Tony approached Obadiah Stane near the edge of the ballroom floor. Without preamble, he handed him the photographs Christine Everhart had given him.
"Stan… I don't remember approving these shipments," Tony said quietly. "Explain how Stark weapons ended up in the hands of terrorists."
Obadiah glanced through the photos, his expression calm.
"Tony, don't be so rigid," he replied smoothly. "We're still an arms manufacturer. These contracts were signed by me — with board approval. And most of the board does not support shutting down the weapons division."
Tony's jaw tightened.
"I am the CEO and the largest individual shareholder."
"And the board protects the company's profitability," Obadiah said with a thin smile. "You made a unilateral decision that wiped billions from market value overnight."
A cluster of reporters moved closer.
Obadiah slipped an arm around Tony's shoulders and smiled for the cameras.
"Smile, Tony."
Flashbulbs erupted.
As the photographers lowered their cameras, Obadiah leaned closer and whispered:
"The board is already discussing removing you. The stock collapse gave them justification — my suggestion, by the way."
He patted Tony's shoulder and walked away.
Tony stood motionless.
The pieces were aligning.
The terrorists who captured him used Stark weapons.
Weapons he never authorized.
And now Obadiah was openly undermining him.
He exhaled slowly.
Removing him from Stark Industries?
Not likely.
Even before his return, he controlled the largest share block. After the weapons division shutdown panic, several minor shareholders sold their positions directly to him, pushing his stake to roughly 45%.
Karl's holdings added another significant block.
Together, they controlled majority voting power.
The board could challenge him — but not remove him.
Tony found Karl and Yinsen.
He explained what Christine had shown him and what he suspected about Stane.
He also spoke about the town where Stark weapons were being used.
Yinsen's expression darkened.
It was his homeland.
Tony's decision came quickly.
"I'm shutting them down tonight."
He planned to deploy the Iron Man armor to destroy the weapons caches and dismantle the terrorist forces.
To support Yinsen — and because the Mark II had been rebuilt and upgraded — Tony proposed they deploy two suits.
Yinsen hesitated, but agreed.
Jarvis began weapons integration and flight system calibration.
After the gala ended, Karl drove Aunt May home.
Once she was safely inside, Karl vanished from the living room and reappeared inside Tony's underground workshop.
Tony and Yinsen were already suiting up.
Robotic assembly arms descended from the gantry.
Panels locked into place.
Servo systems whirred.
In less than thirty seconds, two red-and-gold armors stood fully assembled.
Tony's latest suit incorporated upgraded alloy plating and improved flight stabilization — a refinement inspired by high-altitude icing failures during early testing.
Yinsen's suit used the reinforced Mark II platform with enhanced targeting assistance.
They nodded to Karl.
Then the roof iris opened.
Both armored figures blasted skyward in twin columns of fire.
Despite it being his first time in combat armor, Yinsen maneuvered smoothly under Jarvis's flight assistance.
Karl shook his head, then unfurled crystalline ice wings from his back.
He launched into the night sky.
Telekinetic force formed a tapered air shield ahead of him, reducing drag. He reinforced his wings with psychokinetic thrust, accelerating rapidly until he caught up with them.
Though teleportation was possible, he had never visited the target region. Shadow-world navigation would require blind searching.
Flying was faster.
Tony's voice crackled over comms.
"Nice speed, Frozen Boy. Want to race?"
Karl smirked.
"Let's try."
Blue light flashed.
Karl surged ahead instantly.
Tony diverted full thruster output to pursuit.
Yinsen followed, maintaining safe velocity.
Karl led initially — but as Tony pushed into maximum propulsion, Karl felt the strain on his stamina.
High-speed flight consumed tremendous energy.
"Alright," Karl said. "You win. Let's find the town."
Tony laughed.
They reached Migra shortly after.
The town had been seized by insurgents. Homes were abandoned. Civilians were corralled under armed guard.
Men were separated.
Women and children were being held hostage.
Tony and Yinsen descended like falling stars.
Gunfire erupted instantly.
Bullets sparked harmlessly off the armor plating.
Repulsor blasts disarmed attackers with precision strikes.
Within seconds, the front line collapsed.
Remaining militants dragged hostages forward as shields.
Tony hovered above them.
Jarvis locked targets.
"Multiple hostile combatants. Civilian proximity confirmed."
Tony exhaled.
"Non-lethal precision."
Micro-targeting systems activated.
Repulsor pulses fired in rapid succession.
Every hostile weapon was disabled.
Every gunman dropped.
No civilians were hit.
Karl hovered above, observing. Tony had this handled.
Tony then destroyed the Stark-manufactured weapons caches with controlled charges.
Jarvis detected additional arms depots nearby, and the armored pair moved to neutralize them.
They rose roughly fifty meters above the ground.
BOOM
A tank shell struck Tony mid-air.
He crashed into the ground, carving a crater.
"Inson, I'm fine," Tony said through static.
He rose from the dust cloud, locked onto the tank, and fired a micro-missile.
The tank erupted in flame.
Tony walked away without looking back.
Karl watched the explosion and thought:
A real man never looks back at explosions.
He wisely kept that to himself.
After neutralizing the remaining weapons and hostile forces, Tony and Yinsen landed beside Karl.
Tony lifted his faceplate.
"Well? Impressed?"
Karl shrugged.
"Let's get back. If you fly straight into U.S. airspace, you'll have Raptors on your tail within minutes."
Tony shook his head immediately.
"No way. I am never going into your shadow dimension again."
He sealed his helmet.
"See you back home."
He blasted off into the night.
Karl watched him leave and smiled faintly.
You'll regret that later.
He turned to Yinsen.
Two shadow ninjas emerged.
They pulled Yinsen into the Shadow World.
Moments later, they were gone — already returning to New York.