Tony Stark soon learned that Pepper Potts had moved to Blade Technology Industrial.
It had not been hard to piece together why.
Pepper was too capable, too sharp, and far too difficult to keep in the dark. Obadiah had been smuggling Stark Industries weapons behind the scenes, and of course he did not want Pepper Potts sniffing around where she did not belong. So he had quietly encouraged other people to push her out.
Pepper had finally lost patience.
Then Blade Technology Industrial ca along with an open hand, and she took the offer.
After Pepper left, Obadiah had hired another managent prodigy from the sa school she had attended. She was gorgeous, competent enough, and much easier to handle. Not quite as capable as Pepper, but she knew how to work a room and how to behave.
That was enough.
Stark Industries had already been squeezed down by Blade Technology Industrial anyway. It was no longer the industry leader it once had been. It did not need soone as relentlessly effective as Pepper Potts anymore.
"I'm going to get Pepper and Happy back," Tony said after hearing the news.
He went quiet for a mont, then added, "Wait, Tony, I want to return Stark Industries to you—"
Obadiah had not even finished speaking.
He had already had his secretary prepare the contract.
Tony Stark opened the door and walked out.
"No need."
That was all he said, over his shoulder.
He left Obadiah standing there, unsure whether Tony truly did not care or was only pretending not to care, his mind twisting itself into knots.
Tony Stark's return could not be hidden from the dia, and he had no intention of hiding it.
At the press conference, he went straight to the point and publicly announced that Stark Industries' weapons division was being shut down.
Of course, since he was no longer the company's president, the announcent had no legal effect.
"Why?" Tony demanded. "Obadiah, why aren't you supporting on this? Why won't you shut down the weapons division?"
Tony knew that the second Yinsen had not really been a helper at all, but rather one of the terrorists assigned to monitor him closely.
The first Yinsen, though, had been real.
And the weapons Stark Industries sold were far too dangerous for ordinary civilians.
Tony wanted the weapons division closed. He also wanted to find the man responsible for the smuggling operation.
"Tony, calm down," Obadiah said with a helpless look. "The company isn't controlled by alone. If we shut down the weapons division, a lot of shareholders will take a hit. The military won't agree to it either."
What he was really thinking was that it was a very good thing he had not handed Stark Industries back to Tony.
Who on earth could have guessed that Tony Stark would co back and imdiately start causing this kind of chaos?
Stark Industries had military shareholders.
Shutting down the weapons division?
Not a chance.
And Tony could not control the company's day-to-day operations anyway.
"Tony, right now your energy should be focused on developing the armor," Obadiah said. "You should know that Blade Technology Industrial's War Machine line already has a new product."
That was one of the reasons Obadiah was being so accommodating.
Yes, Tony Stark's return had caused Stark Industries' stock to rise.
But more importantly, Tony was still the only genius in the world who might be able to catch up to Drex Valen.
Nobody else could even mimic War Machine properly.
Tony, though, had left behind a functioning prototype. He was only missing the miniature cold fusion reactor.
"A new product?"
Tony imdiately had J.A.R.V.I.S. search for Blade Technology Industrial's latest release.
Then he saw it.
The Iron Overlord.
As for War Machine Mark Two, Drex Valen had discontinued production. He had realized it was actually too effective, which would interfere with his superhero training plan.
Tony stared at the machine in silence.
"He's already reached this level..."
The Iron Overlord completely outclassed War Machine Mark One in every asurable way.
Its armor alone was more than twice as thick, making it far harder to knock down. At the sa ti, the fra was not so oversized that it sacrificed agility.
Tony opened the file on the Deep Sea King and studied the monster's profile.
Then he went quiet again.
Drex Valen had seen the Deep Sea King only once, and in response he had already designed a War Machine variant tailored to defeat it.
The Iron Overlord had clearly been built for brutal close-quarters combat.
Its internal AI understood every major human fighting style. Even if the pilot could not react in ti, the AI could attack and defend on its own.
Its loadout was built for heavy firepower first and everything else second.
Tony understood exactly what Obadiah wanted.
He wanted Tony to create the armor so he could compete with Drex Valen.
But Tony no longer wanted to sell the armor.
He had once considered it.
Not anymore.
"Tony Stark should have a cold fusion reactor ready in a few months," Drex said with a smile. "By then, we'll finally get our Iron Man. Though at this rate, I suppose he's not really the only Iron Man anymore."
That was true.
Drex had already sold so many War Machines that Iron n were practically everywhere now.
Even the Iron Overlord had already received orders, though not many. It was expensive, and manufacturing it was a pain.
"Open your mouth."
Drex was lying with his head in Esdeath's lap.
She fed him a spoonful of ice cream.
Then, using the sa spoon, she took a bite for herself and found the taste surprisingly good.
"...I should ntion that I did not leave behind any saliva," Drex said.
To prevent anyone from stealing his DNA, he had already wrapped himself in electromagnetic force and a biological field. That ant no skin flakes, no shed hair, no saliva, no sweat.
Not even a sll.
"I know," Esdeath said, not at all bothered.
She hugged his face and lowered her head again.
After a fierce battle of tongues and breath, Esdeath finally let go, looking dazed and flushed as she stared at Drex.
But he did not give her the expression she wanted to see.
Disappointed, she went back to eating her ice cream.
For Drex, controlling the production of hormones inside his own body was easy. Desire was simply another variable to manage. Anger, lust, greed, none of it could beco a weakness unless he allowed it to.
"I need to go study the solar radiation storm," he said.
He slapped Esdeath lightly on the back of her thigh, then rose and walked away.
The solar radiation storm was, of course, the cosmic radiation storm that had transford the Fantastic Four.
Drex had fully absorbed and reorganized it. Now he kept it sealed inside a special atomic-alloy container so that not a single trace would leak out.
He had already spent a long ti studying it.
The Beastn he had used in experints had been butchered ti and again. If he had not been able to restore them using atomic-level electromagnetic control, nobody would have dared continue.
He had also experinted on ordinary gangsters who had not undergone any modifications.
They, too, had collapsed from genetic failure and died.
"There's definitely a secret in here," Drex muttered as he stared at the seething mass of cosmic radiation. "I'm just not at the right level yet."
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