked and not the season of the year! – Pepper replied:

- And? – asked Tony:

- I think it's a good specimen, it's super valued! – replied Pepper:

- Buy it and keep it! – said Tony, walking towards the workshop kitchen:

- The MIT ceremony speech! – said Pepper:

- It's in June, don't pressure me with things so far away! – said Tony:

- They're pressuring me! – said Pepper:

- Don't pass it on to me! – Tony said, getting water while he took two glasses for his children who also drank water:

- I need you to sign this! – Pepper said, giving Tony a folder and pointing with the pen at the dotted line:

- Why are you trying to get rid of me? – Tony asked – Do you have plans?

- Yes, I do! – Pepper replied while Tony was signing the papers.

- I don't like it when there's a commitment! – said Tony:

- I can have it on my birthday! – Pepper said:

- Is it your birthday? – Tony asked in surprise:

- Funny that it's the same date every year! – replied Pepper:

- Buy yourself a really cool gift in my name! – said Tony:

- I already bought it! – said Pepper:

- And? – Tony asked curiously:

- It's really cool! – Pepper replied – Good taste! Thank you Mr. Stark!

- You're welcome, Mrs. Stark! – Tony said, kissing his wife; his children made faces of disgust; Tony picked them up, who laughed with joy, and was carrying them upstairs – When I get back, I'll give you a real gift!

- What? - Pepper asked in surprise as Tony went up the stairs carrying his children, she followed them immediately.

Tony was speeding on the road heading towards the airport with Happy following him, they made good time arriving at the airport; the company's airport, Tony arrived first getting out of the car at the same time as Happy got out of it:

- That was great, I thought I had lost you! – said Tony:

- And you lost, Sir, I had to cut through Mulholland! – said Happy, opening the trunk and grabbing his luggage:

- Smart boy! – said Tony and then headed towards the jet where Rhodes was waiting with a serious face:

- What's your problem? – asked Rhodes:

- What? – asked Tony:

- Three hours! – Rhodes replied:

- Wife and kids' birthday! – said Tony:

- I waited three hours, did it really take that long? – Rhodes asked a little calmer:

- You could wait inside the jet! – said Tony as he entered – That's it, guys! Let's go!

The jet was in the air heading towards its destination, without turbulence and without problems, Tony was sitting waiting for his lunch to be served:

- What are you reading, big guy? – asked Tony:

- Nothing! – Rhodes replied:

- Frowning face! – said Tony – Look! Sorry to make you wait, but today is a bad day to present weapons, I'm lucky to have a wife who understands that the world doesn't stop because it's her birthday! It should stop! It doesn't!

- Okay, I'm just indifferent! - said Rhodes - I understand, but you should have warned me! You don't give me any respect! Okay, I'm just your babysitter! I have to change your diaper!

- What's this! I respect you! – said Tony:

- Let me know when you're going to change the diaper and uncle will take the bottle with him! – said Rhodes:

- Heat up the sake! – said the flight attendant as she approached with the dishes:

- What sake? We're working! – said Rhodes:

- If we're going to discuss feelings; we should at least be drinking! – said Tony – And you can't eat sashimi without drinking sake!

- You can't have the talent to be responsible! – said Rhodes.

They had landed at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan; Tony stepped out with Rhodes and greeted his hosts:

- General! – Tony greeted, shaking the general's hand:

- Welcome Mr. Stark! – said the general greeting back – We look forward to your presentation!

Tony greeted the Afghan Army general in his language; after shaking a few more hands, they got into the cars and with a heavy escort headed to the presentation venue; they arrived and got out; Tony took his position:

- Is it better to be feared or respected? – Tony asked – I ask you; is it too much to want both? With that in mind, I humbly present Stark Industries' most valuable jewel! The first missile system to incorporate our repulsor ray technology! They say the best weapon is the one we never have to fire; I respectfully disagree! I prefer the weapon we fire once! That's how my father did it; that's how America does it and it's worked just fine so far! You need an excuse to fire one of these and I guarantee you the villains won't want to come out of their caves!

At that moment when the launcher moved pointing upwards and the missile was fired to reach the maximum altitude so that its body could be released and small projectiles came out inside it, which activated the thrusters heading towards the mountain while the transport missile fell harmlessly:

- For everyone's appreciation! – said Tony – The Jericho!

A huge explosion took over the entire mountain, causing a shock wave that caught everyone, ripping off the caps of the military personnel present; the presentation was a success; everyone was happy and amazed with the new missile; Tony approached a box that opened revealing a crate of liquor, Tony took his whiskey:

- I'll give one of these as a gift with every purchase of five hundred million! – said Tony – Peace!

Tony picked up his cell phone and answered a call from Obadiah who was in bed:

- Tony! – said Obadiah:

- Obie, why are you awake? – Tony:

- I couldn't contain my anxiety! – replied Obadiah – How was it?

- Christmas will be earlier this year! – Tony replied:

- Wonderful! – said Obadiah – See you tomorrow!

- Aren't you wearing the pajamas I gave you? – Tony asked as he got into the car:

- Good evening Tony! – Obadiah replied, ending the call. Tony sat down:

- Tony! – Rhodes called:

- Sorry, this is the fun cart! – said Tony – The work cart is back there!

- You're the one who knows! – said Rhodes:

- See you at the base! – said Tony.

Amidst the classic rock, Tony was in his thoughts, now he couldn't stop this, it had to happen, he had to suffer for the next three months, this is the moment when he transforms into Iron Man, it couldn't be avoided; here he truly prepares himself for what is to come, here he begins the journey to reach the fight against Thanos, like in a video game he would go through the bosses until he reached the boss, he had prepared himself mentally since he had returned and when he returned he would do things differently, but at the same time, similar or even the same; Tony noticed that the other occupants of the car were silent; holding their glass of whiskey as they stared at him:

- It looks like you're taking me to court martial! – said Tony – What madness is this? What have I done? Are you going to stop the car and kill me; shoot me in the head? Can't you talk? Hey Forrest!

- We can talk sir! – said the newbie:

- So it's personal! – said Tony:

- You intimidate them! – said the driver:

- So I'm a guy who bullies army soldiers! – said Tony:

- I'm from the Air Force! – said the driver:

- You know Rhodes tells me the Air Force has more balls than the Army! – Tony said:

- No, there isn't! – said the other soldier, smiling:

- That's not what the Air Force says! – said Tony:

- Sir, I have a question! – said one of the soldiers:

- Send it! – said Tony:

- Did you really come out with twelve models from the cover of Maxim? – asked the soldier:

- Wow! – said Tony – That was a long time ago! It was in ninety-two, I was younger and more flexible, the March one didn't happen because I didn't have time and the December one was with twins!

The soldier next to him raised his hand:

- Is the raised hand a joke? – asked Tony:

- Can I take a picture with you? – asked the soldier:

- Sure, no problem! - Tony replied. The soldier handed his camera to his companion in front and Tony approached, putting his hand on his back in a hug; Tony didn't say anything, just smiling as the soldiers discussed how to take the picture and that was when the explosion happened and everyone jumped in fright and the shots started, the sounds of the bullets hitting the armor filled Tony's ears; the car had Stark Industries armor and they were safe, the sound of the mortar explosion reached everyone and the soldiers were reacting:

- What's going on? - shouted one of the soldiers:

- Contact on the left! – shouted the soldier as she came out with her weapon and was shot down:

- Jimmy stays with Stark! – shouted the captain and he got out of the vehicle and started shooting, but then he was also shot down. The moment was coming when everything would change for Tony, this is an event that he could not change, but in his head he was prepared for what would come next, he was making small decisions that would not change anything, but he still regrets not doing anything to prevent this attack, these deaths, but there was nothing that could be done:

- Bastards! – Jimmy shouted;TonyHe didn't ask him to stop or ask for a weapon, he just saw him leaving and being shot down; it was Stark Industries that brought a new generation of utility vehicles resistant to large caliber and in the government purchase range, he could stay that it would be safer, but, he had to leave and that's what he did and was met with a mortar explosion nearby; the impact wave made Tony support himself so as not to fall, he ran amid the explosions to find safe shelter behind the rocks; he pulled out his cell phone and was going to call when a missile fell next to him, it didn't explode because of the timer, once again he saw the name Stark Industries and knew what it was and tried to move away, but, there was no time and it exploded, Tony was close enough to feel the blast wave throwing him away, it was too fast for the pain not to come; it came later when he realized that his chest was pierced.

The next memories were of blood and pain; screams of pain as they opened his body and gave him a magnet to ensure he stayed alive, but, these memories being the same as what he had experienced, were erased when the chloroform cloth was placed on his face; he woke up with a tube stuck in his nose; he takes it out; he still remembers that it was stuck up to his stomach, he feels his left hand and approaches the water jug, but, it falls to the floor, Tony coughs and then he sees, Yinsen, how he missed this guy, but, he has to look confused; surprised to see him humming and shaving; Tony tried to move, but, the wires stretched and he stopped:

- I wouldn't do that if I were you! – said Yinsen.

Then Tony saw the car battery and started to tear the bandages off his chest; Tony had lost his breath and was trying to catch it; when he calmed down Yinsen handed him a mirror and started to look at the hole in his chest while he was preparing dinner or lunch, it was not known because they were deep inside a cave:

- What did you do to me? – Tony asked while Yinsen was in the frying pan whistling:

- What did I do? – Yinsen asked calmly – I saved your life! I removed all the shrapnel I could, but there are still a lot left and they are heading for your atrial septum!

Yinsen took out a bottle and shook it:

- It's a souvenir! - Yinsen said, handing the bottle to Tony, who held the bottle up to the light to see the shrapnel - I saw people injured like that in my village; we call them the living dead because it takes a week for the splinters to reach the vital organs!

- What is this? – asked Tony:

- An electromagnet! – Yinsen replied – Powered by a car battery that prevents the shrapnel from entering your heart!

Tony closed his coat and then saw the camera:

- That's right, smile! – Yinsen said, noticing where Tony was looking – We've met once before; at a technical conference in Bern!

- I don't remember! – said Tony:

- And he couldn't do it! – said Yinsen – He gave the lecture on integrated circuits and ran back to his wife; he greeted everyone hurriedly!

- Where are we? – Tony asked. Yinsen was about to answer when the metallic sound was heard and he looked at the door and heard some people speaking in Arabic, this put Yinsen in a state of alert and tension:

- Get up; come on, get up! – said Yinsen grabbing Tony's arm and pulling him to his feet – Do what I do! Raise your hands!

Tony made Yinsen say, and raised his hands when the metal door opened and some men entered, the man in the center, chubby raised his arms high and began to speak in joy, he finished speaking and looked at Yinsen:

- It says: "Welcome, Tony Stark, the most notorious mass murderer in American history"! – Yinsen translated.

The man spoke again politely and smiling:

- He feels honored! – said Yinsen – He wants me to build a missile! The Jericho missile he demonstrated!

The man handed Yinsen a photo and he showed it and Tony saw the missile:

- That one! – said Yinsen.

Tony was silent, moved his chin a few times, assuming a hard look and then clenched his jaw:

- Does he have what it takes for my job? – Tony asked and Yinsen translated and the man replied:

- Yes! – said Yinsen:

- I need to see! – said Tony.

The next minute, Tony received a hood over his head and was holding the car battery and was being driven through the cave until he felt the fresh air on his body and the bag was taken off his head, he closed and opened his eyes several times getting used to the sun and when he saw normally he was on a mountain range surrounded by several boxes of weapons and ammunition and several terrorists walking around doing some function; Tony went down accompanied by Yinsen and for the second time he saw the weapons his company manufactured for the American government and allies gathering dust, but, just waiting to be used, this did not diminish the feeling of anger or betrayal he felt; he stood in front of the man and he said:

- He wants to know what you think! – Yinsen translated:

- I think you have a lot of my weapons! – Tony replied; the man spoke again and walked pointing to the weapons and then looked at Yinsen:

- He said he has what it takes to build the Jericho missile! – Yinsen translated – He wants you to make the materials list!

The man spoke again:

- He said to start working immediately and when you finish, he will release you! – Yinsen translated.

Tony smiled and shook the man's hand:

- He won't! – said Tony:

- Not at all! – said Yinsen.

Tony and Yinsen returned to the cave, Tony was sitting by the fire deep in thought:

- I'm sure they're looking for you! - Yinsen said - But they'll never find you in these mountains! Look! What you just saw is the legacy of the Stark Family! Your life's work in the hands of these assassins and this is how you want to die? The last act of the great Tony Stark? Or are you going to do something?

- I'll do something! – Tony replied – I know what to do!

Then the terrorists started bringing things into the cave; they were going back and forth all the time:

- If this is going to be my work area I want it well lit! – said Tony and Yinsen translating for the terrorists – I need welding material, acetylene or propane; a forge, goggles, crucible, precision tools!

After what had been hours of bringing materials into the cave, Tony looked around and decided to get to work; he was starting to open the missiles:

- How many languages do you speak? – asked Tony:

- Many! – Yinsen replied – But not enough for this place! They speak Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Pashto, Mongolian, Farsi, Russian!

- Who are they? – asked Tony opening the missile, taking out one of its components:

- Your most loyal customers! – Yinsen replied – The Ten Rings!

Tony looked at him and then went back to work dismantling the missile:

- Teach me all the languages you know! – said Tony – I'm a multitasker and my mind can focus on several things at the same time!

- I can teach! – said Yinsen – But, it would also be more productive if you included me in the planning!

Tony took out a piece and held it up to the light, removing a thin layer of metal, he threw the piece back:

- We don't need that! – said Tony:

- What is this? – Yinsen asked and Tony showed the thin piece of metal in the light:

- Palladium! 0.15 grams! – Tony replied – We need 1.6; for that we have to dismantle the other eleven!

Tony began working on a forging mold, and then melted the palladium. When it was ready, Yinsen would be the one to do this part of the operation; he picked up the melted metal with tweezers:

- Be careful! – said Tony – We only have one chance with this!

- Relax! – said Yinsen – My hands are steady! Why do you think you are still alive?

Yinsen approached the bench and poured the liquid metal into the mold:

- What do I call you? – asked Tony:

- My name is Yinsen! – Yinsen replied:

- Yinsen! Nice to meet you! – said Tony watching him finish the work:

- The pleasure is mine! – said Yinsen.

Tony took the palladium ring out of the mold and placed it in the glass socket and began to work on the piece he was building, good to return to the nostalgia of building the first Ark Reactor and he remembered that he had already told Pepper that he was never called nostalgic, the reactor was ready and he turned it on and for the first time felt the happiness of seeing it shine in the middle of that dark cave; Yinsen approached looking at the object:

- That's not a Jericho missile! – Yinsen said:

- It's a miniature Ark Reactor, I have a giant one of those in the factory at home, this should keep the shrapnel away from my heart! - Tony explained:

- What can it generate? – asked Yinsen:

- If my calculations are correct, and they always are, three gigajoules per second! – Tony replied:

- Your heart would work for fifty lifetimes! – said Yinsen:

- Or something big for fifteen minutes! – Tony said and then he took the papers and placed them on the table, Yinsen took them and looked at them without understanding – This is our chance to get out of here!

- What is it? – asked Yinsen:

- Flatten it and see! – Tony replied and Yinsen flattened the sheets and they showed a drawing of armor; Yinsen smiled:

- Impressive! – said Yinsen.

That night the ark reactor was placed on Tony's chest; now he could move freely to work on his escape and that's how he started; of course he had to split up, first he would work on the armor and show them that he would work on the missile, so Tony had hopes of not receiving an unwanted visit from the real local boss of the group; the two were resting and drinking tea and playing a board game that Yinsen was teaching:

- You didn't tell me where you're from! – said Tony:

- From a small town called Gulmira! – said Yinsen – It's a cool place!

- Do you have any family? – asked Tony:

- Yes, I will see them when I leave here! – Yinsen replied:

- And you, Stark? – asked Yinsen:

- Wife and two kids waiting for me at home! – Tony replied:

- So you are a man who has everything! – Yinsen said. Tony smiled.

They continued with a work routine planning each step, assembling the armor and at the same time pretending that they were assembling the missile for the terrorists; this way Tony hopes to avoid unwanted visitors; he also assembled a protective plate for Yinsen to protect himself, Tony knew what would happen and wanted to avoid it as much as possible, he would do everything in his power. The fact that they were pretending to assemble the Jericho missile prevented their schedule from being delayed, but keeping up the charade cost Tony three months of work and then he was ready to act, putting bandages on his hands and wrists, putting on the leather clothes and gloves, covering his entire body with leather, they began to put on the armor, now that he was no longer working and hiding, time was running out:

- Okay! Can you move it? – Yinsen asked. Tony moved his hand and raised his arm without any problems – Well, say it again!

- Forty-one steps forward, sixteen steps from the door; to the right, thirty-three steps, to the right! – said Tony; at that moment the terrorists arrive shouting – Say something!

- They're speaking Hungarian! – said Yinsen:

- It never gets easier! – Tony said and then he heard them open the door and the explosion that shook the entire cave. Yinsen leaned over to look at the damage they had done – Did it work?

- A beautiful wish card we gave them! – Yinsen replied:

- Start energizing! – said Tony:

- How? – asked Yinsen turning to the computer behind him:

- F11! – Tony replied – Do you see the evolution bar?

- I see! – Yinsen replied:

- Press control l! – Tony said and Yinsen pressed the keys:

- Done! – said Yinsen; the bar began to load and the screams of the terrorists were beginning to increase; Yinsen moved and began to tighten the remaining screws – They are coming!

- Focus on me and finish your job! – said Tony – Put on your protection and wait until the area is clear!

Yinsen was looking at the energy progress bar, Tony was trying to keep him focused on the plan:

- Put on your protection and check the guards before following me! – said Tony:

- We need more time! – Yinsen said. These words truly worried Tony. Yinsen turned around and saw the same determined eyes of Yinsen that had haunted him for so long – I'll buy more time!

- Follow the plan! – said Tony.

Yinsen went out to pick up a weapon dropped by the terrorist and leave the cave and enter the tunnels:

- Follow the plan! – Tony shouted at the same moment that Yinsen started shooting and screaming like crazy – Yinsen! No! Follow the plan! Yinsen!

Tony was looking at the progress bar with tears in his eyes, determined to be more cruel to these terrorists than he had been before; the bar filled up completely and the power went out, leaving the place dark. The terrorists approached and entered cautiously, and it was one of them who stepped forward and when he saw the light on his face and got closer, he was surprised to be met by a blow that threw him back with force. The terrorists began to shoot at the cave until they unloaded half of the clip, and that was how Tony in his armor approached, hitting the first bandit violently, then the second, and the third with a well-placed punch to his chest that surely sank and killed him. The terrorists were running away in fear and closed a door, leaving one of them behind. Tony, seeing red and without compassion, grabbed the head of this terrorist and crushed it against the iron door and began to hit and hit it until it exploded, falling on top of the terrorists.

Tony kept walking past the terrorists until he arrived and saw Yinsen with his shirt stained with blood and he was lying on top of several boxes:

- Yinsen! – said Tony:

- Watch out! – Yinsen said and Tony turned just in time to lean and dodge a projectile fired by the leader of that cell of the ten Rings and Tony fired his rocket, exploding and knocking down the bandit; Tony approached Yinsen and lifted his mask:

- Stark! – said Yinsen:

- We need to go! – said Tony – We have a plan; let's follow it!

- That was always the plan! – said Yinsen:

- You'll see your family again! – said Tony – Get up!

- My family died! – Yinsen said and Tony felt that pain of loss once again; unable to accept that he could not save Yinsen – I'm going to see them now! It's okay! I want this!

- Thanks for saving me! – Tony said, smiling at Yinsen:

- Don't waste this chance! - Yinsen said before taking his last breath and dying. Tony acquired a fury in his eyes that he saw red; he lowered his visor and headed out of the cave and was then met with bullets by the terrorists who fired the entire clip of their weapons; Tony stood still receiving the bullets waiting for them to stop and then they looked surprised and this is the opportunity for Tony to react:

- It's my turn! - Tony said activating his flame lances and shooting at the terrorists, taken by surprise they screamed in pain and panic while Tony burned them, Tony was also burning the weapons and ammunition they had scattered, destroying everything they had in that place; the terrorists screamed in pain and despair while Tony walked and burned everything; his armor had no temperature control and so he was sweating a lot due to the excess heat, so Tony felt the impact; several impacts in fact; and he saw a terrorist firing a fifty caliber and this allowed the terrorists to retaliate and one of them hit one of the joints in his leg which forced him to kneel and that was when the explosions started pushing the terrorists away and then Tony stood up with effort and activated the jets that propelled him out of the place and away from the big explosion, this impulse put Tony away from the terrorists, but they didn't last long and Tony fell in the sand with his armor completely shattered; dizzy he looked around and rested his head on the sand:

- It was good! – said Tony and he didn't have time to rest and quickly got rid of the pieces and walked away with the leather his head, no matter the direction, he just wanted to keep his distance from the Ten Rings, he knew that that explosion caught the attention of the military and they would search the area and then the helicopters passed by him and Tony shouted happily once more, they landed and to his surprise and happiness, Rhodes came out and ran towards him along with soldiers:

- How was the fun jeep? - Rhodes asked and Tony laughed, Rhodes put his hand on his shoulder - Next time you come with me!

- Of course! – said Tony and the two hugged.

Tony feels disconnected for the next few days, he is taken to a base whose name he doesn't remember after the initial medical care he travels to Germany where he sees more doctors and when he manages to remember he is landing in California where the cargo ramp opens and the two go down towards Pepper and Happy, they get out of the plane and Tony sees the paramedic stretcher approaching:

- Are you kidding? Get rid of it! - Tony said and Rhodes dismissed the paramedics and Tony approached his wife who was barely containing herself from smiling, Tony looked at her carefully seeing that he hadn't forgotten any detail of her face during that time away:

- Red eyes? – asked Tony – Did you cry for your missing husband?

- Tears of joy! – Pepper replied – I hate looking for another husband!

Tony came closer and kissed her lips in a chaste way, smiling, running his hand over her face in a loving way, after that placing his hand on Happy's shoulder:

- The holidays are over! – Tony said looking at Pepper and they both got into the car:

- Where to, sir? – asked Happy:

- Hospital! – Pepper replied:

- No! – said Tony:

- No? Tony! You have to go to a hospital! – said Pepper:

- I don't have to do anything! – said Tony – I was locked up for three months and I want two things: a cheeseburger and the other thing…!

- Stop right there! – said Pepper:

- I want to go home and cuddle with you and the kids! - Tony said. Pepper didn't argue and the car left. Arriving home, Tony hugged his children and for the next two days he just missed them. His children, Richard and Laura, and Pepper stayed in the same bed, just hugging, missing each other's presence. Happy with that, Tony felt renewed for what he would do next: call the government's alphabet soup and explain everything to them, start working on a new reactor for his chest and improve his idea for the combat armor and convince the government to accept him and Rhodes as pilots initially. With that, the vacation was really over, it was time to start working.

First, the agencies of interest that Tony could form a partnership with were called: the CIA, FBI, DOD, Interpol, Homeland Security, and the military. Tony was unsure whether to call SHIELD or not, but in the end he called them. Especially if he wanted to form a relationship with Agent Coulson. With Happy, Pepper, and Rhodes, and his wife Glenda Sandoval, while Rhodes' children were with Glenda. Robert and Jasmine stayed with their children, with JARVIS keeping an eye on them. He told them everything and showed them how he escaped and what he would do to destroy their weapons that were in the hands of the terrorists. None of the agents present could stop Tony from doing this. There were no laws for this, and if there were, it would violate the constitution. However, they all agreed that Tony should have a partner, and he pointed out his friend Rhodes, and they agreed, but that they would make everything official. Tony said that he would investigate his company and would really like the cooperation of the agencies, and he would cooperate too. they also agreed and began to establish means to place their agents inside the company and investigate and Tony ended the meeting by warning that if his agents needed anything they would have to go through his security chief Happy to reach him or his wife; the agents agreed.

Tony had a consultation with Glenda Rhodes, undergoing all possible tests, including the possibility of a new surgical technique to repair the hole in his chest and remove the remains of the shrapnel, and having a referral from Glenda for a psychological consultation with someone trustworthy and unrelated to Glenda; Tony wanted to cover all his bases so that when he built his suit, the Senate would not have any power to force him to hand over his work to the government; after working out some details, Tony went to his workshop to start work; first he would open some projects:

- Jarvis, are you awake? – Tony asked:

- Always, sir! – replied Jarvis:

- Have you been following everything since my arrival? – asked Tony:

- Affirmative, sir! – replied Jarvis:

- So you know we have a lot of work to do! – said Tony – First you will go through all the Stark Industries files, you will not go into them in depth, that will be the work of the government agents we will collaborate with! They will send the files of the agents chosen to enter my company and through Happy you will work with them!

- I understand sir! – said Jarvis:

- In the meantime; let's work on some personal projects! – said Tony – Open a folder on my personal server called Ark Reactor; you already have the files from Glenda Rhodes' exams, put everything in that folder!

- Done sir! – said Jarvis:

- Find an element to replace the palladium before the palladium poisoning consumes my brain! – said Tony:

- Starting the research! – said Jarvis:

- And we're going to work on a more powerful ark reactor! – said Tony.

Tony began his work at the Ark Reactor and wondered if Project Extremis could not be used to save his life and if it was not time to involve Susan Storm in this project, after all she has a degree in biology specializing in bioengineering and genetic engineering; while updating the news when he was away during those months he discovered that Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Johnny Storm, Ben Grimm and Victor Von Doom when they went to space to the International Space Station for research and the development of new technologies,were bombarded by large amounts of cosmic radiation and fell, they survived, but Victor Von Doom was disfigured, blaming Reed Richards and left for the country he rules; Latveria; only later was it discovered that four of them gained powers and that Victor Von Doom had his face disfigured and gained super strength, resistance and agility and he began to use armor to hide the disfigurement, but this did not limit his powers. Victor Von Doom is also a magic user to which he delved when he sought a cure for his disfigurement and ended up discovering that his mother is trapped in hell; so he attacked Reed Richards who wanted to use his dimensional research to go after his mother and also take revenge for the injury; they defeated Victor Von Doom who was calling himself Dr. Doom when Reed Richards, Mr. Fantastic with his elastic powers in various forms joined Susan Storm who could become invisible, invisible anyone she targeted, generate indestructible force fields; Johnny Storm, the Human Torch who is able to envelop his body in fire and use it as he wants and Ben Grimm, the Thing who has a stronger, more durable, more resistant body and his body entirely made of rock.

Tony decided no, they had a lot to worry about now, especially since they were forming a team, the Fantastic Four, being exposed to the public, the government gave them the Baxter Building, but they would have to support it with their inventions, the government would help as contractors, but they would have to earn more money with their inventions to support the building and the equipment for their research. Tony could ask Dr. Hank McCoy for help, after all he has a degree in biochemistry, perhaps his experience in the area would be useful, but, a month after the emergence of the Fantastic Four, the Brotherhood of Mutants, which had no leader to be seen since Magneto had been in his godfather's mansion since the Dark Phoenix incident; attacked in an attempted kidnapping of American senators who are against mutants, but the X-Men prevented this and the fact that they worked to protect civilians counted many points in the government's favor so much so that his godfather, Uncle Charles, accepted government supervision to contain groups of violent mutants; now they had their hands full to reach a satisfactory agreement with the government; well; Tony would not bother them with that, he would take the first steps; alone:

- Jarvis, do the math to make the ark reactor thinner, the current configuration is inadequate if I intend to close the hole in my chest! – said Tony:

- Starting now sir! - said Jarvis. Tony had finished the new reactor design and had it manufactured, three were produced and soon proved to be in perfect working order, now he just had to put it on his chest. Pepper was withyour tabletin the living room looking at Stark Industries' shares rising with Tony's return and meanwhile his children played with Lego, even though they were both as intelligent as their father or even more, he limited the use of tools in the workshop and wanted them to play more, Pepper was approving of this, especially when Tony found time to play with the twins:

- Pepper, honey, do you have big hands? – Tony asked over the intercom:

- What? – asked Pepper:

- Do you have big hands? – asked Tony:

- I don't understand! – replied Pepper:

- Get down here! – said Tony. Pepper got up from her chair and went down to the workshop with her curious children:

- Why would Dad ask that? – Laura asked curiously:

- For something that daddy's hands can't do! – Richard replied, not seeming sure:

- Dad can do everything with his hands! - Laura said with the utmost certainty; they entered the workshop and Tony had monitors connected to his body, he was lying on a chair shirtless with the Ark reactor exposed for them to see:

- Show me your hands! – said Tony, seeing his wife approaching. She showed them, not understanding how Tony doesn't know what his hands look like; he was certainly provoking something; Pepper showed her hands:

- Small! – said Tony – Really small! I need your hands for a second!

Pepper surprised to see the Ark Reactor for the first time:

- Is that what keeps you alive? - Pepper asked, the twins quickly approached their father:

- Does it hurt? – Richard asked curiously, as did Laura:

- Not now! – Tony replied, smiling at his children – I'll have to wear it until I can remove it! Right now I'm wearing an antique!

Tony raised his hand showing the new reactor:

- This is what will keep me alive for the near future and when I tried to change it I came across a speed bump! – said Tony:

- Which one? – asked Pepper:

- An exposed wire! – Tony replied, taking the reactor off his chest – It's making contact with the wall of the socket and causing a small short!

Tony disconnected the reactor and handed it to Pepper:

- Put it on the table! – Tony said and she placed it and handed the new reactor to him – I just want you to reach the wire and lift it gently!

- Is it safe? – Laura asked worriedly:

- Of course! – Tony replied, trying to reassure his daughter – It's like the operation game, don't let it ring or it will beep!

- What is an operation game? – Richard asked curiously:

- Now I'm going to have to buy one for you! - Tony replied, surprised that his son was asking that, he had other things on his mind now and turned to Pepper - Lift the wire carefully!

Pepper put her hand inside the hole in her husband's chest and was reaching for the wire:

- Are you okay? – Pepper asked worriedly:

- Great! – Tony replied and Pepper felt something in her hand:

- Oh my God, there's pus! - Pepper said in disgust; a grimace of disgust that her children imitated:

- It's not pus! – said Tony – It's inorganic plasma discharge from the device, not from my body!

- It smells! – said Pepper with even more disgust:

- Yes! – Tony agreed – It's the copper wire!

- I see! – said Pepper:

- Don't let it touch the sides! – said Tony and in the next second a shock hit him and he screamed in pain – That's what I was trying to say!

Pepper began to pull the thread out slowly:

- Take it out slowly! – said Tony – Don't pull, there's a magnet on the end!

Pepper pulled the magnet out:

- You just took the magnet off – Tony said in a hoarse voice – Put it on the table!

Tony said this when he saw that Pepper was going to put it back; she placed the magnet on the table and turned to Tony:

- What happened? - Pepper asked worriedly; her children, silent during their mother's work, approached worriedly and the devices began to beep and Pepper realized what was happening:

- You pulled hard! – Tony replied, handing her the new reactor – You have to be quick!

Pepper began to fit the device to Tony's chest:

- Secure the base plate, just make sure….! – Tony screamed in pain when he felt the shock and it soon ended when the reactor was fitted – Heavy hand!

- Are you okay? – Pepper asked, a question that her children were mirroring:

- I'm fine! – Tony replied – Are you okay?

- Never again! Never again! Never again! Ask me to do something like that! - Pepper replied:

- I have no one but you! – Tony said. Pepper smiled a little and turned to take the towel and dry her hands and pick up the old reactor:

- What do I do with this? – asked Pepper:

- Destroy! – Tony replied, seeing what she was holding – Incinerate!

Tony patted his chest on top of the new reactor:

- Don't you want to keep it? - Pepper asked:

- Honey, I've been called many things in this life; except nostalgic! – replied Tony

- I love you Tony! – said Pepper:

- I love you Pepper! – Tony said kissing his wife's lips; Tony turned to his desk – Butterfingers come here! What are those things on my desk? My phone! A picture of me with my father! Throw them all in the trash!

After tidying up and spending some time with his children, Tony goes to meet with Rhodey, he put him in this situation without talking to him first, now he was going to apologize to his godchildren's father:

- Is the future of aerial combat manned or unmanned? – Rhodes asked the pilots who followed them inside the hangar – In my experience, no unmanned aircraft will be able to overcome a pilot's instinct, his perception and his ability to analyze the situation beyond the obvious and see its consequences! The pilot's judgment!

- Colonel? – Tony asked, approaching – Why not a pilot without a plane?

- Look who fell from the sky: Tony Stark! – said Rhodes and Tony was shaking hands with the pilots on the front line:

- Speaking of "with and without" crew, ask him about his 1987 vacation! – said Tony – Remember that! The lovely girl who woke up next to him; what's her name?

The pilots were laughing:

- Ivan? – Tony asked and they were smiling more:

- Don't do it! They'll believe it! Don't do it Tony! - Tony said and he turned to the pilots:

- It was a pleasure! – said Tony:

- Give me permission, please! – Rhodes asked and the pilots withdrew:

- I'm surprised! – said Rhodes:

- Why? – asked Tony:

- I didn't think I'd see you up so soon! - Rhodes replied:

- I'm doing more than that! – said Tony:

- I know! – said Rhodey – Glenda told me!

- What's with doctor/patient confidentiality when Mrs. Rhodes is involved? – Tony asked amused:

- She wants the best for you! - Rhodey said - Knowing that you are working to solve the palladium problem and that you asked my wife to recommend a specialist for you to talk to who does not know or have any kind of relationship with Glenda tells me that you are willing to ask for help and you are covering your bases!

- I practically told the government what I intend to do! – said Tony – And for that I want to apologize!

- About what? – Rhodes asked, confused:

- About bringing you into this without consulting you! – Tony replied:

- You're my best friend Tony, godfather to my children and you know I'd have your back; just like you do mine! - said Rhodes:

- Thank you! – said Tony smiling. And Tony went back to his house where he would start working; first he designed the Mark I which he named "Scrap" and put it as the name of a subfolder "Mark I – Scrap" inside a folder named "Problem Solving"; now he would go to the next level; he activated the keyboard:

- Jarvis, are you there? – Tony asked:

- For you, always! – replied Jarvis:

- I want to create a new project file; a subfolder inside the "Problem Solving" folder! – said Tony – Name it Mark II – Second Son!

Tony used the digital pen and dragged the project drawing onto the virtual table:

- Should I make a backup at the Stark Industries data center? – asked Jarvis:

- No! – Tony replied – Keep the "Problem Solving" folder on my personal server until further notice; I don't trust anyone!

- Are we working on a secret project, sir? – asked Jarvis:

- I don't want this to fall into the wrong hands! – Tony replied as he interacted with the projection of the drawing and removed some parts that could be improved – Maybe in mine, it will become something good!

Tony's first step was to develop legs to be able to fly and glide in the air. The idea of the Mark I was worthy and could be improved, and that's when he started working; from the bottom up; from the inside out; starting with a chemical composition to make an impact-absorbing gel; this gel would be the one he would make and use to make a suit to put on the armor; this gel would also protect his head against impacts; after that he started planning the wiring; he had done this before, but he had to face this as the first time and totally experimental; each wire would function as a nerve in a body protected by titanium and carbon fiber armor; he was designing each piece of the armor so that mobility would not be restricted; a week later, he already had an impact-absorbing gel ready and would start fitting the parts of the armor together; by that time he had already had consultations with the psychologist recommended by Glenda and he was doing well; finally he was talking about everything about his life and discussing every point about his life in detail and whether he would make a different choice; The advice on approach and coping was showing promise, and now Tony would take Pepper with him; he realized that therapy would do them both good.

Jarvis had given some advice and Tony accepted it, improving the impact absorption gel, adding another insulating layer against electricity and thermal insulation, and then he started assembling the parts, first going to the legs:

- Next! Up! – Tony said to Dum-E to move the magnifying glass he was holding – Not in the boot Dum-E! Right here!

Tony was pointing with the welder he was holding and working with:

- Stay where you are! Good! – said Tony and then Dum-E moved the magnifying glass – You're no help at all! Get down to the finger! Leave it to me!

Dum-E lowered the magnifying glass, disturbing Tony's work:

- Sorry, am I in the way? – Tony asked and after some work, he moved to his fingers – Up!

Dum-E didn't even move:

- Forget it! – said Tony – Stay there! You're a tragedy!

Tony finished welding and was admiring his work and the boot opened showing the space to put his foot in; a few minutes later, Tony put on both boots and headed to the center to test, on top of a platform; he didn't want to do it again, but he had to show the mistakes and successes of the first manufacture of the armor; he had to show the first steps and that means making a lot of mistakes; Tony moved to the center of the platform:

- Okay, let's do it right! – Tony said, taking a deep breath, preparing for what was coming next – Start half a meter away, behind the center! Dum-E, ready in case of fire! U start filming! Activate hand control!

Tony tried out some moves:

- Let's go really slowly! – said Tony – Let's see if ten percent of the capacity is able to lift! And in three, two, one!

When the countdown was over, the boots' thrusters were activated with the force that threw Tony backwards and he hit the ceiling and fell to the ground with a scream of pain and to his anger, Dum-E sprayed the fire extinguisher on him and that was how Tony passed out because of the blow; Tony came to after three hours with the foam disappearing and he called it a day to treat his injuries and headache; the next morning almost recovered he went back to work on the armor and began to plan the flight stabilizers; he was back at the drawing table, with the design of the flight stabilizer ready, he began the calculations and began to manufacture the components and when they were ready, he began to assemble them and was fitting them on his left arm to test them, it was at that moment that he looked up and saw Pepper entering with papers, a wrapped box and a cup of coffee which she placed on the table:

- Go up two! Apply this! – said Tony:

- I called you! – said Pepper:

- What? – asked Tony:

- Obadiah is here! – replied Pepper – What do I say?

- I'm going up now! – Tony replied, taking his arm off the support:

- What is this? – asked Pepper:

- This is a completely harmless flight stabilizer! - Tony replied, pressing a red button and a sound began to increase and then an explosion of energy from the stabilizer escaped with force, throwing Tony backwards, forcing Pepper to cover her face and turn back as protection while Tony hit hard against a bookshelf and things fell on top of him:

- Tony! – said Pepper – Are you okay?

- I didn't expect that! – replied Tony.

Tony took off his equipment and went upstairs to the sound of the piano that Obadiah was playing, his children were with the Rhodes family and so there was only him, Obadiah and Pepper:

- How was it? – Tony asked and Obadiah smiled as he played and Tony approached the couch where Pepper was and saw a box of New York pizza – That bad?

- Bringing pizza from New York doesn't mean it was bad! – Obadiah replied:

- Of course not! – said Tony opening the box and taking a piece and Obadiah stopped playing:

- It would have been better if you had gone! – said Obadiah:

- I'm out of the picture, I haven't made any announcements and I'm taking care of my physical and mental health, spending more time with my family and as I've made very clear;Pepper will remain in charge as CEO while I am away or in the event of my death until one of my children is able to take over! – Tony explained:

- You left the public scene, the press! – said Obadiah approaching the sofa and sitting down – This was a board meeting; company business!

- Board meeting? – Tony asked in surprise:

- They know you stepped down to take care of your health, they know you have post-traumatic stress, but now they question whether you have the capacity to take over again; Pepper doesn't have all the powers of the CEO with you here, alive and with the capacity to make decisions and that's what became a point to want to remove you! - said Obadiah:

- What? – Tony asked in surprise:

- They want to exclude you! – said Obadiah more directly:

- My continued absence should calm the market as I make it clear that I am dedicated to taking care of my health and returning to work at full capacity! – said Tony – The company's shares recovered with my return! Forty points!

- Twenty! – said Pepper speaking for the first time:

- It doesn't matter, we own most of the company! – said Tony:

- Tony, the council also has its right! – said Obadiah:

- I'm being responsible! – said Tony – For the company and for the customers!

Tony got up and carrying the pizza box began to walk:

- I'm going back to the workshop! – said Tony:

- Tony! – said Obadiah reaching him – I'm working to reverse this, but you need to give me something!

- No! No way! – said Tony turning to go back to the workshop, but Obadiah grabbed the pizza box:

- That's mine! – said Obadiah:

- Good night Obie! – said Tony saying goodbye to Obadiah.

Tony went back to work on the armor, with his children and having other duties to do, he was doing it slowly and this time checking every error or problem that could happen and it happened at another time; two weeks after the work he received from Happy the list of agents who would infiltrate his company, no name stood out from the agencies that were sending their agents, but the SHIELD list stood out a lot to him; Natasha Romanoff and Barbara Morse, Black Widow and Harpy were chosen to infiltrate, he knew about the two agents and it would be interesting to have both of them; this was more than twenty days ago and they were still working on the files and there were already some names that Tony had saved and was letting the agencies investigate and get all the evidence; two and a half months after starting the work, he could finally do the most important test for the progress of his armor; Tony was in the center with his flying boots and the stabilizers:

- Day forty-five; test thirty-seven; configuration 2.0! – said Tony – For lack of a better opinion; Dum-E is still responsible for putting out fires!

Tony looked at the robot:

- If you spray that on me one more time, I'll donate it to a college, I told you! - Tony said - Let's take it slow; start with one percent of capacity and in three, two, one!

The boots were activated along with the stabilizers and Tony rose into the air for a few moments managing to stay stable in the air and then he landed:

- Cool! – said Tony and he turns to Dum-E – Don't follow me, it looks like I'm going to catch fire at any moment; just be ready in case something happens and that's it! Let's increase it to two and a half percent! In three, two, one!

Boots and stabilizers engaged and Tony began to glide; he still had trouble with the control, so he began to move and ended up moving away from the platform and going to the corner of the garage:

- Okay! I didn't want to be here! – said Tony and soon he was moving on top of the cars – Not on the cars, no, no, no!

Tony passed the cars and was soon on top of the work table, luckily he wasn't using any more paper like last time; he managed to go back the way he came:

- It could be worse! – said Tony – We're fine! Very fine! Almost there!

Tony got back on top of the platform and managed to stabilize himself, maintaining constant stability and then he landed, still getting used to what he could do; surprised by everything, taking a few steps, looking at where he went and then he turned to Dum-E who seemed like he would point the extinguisher at him:

- No! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! – Tony shouted and Dum-E made a sad sound and lowered the fire extinguisher – Yeah; I can fly!

Tony had just completed the first step towards flying, now he could look at the other steps that were ahead, the armor and the interface; soon he was putting the armor on his body with the help of Jarvis and with everything in place, Tony put on the mask:

- Jarvis, are you there? – Tony asked:

- At your service, sir! – Jarvis replied and Tony put on the mask:

- Activate the interface monitor! – said Tony:

- Affirmative! – said Jarvis and his mask began to show images and information:

- Import preferences! – said Tony:

- Yes, sir! – said Jarvis and the interface was beginning to analyze the environment and the armor itself; Tony was checking everything that appeared on the interface:

- What do you think? – asked Tony:

- Program loaded, sir! – Jarvis replied – We are online and ready!

- Start the virtual tour! – said Tony:

- Importing preferences and calibrating the virtual environment! – said Jarvis:

- Check the controls! – said Tony:

- As you wish! – said Jarvis.

Then all the parts of the armor moved, from head to toe, all the components were checked and were connected and working:

- Test complete! – said Jarvis – Shut down and diagnose!

- Run simulations for all possible scenarios, from climate, environmental and combat! – said Tony:

- Preparing the simulation calculations, sir! – said Jarvis.

Tony was soon getting out of the armor, he wanted to fly again, but he wouldn't be crazy enough to do it again, he wanted a controlled flying environment and not to blow a hole in his ceiling; Pepper would kill him. Tony approached his work desk and saw a package left there, curious, he approached and saw a note "From Pepper", Tony threw the note in the trash and opened the package and saw a glass box with his first reactor inside wrapped with the words "Proof that Tony Stark has a heart"; Tony liked the gift and immediately put it on top of the shelf away from anything or situation that could break it:

- How are the calculations going, Jarvis? – asked Tony, sitting in a chair surrounded by computer screens, all showing the armor's analysis:

- They are entering the final phase sir, simulations have been carried out in all the scenarios you requested, changes are necessary! – replied Jarvis:

- Tell me about some of them! – said Tony:

- Flying at high altitudes causes ice to build up on the suit! – said Jarvis:

- The higher you go, the colder it gets and the ice forms covering the suitandturning it off! – said Tony:

- Very astute sir, if you plan to visit other planets, I suggest we make modifications! - said Jarvis:

- A life support to survive in space and the bottom of the sea! – said Tony – And a means of preserving the integrity of the suit! Ask the system to reconfigure the metals of the armor; use the titanium and gold alloy from the Seraph tactical satellite and this will maintain the integrity of the fuselage and the energy-to-weight ratio.

- Should I render with the latest specs? – asked Jarvis:

- Do it! – Tony replied and then he turned to the TV:

- "Tonight on the red carpet at the Disney Concert Hall where the Third Tony Stark Benefit Ball for the Families of Firefighters…."! – said the reporter:

- Jarvis, were we invited? – Tony asked:

- Invitation delivered and Mrs. Stark went to the party sir! – replied Jarvis:

- And the children? – asked Tony:

- Sleeping with the Baby Monitor Protocol activated! – Jarvis replied:

- "The host has not been confirmed tonight since his return from captivity in Afghanistan; some say he is suffering from post-traumatic stress and is on bed rest…. Whatever it is; no one expects him to show up tonight!" – said the reporter:

- The rendering is complete! – said Jarvis who saw the design of his completely golden armor:

- A bit of ostentation! – commented Tony:

- A thousand pardons sir, what was I thinking? After all, you are always so discreet! - said Jarvis; Tony turned to get another drink and saw his hot rod:

- Paint some parts bright red! – said Tony:

- Yes sir, that will help you keep a low profile! – said Jarvis; Tony looked at the screen as the work was done:

- Rendering complete! – said Jarvis:

- I like it! Make it! Paint it! – said Tony:

- Starting automated manufacturing! – said Jarvis – Estimated time for completion is five hours!

Tony looked at his watch:

- Don't wait for me, love! - Tony said, standing up. Tony was in his car, cutting across the street towards the ball. Crossing the streets in his Audi, he arrived at the ball venue. He got out of the car and handed the keys to the valet. Tony started walking down the red carpet. He hadn't been noticed yet, but it wouldn't be long before that happened:

- Weapons manufacturing is just one part of Stark Industries, our partnership with the firefighters….! – Obadiah said to a reporter, but was interrupted as a commotion began.

Tony was walking down the red carpet and tapped Hugh Hefner on the shoulder:

- Look at your heart, man, you're not made of iron! – said Tony. Hefner turned to see that Tony kept walking, he approached Obadiah:

- I wasn't invited to my own party! – said Tony:

- What a surprise! – said Obadiah smiling:

- Yeah! See you inside! – said Tony:

- Listen! – said Obadiah, getting close to Tony's ear – Take it easy! I think I'm managing to control the council!

- Don't worry! – said Tony – I'm tired of staying at home, I'll only be here for a short time!

Tony walked in and saw that the party was going beautifully, he approached the bar:

- Whiskey! – Tony said to the bar tender – I'm starving!

- Mr. Stark! – said the man next to him:

- Phil Coulson! – said Tony:

- You remember! – said Agent Coulson:

- Of course! – said Tony – What can I do for you that can't be discussed through Happy?

- My superiors have shown concern about your idea! – Coulson replied:

- What kind of worries? – asked Tony:

- Like the fact that you don't have combat training to carry out this idea! – replied Coulson:

- As I have already discussed with all the agencies, I will not give the project to anyone, only I can operate it and I am trusting Rhodes to protect my back! – said Tony:

- My superiors understand this and still think it is very dangerous, Mr. Stark! – said Agent Coulson:

- I appreciate the concern of your superiors, especially from an agency that my father and my aunt Peggy had a hand in creating; I assure you, I'm taking all the security measures! - said Tony - Of course, that can't be what warrants extra concern from you since the other agencies are accepting without much fuss, but, that's just me being paranoid, now, if you'll excuse me, my wife is in front of me!

Tony approached Pepper:

- You look beautiful and I didn't even recognize you! – Tony said and Pepper turned to him:

- What are you doing here? - Pepper asked surprised, happy and confused when she gave him a little kiss:

- Running away from government agents! – Tony replied:

- Did you come alone? – asked Pepper:

- Where did you get that dress? – asked Tony:

- It was your birthday present! – Pepper replied:

- Very beautiful! – said Tony – I have good taste! Let's dance!

Tony grabbed Pepper's hand and dragged her to the dance floor and soon the two were dancing:

- Why are you running away from government agents? – Pepper asked – More than a month ago you were quite excited to have them around!

- SHIELD! – Tony replied:

- The other agents accepted your plans, even though I have already expressed my opinion against it, why is SHIELD insisting?

- Besides the fact that my father was one of the founders with Aunt Peggy, I still don't see an answer! - Tony replied - But, I'll find out!

- I think I want a drink! – said Pepper:

- I'll get it! – Tony said immediately; Tony approached the bar and sighed; Pepper always avoided the subject when it came to her project, she had already given her opinion and she didn't want to discuss it anymore, even if Tony was planning to give her a suit of armor – Hi, two vodka martinis, with extra olives, extra dry and extra fast!

Tony left a hundred dollar bill in the bartender's glass and he began to wait:

- Tony Stark! – said a female voice and Tony turned and saw her, Christine Everhart:

-Christine Everhart! – said Tony:

- What a surprise to find you here! – said Christine – It's very brave of you to show up here! Aren't you going to show any emotion?

- Panic! – said Tony – Right now, panic!

- I'm talking about your company's involvement in the latest atrocity! – said Christine:

- They put my name on the invitation, what can I do? - Tony said, trying to get out of this conversation; Christine was smiling in disbelief and held out a photo to Tony:

- It's a city called Gulmira, have you heard of it? – asked Christine and Tony took the photo; in fact, several photos that he was going through and saw the logo of his company on a weapons box and even the Jericho missile:

- When were they taken? – asked Tony:

- Yesterday! – Christine replied:

- My company's board of directors wants to expel me, my wife has limited powers within the company, neither I nor she approved this boarding! - Tony said professionally:

- Your company approved! – said Christine:

- I'm not my company! – said Tony – Come with me and watch discreetly and in a way that you can hear everything!

Tony quickly walked away and saw Obadiah still at the entrance of the building, he was saying goodbye to the journalists:

- Did you see this? – Tony asked, handing the photos to Obadiah and he saw them – What's going on?

Obadiah dragged Tony aside:

- Tony; we can't be naive! – said Obadiah:

- No, I was naive when they told me that "There are limits we cannot cross"! – said Tony – That's how we do business, but if we are playing dirty….

- Are we? - Obadiah asked smiling, a predator's smile, a shark smile that Tony had been waiting for a long time to see, now he could no longer lie, pretend, now, they would play the real cards on the table - Let's take a picture, come on!

Obadiah and Tony walked down the stairs and posed for pictures and discreetly looked at Christine Everhart approaching and watching everything; they both hugged:

- Tony! – said Obadiah – Who do you think isolated you? Yes; I was the one who asked for your removal! I just wanted to protect you!

Tony had his smile frozen for the cameras, as he watched Obadiah walk away, he turned to Christine and handed her the photos:

- Your answer! – said Tony, also heading to get his car; at home, so as not to wake his children, he went to the garage and put on the clothes he would wear under the armor and turned on the TV to watch the news and found what he wanted:

- "The long twenty-five kilometer walk from Gulmira can be described as a descent into hell in a modern version of Heart of Darkness"! – explained the journalist in the report – "Peasants and shepherds from peaceful villages were taken from their homes, from their lands by military incited by a new power"! "Villagers were forced to take shelter wherever they could find in the ruins of other villages or in the wreckage of an old Soviet foundry"!

The images showed terrorists shooting at the foundry, through cracks and in places where people were sheltering:

- "The recent violence has been attributed to a group of foreign guerrillas known as The Ten Rings"! – said the reporter and Tony saw the image of the leader of his captivity that he identified; Raza – "Heavily armed men with a mission"! "Which could be fatal to anyone who crosses their path"! "Without international pressure, there is little help for these refugees"!

Tony threw the controller against the TV, cracking it. He walked away. He knew where he was going. It was time to use the armor in combat. Approaching the platform, it began to open and Tony began to put on the armor. He was putting on each piece and screwing the robots together until the mask was placed:

- Jarvis! – Tony said very angrily:

- We are ready sir! – said Jarvis:

- The armor's codename will be Rock 'N' Roll - said Tony, activating the thrusters and flying out of the garage; with the route mapped out and crossing the ocean at maximum speed, pushing the armor's flight to its limit and surpassing the sound barrier. The helmet's interface was connected to the military satellites; he had just seen the explosion of the Jericho missile; Tony pressed on faster to get there; he knew he couldn't save everyone, but he would save those who were still alive and help rebuild their lives; through the satellite, Tony could identify Raza's second-in-command, Abu Bakaar, who was in Gulmira giving orders; Tony saw him striking a civilian and also saw one of the soldiers about to kill him; at that moment Tony was descending; the noise would certainly draw their attention and divert them from the execution of the civilian; Tony descended at speed, activating all the thrusters and landed, punching the ground with his right fist.

Tony stood up to everyone's surprise and the bandit who would execute the civilian began to shoot without having any effect on Tony and then he applied a strong punch to his chest and sent him upwards hitting a wall of a destroyed building, the sensors already warned that he was dead; Tony turned and shot with the repulsor of his right hand at another bandit who went through the wall, dead, with the repulsor of his left hand he hit another terrorist and he was dead, with both hands he hit another terrorist and he was dead too; he turned once more and the terrorists were holding the civilians hostage, human shields while aiming their weapons; Tony lowered his arms and he deactivated the repulsors, his interface was analyzing quickly and quickly reacted when the mini cannons on his shoulders rose and hit all the terrorists at the same time killing them, they fell to the ground with the civilians surprised and unharmed; Tony saw the fear in them and stood still when the boy ran to hug his father; the armor's interface sensors were analyzing the environment and found Abu Bakaar; Tony was walking towards him, put his hand through the wall and pulled Abu, throwing him into the crowd; Tony activated the thrusters and was taking flight:

- He's all yours! - said Tony, leaving Abu Bakaar's fate to the people; Tony was in the sky searching for weapons depots, the interface pointed out the weapons depot in the nearest village and even the Jericho missiles, but then Tony felt the impact, even with anti-impact gel absorbing the blow, he still felt it and he fell, opening a hole in the ground:

- What was that? – asked Tony:

- Cannonball! – replied Jarvis – The life capsule you created is showing efficiency, sir!

- Great! - Tony groaned, getting up and leaving the hole to see the tank and it fired once more and Tony moved to the side, dodging the projectile. He raised his right arm and a small missile came out of his right gauntlet and fired, hitting the tank right in the center. Tony walked away and the terrorists were shooting non-stop without doing any damage to his armor. Tony took flight and the interface pointed out the places for the weapons depot and the missiles. Tony fired the missiles at his back, hitting the weapons and ammunition depots, exploding, and then he fired the repulsors at the missiles, exploding them. Then he was flying through the air. He had won and it was over for today. The satellites were showing the civilians he had saved, taking the trucks and leaving the village to hide. The military was certainly seeing this, and he would certainly receive some visitors. Then the phone started ringing. He had put a noise isolation mode on to keep the conversation going:

- Hello! – said Tony:

- "Tony"! – said Rhodey:

- Rhodes! – said Tony – Buddy, how are you?

- "I'm fine, Tony!" – Rhodes replied – "I need your help!"

- Send it! – said Tony:

- "You know, the funny thing about this situation is that a weapons depot exploded where you were arrested"! – said Rhodes:

- That's interesting! – said Tony:

- "Do you have equipment in that area?" Rhodes asked.

- Yes! – Tony replied:

- "Without telling me or anyone else; he drove everyone crazy!" – said Rhodes:

- My mistake! – said Tony – When I heard the news, I had to act!

- "It doesn't help your equipment argument, you pilot"! – said Rhodes:

- It worked, no civilians injured or killed and a weapons depot destroyed! – said Tony – I'm even having ideas for costumes for you and Pepper!

Rhodes could be heard sighing on the other end of the line:

- "What do I tell others?" Rhodes asked.

- The truth and then send them to me! – replied Tony.

Tony had arrived at the house and was taking off his armor; he could only groan in pain and frustration:

- It's too tight, sir! - said Jarvis - Sir, the more you resist, the more painful it will be!

- Slow down, it's my first time! – said Tony – I designed this to come loose; ouch! I should be able to; ouch!

Tony was moving around, preventing the robots from connecting and removing the armor parts, leaving him in an uncomfortable position:

- Please try not to move! – asked Jarvis:

- What's going on here? - Pepper asked, approaching. Everyone stopped and Tony was looking at his wife:

- Don't look at me like that; we've been in worse situations! – said Tony:

- Are those bullet marks? – Pepper asked in surprise:

- Tank bullet mark! – said Jarvis:

- Jarvis! – Tony reprimanded. With that, he quickly got out of the armor and explained everything to his wife, including showing the footage from the cameras placed in the suit, and assured her that he was completely fine, that the armor worked perfectly well and protected him from impacts while keeping his body intact, and assured her that all the scenarios had been tested; after that, Tony met government agents, a myriad of alphabet soup to whom he talked and explained everything, even though he had been reprimanded for not having warned them, which earned him another scolding from Pepper in front of the agents; Tony assured her that he would cover the expenses of helping the civilians through donations; the agents had said that the allied army was advancing and ensuring the security of the region; after that, when the agents left, his children arrived with Rhodes, his wife Glenda, and his godchildren; he showed them the armor and asked them to keep it a secret while Glenda examined him, ensuring that he was in good health.

For the next few days, Tony continued in the workshop making repairs and seeing any defects that might exist in the armor, it was ready again for the next mission; meanwhile the undercover agents were doing their work getting to the names inside and outside the company; Pepper had entered:

- Hi! – said Tony seeing his wife:

- We need to talk! – said Pepper:

- Of course! – said Tony:

- Will it always be like this? – asked Pepper:

- What do you mean? – asked Tony:

- You leaving in that armor and I'm extremely worried about whether you'll come back or not? - asked Pepper:

- No! – Tony replied – Of course not! I'll have Rhodes protecting my back! There's nothing to worry about!

- I'm still going to be worried, Tony! - Pepper said harshly - Your children can't be without their father!

- It's for them that I fight, I'm trying to give them a world that has security! - said Tony - No more balls, public appearances, just the next mission!

- Is that how it's going to be? – asked Pepper:

- Is there more in front of me? – asked Tony:

- Then I want a divorce! - said Pepper turning to leave, Tony raised his arms:

- You stood by me while I profited from death and destruction with the weapons industry and now that I want to do things differently, you're leaving? – Tony asks:

- I can't keep watching you kill yourself! - Pepper replied - It's not healthy for me and our children!

- I'm not supposed to be alive! – said Tony – I got a second chance and I'm going to do something good with it and it will be through the armor!

Tony pointed to the projection of the armor he was working on:

- For the first time, I know what I really have to do! – said Tony – And I know from the bottom of my heart that I'm right!

Pepper seemed to deflate; Tony doesn't know what convinced her, but he had gotten to her, even so it wasn't time to talk about building her an armor:

- You and our children are all I have! - Pepper said. It was a few days in the office that finally with Obadiah's name after what he did to Tony, Pepper could see what Jarvis had discovered, going through the files, she saw something interesting; in sector sixteen to be more specific:

- "What is Obadiah planning?" - Pepper thought, sending everything she had discovered to the undercover agents and to Tony and the next file was a video and when the terrorist took off his hood and she saw Tony's face, she quickly put it to translate the video:

- "You didn't say that the target you paid us to eliminate is Tony Stark; as you can see, Obadiah Stane, your lie will cost you dearly; the price to kill him has gone up!" – she said in the video. Everything was copied and sent to the important parts and Pepper got up to leave; she left the building ready to meet with the agents responsible for the investigation and call Tony, so she didn't see Obadiah Stane looking upstairs for Pepper's exit.

At night, Tony was alone at home, his children were once again with Rhodes' children and his wife, Glenda; he was looking for his cell phone when he sat up and rummaged through the couch cushions and saw that his wife was calling, Tony answered, but then something stopped him, he had felt this before he came back from time and now it was happening once again, a hand gently supported him on the couch and walked to stand in front of him, Obadiah smiling, a mischievous smile, he showed the device:

- You remember this one, right? – asked Obadiah – It's a shame the government didn't approve it, there are many reasons to cause short-term paralysis; Tony! When I ordered him killed, I was worried about killing the goose that laid the golden eggs!

Obadiah took a claw and was facing Tony placing it on his chest and then taking out the ark reactor:

- But, you know; it was pure luck that you survived! – said Obadiah looking at the reactor with joy in his eyes – Your last golden egg!

Obadiah put his hand on Tony's face and got closer, looking directly into his red eyes:

- Do you think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you? – asked Stane – Your father helped give us the atomic bomb; what would the world be like if he were as selfish as you?

Obadiah had completely ripped the reactor out of Tony's chest and was holding it with his bare hands:

- So beautiful! – said Obadiah, sitting next to Tony – Tony, this is your ninth symphony! What a work of art! Just look at this! This is your legacy! A new generation of weapons powered by this! Weapons that will help the world stay on the path it is on; to keep the power in our hands! The right hands!

Obadiah took a suitcase and put the reactor inside it:

- I wish you could see my prototype! – said Obadiah – It's not as conservative as yours! You could have done it all by yourself, but you had to involve your wife in this! Don't worry; your children will follow your legacy!

Obadiah got up and left, leaving Tony alone. In a few seconds he managed to regain his movements and staggered towards the elevator. When he took it, he went down to the garage, where he entered and went to the vault where there was another reserve reactor. He walked unsteadily until he could no longer bear the pain in his chest and fell to the floor. Desperate for Pepper, he dragged himself until he reached the vault and opened it. Somehow, very badly, Jarvis was silent. Tony tried to stand up to grab one of the reactors, but he couldn't. He felt his body getting weaker and weaker and he couldn't make any more effort. But then Dummy came and held out a reactor to Tony. He looked at the robot:

- Good boy! – said Tony taking the reactor and placing it on his chest and Tony could breathe, relieved; for a few minutes he could rest, but then he heard his name being called and then his body was turned and Rhodes was looking at him worried:

- Are you okay? – Rhodes asked:

- Where's Pepper? – asked Tony:

- Going to arrest Obadiah! – Rhodes replied – She and a task force of agents from several agencies!

- It's not enough! - said Tony and with Rhodes' help he stood up; soon Tony was dressed to put on the armor and climbed onto the platform and put it on:

- That's the most amazing thing I've ever seen! – said Rhodes:

- Not bad! – said Tony – Let's get him!

Tony started walking towards the garage ramp:

- Do you want anything? – asked Rhodes:

- Leave the airspace clear and notify the agents! – Tony replied – I'll take care of Stane alone!

Tony took off and headed across the city towards Stark Industries:

- Call me Pepper! – Tony said and Pepper's photo appeared on the interface:

- "Tony, are you okay?" – Pepper asked, answering the cell phone:

- I'm fine! – Tony replied:

- "Obadiah has gone mad"! – said Pepper:

- I know! – said Tony – Get out of there!

Tony heard the sound of earth crunching and he was getting closer and closer when he saw him point his arm gun at Pepper:

- Stane! – Tony shouted and he heard the gun firing, but his bullets had no effect and hit him hard and both went through the ground entering the basement of the company and going out onto the highway next door crossing a truck and crashing into cars; Tony stood up and saw Obadiah lifting a car:

- I love this outfit! – said Obadiah:

- Put them down! – said Tony:

- Civilian casualties, Tony! - said Obadiah, but then Tony activated the Unibeam hitting Obadiah and throwing him back and Tony grabbed the car and put it on the ground, the car took off and moved away; at that moment Obadiah came holding a motorcycle and hit Tony throwing him back, the motorcycle exploded and Tony hit a car; Obadiah approached and grabbed Tony and lifted him up and threw him to the ground with force:

- I'm the Iron Monk now! For thirty years I've supported you! - said Obadiah stepping on Tony's chest - I built this company from nothing and no one will stand in my way!

Obadiah grabbed Tony and threw him straight into a bus:

- Much less you! – said Obadiah activating a missile on his back and firing it, hitting the target, causing a huge explosion; Tony came out of the explosion with the thrusters activated:

- Impressive! – said Obadiah – You updated your suit, I made some updates too!

Obadiah's suit's thrusters activated and he began to take off, but his weight prevented him from gaining rapid speed and he was climbing slowly; Tony decided that it was time for the fastest to climb and so he climbed with Obadiah following him, Tony was gaining distance in relation to the Iron Monger:

- Sir; I must remind you that the suit modifications were not tested even with the simulations done! – said Jarvis:

- This is a good time for a test! – said Tony – Let's continue!

They continued to climb and Obadiah put more power and was gaining more ground than Tony until he grabbed him with both hands:

- You had a great idea Tony, but my suit is more advanced in everything! – said Obadiah:

- Did you test your armor against the ice? – asked Tony seeing the ice covering the entire Iron Monger armor:

- Ice? – asked Obadiah and his armor turned off:

- Mine can handle it! - Tony said, hitting Obadiah's suit on the head and then he let go of Tony and began to fall in free fall, Tony followed him, activating the missiles on his back and firing them at Obadiah, causing a huge explosion and Obadiah's scream of pain could be heard; Obadiah fell and Tony went down, landing on the roof of the factory:

- Love? – asked Tony:

- "Tony, are you okay?" – Pepper asked:

- Yes, it's over! – Tony replied and Obadiah landed behind him and Tony saw him:

- Nice try! - said Obadiah, applying a punch. Tony ducked, dodging it, and fired his repulsor at the Iron Monger's chest. He applied a punch, taking off some parts of the armor. Tony was thrown away, but recovered and activated the thrusters, advancing and punching the Iron Monger's head. However, he resisted and grabbed Tony with a crushing hug. Tony was feeling the pressure; feeling his armor being crushed. With that, everything was failing.

- What do we have? – asked Tony, desperate to leave:

- Weapons system failing! – Jarvis replied:

- Flares! – said Tony – Now!

Flares were activated causing confusion and Obadiah released Tony who went to hide while the Iron Monger was recovering from the flare:

- Very clever Tony! – said Obadiah as he was looking for Tony:

- Pepper! – said Tony, isolating the sound in his helmet:

- Tony! – Pepper said worriedly:

- It's not working! – said Tony – We have to overload the reactor and blow the roof off!

- How are you going to do that? – asked Pepper:

- You will! – Tony replied – Go to the central panel and open the circuits, when I leave the ceiling, I will warn you and you will press the main bypass button! You will fry everything here!

- I'm coming in! – said Pepper:

- Wait for my signal, I'll buy you time! - Tony said and then quickly jumped on Obadiah's back and quickly pulled some wires and cut the Iron Monger's interface connection; Obadiah managed to grab Tony and throw him forward and he fell on top of the glass part of the roof now without the helmet; Obadiah opened the armor to see Tony:

- I never liked this kind of thing! – said Obadiah holding Tony's helmet – But, I must admit that I'm really liking the suit!

Obadiah crumpled up Tony's helmet and threw it to him:

- You finally outdid yourself Tony! – said Obadiah – You made your father proud!

Tony stood up:

- "It's ready, Tony, get off the roof!" – said Pepper. Obadiah fired his machine gun, hitting the entire glass roof and Tony fell, holding on to the frames so he wouldn't hit the ground:

- How ironic Tony! – shouted Obadiah – When trying to rid the world of weapons, he did the best thing of all!

- Pepper! – Tony shouted:

- And now I'll kill you with it! – said Obadiah, firing a missile that missed far away – You destroyed my targeting system!

- Press the button! – Tony shouted:

- I'm not going to push you there! - Pepper shouted:

- Stay still! – said Obadiah, firing another missile, hitting the roof parapet:

- Press it! – Tony shouted:

- You're going to die! - Pepper shouted and Obadiah fired another missile and this time it hit close to Tony:

- Press it now! – Tony shouted. Pepper pressed the button and Tony took flight, leaving just in time when the energy shot up, hitting Obadiah and electrocuting him. The energy exploded in the sky and the area around him went dark. Obadiah fell dead into the reactor and exploded. Tony landed and then fell to the ground unconscious. Tony woke up the next morning while he was unconscious. Things were touched by Pepper. At that moment, Rhodes was talking to the reporters. Tony was waiting for his turn to enter. Pepper was next to him with Glenda taking care of the makeup, her children Richard and Laura, and Rhodes' children Robert and Jasmine. Tony was reading a newspaper that was calling him "Iron Man":

- "Iron Man"; that's a good name! – said Tony:

- I liked it! – said Richard:

- I thought it was amazing! – said Laura:

- I would like to know what name daddy will choose? – asked Jasmine:

- A very eye-catching one! – replied Glenda, smiling:

- I thought Uncle Tony was the one who gave the names! – said Robert confused:

- It's me! – Tony confirmed – The name is good, but technically the suit is made of an alloy of titanium and gold, but it's good for marketing, it creates an image!

- Boss, one minute and a half! – said Happy entering the room:

- Are you sure you want to do this? – Pepper asked:

- Honey! It's all set! – Tony replied – The task force is ready to act as soon as I start talking and after all this investigation; we're going to have to work hard to recover the company, it's better to clean it up now, than to give the criminals time to get rid of the evidence!

Tony stood up and Pepper helped him put on his jacket:

- This and one more justification are enough for what I'm going to say! - said Tony leaving the room and heading to the press room, he went up to the podium when Rhodes announced:

- Good morning everyone! – said Tony – As you know; due to the incident that happened at Stark Industries involving two people dressed in advanced armor; I will give an explanation about what happened and what led up to today; I will answer the questions of those present when I finish my explanation!

- Mr. Stark! – Christine Everhart called – You want us to believe the rumors that the man wearing the red and gold armor is, in fact, one of your bodyguards who appeared at the right time….

- I know it's confusing! – said Tony – But, now it's one thing to question the official story and another thing to make accusations insinuating that I'm a hero!

- I didn't say that! – said Christine:

- No? – Tony asked and Christine shook her head – Well, because that would sound weird and fantastic!

- What? – asked Christine, confused:

- I don't fit the profile of a superhero! – Tony explained – That's obvious! I have a huge list of character defects….

Rhodes leaned close to Tony's ear:

- You're going off course! – Rhodes whispered; Tony turned his attention back to the stage:

- The truth is…. I am Iron Man! – said Tony and the reporters all stood up shouting and asking at the same time while the camera flashes filled the room.