Tony went very still.
"...As if I'm the only one with secrets," he finally said, but his voice had lost its edge.
"Your secrets don't compare to mine." Arthur leaned forward, his gaze intent. "My secrets don't involve someone dying in a few months."
Tony froze.
The fight drained out of him instantly, replaced by a hollow resignation. He slumped back onto the sofa.
"Since when did you know?" Tony whispered.
"Long enough."
"How?"
"I read, Tony. I observe," Arthur said, his gaze softening slightly but remaining firm. "I know that having a palladium core disintegrating inside your chest isn't a recipe for longevity. I can see it. The blackened veins climbing up your neck. The tremors. The smell of ozone and sickness on you."
"Then why didn't you confront me?"
"I was waiting for you to come clean." Arthur's voice softened slightly. "I thought my friend might trust me enough to share something like this."
Tony flinched.
"So now that you know," he said slowly, "will you honor my last wish? Protect what I've built?"
"No."
"Arthur—"
"Without a Stark, there is no Stark Industries. The name, the legacy, the vision—it all dies with you."
"I'm the last Stark," Tony said flatly. "There is no one else."
"And whose fault is that?" Arthur raised an eyebrow. "I've been trying to push you and Pepper together for years. But you're too afraid of commitment. Too worried about being tied down. Too busy playing the genius-billionaire-playboy role to actually build something real."
"There's no point talking about that now!" Tony yelled. "I'm on a clock, Arthur! I have months, maybe weeks."
"So you haven't found a cure?"
"No! I have tried everything!" Tony paced the room, his desperation finally spilling over. "Every simulation, every calculation, every possible alternative. The only solution is to replace the palladium core with something else, but there is nothing else. No other element has the right properties. I've tried everything."
"Then go back to the electromagnet," Arthur said, his voice calm against Tony's storm. "The simple solution. Remove the arc reactor entirely and live a normal life. It kept you alive in the cave. It can keep you alive now."
Tony went very quiet.
"You could survive," Arthur pressed. "Without the reactor. Without the suits. Just... live."
The silence stretched.
"I can't give up Iron Man," Tony finally whispered. "I can't. It's the first thing I've ever done that actually matters. If I stop now..."
"Being a superhero is more important than your life?"
Tony didn't answer. But the look in his eyes said everything.
Arthur let the silence hang for a long moment. Then:
"Do you want my help?"
Tony laughed bitterly. "Help with what? I told you, I've tried everything. There's no cure. I'm a lost cause."
"But I have cures," Arthur said simply. "Several of them, actually."
Tony's head snapped up. "What?"
"You heard me."
"Don't..." Tony's voice cracked. "Don't joke about this. Don't give me false hope. I know I'm a lost cause."
"If you truly believe you're beyond saving," Arthur continued quietly, "then I won't say anything more. We'll let the Stark legacy die with you, as you said. Your choice."
The words hung in the air.
Tony's hands were trembling. Not from the palladium this time.
"Do you really have a cure?" His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Yes."
"You can actually... fix this?"
Arthur smiled slightly. "I can return you to the pre-cave Tony Stark. Full functionality. No shrapnel. No arc reactor dependency." He paused. "Possibly better than before. Stronger, if you're interested."
"Then what the hell are you waiting for?" Tony demanded, some of his usual fire returning. "Let's do it. Now. Tonight."
"Not so fast." Arthur held up a hand. "If you want my help, there's a condition."
Tony's eyes narrowed. "What kind of condition?"
"Say 'Arthur Hayes is better than Tony Stark at everything. Arthur Hayes is the greatest.'"
Dead silence.
Tony stared at him for a long moment, a muscle twitching in his jaw.
"Change the condition."
"No."
"Arthur, I'm dying."
"Then die with your pride." Arthur shrugged. "Either say it or rot."
Tony's face cycled through approximately seventeen different emotions, none of them pleasant. His hands clenched and unclenched. His eye twitched dangerously.
"I will remember this," he finally growled. "For the rest of my life. However long that turns out to be."
"I'm counting on it."
Tony took a deep breath, like a man preparing to swallow poison.
"Arthur Hayes is better than Tony Stark at everything," he gritted out. "Arthur Hayes is the greatest."
Arthur's smile widened. He pulled out his phone and tapped the screen.
"—is better than Tony Stark at everything. Arthur Hayes is the greatest."
Tony's voice played back with perfect clarity.
"You recorded that?" Tony's expression was murderous.
"Obviously."
"You absolute—"
"I'm considering making it my ringtone." Arthur pocketed the phone with evident satisfaction. "Every time someone calls, I'll get to hear Tony Stark admitting my superiority. It's the gift that keeps on giving."
"I hate you."
"You love me. And I'm about to save your life, so you'll love me even more."
"Haven't saved anything yet," Tony muttered. "Could still be lying."
"I could," Arthur agreed. "But I'm not. So—first question: do you want the hole in your chest gone? Or do you want to keep the arc reactor and just cure the poisoning?"
Tony blinked at the abrupt shift. "I... what?"
"Simple question. The hole is one problem. Palladium poisoning is another. I can address either or both. But I need to know what you want."
"I..." Tony looked down at the blue glow emanating from his chest. The constant reminder of the cave. Of the shrapnel. Of the worst and best days of his life. "Of course I want it gone. Do you think I enjoy having a cylinder embedded in my sternum? Do you have any idea how hard it is to bathe properly? Sleep comfortably?"
"I'll take that as a yes."
"It's a resounding yes."
"Good. Then you have two options." Arthur held up two fingers. "Option one: simple healing. I remove the shrapnel, close the wound, cure the poisoning. You go back to being a normal - well, relatively normal - human being."
"And option two?"
"You come out of this stronger than before. Enhanced. The healing process becomes an upgrade rather than just a repair."
Tony's eyes sharpened with interest. "How?"
"Don't worry about how. Just know that there's very little in this world I can't do."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only answer you're getting." Arthur's tone was mild but final. "Trust me or don't."
Tony studied him for a long moment. The friend he'd known for years. The man whose secrets he'd been trying to unravel for months without success. The impossible puzzle that Arthur Hayes represented.
"Option two," he said finally. "If I'm doing this, I'm doing it properly."
"Good choice."
"And someday," Tony added, "you're going to tell me everything. All the secrets. All the mysteries. Everything you've been hiding behind that pleasant smile."
"Perhaps." Arthur's smile gave nothing away. "For now, since you've chosen the enhancement option, we'll need Eileen's help."
"Eileen? What does she have to do with—"
On cue, the front doors opened. Eileen emerged, followed by Pepper, followed by Elena and Tristan - clearly summoned by some means Tony couldn't identify.
How did he—
"My help?" Eileen asked, her gaze moving between Arthur and Tony with evident curiosity.
"Tony has decided he wants to remove the hole in his chest," Arthur explained. "Permanently."
Eileen's eyes widened slightly. She looked at Tony, then back at Arthur. "You want to use that? But it's not ready."
"Tony and I can finish it," Arthur said confidently. "Between his brain and my... resources, we can crack the code in a day."
Tony looked between husband and wife, confusion knitting his brow. "What are you two talking about? What isn't ready?"
Eileen opened her mouth to explain, but Arthur cut in.
"Let's keep the suspense, shall we?" Arthur smirked. "Pack your bags, everyone. We're going to Miami tomorrow."
"Miami?" Tony's eyes narrowed. "Why Miami? To AIM?" His expression shifted to alarm. "That's a prosthetics company. If you think I'm letting someone stuff some kind of mechanical replacement inside my chest cavity—"
"No spoilers." Arthur was clearly enjoying himself. "You'll understand everything tomorrow. You might even meet some old friends."
"My friends?"
"Yes," Arthur smiled, a knowing look in his eyes. "Very old friends."
Tony's suspicion deepened. "I don't like your secrets, Hayes."
"Yes, Daddy is annoying like that," Elena piped up helpfully.
Tony pointed at her. "See? Even the six-year-old agrees with me."
"So," Pepper cut in, her voice carrying the particular tone of someone who had learned to navigate conversations between stubborn men, "we're finally going to remove that gooey hole in Tony's chest?"
"It looks like it," Eileen confirmed. Then she tilted her head curiously. "Though I have to ask - how do you know it's gooey?"
A faint flush crept up Pepper's cheeks. "I... helped Tony when he changed from the cave magnet to the newer model. Someone had to reach in and switch the—it's not important."
Eileen's smile turned positively delighted. "So what you're saying is that Pepper Potts has literally touched Tony Stark's heart. How wonderfully romantic."
The flush on Pepper's cheeks spread to Tony's.
"That's not—" Tony started.
"We're not—" Pepper tried simultaneously.
They stopped. Looked at each other. Looked away.
The children dissolved into giggles. Even Arthur couldn't quite suppress his smile.
"Right," Tony said, clearing his throat aggressively. "Miami. Tomorrow. Mystery cure. Got it. Can we please change the subject now?"
But his hand found Pepper's, just for a moment, and Arthur noted that she didn't pull away.
Progress, he thought. Finally.
The dying star wasn't going to burn out. It was about to go supernova.