Moments before
—Okay, JARVIS, let's prepare for the first flight,— Tony said as he put on the suit and initialized all its systems. —JARVIS?— He asks now in the suit.
—I'm online, sir—.
—Perfect, let's fly,— I said as he launched himself into the air through the open window he had prepared.
Tony began to maneuver through the air, enjoying the sensation like a child.
He was moving all over the place, even passing over Gabriel's tent, thinking of surprising him so he could have some fun, but a quick alarm on the sensors caused him to start rising.
—JARVIS, what was that? Weren't you supposed to temporarily disable the sensors and cameras in the area?— he asked, somewhat annoyed.
—Apparently, Gabriel has an independent system beyond my reach, and his sensors detected us,— JARVIS replied.
—Well, I wanted to surprise him, and I probably gave him a heart attack,— he said in his typical joking tone, but inside, he was more surprised by it and more eager to see his technology.
Tony decided to continue with the height. JARVIS told him to be careful, but Tony being Tony, he ignored him until it was too late. The armor was frozen solid, and all the servers were shut down, and he ended up plummeting. But as he was coming down, he managed to break enough ice to regain control and return to the Vila.
—Okay, turn it off— Tony ended up falling into the garage. —Okay... that was... incredible... but we have to fix the armor, that ice has to be fixed—.
—Of course, sir,— said JARVIS as Tony got up as best he could.
With the MC
My eyes must be deceiving me. Iron Man shouldn't even exist until the middle of the year, not the fucking beginning.
—Fuck!— I shouted angrily. My plans are falling apart. Now I'll have to rush. Who knows if they'll get the captain out of his freeze soon and my plans will be further screwed up.
—Sir, please calm down,— Gero began —This may be a simple setback, but we can adapt—.
—Right. With your magic and our knowledge, we can speed up the process,— Myuu continued.
I took a deep breath, months of lost advantage, but it's true, production can be sped up, we have the plans and the materials.
—Okay, okay, okay,— I take a very deep breath, —Doctor Gero, I want you to create the robot insects, and when you're done, along with your robot assistants, create products for when Tony stops producing weapons. That has to happen. Myuu, when we have the captain's DNA, make the modifications you'll have listed on your desk. For now, create some Machine Mutants that fuse with technology. We'll need to defend ourselves in case of trouble—. More like the TVA, but I didn't say it out loud. —Iago, if you can, use your magic to use the birds as a spy system. You'll also act as a lookout in case I have a message from Yao or some Spiritu gets clever—.
—Sir, yes, sir,— Gero and Myuu said as Iago said, —Aye, Chief,— and they got to work.
—I hope there aren't any more unnecessary surprises...— I muttered to myself, not quite believing it. And looking at the time is already the next day, and I need to write a lot today, I need to reorganize my plans.
Okay something happened and I don't know how the fuck it happened, but Iron Man was born NOW, not in May, February or whatever NOW, HOW?! WHY?! Tony should be blind to Obadiah bullshit now, not start with the armor; what the fuck is going to happen now?! his whole fucking development starts from his kidnapping: Yinsen's death and his kidnapping that shows what his weapons do; his poisoning that shows him what his father did and make him grow, what the fuck will that do him if he doesn't have the reactor stuck in his fucking chest; How the hell can he be a good hero if the foundations aren't there?!
Now I have to do everything in a hurry, I have to be attentive to when he locks the weapons so I can suggest the duel disks; I'll need a few days for the island; and see how the hell I organize it, GX style? Or just Battle City style? (depends on the spirits), and on top of that all the time I had to prepare the marketing has been reduced, and all my secondary plans too, now what the hell will happen, will they get the captain out of his frozen state or what?
You can tell how uncomfortable I am just by seeing how hard I squeeze the pen. I take a very deep breath and continue.
I'd better calm down and adapt. There's still time left until 2012, time to strengthen. I hope I don't have any more problems or unexpected things.
With Tony
As he began reading, Tony burst out laughing at Gabriel's reaction. He was surprised it was so early, but technically it was past midnight, so technically it was another day. But when he saw Obadiah's part, he felt like the puzzle pieces were finally falling into place, and he didn't like the result.
—JARVIS!—
—The analysis is complete, and I've managed to identify the traitor,— JARVIS said, showing Obadiah the call logs, conversations, and videos that show all their dealings. —Here's all the information, sir, but I thought you should see this,— he said, showing him conversations about killing Tony in Afghanistan.
Tony's heart filled with anger. He saw Obadiah as an uncle, like family, he was the one who stayed with him and helped after his parents death and now he's watching Obadiah selling his weapons to terrorists and plotting his death.
—JARVIS, send a courier for an emergency meeting in the morning and keep the line ready so Obadiah doesn't escape. Prepare a copy of everything and send it to Pepper so she's at least informed and prepared—.
Tony was furious. —We also need to improve the armor. We'll change the materials and use a gold-titanium alloy from a previous satellite design, resistant to freezing,— he said, looking at the plans and the new modifications to the armor.
—Here's the design with the stated changes—.
—Okay, now for the colors...— he said, looking at a red car with yellow accents. —JARVIS, let's change the colors: main red with gold accents— JARVIS shows the design.
—Perfect. Buy the materials, JARVIS. Pay double for fast delivery—.
—Understood, sir—.
With the MC
I quickly prepared all the data on the duel disks, I also thought about grabbing more plans to get Tony's attention, but I decided not to do it since most of them would go to the army, and because, simply, because the army would be indebted to me just as they were to Tony, giving me more free rein to maneuver.
I doubt I'll be able to sleep, so I cast a spell on myself to put me to sleep quickly. The next morning, I see Iago sleeping next to me. I make him comfortable and prepare his food for when he wakes up. Seeing that I have an hour left before opening, I head to the lab.
—Good morning, how are things going?—
—Good morning, sir,— said both Gero and Myuu.
—Right now, I've created three dozen insect search robots and three special transport robots to take them to the required area,— said Gero.
—In my case, I've managed to create a Machine Mutant with adaptive abilities. I've reviewed the projects and am preparing it for 'The Red Room,'— said Myuu.
—Excellent, Dr. Gero, use one of the transport robots to detect the Red Room. Dr. Myuu, send your Machine Mutant with those. Make sure it has hacking skills to learn as much as possible—.
—Understood,— they both said.
—Dr. Gero, now let's prepare the weapons and transport elements. Which robots are your helper robots?—
—These, sir,— said Gero, surely knowing what I wanted to do.
—Good,— I said, seeing the two helper robots. They are simple red robots with multiple arms and a tool on each arm. I raised my hand and cast a spell. Suddenly, the two went from 4, from 4 to 8, from 8 to 16, and from 16 to 32. —Use all these robots to help you and speed up the process,—I said seriously, receiving a nod from Gero. Then I looked at Myuu. —Do you also need support, Doctor?—
—Yes, sir,— said Myuu, showing his helper robot. It was the same as Gero's, but in blue instead of red. I cast the same spell, and there were also 32 in total.
—Upgrade the Machine Mutant you have and create two more—
—Yes sir—.
Now that my projects are ready, it's time to simply wait for Tony to close the weapons and start the collaboration and create the duel disks, when they are ready or I have an end date I will start the special tournament; but first I will have to talk to Yao to see if I can bring more spirits to make the tournament something different or just do a battle royale, —I'd better not worry and focus on the store for now. I doubt Tony will go crazy—.
Opening the shop and going back to being just a salesman with knowledge of magic and not someone with plans related to world domination and partial control... I look like a cartoon or comic book villain…
The day continued normally, with customers coming and going, shopping for products and packs, while others sat around playing at the tables or just chatting. There didn't seem to be many problems today, and Tony didn't seem to be doing anything exasperating, so I think things will be calmer for now.
After a while, Peter and Ned approached me.
—Is something wrong, guys?— I asked the children.
—We saw the tournament announcement and wanted to know when it was,— Ned said, not letting Peter have a chance to say anything, but nodding anyway.
I couldn't help but smile at that. —Well, I have a lot of things to do regarding the tournament itself, so you'll probably have to wait a little longer than a month,— I said, and I could see their enthusiasm fading. —Well, I'll think about holding a normal tournament like the last one to test your skills with the new cards, what do you think?—
The kids smiled and jumped for joy. I decided to announce that a normal tournament would be held in about 3 days, so they could have fun. At least that way I could satisfy them a little.
The rest of the day continued normally. I even played a few games with some of the clients. Of course, I decided to build a different deck to avoid attracting too much attention: an earth warrior deck.
I was currently sipping on orange juice. Apparently, there was no need to worry. Tony wasn't planning on doing anything crazy. Unfortunately, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of the television, and I choked when I saw the news headline.
'Obadiah Stane, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Arrested for Conspiracy, Attempted Murder, Illegal Arms Trafficking, Industrial Espionage, Corporate Corruption, and Abuse of Power'
—What the actual fuck?!—
A few hours ago with Tony
Tony had everything ready, including the flash drive containing the information so she'd be up to date. He quickly met up with her.
—Pepper,— he said, calling her name.
—Tony, what's going on?— she said, but Tony didn't answer, but instead gave her two flash drives.
—Pepper, look at this, but make sure no one but Happy knows, understood?— Pepper looked at him in confusion, but nodded nonetheless and went to her office while Tony went somewhere else.
Pepper inserted one of the flash drives, the one with a note that said —Important,— to see what the hell was going on, but when she saw its contents, she gasped in shock and horror. She also trusted Obadiah, so she quickly decided to call Tony.
—Have you seen it?— was the first thing Tony said when he received the call.
—Tony, what the hell?—
—Listen, I have the evidence and I'm planning to hold a meeting with the shareholders so I can show it to everyone and avoid any problems—.
—Okay... okay... I'll notify Happy and the rest of security—.
—First, gather all the security details we know are on our side. There are parts of it on Obadiah's computer that are disconnected from the network. I need to know who else is working with him and other potential deals,— Tony said, annoyed since those details are what's keeping him from cleaning everything up in one fell swoop.
—Understood, I'll do it now,— she said, stepping back and looking for Happy.
Time was passing too slowly for the two of them, but knowing that time was also limited, Pepper quickly managed to contact Happy and get to Obadiah's office. She quickly set down the other flash drive and began copying everything. Looking at her watch, she knew she had plenty of time, but her nerves made her think she was going too slowly and would end up getting caught.
When everything was done, he almost ran out of the office. —Happy, let's go get Tony,— she said, receiving a nod from the head of security. As she walked, she unfortunately bumped into Obadiah.
—Hi Pepper,— Obadiah said with a smile, —you seem a little nervous—.
—Well, it's just... Tony...— she tried to make an excuse and hide his nerves.
—I understand. I'm worried about Tony too. Just leaving his villa for over a month to ask for a very important meeting,— Obadiah said. It was true, though, that his concern wasn't about Tony's well-being, but about whether his plans would require major changes.
Upon entering, they could see Tony with all the shareholders. Pepper quickly went to Tony and gave him the flash drive with the information on Obadiah that she had obtained from the computer.
—Okay, now that we're all here, I'd like to make some announcements about important changes,— he said, looking directly at Obadiah, who sensed something was wrong.
Pressing a few buttons, Tony displayed on a holographic screen all the details of Obadiah and his betrayal, causing Obadiah's face to go from extremely pale to red with rage. He tried to throw himself at Tony, but Happy managed to immobilize him.
—I have discovered that Obadiah Stane, Chairman of the Board, has committed multiple crimes: conspiracy to murder, attempted murder, illegal arms trafficking, industrial espionage, theft of intellectual property, corporate corruption, and abuse of power. Therefore, you are automatically dismissed. All your actions go directly to me and...— he said, showing more images of some of the shareholders making deals with Obadiah. —His collaborators will also be included—. Some tried to flee, but security appeared along with multiple police officers, arresting everyone on the spot.
—Tony! You can't do this to me!— Obadiah began, —If it weren't for me, this company would be nothing! If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be anything!— He continued yelling, but Tony didn't say anything; he just looked at him in disappointment. Meanwhile, outside the building, several news crew members were approaching, wanting to know what had happened.
With the MC
I can't believe what I'm seeing. Tony has ordered Obadiah to be locked up. There will be no Iron Monger. Seriously, what the hell is going on...
—Well, at least weapons production is still open,— I muttered to myself, sighing to relieve the tension. Using the tablet, I downloaded the plans for the action duel access machine and to create solid mass vision, although for now I will not use the action duels.
—Breaking news! Tony Stark has requested a press conference! In a few minutes, we'll be live with the latest news...—
I heard it in the background and started to feel terrified. Has the timeline been accelerated or what the hell?
I quickly called Gero.
—Sir, is something wrong?— he asked curiously.
—Doctor, I need you to prepare immediately for the negotiations. Tony is holding a press conference and just ordered Obadaiah to be locked up—.
—Understood,— he said in a serious tone before hanging up, even he knows that all our plans have to move forward.
I just need to see if Tony accepts the idea of working with me to create the duel disks, then I'll tell him with the solid mass vision, that will surely catch his attention, then I'll go to Kamar-taj to go to the spirit world and see if I can request that some of them be like easter egg participants or something like that, if not well, they are not extremely necessary but it would be something good to add.
Seeing that the customers are just hanging around and it doesn't seem like anyone wants to buy anything, I set up an email, using the email address Tony used to place the order, after the press conference. Depending on whether or not the weapons production is finally finalized; which with my luck will surely happen; in a week Tony will receive the email with the deal on the duel disks. With that ready, I'll go to Kamar-taj this afternoon to see if everything is going well with the relations between the magicians and the spirits.
One hour before closing, Tony's press conference started and now it's just a matter of seeing what the hell happens, even the clients who are still there decided to focus only on that.
At the press conference
In an extremely large room where dozens of journalists from multiple channels were waiting, Tony soon appeared and went to the podium where everyone could see him.
—Hi everyone, I know you're all eager to see me speak, I understand, I'm very endearing,— he said, causing a few small laughs, —First of all, you probably have hundreds of doubts about why Obadiah Stane, who was basically one of the most important figures at Stark Industries, was arrested; simple; he broke each and every one of the company's ideals, the idea that my father had. I never got to say goodbye to Dad. I never got to say goodbye to my father. There are questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels. I discovered that Obadiah has been giving the weapons that protected the United States to terrorists. I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability. No, I can simply turn a blind eye if something of such value to the company, something I took pride in, helping my country, and be tainted in such a way that I can't even recognize it, that's why I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark Industries,— everyone stands up in commotion, —until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be—.
With The MC
The moment Tony said that, I knew I had to get started. I quickly scheduled the email to arrive in a week, but unfortunately, while I was doing so, some people started talking loudly, and I had to calm the situation down.
—Okay, everyone, calm down. Things here are under control and calm!— I said, not realizing I had scheduled the email incorrectly. Instead of 'send in 7 days,' I scheduled it for '7 minutes'. I don't know how, but I didn't realize that.
After closing, I decide to head to Kamar-taj. Since I wrote the journal just after midnight, it counts as the day's journal. Putting on my suit, I open a portal and arrive at Kamar-taj, meeting Mordo.
—Greetings Master Mordo, I hope everything is going well with relations?—
Mordo didn't seem surprised by my appearance. —Greetings Master Spectra, The Sorcerer Supreme is expecting you in that regard, but I can say all the preparations are going very well,— he said with a smile.
—Excellent, thank you,— I said, heading to the room where Yao was waiting for me.
—Greetings Spectra, it's good to see you again—.
—Greetings Yao, I came to see if relations were going well or if my help was needed with anything,— I said as I sat down in front of her and sipped the tea that appeared out of nowhere. Yao didn't say anything, just sipped the tea. I didn't say anything either, just waited for her response.
—Things are going well. We're going to one of them this afternoon to start the alliance,— I nodded at that. —If possible, I'd like you to come. I'd also like to see the capabilities of Kamar-taj's duelists,— he said with an amused smile.
—I'd be happy to help,— I said with my own amused smile, knowing that Yao seemed to be entertained by this new variable.