[After his first test failed, Tony didn't let it discourage him. He continued working on the Mark II armor.]
[As ti passed, his research progressed steadily. He successfully implented holographic projection technology, allowing him to visualize the Mark II's arm in midair.]
[Sliding his hand through the hologram, he found that the simulation ran smoothly, confirming that his design was functional. Wasting no ti, he imdiately began constructing it according to his blueprints.]
[Just as Tony was testing the functions of the new armor's arm, Pepper walked into the basent, carrying a brown-paper-wrapped box and a cup of coffee.]
[She stepped inside and called out, "I've been calling you—didn't you hear ?"]
["Yeah! Didn't hear a thing," Tony replied without even looking up.]
["Obadiah is upstairs," Pepper said as she placed the box on the table.]
["Okay, okay! I'll be there in a minute," Tony responded absentmindedly.]
[Pepper sighed, clearly unimpressed with his tone. "What do you want to tell him?"]
[Then, noticing the armored gauntlet in Tony's hand, she frowned. "I rember you saying you weren't going to develop weapons anymore."]
[Tony flexed the rough, unfinished armor arm and raised it. Without hesitation, he nodded. "Yeah! But this is a flight stabilizer. It won't hurt anyone!"]
[He pressed the switch. A bright white glow flared from the jet nozzle in his palm as the system charged. Then—BANG!—a blast of energy shot out like a lightning bolt.]
[Tony was launched backward, slamming into the wall. Pepper, startled by the sudden explosion, instinctively covered her ears and let out a scream.]
[When the smoke cleared, she turned and looked at Tony, wide-eyed. "I didn't expect that to happen!"]
[Tony, still sprawled on the floor, gave her an awkward smile.]
"Hahaha! Tony Stark, I never thought I'd see you in a mont like this!" Nick Fury burst into laughter. Ever since the sky screen began its broadcasts, he found himself enjoying these codic monts more and more.
Natasha, who had been monitoring Peter Parker Jr. and Aunt May, chuckled as well. Even Hill cracked a rare smile.
"'Not a weapon,' huh? 'It won't hurt anyone,' right?" Rhodey smirked, raising an eyebrow at Tony. His taunting was just short of an outright mockery.
Since the sky screen started showcasing Tony Stark's life, Rhodey had beco more and more comfortable roasting his old friend.
"Hey!" Tony shot Rhodes a glare, clearly annoyed. But he knew arguing was pointless. Instead, he silently poured Rhodes a glass of wine, already planning to get him drunk as revenge.
Banner, watching the banter unfold, couldn't help but laugh. "Good thing you didn't try out the Mark Destroyer I yourself, or you'd be covered in bruises."
Tony rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah—fortunately you stopped ."
The mory was still fresh. When Tony had wanted to test the Mark Destroyer I, Banner had insisted it was too risky.
And it turned out Banner was right—because the first ti they activated it, the suit punched a massive hole through the ceiling of Tony's garage… before plumting straight into the ocean.
Tony raised his glass. "Here's to listening to smart people! Cheers!"
"You're welco," Banner said with a grin, clinking glasses.
[Tony took the stairs two at a ti and hurried upstairs, where Obadiah was leisurely playing the piano. As soon as Tony saw him, he asked, "So, how's it going?"]
[Then his eyes landed on a pizza box Obadiah had brought. "Huh. That doesn't look great."]
[Without stopping his playing, Obadiah responded, "Just because I brought pizza from New York, that doesn't an everything is bad, Tony."]
["Oh, really? Let's see—" Tony popped open the pizza box and imdiately gasped. "Oh! Boy!" The sight of a pizza loaded with toppings made his eyes light up. He grabbed a slice without hesitation.]
[Obadiah finally stopped playing. "It would've been better if you went yourself."]
["Oh, co on! You told to keep a low profile! I've been following that rule! You're handling everything!" Tony shot back, using Obadiah's own words against him.]
["Hey! Co on!" Obadiah waved his hands dismissively. "I ant staying low-key in front of the public and dia. But this is a board eting!"]
[Tony blinked in confusion. "Wait—board eting? What board eting?"]
[Obadiah sighed. "The board has declared you unfit for duty due to post-concussion syndro. They're seeking an injunction."]
["A what?" Tony frowned.]
["An injunction—to stop you from working."]
["Wait… Just because the stock dropped 40 points? We expected that!"]
["It's actually down 56 dollars per share," Pepper corrected him, arms crossed. The stock price had fallen worse than Tony had anticipated.]
["So what?! We have controlling shares!" Tony looked from Obadiah to Pepper, clearly frustrated.]
["Tony," Obadiah said slowly, "the board still has power. And they think you—along with your new ideas—aren't in the company's best interest."]
["Fine! Then I'll take responsibility! This is a new beginning for both and the company!" Tony declared. His voice was firm, unwavering.]
[Obadiah stared at Tony, his mouth slightly open in disbelief.]
["Honestly, the company should bear the cost," Tony continued, turning to Pepper. Then, picking up the entire pizza box, he added, "By the way—great pizza."]
[As he walked off, Obadiah imdiately tried to stop him. "Oh, co on, Tony! Tony!"]
["Hey! Hey! Listen to !" Obadiah quickly got up and grabbed Tony's shoulder.]
["Look, I'm trying to turn this around. But you need to take action so I can convince them!"]
["Let take that to the engineers to analyze! We can make technical specifications—"]
[Obadiah acted like he was doing Tony a favor, but his real goal was obvious—he wanted a reason to get his hands on the Arc Reactor.]
[But Tony saw right through him. "NO! NO!"]
["I could use this to convince the board—"]
["Absolutely not! This stays with . No negotiations, Obadiah! No deal!" Tony shut him down imdiately.]
["Okay, okay," Obadiah sighed, backing off. Then he reached for the pizza box. "But this? This is mine now." ]
[Tony casually pulled out one last slice as he turned to leave.]
[Obadiah called after him, "Can I go downstairs and check out your work?"]
["Goodnight, Obi!" Tony called back without looking. And with that, he was gone.]
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