Chapter 39

"Natasha, I need you to stay with Stark for a while."

"Director, what are the details of the mission?"

Natasha, with her long red hair, leaned gracefully against the chair and looked at Nick Fury seriously.

Nick Fury had long grown accustomed to Natasha's beauty and alluring figure. He looked at her and said directly, "Obadiah was transferred to a federal prison recently. This matter didn't require my permission; the authority isn't high, so I didn't know. But what I do know is that something more important is about to happen."

"More important things? Could it be about Obadiah?"

As the world's top agent, Natasha immediately grasped the unfinished meaning of Fury's words.

Hearing Natasha's question, Fury slowly nodded. "Yes. Just last night, there was a fire in the federal prison that killed 17 people and injured more, including Obadiah. Vanya, the person I sent to investigate, reports that everything appears fine, but it seems like a coincidence."

"It's a coincidence that he died in a fire within a week of being transferred. Has anyone visited him in the past week?"

"No one visited; everything was normal, just like a lost commercial criminal. But I always feel something's off."

"So, Director, do you think this matter is connected to Stark?" Natasha straightened slightly and looked at Fury seriously.

"If my guess is correct, there's a high probability Stark is involved. I'm not saying Stark did it. After all, he and that… mysterious person teamed up to defeat Obadiah, but they didn't kill him. It seems unlikely they would kill him after so long. I suspect the person behind this is likely aiming at Stark. You might uncover something by staying close to Stark and protecting him. If there's any connection between Stark and the mysterious man, you can also reach out to him and try to bring him into S.H.I.E.L.D. The Avengers initiative has already begun, and it would be best to bring him in."

"Okay, I understand. I'll be off."

"I wish you success, Natasha! Oh, by the way, Barton asked me to ask you. He's in Mexico right now—do you want anything special? The magnetic field there is very high, and communication is difficult."

"I'm a little curious about Mexican hot sauce; let him bring some back for me."

"Alright, I got it."

Slightly shrugging, Natasha turned and left Fury's office.

At this time, Fury took out his phone and dialed Coulson's number. After the call connected, he said directly, "Coulson, temporarily change the mission. Put the Mexico operation on hold and deal with Stark first. Find out what I mentioned earlier, what was left by Howard Stark. When I ask you to hand it over to Stark, you will do so."

"Understood!"

After hanging up, Fury turned to look at the scenery outside the Delta Wing building, muttering to himself, "I hope Stark is smarter than I thought. What his father, Howard Stark, could not accomplish, he can achieve; otherwise…"

At the same time, in the mansion in Malibu, California, Stark looked at the information on the screen and learned about Obadiah's death in the federal prison fire. A bad feeling stirred in his heart. He sensed that something was wrong, but he didn't know where the problem lay.

"Forget it; anyway, his life and death have nothing to do with me. Don't think about it."

Picking up the dark green potion, Tony drank it and looked at the gray lines on his chest through the mirror. As Abel had said, it only temporarily suppressed and slowed the progression of the palladium metal poisoning. It was not a cure; although the spread had slowed compared to before, it was still ongoing, and he was still facing the threat of death.

"UFO detected approaching!"

Hearing J.A.R.V.I.S. warning, Tony froze for a moment, but the whole room shook violently the next second, the sound of explosions filling his ears. Without hesitation, he stumbled to a nearby drawer and took out the Mark V portable prototype suitcase armor that he had stored just in case. Accompanied by the sound of machinery, he quickly donned the armor.

At that moment, a roar accompanied by a crash came from the ceiling. A huge iron-gray armor appeared before Tony, revealing Obadiah's face as the faceplate opened.

"It's nice to be back. It's really been a long time since we last saw each other, Tony."

"Obadiah? You really aren't dead!"

"Of course not! Before I take my revenge, how could I die? Now I have technology that rivals yours. I have my arc reactor, and my armor is more powerful than yours. Although I haven't had time to install weapons, I can't wait for my revenge!"

Looking at Obadiah, Tony commented, "Obadiah, I really can't flatter your aesthetics. This rough texture is like a second-hand truck. I don't know where you got the design for the arc reactor, but to me, you're no different from before!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Tony shot two energy blasts at Obadiah, striking him fiercely in the chest and head.

Obadiah, clearly prepared after his previous defeat, closed his armor's faceplate for defense the moment he saw Tony's hands. Although he was pushed back by Tony's arc pulse cannon, he suffered no significant damage.

"Tony, is this what you're capable of? That really disappoints me! I'll let you see what kind of power my Iron Monger II has! It has surpassed yours."

The second generation of Iron Monger didn't have the same electric arc pulse gun as Tony but had a more powerful energy output. Instantly, Obadiah lunged at Tony, swinging at him. Tony activated Mark V and leaped to the second floor to evade Obadiah's attack, quickly rushing to the location where he could replace his armor.

Mark V could only be used to deal with emergencies; head-on, it couldn't compete with Obadiah.