When Lucas arrived at Tony's oceanfront mansion, even he couldn't help but gape in awe. Sure, Lucas wasn't short on cash these days—but compared to Tony Stark, he was practically a broke college student. The sheer scale and luxury of the place made him feel like he'd wandered into a sci-fi movie set.
Of course, that made sense—he had seen this mansion before, in the movies. Back then, it had looked cool, sure, but standing in front of it now? It was something else entirely. Sleek architecture, futuristic design, and an overwhelming sense of genius money could buy.
Just as he was about to knock, Jarvis's calm, polite voice echoed through the entryway.
> "Mr. Norman, Mr. Stark is currently in the workshop. I will guide you there."
"No need to be so formal, Jarvis. Just call me Lucas."
A line of glowing arrows appeared along the floor, leading him deeper into the house. Following the light, Lucas soon reached the basement lab—and there was Tony, looking utterly exhausted, hunched over his workbench.
He was fine-tuning the armor. It had already completed test flights, but the weapons systems still needed calibration.
"Tony, I brought the flash drive," Lucas said, stepping closer.
Tony looked up, red-eyed and drained. "Pepper's safe, right?"
"With me watching her? Relax," Lucas replied.
Tony exhaled, his shoulders slumping in relief. "Thanks, Lucas. Really. I don't even know how to repay you."
He meant it. The thought of offering money crossed his mind, but he dismissed it immediately—it would feel like an insult. Friendship wasn't something you could buy.
(If Lucas had known what Tony was thinking, he'd have told him to go ahead and try. Getting buried under piles of Stark cash didn't sound half bad.)
Before Tony could say anything else, Jarvis's voice interrupted.
> "Sir, Mr. Obadiah Stane is here to see you. He's waiting in the living room."
Tony frowned. "I'll go meet him."
He set his tools down and headed for the stairs.
"Hold up," Lucas said sharply. "You're not even going to look at what's on the drive before you go up there?"
At this point, Tony was just suspicious of Stane—not certain. He hadn't seen the damning evidence yet, and his guard wasn't fully up. Stane, on the other hand, had come fully prepared.
"I'll check it later," Tony said curtly. "Let's see what game he's playing first."
He turned and disappeared upstairs.
Lucas sighed and started to follow, but then a familiar ding sounded in his head.
> [Ding~ System mission triggered: "I Am Iron Man." The host must participate in the battle against Iron Monger and witness the birth of Iron Man!]
Lucas rubbed his temples. "Participate to what extent? You want me to kill Iron Monger myself?"
> [The host must take part in the battle in person. Full engagement required.]
Lucas groaned. "Figures. Can't even spectate in peace. You're really something, system."
He had planned to sit back, maybe cheer Tony on from the sidelines—but now? He was apparently part of the show.
Before he could complain further, Tony suddenly came stumbling back down the stairs—collapsing hard onto the floor.
The arc reactor in his chest had gone dark. A thick black liquid was leaking from the ports.
"Ka—Ka…" Tony tried to speak, but his throat locked up. His skin had gone chalk white, and dark veins were spreading across his chest like spiderwebs.
Lucas's eyes widened. He knew this scene.
He scanned the lab frantically and spotted the old arc reactor Pepper had encased in glass—the one she'd turned into a keepsake.
Without hesitation, he smashed the case open, yanked out the old unit, and slammed it into Tony's chest port.
"Hold still, man."
The moment it clicked into place, the light returned—bright and steady. Tony sucked in a deep breath, color slowly returning to his face as the dark veins receded.
Lucas exhaled. "There. Back online."
Now Tony didn't need to guess who had betrayed him—he knew. Obadiah Stane had tried to kill him.
---
By the time night fell, Pepper, Skye, Natasha, Coulson, and a small team of agents had traced one of Stane's secret warehouses.
"Pepper, you really didn't need to come," Natasha said as she adjusted her pistol. "Coulson and I can handle this."
When the agents discovered the site, both Natasha and Coulson had planned to investigate alone. It was likely storing illegal weapons Stane had been selling under the table.
But Pepper had insisted on joining them. No matter how they argued, she wouldn't stay behind. So now, what should've been a small covert operation had turned into a full squad escorting one stubborn CEO.
"I have to see it myself," Pepper said firmly. "If Obadiah's been lying to Tony, I want to know."
Meanwhile, Skye was on the phone with Lucas.
"What?! You're telling me Pepper went with them?" Lucas said, instantly switching to speaker mode.
"Yeah," Skye replied, her tone uneasy. "I came along too. I didn't want her walking into danger alone."
"Send me your location right now," Lucas ordered. "You guys are walking into something way above your pay grade."
As soon as Skye sent the coordinates, Lucas relayed them to Tony. In seconds, the armor assembly sequence began—each mechanical arm whirring to life, locking the pieces of the Mark III armor onto his body.
Lucas couldn't help but grin despite the tension. Man, this scene never gets old. The clanking metal, the hiss of hydraulics—pure mechanical poetry.
When Tony was fully suited up, Jarvis synced the coordinates to his HUD.
"Let's move," Tony said.
He blasted out of the mansion, jets roaring. Lucas mounted Onion and shot into the air right after him.
---
At the warehouse, Coulson's team stood before a heavy security door. Pepper was swiping her access card again and again, frowning.
"Damn system! I swear, I'm replacing this thing," she muttered, frustrated.
"Let me try," Coulson said, signaling an agent. The man handed him a spherical breaching device.
Before he could use it, Skye stepped forward. "No need."
She placed her palm against the reinforced door.
Vvvvvmmmm—!
The metal vibrated violently, fracturing from within. In seconds, the entire door shattered into glittering shards that clattered to the ground.
Everyone stared in stunned silence.
Most of the agents already knew Skye had awakened some kind of power—but none of them had seen it in action. Now they had.
The massive steel door hadn't just dented or cracked—it had been pulverized.
Even Natasha was impressed. She knew Skye's ability was vibration-based, but she hadn't realized just how devastating it was.
One hit from Skye, and a person could be reduced to paste.
And this was her holding back.
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