When it rains, it pours — a saying that seems to perfectly describe Tony Stark's current situation.
After a heated argument with Pepper Potts, it wasn't long before news broke: Tony Stark had been kidnapped. Even more shocking—he was last seen wearing an Iron Man suit… and was defeated by two others also wearing metal suits. He was taken away before anyone could react.
A multi-agency investigation, led by S.H.I.E.L.D., soon confirmed that the man in the metal suit was indeed Tony Stark. As for the identities of the other two enhanced individuals—Nick Fury had no idea.
This marked the debut of the Maximoff twins. No matter how vast S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence network was, they couldn't uncover any useful information about Pietro and Wanda.
Their use of nano-suits, coupled with the fact that this was the first time their powers were revealed, made identification virtually impossible.
S.H.I.E.L.D. promptly dispatched agents to Tony's residence to investigate.
Pepper Potts was clearly distressed, but Agent Coulson pulled her aside for a quiet word of warning. Not even Obadiah Stane was informed of the situation.
"Miss Potts, we'll investigate this as quickly as possible," Coulson said calmly. "But until then, you must act as if Tony Stark is safe and sound."
Just as Coulson finished speaking, an agent rushed over, visibly anxious.
"Agent Coulson, you need to see this."
He handed over a tablet. Onscreen was a trending video from the largest video platform in the U.S.—the top clip was directly related to Tony Stark.
The footage opened with the familiar image of a steel suit appearing in New York. Bit by bit, the suit was forcibly removed… revealing the missing Tony Stark inside.
Coulson's expression hardened.
"Get the tech department on this. Track the video's upload location. Analyze every detail."
But the video was brief, and left little to work with. If it had been deliberately released, it was likely scrubbed clean of any traceable data. And sure enough, moments later, the tech team reported no leads.
The world now knew: Tony Stark had been kidnapped again.
He wasn't just a wealthy industrialist—he was a household name. A famed playboy, a philanthropic tycoon, the heart of Stark Industries.
The last time Tony disappeared, Stark Industries' stock dropped by nearly 20%.
When he returned, the recovery was short-lived—especially after he announced the shutdown of the weapons division. That sent the stock plummeting further, nearly halving its value.
Back then, the board still held some faith in Tony. They believed that as long as they had Stark's genius, there was still hope for recovery.
If they hadn't believed in him, Obadiah Stane wouldn't have needed to seek foreign backing—the board could've simply voted Tony out and resumed weapons production.
But now, with Tony gone again, the board's patience had finally run dry.
Sensing an opportunity, Obadiah convened an emergency board meeting. He proposed selling Stark Industries to the Pent Group for roughly $20 billion.
The board members, disillusioned and fed up, were ready to give up on Tony Stark.
He had ignored the company, entrusted its day-to-day operations to his assistant, and now—he was kidnapped a second time. Their personal fortunes were at stake.
"Dear board members," Obadiah addressed them solemnly, "I'm sure many of you, like me, have suffered great financial loss due to the uncertainty surrounding Stark Industries. But if we allow the Pent Group to acquire us, I believe your worries—and your losses—will come to an end."
Obadiah spoke passionately at the board meeting, and almost all the shareholders were visibly excited. Although Pepper Potts had been notified about the meeting, she was absent due to Tony Stark's situation, leaving Obadiah fully in charge.
Moreover, the benefits offered by the Pent Group were highly enticing.
The rapidly rising biopharmaceutical company—famous for its so-called "miracle drug" that could regrow limbs—was owned by the Pent Group. The success of this drug had caused the company's global market value to skyrocket by hundreds of billions in a short period.
Its net profits were staggering. The money made by saving lives was several times greater than the profits made by companies dealing in weapons.
If the terms were really as good as Obadiah claimed, the Stark Industries board members felt ready to raise their hands in approval immediately. Some even considered shortening the deal timeline to just eight months.
After all, no one knew what would happen to Tony Stark. If not for certain procedures and rules around wealth and governance, many directors would've signed the contract on the spot.
Boom!
Just as Obadiah was in the middle of his pitch, the conference room doors burst open. A group of people strode in, led by Pepper Potts and a sharply dressed man in a suit.
The man approached Obadiah, pulled out a badge, and said in a cold, firm voice:
"Mr. Stane, we are agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. You are now under suspicion of colluding with terrorists and being involved in the kidnapping of Tony Stark. Please come with us."
The room fell into stunned silence. The board members turned to stare at Obadiah Stane, eyes wide in disbelief. If this accusation was true, then Obadiah's audacity was beyond comprehension.
But Obadiah didn't flinch. Calmly, he took out a cigar, lit it, and replied dismissively:
"S.H.I.E.L.D.? On what grounds do you suspect me? I'll have my lawyers file lawsuits against you immediately. If you don't get ten national news outlets to publicly apologize to me, I swear I'll drag this through the courts to the bitter end."
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent responded evenly:
"You're free to do that. But for now, you must come with us and cooperate with the investigation. Our actions are sanctioned at the highest levels of the U.S. government—everything is fully legal."
Obadiah sneered.
"Wrongfully accusing an innocent man? Even if you're a government agency, you'll regret this."
He knew he'd be taken in for questioning, but he wasn't afraid. If this had happened earlier, perhaps he would've been nervous. But now? He had already wiped out all the evidence. There was nothing to be afraid of.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it seems today's board meeting has been disrupted by outsiders. We'll resume next time."
With that, Obadiah picked up his phone and walked out with the agents. He had already contacted his lawyer and the Pent Group. Until they arrived, he wouldn't say a single word.
After Obadiah was taken away, Pepper Potts turned toward the board, her voice laced with anger.
"What is going on? Why wasn't I informed about the possible sale of Stark Industries? That's a violation of protocol!"
One of the directors responded, trying to calm her:
"Potts, Obadiah said he notified you. Besides, the board made this decision some time ago—you were aware of that."
Another director added:
"Miss Potts, we need a way to protect our wealth. Do you have a better solution? Even if we reopened the weapons division, those contracts would take months to renegotiate. Now you've had Obadiah arrested—who's going to handle that?"
Pepper replied firmly:
"He colluded with others to kill Tony!"
One director responded cautiously:
"If there's evidence, we won't support Obadiah's actions. But until then, we can't abandon our responsibilities to this company."
The director who had spoken earlier continued,
"But if there's no solid evidence linking Obadiah to the incident, the board will absolutely move forward with the Pent Group's acquisition of Stark Industries."
With the board meeting adjourned, Pepper temporarily took over most of the company's operations as Tony Stark's assistant. Aside from the highly profitable weapons division, Stark Industries still had numerous valuable assets tied to industrial manufacturing.
Her priority was to stabilize these departments while hoping that S.H.I.E.L.D. would locate Tony and bring him back soon.
Unfortunately, what Obadiah had said earlier wasn't wrong—S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't have any hard evidence. Their action had been a preemptive move based on suspicion alone.
Given that, Obadiah would likely be released within a couple of days.
But S.H.I.E.L.D. had other plans.
"What does your father want with me this time?"
Kain reclined in the passenger seat, glancing over.
"He rarely contacts me directly—usually it's for official business. Or… is this about your presidential campaign, Betty? Trying to beat traffic before someone gives you a ticket?"
The election season was fast approaching. Thanks to General Ross's influence and the powerful backing behind him, he had a strong shot at winning the presidency. If that was his intention, the Pent Group would fully support the campaign.
But that kind of matter didn't need Kain's involvement—Betty could handle it herself.
Betty, distracted as she drove, replied,
"It might be related, but mostly he just said he wanted a family dinner with his daughter."
Another vehicle followed behind them—a black car carrying Betty's two super-soldier bodyguards. One of them was originally supposed to drive, but Betty had suddenly insisted on driving herself.
However, as they neared Ross's house, several black cars suddenly blocked the road ahead.
Betty slowed the sports car to a stop. A few people stepped out of the other vehicles and approached. One of them flashed a badge and said,
"Mr. Pent, we're agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. We need your cooperation for an investigation."
Before Agent Hill could finish her sentence, Kain calmly reached out, took her ID card, tore it in half, and tossed it aside. Then, without saying a word, he picked up his phone and dialed.
"We've been stopped near your house," he said into the phone. "S.H.I.E.L.D. agents."
After a moment, he handed the phone to Agent Hill, smirking as he motioned for her to take the call.
Hill sighed. She hadn't expected Kain to be so uncooperative, and now she was sure who he had just called. This mission was going to fall apart.
"I'm Agent Hill with S.H.I.E.L.D.—"
She didn't even finish before the voice on the other end of the line snapped:
"I don't care who you are or what agency you represent. If you touch them, prepare to face the full wrath of the New York State 3rd Air Force and the Super Soldier Division. I'll launch missiles without hesitation to remind you what restraint means."
Hill stiffened.
"Understood."
She hung up, turned around, and gestured to the agents blocking the road. The blockade cleared swiftly.
"Apologies, Mr. Pent. Just doing our duty."
Kain didn't respond, but Betty looked over and said coldly,
"Agent Hill, next time, think carefully about who you're confronting. General Ross doesn't exactly have a gentle temper."
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